Three: New School

The next day, all I did was to roamed around the mansion. The servants kept on bowing their heads like there's no end nor tomorrow and it totally makes me dizzy. It all happened and continued for almost two weeks of recuperating. Besides roaming around in in my free time in those two weeks, I could only exaggerate everything and tell myself as if a reminder, that it really took me some time to adjust in what life will I live from the moment I became Penelope.

But today is kinda different.

"You'll be transferring in this school, darling. Now that you've truly recovered, there's no reason for you to continue your homeschooling education," my mother said with a smile.

I don't know what to say especially when she mentioned the word recovered. It kinda felt weird when she said that. And it looks like she's referring to Penelope's foolishness. Even I couldn't help but swallow a smile while saying that to myself.

Let's just pretend that it's all nothing.

"Okay."

.

It's a good thing that Penelope was a home schooled child and not that I meant to say that its also a good thing that Penelope wasn't exposed to the outside world, but she being a special child was over protected by her parents. Her troubles in the past only affects those people around her.

I nodded as I firmly shut my eyes.

This time, in my new school, I'll be a good kid. Let's create a new life for Penelope's sake.

I stare at the huge gate of the school I am attending from now on. At the top of the arc stones, where the silvery coloured gate is, a gradiose sculpted name of the school screamed its elegance through its through silvery and black outlines and designs. Its not that I didn't care about it but seeing it in person really gives me an incredible chills to my skin.

"El Grandeur High," I murmured.

It's somewhat sounded familiar to me too. I don't know where or when did I encountered the name but it really gives me chills to my skin. The chills didn't even stop there, because I felt it ran through my spine. 

"It's your new school, darling," my mother said whose seated by my side but my eyes were stuck seeing the name of the school. Right, it's a school. But suddenly, a memory of my past flashed through my eyes. It was a memories of lines betweet the spaces of the paragraphs written in the novel. And upon realizing it, I almost wanted to tie myself here, never wanting to go out of the car.

Didn't I told myself before, that I need to stay away from the main characters of the story, from the very beginning?

I wasn't even careful.

In this place, is where everything will start. Penelope's unrequited love with the male lead and her troublesome life. This is where her life was set to its doom. I should have chosen my own school instead of letting my parents decided the idea on their own.

I unconsciously swallowed a sigh.

I'm already here. How am I supposed to escape, right? 

Aside from that, the story hasn't started yet. It will start next year, the year when the heroine will comeback as a returnee of this school, El Grandeur High. And I'm a year earlier from the beginning of the original novel.

So, let's not think about it, for now.

"I'm~ going now."

Let's do this Ayla.

No.

Let's do this Rumi Penelope.

Let's avoid the cause of your death and live your youthful life to the fullest.

***

"Hi, I'm Rumi Penelope Lee," I introduced myself, trying to sound youthful like Penelope but I suddenly wanted to choke my own neck. Because instead of coming out like I wanted to, it came out pretty bad.

My eyes secretly traveled around the classroom and thought that it was perfectly derived from the classrooms in Korean dramas, where the neat cream color, painted the walls brightly but pleasing to the eye. There were tiny book shelves at the corner of the room, right at the back where the lockers was placed. A friendly classroom that makes every students feel comfortable when studying makes me realized that it's really a classroom that I would often seen before as I watched Korean dramas at home.

All in all, the room has a youthful ambiance and looks simple for a prestigious school like El Grandeur High.

Looking back at the students, who will be my soon-to-be classmates, I suddenly felt a hitch from breathing. I'm already twenty eight, I mean, Ayla was twenty eight. Mentally twenty eight years of age, precisely.

But why do I felt nervous being in front of a class with people whose age were ten years or so, younger than me? This is ridiculous. So let's smile. "Please take good care of me," I added before bowing my head to show my respect to all of them. Actually, the world in this novel wasn't clearly described, that's why it was hard to predict which culture should I use here. 

The novel didn't even named the country I'm currently residing as a citizen and the only country that was clearly stated in the novel was Australia. It was the country that the original heroine came from before returning here. And if I'm not mistaken, this place doesn't have a name that I could recognized and connect to my past life's world.

But I felt that this was the same with the China or maybe it could be also the same with Korea, because the author of the novel wasn't a Filipino. Anyways, The setting was the same with the webnovels I read before so, my conclusion will be China or Korea. 

In either way, it really doesn't matter.

And I'm actually a Filipina-Korean residing in the Philippines, in my past life. That's why, the culture I grew up with were mixed into two cultures and my language were also two mother tongues. 

