In the countryside, the birds chirp peacefully and the rabbits hop about, when a voice cries out -  “What?!”
“Calm down, Ara. It's no big deal your grandmother has asked that you come stay with her for three months in the city. It'll be a good experience for you,” said Ara's mother.
“No way! I'm starting high school in a week. Plus, all my friends are here,” Ara exclaimed.
She had another reason for not going. Ara only had bad memories or her last stay with her grandmother. She distinctly remembered having to stay in a empty room for hours on end when she was not at school. Being drilled with business and politics and math and, who knows? Ara sure didn't, she had tried her hardest to forget the hours that had seemed like torture to her then. She was not allowed to go outside to play with other kids or even to wander the barren halls of her grandmother's estate. Her one happy recollection came from the vague image of a small boy. He had climbed secretly into her room at times and brought her puzzles and coloring books. Until one day, he disappeared and Ara never saw him again.
She was cut off from her drift down memory lane when her mother said, “...no choice, you're going no matter what. Start packing.”
“Ugh!”, Ara screamed and plopped down on her bed. She kicked over to her window, guiltily picking up a few books after knocking them down. She knew throwing tantrums was pointless; she only felt regretful in the aftermath.
“Ah...”, Ara sighed. She stared into the pasture fields beyond her window. The green meadows rustled with small white buds. Bovine creatures walked on aimlessly, stopping only for the occasional snack.
Ara's house lay at the very end of a village. She lived in the biggest house because her parents owned the surrounding land. Her grandmother owned a wealthy company in the city. Ara just wanted to be normal. She spent the rest of the day packing up.

