Deviant King (Royal Elite #1) by Rina Kent

My white button-down shirt is tucked into the skirt’s high-waist. A dark blue ribbon snakes around my neck like a dainty tie. I also wear the obligatory school jacket on which the school’s golden symbol is engraved; a shield, a lion, and a crown.

My white-ish blonde hair falls in a fluffy ponytail down my back. I went out of my way by applying a bit of makeup. The mascara enhances my eyelashes and brings out my baby blue eyes. I even put on Aunt’s Nina Ricci perfume.

Today is the day that determines my life for the next three years. Hell, it’ll determine my life afterwards if – when – I get into Cambridge, so I needed to do everything right.

As I stride through the school’s huge, stony arch, I try to mimic the other students’ confidence. It’s hard when I already feel like an outsider. Students here wear their pristine uniforms as if they’re made from gold-soaked cloth. The aura of high, mighty, and a bit snobby drifts from every chatter and measured step.

Ninety per cent of Royal Elite School attended Royal Elite Junior prior to this. They chat amongst each other like old friends reuniting after the summer while I stand out as a loner.

Again.

An itch starts under my skin and spreads along my hands. My breathing deepens and my steps turn forceful as memories filter back in.

Poor thing.

Did you hear what happened to her parents?

Heard she’s a charity case by her aunt and uncle.

I shake those voices away and forge through. This time, I’m determined to blend in. No one here knows about my past, and unless they specifically search me, they wouldn’t.

Elsa Quinn is a new person.

By the entrance, I spot a student who’s avoiding the crowd by sneaking her way along the side pathway leading to the huge double doors. I notice her because I was also contemplating the same path.

While I’d love to fit in, crowds cause that familiar itch to rise under my skin.

The loner’s skirt is bigger. She’s on the thick side and has the roundest, cutest features I’ve seen on a girl my age. With her huge rounded eyes, plump lips and braided long brown hair, she almost looks like a child.

And she’s the first presence in this school that doesn’t give me the ‘untouchable’ vibe.

I catch up to her and match her fast-walking pace. “Morning.”

Her head snaps my way, but she soon stares at her feet and tightens her grip on the strap of her messenger bag.

“I’m sorry.” I offer my most welcoming smile. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Perhaps she’s one of the new kids here, too, and feels intimidated.

“You shouldn’t be talking to me,” she whispers under her breath. Even her voice is cute.

“Why not?”

She stares at me for the first time with eyes so green, they nearly sparkle like a tropical sea. “Wow. You have beautiful eyes.”

“T-thanks.” Her lips curve into a tentative smile as if she shouldn’t be doing the smiling thing. She kicks imaginary rocks as she speaks. “You’re too pretty, you shouldn’t be talking to the school’s outcast.”

“Outcast?” I echo, incredulous. “There’s no such thing as an outcast. If I want to talk to you, I will.”

She troubles her bottom lip and I swear, I’m itching to pinch her adorable cheeks.

“Are you new here, too?” I ask, instead of acting like a creep on the first meeting.

She shakes her head. “I studied in REJ.”

“REJ?”

“Royal Elite Junior.”

“Oh.”

Considering how she wasn’t in a horde of people, I assumed she’s new. Perhaps her friends haven’t arrived yet.

“Do you want me to show you around?” she asks in a tentative, small voice.

Aunt, Uncle, and I came for a tour during the summer, but I won’t refuse a chance to bond with my first potential friend.

“Sure.” I interlink my arm with hers. “What’s your name?”

“Kimberly. You?”

“Elsa — and in my defence, I was born way before the Disney film came out.”

She chirps a little laughter. “Your parents must have psychic powers.”

“Aunt said Mum named me after a Swedish nurse who did lots of saving in both World Wars and was nicknamed the ‘Angel of Siberia’. You know, Siberia, Elsa, and then Frozen, the ice princess? So maybe Mum did have psychic powers. Pretty lame. I know.”

“No. It’s so cool.” Her shyness slowly withers away as we walk together. Now that I have her, I don’t feel as alone or dejected.

My grin widens as Kimberly shows me around elegant, huge classes. The locker rooms. The pool — that I avoided. The principal’s office that she jokes we shall never visit in a Shakespearian-like tone.

My three years in RES will be marvellous. I can almost feel it.

Once we reach the enormous, bright green football pitch, another type of giddiness takes me over. Not only because I’m such a nerd fan of Premier League and a die-hard Arsenal fan like Uncle, but also because of the long track surrounding the pitch.

This school definitely has better equipment than my last and I can continue running as usual. Hopefully, my heart condition won’t start acting up again.

A crowd of RES’s students gathers near the wiring that surrounds the pitch. Eager murmurs and excited gleams float in the air and it tastes like Christmas or a kid’s first visit to the amusement park. Everyone seems to be naturally drawn to this place and they keep multiplying by the second.