"It's my first day do I really have to wear this?" I complained.

"Yes you have to unless you want to get scolded," Riallyn said in a bored tone. There was one thing I learned about Riallyn and that was she rarely showed any emotion, most of the time she was expressionless which was creepy sometimes.

"Why don't you like it Clary? I was so excited to wear our uniform, it's so beautiful," Nessa babbled on. Well I wouldn't say anything about that because it was the truth. Our uniform was a beautiful dress that goes with a vest and a belt. The sleeves and collar were in a nice shade of red while the rest were in different shades of cream color and there was a big K n' Q on the breast pocket in golden color. The vest and belt were both black and had intrinsic design on it. It seemed as if it was handmade while the dress made of pure cotton.

"Fine, let's just go." I ushered ourselves outside before Nessa say any more. I swear the girl talked nonstop. She was the bubbliest person I've ever met, constantly cheerful. This morning I woke up at 4 am because she got so excited and decided we needed to get ready. Both Riallyn and I had no heart to disagree since she looked so happy.

"Wait guys, Clary you should take off that black leggings," Nessa reminded me. I groaned and pushed her outside with me. The dress was too short for me. I'm tall and had long legs so the dress stopped almost mid-thigh for me while theirs were up to their knees even though they were just two to three inches shorter than me. I think the person in charge of my things didn't know my size, even the new clothes they put in my closet were a bit small and tight.

"Just leave it Nessa, we're going to be late," Riallyn grumbled and I agreed.

"But she's also wearing boots not heels."

Both Riallyn and I rolled our eyes, took both her arms and started dragging her to the dining hall. I hate heels and I'm also a disaster in them. I was so glad when I saw the cool brown boots in my big closet, I almost jumped for joy.

We finally entered the big dining hall which was dazzlingly beautiful. The ceiling was really high and had big chandeliers on it. There were round tables with sparkling white table cloths on them, a vase of beautiful flowers, and a lot of silver wares. Each table had trays of food on it. I was stars trucked. Just how much did they spend on this?

Curious glances were on me, whispering, staring, and winking, some scrutinizing, some in awe but the only thought I had in my head was why there were boys in here. Then it occurred to me that this was a co-ed school. I groaned inwardly, I thought it was only for girls. Speaking of which, all the girls wore the dresses, most of them were too short even shorter than mine but didn't even bother wearing something underneath. Jee, I could almost see their underwear.

Basically I was the only one wearing something underneath and also the only one wearing boots, no wonder they were all looking at me. Just great. And I was just thinking last night that I wouldn't attract attention and just fade in the background so I could have a peaceful stay here. Fantastic job, I know. One particular girl was glaring at me so much that I held her gaze for a moment and rolled my eyes. She gasped and from then I knew, I knew she wasn't used to it. She's the bully in this school, she's the one manipulating the girls, and I just rolled my eyes at her. It wasn't the best thing to do but I wouldn't let her get the best of me. Goodbye peaceful life, not that I ever had one.

"So guys tell me the most important people here," I said as we sat down in an empty table and started eating. There were so many varieties of food, I had a hard time choosing. There were so many eating utensils too that finding a normal spoon was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"You see that girl with caked make-up and big golden earrings." Riallyn pointed and sure enough it was the girl that was glaring at me so much earlier. "You should stay away from her, if possible don't let her even know you."

"Yeah and if you let her know you, better be on her good side," Nessa continued.

"Her name is Anastasia Catherine Wetlock Luvenoff. She practically owns half of America although only few people knows about it and her powerful parents could easily buy the other half if they want to but running a country underground might be too stressful for them." Riallyn looked at me seriously but I wasn't at all surprised. I knew her name and her parents, my dad especially said to be wary of them but it was too late now.

"You should be careful around her. I was a victim once." Nessa's eyes suddenly teared up.

Riallyn started patting her back looking at her sympathetically. "You don't have to say it Nessa, if you're not comfortable."

"Yeah you shouldn't force yourself Nessa. It's my first day here, I don't want you to feel or look sad." I tried cheering her up.

Nessa smiled at me. "It's okay, you have to know it Clary so you have an idea of how bad she can be. Ria can you tell her?"