-A Week Later

“Hurry up, Ara! You'll be late”, called her mother.
“I wish...”, Ara grumbled
“Hurry!”
“Okay, okay!”
Ara stumbled out into the sunlight holding a large tope colored suit case and sporting a long red coat.
“Bye-,” Ara barely had a chance to utter the word before she was swept off her in the limo her grandmother had sent. Ara looked back with bitter loneliness at her waving parents. She could feel her heart beating faster, as she anticipated the next three months. Slowly, Ara drifted off into sleep.
When she next fully awoke, she stood in front of a large gate, drearily gazing at a mansion. She was eventually ushered in by a few servants.
“Darling!,” cried her grandmother.
“H-hello.” said Ara tentatively.
“It's a pleasure to see you! I'll have Ms. Finnette draw your bath and have your things sent to your room.”
“It's fine! Um, what I meant was... I can do it myself. ”
“Oh, well if you insist... dear.”
Ara rushed to unpack, she hated being waited on. The dinner that lay ahead whizzed by and all of a sudden, it was morning. Ara was in a daze until she suddenly realized that she was standing in front of a school in a school uniform with her grandmother's limo meandering away behind her.
Ara collected her breath. She chanted, “One, proper poise, two, head held high, three, charismatic confidence...”
this was all she remembered of her past at the prestigious school she was about to re-enter. The single phrase that had remained of all the others that had been forced, shoved, crammed into her head. It was a queer tune, but one that constantly reminded her that she had been through worse things.
“Strange song.”
“Huh?”, Ara whirled around to find a tall, brown-haired boy standing behind her.
“Could you move? Trying to get thr – wait, do I know you?”
“No, sorry, why?”, Ara asked with diffident curiousity.
“Nothing.”
Ara barely heard him mutter, “It was a long time ago. Of course.”
Ara considered this in her head. Perhaps an old acquaintance, a kindergarten buddy? But why would he know her? There was no use in trying to remember, after all, the past few years she had done her best trying to forget. The boring hours spent drilling “heiress” tactics in her head.
Ara replied, “Maybe I do know you. Sorry, I just came back here from the country side. I'm visiting my grandmother for three months. My name's Ara. You?”
“Brason, Eric Brason.”
“Strange way to introduce yourself, starting with the last name.”
“Well, I like to stand out from the crowd.”
“Well, um, yeah... Brason, huh? Unlikely, but I've got a cow named Brason, back home.”
“Oh yeah? I bet he's real cool.”
“She's actually a bit slow.” smirked Ara playfully.
“Hey!”, Eric laughed with the sweetest smile.
Ara just stared at him for a moment in reckless wonder. Could people laugh like that? Smile like that? The Brason back home sure couldn't smile like the Brason here. Maybe the city wasn't so bad after all. Maybe she was in a new world. Though, Ara supposed it had to exist in the same dimension because at that very moment the “perfect heiress” ran up to Brason and hugged him from behind.
She was a flawless princess, sleek black hair, slim legs and arms, perfect posture, and even a voice that rung with years of training.
“Brason!”, the girl's voice said and twinkled.
No, the place Ara was in definitely had to be in a new world. The one she had come from, where people never laughed but only spoke “business” in hushed tones. As if, as if, “business” were a language. No, Ara was in the world of the beautiful, the princesses and prince-to-be knights. The gorgeous with their tall champagne glasses and their twinkling smiles. Yet, they still managed to be perfect all the time, perfect to everyone, the perfect “heiress”.
“Come off it!”, cried Brason, exasperated and exhilarated.
A world full of thrills for the elite who could enjoy the good things in life and a world full of terrors for the servants behind the scenes. Striving to be the next one to join the elite. And suddenly, Ara felt disgusted. The fact that everyone at this school could stand behind the tall walls of this school and so casually ignore everything going around them. The fact that these two were teasing each other like they were the only ones who existed in this world. Or maybe she was just jealous that they could have something so easy, so simple, without ever considering the hard things in life. Not that Ara had ever been forced to go through these “hard” things in life. But, she had struggled. She was the image of girl looking to find herself in a world where everyone had to become a plastic doll.
“Sorry”, said the perfect girl in a sarcastic tone and looked over at Ara.
“Oh... who's this?”, she asked, her voice turning up a bit at the end, so she sounded like she had a hoarse throat.
“New friend I just made. She's new, but she used to go here? Ara, Gen. Gen, Ara.”, said Branson
“Oh, hello, nice to meet you,” said Ara in a polite but clearly nervous tone.
“Hmm. Genevieve, but you can call me Gen. Let's be friends!”, replied Gen with her twinkling laugh.
“Huh? Oh... Uh-Oh, Okay. ” Ara sputtered. Being asked to be a friend five seconds after meeting someone was not something she was used to. But, she supposed, “New world, new rules”.
“Good girl”, Gen laughed and said this as though Ara were a cute pet, who had just learned a new trick. But Ara ignored it, she was the new girl, she supposed this was normal.
“See you later, Ann”, Gen said as she dragged Brason behind her.
Ara sighed and found her class after minutes of searching. Apparently, the elite weren't so good at giving direction. Figures.
She stumbled into her new classroom practically tripping when a guy carrying an enormous box ran past her. Ara yelled, “Excuse you!”
But the guy just ignored her.
“You okay?”, Brason was extending his arm toward her and Ara noticed that Gen stood at his side glaring and giving her the death eye.
Ara took the hint, brushed off her hands, and stood up by herself. “No thanks.” Brason was left  awkwardly dropping his hand to his side, where it was snatched up by Gen.
“Hi, Ara... Same class, I see.”, muttered Gen, then suddenly perking up, “Come sit next to me! We can be seat buddies.”
“Are you sure? Well, okay then.”, Ara replied.
But as Gen passed Ara, she whispered in her ear, “Brason's mine. ” and gave her a white smile.
Brason flashed a smile at her from the opposite side of the room when Ara sat down. She looked away, unsure how to respond to another girl's man's smile. She though about it, then decided that friends in this new world were not the best friends. Then, Ara turned and gave Brason the sincerest smile that she could offer him. She supposed she could get used to some new standards.

