Prim and Proper

Finishing school?!

"Oi wake up!" Serena slammed a pillow onto her daughters body, who instantly winced. "Wake up! Your result is coming in today."
Nate groaned and turned to the other side, pulling the blanket over her head. Serena grunted and pulled it off. Nate instantly moaned and hugged her bolster tighter to her chest, eyes tightly closed. Serena smirked and left her just like that. She turned the air conditioner and fan off. She turned the light on and left the room.
Nate groaned and pulled herself out of bed and staggered to the bathrobe hanging next to the door. She pulled her long hair into a bun as she made her way to the bathroom at the end of the hall. She noticed Sidney staggering out of the room to go to the same bathroom and broke into a run, beating him to it.
Sidney groaned outside while manic laughter erupted from the bathroom.

Serena drove Nate to her school, Grand Peace High. Many of her old schoolmates came in, all looking way different than they did the last time Nate saw them. Nate felt like she was the only one who hadn't changed a bit. Some of them even dyed their hair in strange colours like green or purple.
They went to the school and Nate was instructed to sit with the rest of her former classmates. Nate sighed and sat there. She looked around if she could spot her friends, and suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. Nate turned around and saw her best friend, Sally, grinning at her.
Nate felt relieved to see that she hadn't changed a bit too, aside from not wearing a school uniform.
"Hey!" Nate greeted with a grin. "Where's Alice?"
Sally shrugged. "Well, she's always late, isn't she?"
"Yeah..." Nate said, pulling out her phone. She started texting her. "Where... are you...? We are... al..ready... in school."
She laughed when her friend replied stuck in traffic.
"She's stuck in the highway, I think," Nate told her friend. "Well, she's the one from Silver Territory."
Silver Territory was another city neighbouring Petal Valley. Whoever who wanted to go there needed to take the highway.
"She'll be here late..." Sally said with a smirk. "Anyway, whatcha doing now?"
"Nothing..." Nate admitted rather disgracefully. "I mean... I joined a few tennis tournaments, nothing big. Just small ones with small profits. What about you?"
"I work in Twenty-Four-Seven," Sally said. "The one in Central Town."
"Wow..." Nate said, surprised that her friend was working in a convenience store while waiting for result. "What's your plan after this?"
"I think I'll take matriculation," Sally shrugged. "You're taking higher certification, right?"
"Yeah," Sally nodded. She winced when the mic pierced through her ears. "Ouch! Why do they always have problems with the mic?!"
A prefect soon stepped onto the stage and repeated 'test' over a hundred times even when the mic worked fine. Alice soon came in and sat on the row behind Sally's.
"Sorry I'm late," Alice said sheepishly. "They still haven't started?"
"Well, they said ten, but it's ten-thirty," Nate said, frowning at her scratched up digital watch. "You know how these people are..."
Soon, the principal stepped onto the stage and gave out her rather long speech that made most of them yawn in boredom. Finally another teacher appeared with a sheaf of papers in her hand. THEIR RESULTS!
One by one, they were called onto the stage. Nate went up first, since she was in the science class, and she looked at her mediocre score on the sheet. It wasn't too bad, but could've been better. Sally practically aced it, and Alice had done good too.
They took a few photos with their old teachers and friends before bidding goodbye and going home. Serena waited patiently.
"What did you get?" Serena asked.
Nate handed her the sheet, and Serena nodded.
"Good," Serena said. "You got lots of credits."
"Thanks," Nate smiled. "Hey, it wasn't my fault that we were forced into online classes. It wasn't fair for us."
"Tell me about it," Serena agreed. "Come on, let's go. Wanna go have lunch? My treat for your results."
Nate grinned and jumped into the passenger seat, letting her mother drive. Serena took her to the mall, and they had lunch before shopping around for awhile.

"Which school did I get?" Nate asked, watching her mother type something on her laptop. She leaned over and looked at the screen. "What are you doing?"
"Work?" Serena said. "Wait, I'm almost done. Let me finish this first."
Nate let out a bored huff and took out her phone to read an online book instead. Serena suddenly nudged her and pointed to the screen.
"Coral Springs School For Girls," Serena said, pointing at the boldly written name on the screen. She opened another tab in the browser and typed out the name of the school on the search bar. She clicked on an image and showed it to Nate. "How would you like to go there?"
Nate's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wow..." Nate said in awe, staring at the photo of the beautiful building. "Where is this place? It's offers higher certification, right?"
"Yes."
"Is it expensive?"
"Yes, but not really."
"Is it private?"
"Yes."
"Where is it?"
"Yes."
"Mom... I asked where is it..."
"Oh sorry, it's in Farmfield."
Nate gasped. "Mom! That's more than a hundred kilometres away!"
"And that's why it's a boarding school," Serena said. "Nat, it's not only a higher certification school, but a finishing school too."
"What does that mean?" Nate asked, not liking the sound of it.
"Charm school," Serena rephrased. "You know what that means, right?"
"Y-You're sending me to charm school," Nate said, shocked. She ran both of her hands through her slightly messy hair. "Charm school?! This isn't happening! Boarding school at that!"
"Yes, because you need to learn manners," Serena explained. "Nate, you're more of a boy than the beautiful girl you are."
"Do I look like one?!" Nate spat. "Do I dress like one?"
"No," Serena said.
"Then?!" Nate demanded. "What part of me makes me seem like a boy?"
"The way you act," Serena said, much to her surprise. "You're a sloppy, rough girl. You need to be... licked into shape."
Nate felt as if she's been stabbed in the chest. She never felt so... so betrayed by her own mother. Enraged, she got up so fast that the chair toppled when she stood up.
"You don't love me for who I am," Nate said, pointing a long nail at her. "What kind of a mother are you?!"
She ran up to her room and slammed the door behind her. Serena sighed and closed her laptop. She decided to leave her alone for a bit, letting her think about the offer.