What would you do if you got the chance to study in the most prestigious academy ever? What if the headmaster of the famous and renowned Lakeside Edward's Academy, also known as LEA, would offer you a scholarship? Would you study there? Would you take the leap? Yes? But... what if it was an all-male academy and you are just a girl?
Well, I don't have money, and I couldn't even dream to see that place from afar, even less to actually be a student there. But why would the headmaster of an illustrious academy allow a random girl, with a peculiar background, to enrol at the LEA? I didn't have the answers yet, but I wasn't crazy enough to miss an opportunity like that. We often look at the closed doors and miss the open ones, I won't make the same mistake again.
A few days before the start of the semester, I met with the headmaster, Mr. Leonard Leadford. He lived very close to the academy and as many wealthy people he had money to spend. I wasn't surprised to find him playing on his golf's court. He had company that day, another guy a few years older than me.
"You must be Miss Hambleton, right?"asked the headmaster as soon as he noticed me.
"Yes, I'm Olivia. Are you the headmaster Leadford?"
"Of course, the one and only. This young man, instead, is Clay Foster. He graduated a couple of years ago, and he is my assistant and, at the same time, the tutor of the students."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hambleton," said the guy.
"The pleasure is mine. You can just call me Olivia."
"Sure, Miss Olivia. If you need something or have trouble with anything, I'm always available."
"Without the Miss, please and thank you, I will remember that."
"You must have a lot of questions. You may be wondering why did I choose you, if there was some kind of mistake since this is an all-male academy, if you have been really granted a scholarship to study here until you graduate," said the headmaster.
"Yes, it still feels like a dream. And honestly, it doesn't make much sense. I mean, this is a very old academy, and as far as I know, no girl has studied here before. No girl was allowed to. I've read of some girls that tried to get in. They even faked their identity just to study here, and well, their story wasn't a happy ending. Why would I be here?"
"Regarding the scholarship, as long as you have good grades, you can stay without worries. But I know you were very capable at school so I know you won't have trouble here."
If he made a background check on me, he must know that I can't pay all that money back, so why?
"There wasn't any mistake, I chose you because you were the one that was supposed to be here."
"What do you mean?"
"Due answers will come in due time."
He must be hiding something then, I wonder what it is.
"About the fact that you are a girl, I need to ask you to hide it so that none of the students can find it out. You will have your own private room with everything you may need to be comfortable."
"I have to pretend to be a guy until I graduate? I have to hide it from everyone here?"
"Just the students. The staff and the professors already know about it, so they will help if it's needed."
"And what happens if someone discovers the truth?"
"This academy has been here for so long because of all the parents and people that have been investing in this academy and in their children's education. If one of those people finds out about it and doesn't like it, you will very likely be expelled."
"Then, why would you do something so crazy?"
Clay coughed, looking at me, and the headmaster laughed a little.
"Sorry, I mean, why are you doing this then?"
"I want to change things," said the headmaster.
"Why?"
"This academy has been founded by my grandfather in 1912. More than a century has passed, and many things haven't changed since then. I want this place to be part of the present as much as it was part of the past. As you know, things change with time, but here, it often feels like time has stopped. Do you know what happens when the time stops?"
"Things no longer exist. We exist through time and because of it. Without it, we aren't here. We aren't no more."
"Exactly. For my grandfather, my father, for me, and for the future, I want this place to exist for a very long time. And I want it to evolve with time."
"You must love this academy a lot."
"I do. It's a home for me. And I like to believe that it's a home for the students too and for everyone who will come after them."
"I envy you a little, headmaster."
"Why would you?"
"You have something you cherish, something to work on and a future you are looking forward to."
"Don't you have something like that too?"
"I haven't found it yet."
"Well, where is the rush? You are so young, and you have a long road ahead. I'm old, I can see my destination very clearly now because I got closer to it, day by day, step by step. But you? You still have many steps to take before you find a destination before you see a glimpse of it. Don't worry about not finding it soon. It only means that you have more things to explore than other people. So don't look sad. You have an exciting life ahead, full of experiences. That? That's a luxury at your age. The older we get, the less we can explore. But at your age, that's a luxury. You are way wealthier than me. This golf court? That mansion? The academy? Well, they are mine for the little years that I've left. But they are not really mine. I don't really own them. I got the chance to hold them for some time, but in the end, they won't be mine anymore. But you? And that road you have ahead? Full of chances, possibilities, adventures, experiences, memories? You are way wealthier than me. Don't look for your destination now. Look how many wonderful things are around you and enjoy them because you have plenty of time."
