a sun that never sets

CHAPTER FIFTEEN | QUEEN OF THE NIGHT

THE ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING this year's formal full boarding dinner was announced in early March, to the surprise of all. It hadn't been thrown last year for some reason, and I hadn't even been aware it was a thing. But apparently it was, and it was set for the weekend immediately after.

Yunji was ecstatic when we got the news. Apparently the one she'd had when she was in fourth form had been spectacular, even though the food had been absolute shit (after all, a school kitchen attempting formal, fancy food was usually not the best of ideas).

Formal dinners did happen regularly. We had a house one last year, and this time around I'd brought a qipao dress from Hong Kong that used to belong to my mother. It seemed fitting. Since a majority of the full boarding students were Chinese anyways, they'd recognise it. It would work.

But despite that, there was one problem.

"There's going to be a seating plan," one of the Lower Sixth girls, Yara, told me with a glum look on her face. "They're going to be splitting us all up. It's going to be so fucking awkward."

My face dropped as well. "Wait, like, in years, or like, everyone is split up?"

"Everyone, from what I heard," Yara said. "They've been trying like crazy to merge all the years into, like, one massive friend group, haven't you noticed? You don't have socials anymore because it's nearly your exams, but we do. With the Lower Fifth and Fourth Form. It's so incredibly awkward, I hate it."

"Oh shit," Yunji swore. "Let's pray to god we get to sit with someone good, then."

"Yeah, start praying," Yara huffed. "Well, I think I'll survive. I actually do know a lot of people. But like, imagine. If you get put at a table with no one in your year and your house. How bad would that be?"

"Absolutely awful," I agreed.

Analisse frowned. "Clearly they see how bad of an idea this is?"

Oliana rolled her eyes. "You think they care? They see us everyday and they think we're all antisocial. That's apparently how most full boarders work. I bet that their logic right now is that if they can't make us befriend the locals, they'll make us befriend each other. One massive unit. Bitch please." Oliana always had a way with words that even I didn't dare to mimic. Her mouth and brain were just on another plane of existence compared to the rest of us. That was a widely accepted fact.

Yara let out a hearty laugh. "You have one way of putting it."

Oliana just smirked in response, clearly proud of herself.

Yunji shook her head. "Oh well, it's not going to be longer than two hours anyways. And like, they're all full boarders."

"Yeah, true," Analisse murmured. "We actually do know a majority of them, even if we don't really talk to them regularly. We live in the same place, we bump into each other a lot."

"But we're not really friends," I mused.

Yara's eyes twinkled. "Maybe we could use this chance to turn them from acquaintances into friends."

"Yeah, you do that," I snorted, "me, I have JCMs to focus on."

Yara pouted. "You're no fun, Honoria. Honestly, you don't need to stress this much. It's nowhere as bad as you think it is."

"I know, I know, but if I freak myself out more I study more and become better prepared for it."

"That's a horrible logic," Yunji said blandly.

"It works for me, so shut it, Luo Yunji." I stuck my tongue out at her in response.

"I think not!" Yunji shot back in response, rolling her eyes while she threw herself onto the couch and stared at us. "I actually feel so dead right now. You don't know what I've been through this week."