I'll Protect You (Re-Edit #2, 2016)

Introducing Park Sparrow, princess of Cimeria

This is the edited version of I'll Protect You

Dedicated to carped1em for the official trailer of I'll Protect You!

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I would like to make an announcement. There's something I have to say before I tell you about the fascinating journey of Harry Potter. 

I'm only joking. I'm not going to read to you the Harry Potter series. You can do that on your own time. 

Alright, what you guys need to know is--I am not an ordinary girl. 

I bet you're all scoffing right now. You're thinking, "Well do you have superpowers? Are you some newly turned vampire with a vampire prince and a hot alpha werewolf fighting over you? Are you the Chosen One, with powers far beyond any sort of comprehension and are the only one that can save the world?"

My answer is: no. What kind of story do you think you're reading?

However, I assure you: I am not normal. Do you want me to prove it?

Here, Reason #1: I really hate school. 

Oh, wow, she hates school (how extraordinary). I know, I know. Nearly every single kid attending school above the elementary level detests their school. College kids are downing red bull and Starbucks in the same cup to get through their day (for the love of the gods, please don't do this). Kids will pledge their allegiance to the statement that they absolutely loathe school. 

See, here's the thing--that is the one of the few traits of my sparkling personality that sets me aside from every student here. Everyone here likes going to school. Everyone. You have students getting up earlier than the sun rises to get here not because it's the law, but because it's their sole joy in life. You have students staying until there isn't a speck of light in the sky studying not because they're cramming for an awful exam, but because they love studying (I mean, I do too, but this is just outrageous).

Why do this make me different? Because I'd rather set myself on fire. 

Where is 'here?' Right now, I was standing in front of the iron-wrought gates of the Zachariah Cross Academy (or Cross Academy for short because the full name is a mouthful). 

It's ranked in the top ten international academies for advanced education. It has one of the most beautiful campuses, courses with professors with doctorate degrees, and advanced curriculum not offered anywhere else in the states (not to mention the food is absolutely delicious). This was a birthplace of world leaders and entrepreneurs. 

Instead of enjoying my wonderful seven-year course here, however, I hated the place with every fiber of my being. Social Darwinism had managed to pry itself into the DNA of society. Even here, where students were supposed to create long-lasting friendships and build strong relationships with one another, they engaged in backstabbing, eye-clawing fights, and the act of degrading any other student they found below themselves. 

So, despite it having prestigious reputation, Cross Academy was essentially like any other public high school, adding the overpriced uniforms and lunch meals. And exceptionally smart, but rude kids. 

I had the misfortune of landing myself at the lower half of the social ranks. Sometimes, I forgot why I was so unpopular but fortunately for me, people never failed to remind me. Such as now, when I overheard someone exclaim, "The Spring Finals are up! Did you see what rank you got?"

At Cross Academy, there were four finals--autumn, winter, spring, and the summer finals. If you passed all of them, you passed your classes were given the green light to go into the next year. At the end of each final, the academy takes the top one hundred students from each year who scored the highest and ranked them (though at least they were generous enough to only display the name and rank--not the score).