Amber Eyes

FIFTY SEVEN

She sighed. "How are you so sure that she'll approve of that school? How'd you know she won't be mad at me for even suggesting this school?"

Canary just shrugged. "I know your mom, love. Even if she gets mad at you for this, I'll handle it. Leave that to you. But for now, you don't know if you want to try for it or not."

That night, Penelope stayed up till three reading about the school. She read about how and when it was founded, read about how many known faces have graduated from the place. She read about it's facilities and wins over the years and saying that she was impressed was an understatement. She hovered over a youtube video. It was an interview with Arlo Liamme, the current chairman of the school.

The interview starts with greetings and jokes exchanged. Penelope didn't want to see or hear all that so she skipped directly to the point. In the video, the interview was rather serious now.

"So, Redville School of Arts is one of the most well known schools at this point of time, isn't it? And it's completely merit based. The competition there is cutthroat. People would die to be there, people would kill to stay there. Do you think it puts a lot of pressure over the child? After, however smart they may be, at the end of the day they're all teenagers, aren't they?"

Arlo Liamme clears his throat. "I agree that Redville is merit based. It values arts and academics both, puts every field on an equal level. Students have the best facility to do what they want in their life, to learn more about their respective fields, to gain more experience. Experience is an important thing, isn't it? And by this, they make a name for themselves early in an industry where people only value reputation and money. Not everyone in this school comes from a rich background, but they're all smart in their own way. The ideals on which the school has been based upon might be harsh, but the students make it through, don't they? Because if you want your own identity, especially in their industry, competition and excellence is something you need to get used to."

"So, you're saying that Redville's merit based system is based upon the ideology that the students who face pressure turn out to be the gems in the industry? Like diamonds?"

"Exactly like diamonds."

"And if the students don't take the pressure in the way you expect them to?"

Arlo Liamme laughed. Penelope was interested in this, she thought that this was something worth getting invested in. Competition always gave her an adrenaline rush. And if the competition was as fierce as she sensed, this was probably the ideal place for her. She loved a challenge, after all.

"Darwin's Theory of Evolution. 1869. Survival of the fittest. A process of natural selection. In this industry, that's just the way it is. If you can't handle the pressure, if you can't live up to the expectations, then you're out. One should know their limits, shouldn't they?"

She watched the entire interview. Then, she read about the people who'd probably be auditioning for Redville in the coming session. She recognised a few of them from television or magazines—Summer Laurent, the child actress and model, Asher Hale, the son of one of top business tycoons of the day, Liri Dyyan, the singer who won some reality show a few years ago, and many others.

Penelope didn't sleep that night.

By the time she woke up next morning, she had her mind made.

She was going to try for Redville.

And she was going to make it.

***

Harley Kingsley