Online Love, Offline Hate

For the first time in his life, Kameron looked forward to the new school year. For the first time in his life, he wished that summer would just fly past so that he could once again head to school. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. However, Kameron was excited for what would be his final year at high school. No, it was not because he’d be turning 18 and be able to do things he couldn’t do before. It was not because of prom and the other things that might have excited him before. It was because of where he would be spending the next year. Pristine High School. That’s where Kameron would be spending his final year. Pristine was the most prestigious high school in the country. It had state-of-the-art equipment. It hired the best teachers, local or international. The architecture and the grounds were just too beautiful to describe. Graduating from Pristine put you on the track of being accepted in the best universities in the country and in the world. This, in turn, put you in line for your choice of career. Pristine, however, was also the most expensive high school in the country. So, attending it was a pipe dream for the common folk. Until ten years ago. Pristine announced they would be giving a limited number of full scholarships to students from all over the country. The procedure was simple. Students would submit their final grades from middle school and that would be used to shortlist the best candidates. The shortlisted candidates would then be write the scholarship exam and the students who passed the required mark got the complete 4-year scholarship. This was the normal procedure. But in recent years due to a higher demand, Pristine increased the set number of scholarships they gave and also stretched the scheme to encompass students from other years. Therefore, a freshman could apply for the 3-year scholarship. A sophomore and a junior could apply for the 2-year and 1-year scholarships respectively. This was what happened in Kameron’s case. He had applied once he got out of middle school but hadn’t even been shortlisted. He tried again in his freshman and sophomore year but the farthest he got was the exam. It was in his junior year, his last chance at a scholarship, that he succeeded. Kameron could still remember vividly the day the results from the exam were released. He was so nervous, his phone shook in his hand as he perused the site. He didn’t even have to scroll to see his name. It was the second on the list. ABEL, Kameron Oliver. Examination number-151033. PASS In the past, whenever Kameron saw and heard people scream at a piece of news, he was always confused. Yes, news could shock you and all, but he never really understood why people would scream. Especially girls. Oh, if only he could look at himself now. He was putting all the screaming girls to shame. He was still screaming when his mother and sister burst through his door. “Kameron! What’s wrong?” His mother shouted. “Mom,” Kameron started, gasping for air. “I… I got in. Mom, I got in. Me…I got in.” He wasn’t making any sense. So instead of trying to talk to him, they grabbed the phone in his hand. It took two seconds for them to understand. He got in. He got into Pristine. “You got in. Pristine…you’re going to Pristine. My son is going to…to…to... Pristine.” At this point, Kameron’s mom lost the ability to speak coherently. His sister shook her head several times, trying to clear her head. It was really a dumbfounding piece of news. “I’m going to call your dad. He’ll lose it.” His mom skipped out of the room. “Pristine! Pristine! My son is going to Pristine.” They could hear her down the hall. “Give her two minutes. Not just dad, the whole town will know.” Katy shook her head at mom’s antics but she felt the same. Turning to her brother, she asked, “How do you feel?” Kameron sat down on his bed. He was feeling a lot of things. After his failure last year, he didn’t want to try anymore. Disappointing himself was one thing but disappointing his family… it was too much for him. He told himself that he would just put his head down and do his best at Rivers High. When the time for the application came around, he put his name and credentials on a whim. He kept it from his family when he was shortlisted. He also kept it from them when he travelled for the exam. After all, he had gotten to that point last year too. If he failed again this time, it would be his disappointment alone. But now he had passed. He was in Pristine. It felt… “Great. It’s really a dream come true.” Katy understood. Her brother wanted to become a construction engineer in the future. It was an incredibly competitive career. To succeed, he needed all the help he could get. And getting into Pristine was one of the greatest aid he could receive. He had been trying for the past three years and this was his final chance. So when he said it was a dream come true, she understood. But… “Why didn’t you tell us you were applying again?” Katy knew why. She just wanted to drag the answer out of him. Kameron scratched the back of his head. It was a question he was expecting. When his mother came down from her my-son-is-going-to-Pristine high, he knew she would ask him. “I didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up in case I failed again.” “That’s just stupid. You know that, right?” “I know but…” “We’re here for you. Did you think that failing would make us any less proud of you?” Kameron could feel a rant coming so he didn’t reply. “I mean… do you know how many high school students apply for Pristine every year?” He knew but he kept quiet. “Students from all over the country and yet you got shortlisted the past two years. Do you know how many people end up getting in?” He also knew but still kept quiet. “The admission rate is so low. There’s no way we would think less of you for not getting in. So there’s no excuse for keeping it from us. We’ll be proud of you anyway.” Kameron smiled. He could feel the sincerity in her voice. “Thanks. Really.” “But then, you’re really going to Pristine.” Katy said, coming to sit down beside him on the bed. “It’s still difficult to believe. What kind of food do you think they eat there?” “I don’t know. I’ve only been thinking of getting in.” Kameron thought about it for a while, then replied. “Probably the rich people type of food. With French names.” “Hmmm, French-named food is always good. What of the uniform?” Pictures of the school uniform could be found online but Kameron had one on his phone. The uniform was a white shirt and brown plaid skirts for girls and trousers for guys. “Simple and classy, right?” Katy agreed. It was really classy. Even from the picture she could see the quality. “But you’ll look like a giraffe in this.” She held her hands in front of her as if she was framing a picture. “Yeah, I can see it. White and brown plus your long neck and long legs. I can really see it.” “Wow, you’re so funny.” Kameron rolled his eyes. The supportive, we’re-here-for-you Katy had left. The snarky one was back. “Make fun of me. I’ll soon be gone then you’ll miss me.” “As if that’s possible. You’ll be the one to miss me.” They both knew this was the truth. Kameron was older but showed more affection between the two. “Yeah, I’ll miss you. But I’m not going now. There’s still this summer.” As Kameron was saying this, he was also wishing that the summer would disappear. Katy laughed and shook her head. She knew her brother too well. “Remember to call your bros and tell them the news.” “You’re right. I have to call them. They’ll go crazy when they hear it.” Seeing him busy with his phone, she got up to leave. As she closed the door to his room, she heard him shout, “Guess what? I’m going to Pristine!”