Nonetheless, it never really affected my daily life because I only thought of living my life as I should be.

Now that I think about it, I should try researching about this world. It has a contemporary setting and weirdly enough, the language that was being used was English. The posted posters outside the streets, names of store and other that might resembles the place's culture, were all in English. Maybe it was because of the original language that was used in the original was also English, that's why it was automatically generated here in this world. But anyways, let's not think about it. I will find it out later.

Bringing myself back to reality, my smile went deeper and purposely softened my gaze as I looked at them. The students were either blinking their eyes as they looked at me and some were avoiding my stares attentively. But I thought of it indifferently and stood there quietly.

And though I am mentally older than the rest of them, in this place and in this world, we're all of the same age. And I am well aware of what these kids are. They have different groups that I just have to ignore to have a peaceful life in my senior high.

So, let's just say, people  of this class, please don't bother me and I'll be good to you.

"If that's all you can sit at that empty chair at the back," said the female teacher who led me here and at the same time was the adviser of this class. She raised her arms and point at an empty chair placed beside the window. Beside the chair was also an empty one and seeing it makes me swallow a smile.

Well, if I am lucky like this in my first day then I'll be glad not to object this new life of mine. Besides, I'm kind of expecting or probably wishing for this throughout the strides I took before coming to this room. Several ideas of spending my time alone also occurred to be inside my head and how to avoid the characters of the novel.

I beamed a smile in response forgetting that I am still in front of the class. I saw how the homeroom teacher froze as she looked back at me. I tilted my head not knowing what was wrong. Is there's something on my face? I hope there's no problem at all.

I look away and checked my future classmates' from where I am standing. The clear sitting arrangement, makes it easier for me to look at them but my lips didn't move to say a word. I just did it in whim but I soon blinked my eyes as I watched. The whole room that was silent earlier became 'more and more,' silent.

What a weird silence. 

"Uhm. I think I should go now?" I said but more likely asking her if I can. Why does it feels like they're all weird?

.

.

It's actually break time but I don't want to go out and visit the cafeteria not after the scene of what I've experienced throughout the class. Because seriously, I didn't had the best silence I wanted and I'm really trying my best not to freak out.

I'm already old enough to handle those kids, I mean, it was Ayla but I can't help but become scared for Penelope's entire school life. What if I became a loner in the end because I only think things that fits my understanding, as well as because, I am mentally an adult. My way of thinking about things, differs from how a high schooler should think.

So, what if it affects my daily school life and ruin everything, leaving me only to become a loner?

But well, I still thank God as of this moment, because no one dared to approached me the entire morning. As I maintain my aloof aura around me, no one really dared to. Yet, I still think that I should befriend people like crazy.

Hah~stupid Ayla.

It's already a half and an hour breaktime so some of the students inside the classroom were nowhere to be found. I stood up from my seat and took my phone with me as I walk to go out. But somehow, it kinda feels weird.

I stopped my strides and turned my head to see a group of my classmates staring at me. They were four boys and three girls.

It really doesn't seem weird to look at me but it's somewhat weird to watch my every move. So, all that I did was to smile back at them and bow my head slightly as a greeting.

When I look at them again, I saw their ears and cheeks blushes making me smile more because they look too cute.

.

.

I think, next time, I should bring my own food and just eat it inside the classroom, so there's no need for me to visit the cafeteria like this. There won't be any problem with going to the cafeteria if it wasn't because of the eyes that are watching me. It felt like arrows and needles that stab and pierces my skin, making me uncomfortable as I walk along the middle of the hallway alone.

I'm not the heroine of the story nor the one of the male leads but this situation seems like one that deserve to for those people.

Seriously, why were they standing by the side of the hallway and kept giving me the way, as if I have some kind of incurable disease that they need to stay away from me? I would really think like that if it wasn't because of some of the students I saw as I passed bay keep talking nonsense making me felt embarrassed.

"That's the new girl, right?"

"How could she be so pretty?"

"Kyah~we have a new goddess in our shool."

"Oh my~her classmates must be the luckiest to have her in their class."

"Righ? I wonder how it feels like to see a fairy everyday in one place? Would it be like being in a place called heaven?"

"Crazy. Then it's appropriate to call her an angel. A purple eyed angel."

.

That-

That's it, guys!

Well, I'm fine, but no! It's embarrassing!

I yelled inside of my head as I cupped my own cheeks with both of my palms, trying to cover my face because of embarrassment. My mental age cannot tolerate this kind of compliments. 

I really can't do this.