Ria nodded solemnly. "When Nessa came here, she was friendly with everyone and everyone likes her. Anastasia didn't like this of course because she's an attention seeker bitch."

"Ria! Don't swear."

"But that's who she really is." Ria rolled her eyes. "Anyway she started spreading rumors that Nessa's a lesbian which was ridiculous. But people started doubting her when they saw she wasn't really talking to guys when in truth she was just nervous around them. People started ignoring her, even the guys, especially the princes were looking at her in a different light and started harassing her. When Nessa learned it was Anastasia who spread the rumors she confronted her but Anastasia threatened her that if she denied it she would buy her kingdom and leave her family homeless. So Nessa stopped defending herself since she didn't want her family to suffer."

I looked at Nessa and saw that she was trying hard to hold her tears back. It must be hard to be called something you're not and cannot do anything about it. I held her hand and squeezed it and she smiled at me.

"So you could imagine how everyone started out casting her. The girls were even afraid of her, and the boys kept making fun of her, saying nasty names. It was the first time I saw Nessa not smile. I was a new student so I didn't know much about it. I was also one of Anastasia's friend you see since I'm an heiress in London. Obviously America and France should be strong allies and it was needed. I saw Nessa crying in one of the bathrooms and asked her about it and that she could trust me. She told me and at first I didn't believe her but after I saw Anastasia mock her and tried to make me join her I knew then that Nessa was telling me the truth. I stopped Anastasia by threatening to tell my parents about it. My uncle was also one of the heads that owns part of this school so she was threatened. She stopped harassing Nessa but she also stopped talking to me which was fine."

"Eventually the teasing stopped and everyone suddenly became friendly to me again," Nessa continued smiling a little, "It was as if they forgot about the rumor or something but the damage was done. I was actually glad it happened because then I knew who were my real friends and those who weren't. I only had one real friend who stood up for me even though she didn't really know me." She looked at Ria and smiled.

"Stop being so cheezy, I did it because you looked so pitiful. Very not princess like," Ria grumbled but there was a twitch from her mouth.

I smiled at them. "I have a question," I said as they both looked at me, "If there were lots of students being bullied here, why don't they just have a tutor at home? Why didn't you go home Nessa?"

"You see, I was kidnapped several times and most of us here were sent here by our parents so that we could be safe but sometimes I think being out there is better than facing Anastasia," Nessa answered.

"And when you enroll here, it's hard to get out because of the signed papers and security reasons such as secrets being leaked."

"That really sucks, so it's impossible to get out of here," I concluded.

Ria and Nessa nodded at me.

"If I knew it would be like this here, I wouldn't have come here" Nessa sighed, "It's so funny that our parents don't even know what's happening inside this academy. They don't realize that our battle here is much harsher than theirs. We meet different heirs and princesses who could either be our enemies or allies. One time Anastasia even threatened one of the princesses that she would declare war to their country if she doesn't do what she says. The princess told her parents and teachers about it but they turned a blind eye on it and even told her to follow Anastasia even if her life is on the line just to maintain peace. Some parents just send their children here to befriend other powerful families or find a suitable suitor or bride."

"So do you get it now Clary? We're actually the ones fighting the real battle here and not our parents but they don't see it. We fight for peace through our connections here. We make as many friends as we could so that when our parents hear that we are good friends they would forget about their dispute with our friends' families because we remind them about peace. So even if we want to leave we can't, because being here protects our families and our future," Nessa finished.

I knew it. There were big things happening here. These students come for a reason, responsibilities lie on their shoulders, and many lives depend on them. I sighed, leaning back on my chair. "I'm sure glad I'm not a princess or an heiress."

They both laughed. "Must be nice to be you." Ria smiled slightly at me.

"I've always known that rich and big people have more complicated problems that I can't even imagine," I told them.

"Yeah life's not always a bed of roses for us." Nessa laughed. I was glad her cheerful self was back. Nessa being gloomy didn't suit her at all.

"Which is why you should get of here before you get more involved." Ria looked at me with a solemn face.

"How? You said earlier that it's impossible."

"There's a way."

They both looked at me with excitement. "You just have to win the title of perfect princess."