A Month Later

A month passed by like a rain that disappears overnight. Ara was now calling her grandmother, “Granny” and she was in loove with Brason. As her newly made friend, Anna, pointed out nearly every day.
“I'm telling you, it's loove. Can't deny it.” exclaimed Anna one day.
“Stop, it's embarrassing!” replied Ara.
“Yeah? And flirting in front of the whooolllleee class, isn't?”
“What?! When?”
“Oh..., I don't know. Maybe..., EVERYDAY!”
“Gosh, geez, Anna.” Ara laughed.
“Come on, you know it's true.”
At this moment, Brason appeared behind Ara.
“Hey, Ara, could I talk to you after school?” asked Brason.
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Ooh... I bet her's... nevermind.” said Anna.
“What?!”
“Nothin- Hi, Gen.”
“Ohh, hello, what's your name again?”, asked Gen, “Well, anyway, whatever. Umm, Ara..., I want to talk to you..., A-r-a. Could you come see me after school before you see Branson? I'm sure what ever he's got to tell you is very long and I've only got a little bit I need to talk to you about. We'll be done talking in a jiffy. Though of course, I'll be the one talking mostly. Well, see you after school then. B-ye!”
“Sure...” Ara was defiant, but she would listen to Gen. She didn't like making loud disturbances in class.
After school, Ara went to find Gen, but she didn't have to look far. Gen pulled her into an empty classroom and said, “I know you like Brason, so as your friend, I just wanted to tell you to look out...”
“Whatever, Gen, just hurry it up. You know I don't care what you say, right?”
“How rude!”, Gen smirked and said, “Brason doesn't like you. Don't get your hopes up even if her asks to go out with you.”
“What? You don't have any proof of this! Just get off my radar, Gen, you're being a world-class world-class brat.”
“You said world-class twice.”
“I, know. ”
“Well Ara, looks like you've been getting a little feisty. Huh, figures, I've toughened you up. But I think I can get you knocked out of this ring. You're nothing compared to me. Ah-ah-ah, let me tell you, so don't interrupt. Brason only got close to you because your grandmother owns the Bakery Corporation. The Baker Corporation.”
“Yeah, so?”
“ Your family is his family's biggest rival. With you out of the way, it'll be easy for them to own a multi-million dollar corporation. Get it? He's using you.”
Ara slammed the classroom door behind her as she left. She had heard enough.
She cried for a whole night and the next morning she asked her grandmother if she could return to the city.
“I know I promised three months; but it feels proper to return now...”
“Well I'll feel sad, but if you want..., promise me to visit often”, said Ara's grandmother.
“Yes, granny.”
That was doubtful. Ara had finally thought that she'd found herself. The girl who had the guts to be defiant with the elite-est of the elite. And now, she doubted herself. Perhaps, all along, she had been fooled. She must have seemed like a fool. Believing for even a second in her head that Brason might like her. She couldn't trust her judgment ever again and coming back would only bring back the sad memories and the hurt.
She wanted to cry just thinking about it. Ugh! The fool she had been. Had she really been wrong all along? Ara returned to packing, maybe color coordinating everything would take her mind off things.
No matter how much Ara tried to get out of it, her grandmother forced her to go to school for one more day.
“You've got to tie up her matters, dear. It's good business practice.”
At school, the rumors were rampant.
“I heard, Ara ditched Brason.”
“Well, I heard...”
“”Someone saw Gen kiss Brason”
“So and so...”
Ara ignored them all. She and Brason passed each other silently and Gen smirked all the while.
The next day, Ara left. Only Anna knew where and why she went. Anna had been the only real friend that Ara figured she'd made.

A Month Later
“Ara! Hurry, we're going to be late. Again!”
“Go ahead!”, shouted Ara
She would take her time walking, today. “One, proper posture, two, head held high, three, charismatic confidence.”
“Strange song.”
Ara froze in her tracks. She knew that voice. Those words. That underlying laugh. She didn't dare to turn around, but she felt the breeze of someone walking in front of her and tears fell from her eyes.
“Wh-Why are you here? Brason.”
“Shh. Let me explain. I heard everything from Anna. I'm not dating Gen...and...She told me that you weren't interested in me. And then you didn't show up after school and everything was just so weird... and.. and...”
“Why?”, Ara sobbed, “What else? You used me?”
“No! My parents did ask me to keep an eye on you, but never... I don't know if you remember. I''ve known you since once long ago. When we were kids -”
“I remember, the first time we met at the school, you asked if... if I knew you and I do... I remember now. You were that little boy...”
“You do remember! That was-”
“You, I know!”
“Well then. I've liked you since then and I wanted to tell you as soon as I recognized you. But then, you disappeared and – and – and I couldn't figure out why and, I like you...”
Ara looked him in the eyes. Then she said, “I guess I can finally say that I like you, too... Oh my gosh!”, she laughed through her tears, “I can't believe I just said that!”
Then Branson swooped down and – well, I'm sure you know what happened next.