Alice was fuming mad as she slumped down on the chair; she could almost see herself turning into the Hulk due to the extreme irritation she was feeling for Thomas Saint Clair.

The last time she had ever felt irritated like this was when Leia watched the Avengers: Endgame alone, without telling her. They have not talked with each other for a few days until Leia apologized, and they re-watched the movie together.

Alice took out one of her emergency comics, the Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds, to calm herself down. Gratefully, it worked; her annoyance immediately disappeared like a bubble when she vanished within the pages of her book. 

Comic books had that power on her. It was a way to escape the suffocating and disappointing reality that she had grew up upon. With comic books, she felt safe and secured; she felt understood.

She started reading when she and her parents went to Times Square for a quick dinner. A huge building with glowing lights and interesting, colorful posters of characters grabbed her attention. The Midtown Comics. Ever since then, her addiction towards ‘drawing books’, as her mother called it, grew.

Alice only stopped reading when she noticed that students started to arrive. She stood up, grabbed her blue and red Gucci GG backpack, and started to make her way towards Apollo, the building where her first class would be held.

 Their class adviser, Miss Dalia, was already in the room when she arrived. She gave the jolly woman a sheepish smile before taking a seat next to Leia, who was already waiting for her.

“Where have you been?” Leia asked immediately after Alice sat down.

“Library. Just reading.”

Not from afar, Alice saw how Candice shooed a boy away after trying to sit next to her. Candice was still wearing her absurd, shining jewelry. It was pretty distracting, and not suited for a classroom set-up.

“Alright, I will be checking your attendance first before you have your first class for today, Algebra,” Miss Dalia announced.

Miss Dalia started the roll call. First with the As, and then the Bs, and then the Cs. Alice took note of the surnames of her classmates; some of them were the popular ones like Abbott, Adamson, Browne, Bell, and Carmine. The ones her mom advised her to befriend.

Even if Alice was not sociable, she still tried to follow her mom’s advice. But how could she when the majority of these wealthy kids were overbearing spoiled brats she could not stand?

When Miss Dalia reached the Fs, the door opened and revealed a tall, golden-haired boy with sharp nose and brown eyes. The whole class instantly went into a whispering frenzy, buzzing with excitement and curiousness.

“Good morning, I’m sorry I’m late. I had to help an old man crossing the street.” Thomas Saint Clair’s words were polite and direct. 

Miss Dalia could not help but smile at the sweet boy in front of her. “No worries, Thomas. Take a seat.”

Alice and Thomas’ eyes met when he entered the room. He gave her a vexing smile as he chose the empty seat next to Candice Carmine. Candice, happy with the sitting arrangement, whipped her hair and beamed at Thomas.

Alice wanted to roll eyes at the repelling actions she had seen. However, she could hear her mother saying that rolling one’s eye was not a good habit to practice. And so, Alice just heaved a deep sigh and shifted her attention to Miss Dalia who was now in letter Hs.

After their morning classes, Alice and Leia went to the cafeteria. The area was buzzing with conversations and laughs, but most importantly, half of the student population was ogling at Thomas Saint Clair.

Candice, who successfully managed to befriend and pull Thomas wherever she goes, was shining even more from all the attention.

“Look, truffles.” Leia pointed. “Back in the 1800s, they only serve truffles at the dinner tables of noblemen and women.” 

Alice wanted to say that until now, truffles were still served for the people who had money, but of course, Leia would know that. She knows everything. Alice even betted that if someone asked Leia about the etymology of truffles, Leia would just answer straightaway.

“White truffles are more expensive than the black ones because only a few countries can grow them under favorable conditions,” Leia droned.

“Have you eaten a white truffle?”

“Yeah. A few times. It was a bit disappointing, really.”

Alice chortled. “A lot of expensive food was disappointing. Sometimes, simple ice cream is far more delicious than any dessert.”

As the two ate, Alice could not help but glance at Candice and Thomas’s table. Candice could not seem to stop talking, while Thomas looked bored but was trying to look interested. 

It was the kind of sight that entertained her.

After their lunch break, Alice and Leia went to their respective classrooms. Leia, who had Literature next, went to Athena, while Alice who had Biology, went to Muse, the building beside Athena. 

She sat at the end of the row, trying to keep herself invisible and out of sight. She shared the class with Candice and her goons, and it was not a good idea to stand out. She had read too many comics and watched too many movies to know that when there was a mean girl, you stay away. 

Alice took out her emergency comic book and started to read. 

A few minutes later, a cheerful noise made her look away from her comic. The boys in her class went aggressive and confident when a girl who was holding a coffee entered. Alice noticed the broken frame of glasses of the ginger girl, held only by white tapes. Her shoes were also worn out and on the brink of collapse.

Alice immediately knew that the girl was a scholar of Saint Clair.

“Good to see you here, Helena. Do you want to sit next to me?” One of the boys asked, but Alice doubted that it was a sincere question.

“Uh, no. Sorry. Excuse me.” Helena tried to walk past the group, but the boy extended his leg, which made the girl fall onto the floor. 

Helena’s coffee poured all over the white floor. But the bad thing was that it also spilled on Candice’s shoes. The girls around Candice gasped, while the latter looked at her shoes in horror. 

Candice stood up and started to yell at Helena. “Oh my God. Do you know how much this cost? This is Dolce and Gabbana! And you stained it with your coffee that was worth, what? A dollar?” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Oh God, can you even pay for cleaning service?”

Alice stared at Helena’s face. The girl was already crying loudly and panicking. The boys behind her were sniggering as if it was funny to see Helena bawl her eyes out.

Alice knew that when the rich and the poor were mixed together in one place, bullying tends to happen. She also knew that staying out of situations like this was the best option.

However, her conscience could not handle what she was seeing, or rather, hearing.

“Give her a break, Candice. It’s not her fault,” Alice bravely announced. She felt a lump on her throat as the monster, also known as Candice, turned in her direction.

“Excuse me?”

Alice stood up to face her even more. “It’s not her fault. You should shout at the boys who tripper her.”

“Stay out of this, Le Blanc. This is about my shoes, not yours.” 

Alice was taken aback. She did not know that Candice knew her existence. But, of course, who was she kidding? Everyone knew her; not because she was a Le Blanc, but because she was a Warren, daughter of murderers.

“I will once you stop shouting at her. It’s not her fault,” she repeated.

The two started a staring contest, weighing whether to back down or to ready for a shouting fight. However, even before anything happened, a teacher walked into their classroom. Everyone immediately fixed their chairs and sat quietly.

Helena sat next to Alice. She can hear the girl’s soft sobs even if Miss Ramirez was already calling out their names for attendance check.

Alice could not help but feel sorry and piteous for her. She can also see herself from Helena; Alice knew that if she were not adopted by the Le Blancs, she would suffer the same fate as her. 

As their teacher started to explain the basics of Biology, Alice took out her keychain. 

Among all of her lucky charms, she was particularly fond of this one. It was her first-ever lucky charm, and it was the one that really worked. 

Alice silently slipped her keychain on Helena’s table. The latter looked at her in confusion, her eyes were still red from all the crying she just did in front of the class.

Alice gave Helena a comforting smile. It was the most awkward smile she had ever done, but a smile, nonetheless. “A keychain for good luck,” she mumbled.

Helena’s eyes started to water again, but this time, it was out of gratefulness.

“Thanks, Alice.”