━ '𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤.
"kamlai,
they say she collects strange stories. and if you ever hear her whistle, you know something dark is about to unfold."
good morning, everyone.
we want to welcome you all to this year's shining star award ceremony.
as always, the winner will receive a special prize.
are you beautiful enough to be our shining star?
so tune in to find out if you have what it takes to be one if our top ten."
that's right.
beauty means everything to a girl.
there's no such thing as ugly, only laziness.
so don't be that girl.
"good morning, everyone. the ranking is different today. but don't worry, girl, you can always be prettier tomorrow."
as the students wrote down on their notebook what the teacher wrote on the board, a soft voice came in.
"hi. excuse me." the students turned to her.
"hi. welcome to class. come on in."
the blonde and raven entered.
"would you like to introduce yourself to the them?"
"hello, everyone. i'm nanno." "kamlai."
"princess ten?"
"yes, ma'am?" she looked up.
"nanno and kamlai is joining us in the middle of the semester. they might be behind. as the class leader, i would like you to look after them."
"i would love to." ying smiled.
"nanno, kamlai, you can sit over there."
"𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑠 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒, 𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠. 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑟."
ying looked at kamlai's beautiful blonde hair. it was rare thing to see in their school. "uh, is your hair natural?"
the blonde turned to her, "yeah, it is."
"also, your lips... they're busted."
"oh, i stumbled." she laughed lightly.
ying nodded then asked nanno about the scar on her face.
"𝑠ℎ𝑒'𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒. 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔."
"“top ten only”...?" the raven read out loud.
"“this building is for the top ten only”." ying proudly said to them.
"top ten?"
"hold on. have you really not heard of us at all?" she asked in disbelief. she giggled, "we rank the top ten most beautiful girls in school.
"we have an app that updates the ranking in real time. so, you could always check your phone to see what number you are." ying informed. "it's a privilege to live in this building we must make sure our top ten are happy, because they will spread our school's beauty to the world."
kamlai smiled, "so, what rank are you?"
ying lets out a relieve sigh, "i'm lucky. i am number ten, even though i'm not the prettiest girl."
kamlai snickered on the inside, "clearly not cause you're not number one."
"no wonder. that's why you're princess ten." nanno smiled.
"you guys wanna come see inside?" she leaned in a bit.
"hmm. didn't you say this building is only for the girls in the top ten?"
"yeah, but the top ten..." ying pursed her lips. "can bring their own personal guest. do you wanna see what it's like to live as one of the top ten girls?"
"we'd love to."
"hello there, everyone. i'm sending my support to you all. i hope you become the next shining star. there are so many prizes you can receive, but only if you can prove you're worthy. don't forget that beauty is your most valuable commodity. as a woman, you must let your beauty be your guide. let's thank our beauty for getting us here. good luck to you all. work hard on the outside, to show people you care. i have faith in every one of you. you're all so beautiful. and remember, you can all be top ten. so, don't waste your youth, ladies. now, go and shine."
•••••
"it's good, right?"
"it is. thank you so much, ying." nanno said as kamlai took a sip of the drink.
"oh, don't worry. it's not like i paid for your meals or anything like that." she shook it off.
"yeah, but you brought us here. that was really generous of you." the blonde replied.
"it's totally my pleasure. although..." she paused. "you should know that you can't come with me all the time."
100% HONEST.
"most days, you are going to have to eat out there together with the ordinary people, with the normal folks, you know."
80% HONEST.
"but it's really not that bad out there."
70% HONEST.
"sometimes, i think i would like to live outside in the real world."
50% HONEST.
"you are really down to earth." nanno placed down her cup, ying's dimples going deep.
kamlai smoothly took out a packet of dark chocolate from her pocket, the wrapper opening catching attention.
she took a bite and offered to nanno, who accepted it.
"kamlai, nanno... chocolate contains trans–fat." the blonde offered it to the girl. "umm, i'll have one small bite. i don't wanna be rude."
"it's good, right?" "yeah, i guess."
their quiet moment got disturb by a chubby girl, who was stuttering.
"g–g–g–g–good afternoon, ying." the chubby girl with pigtails greeted.
"hello there, chompoo." the top ten smiled."how did you get in here?"
"i– k..k..k.."
she pursed her lips, "chompoo, you just you can't just come in here. not without one of the top ten."
the chubby girl looked down then at the table. ying looked down too, "want some cake? here take it. i can't eat it all. too much fat."
"really? uh.. eh.. eh.. thank you." she happily took the cake.
"excuse me. you can't be here." two female staffs walked towards her. they grabbed her then dragged her out.
"thank you! thank you! thank you! bye, ying!"
"i feel so bad for chompoo." the top ten sadly said once the girl was gone. "with that flat face and nose of hers, she'll never get to live here with us."
40% HONEST.
"i feel bad for her so i being her in here to give her some of her special food."
10% HONEST.
"you're pretty and so thoughtful. you should be the shining star." nanno complimented.
"no, no. i just wanna help. i don't need to be number one."
0% HONEST.
•••••
after they talked about gade and about the honor of being in the top ten, ying turned to them.
"nanno, kamlaui. actually, you're quite pretty too. why don't you go look at your ranking on your app?"
"hmm. i don't think so. i would be happy even if i was last."
"yeah, it doesn't really matter."
"hmm. let's just take a look." ying handed out her hand. "i'll check for you guys." the raven handed her the phone.