"I have plenty of time."
"You do. So? What do you say? Would you like to walk this road and try something new?"
"Can I really do it? Me? Here? Until I graduate?"
"Yes. You. Here. Until you graduate."
I looked at myself. It wasn't hard to pretend to be a guy. I recently got rid of my long hair and got a very shortcut. I dressed casually, almost always with a hoodie and a pair of comfy pants. Even if I wore the uniform, since my chest is basically flat, no one would notice anything strange. So I ended up grabbing that hand, that opportunity. Hopefully, something wonderful is on the way.
I gave my last greetings to the headmaster and left. Clay showed me the way to the dormitory after doing a short tour around the campus. As soon as I reched my room I left my luggage by the door and threw myself on the bed. Everything felt so unreal. My life went upside down in less than a week. I went from the poor orphan girl to a girl-pretending-to-be-a-guy studying in the most renewed academy in history. If I wasn't crazy before, maybe I was becoming it. I let everything sink in and took a short nap.
A few hours later, I woke up because my stomach was growling. I took the phone to look at the hour and it was 7 pm. I got off the bed and took a shower. I wore a light blue hoodie with grey pants and left my room. Since it was my first day, it wasn't easy to find my way to the dining hall. I didn't see almost anyone around to ask directions, so I ended up following from afar a group of guys.
The dining hall was noisy and full of guys chatting with each other. Now that I was standing there with all those guys in front of me, my new reality was really sinking in. It was both exciting and scary. But I decided that I was going to survive in the least noticeable way, so I took something to eat and went to sit on an empty table by myself. I was about to start eating, and a couple of twins sat at the other end of the table. It didn't seem like they noticed me, so I tried to eat without making too many noises. More guys were coming into the dining hall, and many ended up sitting on my table until they filled it. Luckily, I finished my dinner and left in a matter of seconds.
With all the noises behind, I went toward the lake, avoiding a few groups of guys. It wasn't a warm evening, but there were some boys who were diving into the lake, and I got chills down my spine. I walked to the dock and sat on the edge. On the other side of the lake there was a city, I read the name of it before, but I didn't remember it. I'm not good at geography, so I forgive myself for my forgetfulness.
There was the full moon that night, the water was calm, and the lights were shining on the lake's surface. My life was just like that, just like those lights reflected on the water. I've been removed from my darkness and placed in that unfamiliar light. It looked so real, that reflection, that new life of mine. But maybe, just like with the lake's surface, my new life was just a play of lights.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice that someone sat next to me. And in the meantime, something caressed my back, and I looked behind me. There was a little white kitten with some shades of brown on his head.
"How cute, what are you doing here?" I said while taking it in my arms.
"He is Kirby," someone said on my side.
"Oh, my god, how long have you been there?" I asked, turning around.
"A couple of minutes, I didn't mean to scare you. You looked lost in thoughts, and I didn't want to bother you. I'm Kim, nice to meet you."
"I'm Oliv-, ehm, Oliver. Nice to meet you, too."
My new name is Oliver, I shouldn't forget that.
"It's the first time I see Kirby getting close to another person. When I found him, he was scared but he got used to me. He is still wary of the other guys."
"Ah, ahaha.. it must be because I really love animals. I believe that they can feel it, just like we do, if someone is safe to be around or not."
"I think so too, and maybe they know it better than us. We are not always good judges of characters, are we?"
"Yeah, sometimes we aren't. But maybe that's the fun part of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Judging people wrong. If we always know exactly how good or bad someone is, then we will most likely always choose the good one and miss on the bad one."
"And what's wrong with that? You won't get hurt."
"Well, if you won't get hurt, you won't get stronger, and you won't learn either. You didn't learn to bike without falling first, did you?"
"You do have a point."
We ended up staying there for some time, and Kirby got comfortable lying down on my legs. He was playing with my hand while I was petting him. I don't know how much time passed, we didn't really talk after that. We left the silence surrounding us. Quietly and calmly like the lake's water. It wasn't until I started yawning that the silence broke, and Kim suggested going back to our rooms.