11TH PLACE — KAMLAI.
12TH PLACE — NANNO.
"what? i can't believe it. i'm in 12th? only one place behind kamlai."
"yeah. and i'm one place behind you, ying, even though you're much prettier."
"you deserve it."
"i don't know. i think it must be my hair." the blonde said to her friend as they discussed their ranks.
"umm, so i have to go."
the duo look at each other mischievously then at the walking figure of ying.
"congratulations, kamlai."
"you're new, but you're already in ten."
"you might move up faster than ying did."
"yeah, and nanno, if ying's pimple spreads more, you'l1 be in top 11 and soon be in top 10 too."
"ying has been in 10th place for the longest time." the girls gossiped, giggling.
they stopped smiling as they noticed the newly top 12th girl.
"come on. you know it's true." one of the girls said, not noticing ying.
"it's her."
"good morning, princess.. ten." kamlai greeted, smiling.
"not anymore. you're in 10th place now." she said but with just a tiny bit of bitterness.
"aw, come on. you're still princess 12th." a student commented.
"it's only for now. but once you're pimples clear up, you'll be back in the top ten again." kamlai comforted.
"why would you let yourself get a pimple? i've never seen you with one before." a student asked.
she touched it.
"no. stop. it will get worse if you keep touching it." a student exclaimed. "you must've been eating chocolate. they can give you a lot of pimples."
ying slowly turned her bead to kamlai, who smiled.
"you can't leave it like that. i know a good clinic. should we go?" a student suggested.
"yeah... why don't you have a look at your face?" ying said back, defensive.
"yeah, this is great."
"let's go, ying. i'm free this evening." the previous student continued.
"i'll be okay. thank you, though." she declined.
the three students left.
kamlai started tugging on her new bow. "this is kinda tight, isn't it? how annoying."
ying mistakenly went inside the top ten building only.
"your name is not in the top ten. who did you come in with?" a female guard asked.
"she came here as my guest. ying, come sit with us." kamlai gestured to nanno, who was on her left.
"no, that's okay." she smiled at them. "i ended up here by accident. i sort of missed the food in the other canteen."
"mhmm. i thought you said you think you'd like to “live in the real world”... maybe, this is your chance to do so." the blonde said with a slight condescending tone.
"yeah, you're right. i'll just go there and get something."
"if you want, you can come here tomorrow and sit with us. so we can hang out more." kamlai offered.
the other girls giggled as ying left.
the duo clinked their glass, smirking.
the girl turned around fast as she heard nanno's voice.
"how's it going, ying?"
"nanno." she let out.
"what do you have there? is that for your pimples?"
she placed the tiny box down then shook her head, "no."
"hmm. this store has so many good brands. let's buy some things, so our rankings improve." nanno started choosing products.
"oh, ying. what're you doing here?" kamlai suddenly came up from her back.
"uh.. nothing."
"hmm. if it's for your pimples, i recommend..." she took something off the shelf. "this. it removes bacteria and even closes up the open pores."
ying slowly backed away then ran away from the two.
•••••
"hey. you're chompoo, right?" the stuttering girl nodded.
"good." then she leaned in to her ear.
"ah..." chompoo let out, dreamily after the other girl leaned back.
"sounds like a great deal, huh?" the blonde rhetorically asked.
"uh–huh..."
after ying sabotaged everyone but gade and kamlai, nanno caught her.
"what are you doing?"
"oh, nanno. you frightened me." she laughed lightly.
"you have been busy these days, haven't you?" nanno commented. "since it's so close to naming the shining star, i think you should be careful."
"of course. yeah."
nanno gave her a little smirk before walking away.
gade's horrified screams made ying smile happily.
•••••
"oh, hey, ying." kamlai greeted as she sat into the hair machine. "do me a favour, will ya?"
* media above *
ying nodded.
she was gonna pour acid into her shampoo when she showers but this works.
"ying." "hmm?"
"have you heard about the other girls? how tragic. but hey, you're in 4th place now. so a little foreplay, won't hurt, right?"
ying nodded, suspicious cause the blonde might know she did it.
"tragic, tragic coincidences."
she let out a relieved sigh.
after ying cleansed kamlai's hair from the special treatment, she left.
ying walked in the tower, noticing the duo was in there.
nanno's bruises were still there, very visible. while kamlai's once shiny, healthy blonde hair were falling out.
"hey, there." the raven said.
"what are you doing here?" ying asked.
"right now, our school's beauty standard has dropped. even with this face, i'm still in third place."
"while my hair's falling out, i'm still in 2nd place so it wasn't all about my hair after all. i wonder why that is."
"i don't know. what happened?" ying feigned innocence.
"ying. you don't have to play dumb. you.. are a role model foe all those wannabes out there. they're all trying to copy you." nanno replied.
"are you here to steal my crown then?" she asked, her eyes starring at them intensely.
they chuckled.
"being the shining star is not important to us. but it sure is to someone like you." nanno answered. "isn't that right, ying?"
"come one. you know it's true." kamlai added.
"okay." ying said.
gade's voice caught her attention.
"hm. ying. don't forget. believe in your beauty and good luck." then the duo left, leaving gade and ying.
"let's take a look at your shining star. this year's award goes to..."
ying ran inside the room where the award ceremony was being held.
the scene flashed to kamlai with no hair left but only thin threads of hair.
as the projector stopped at the photo of nanno then kamlai then stayed at ying for a bit but changed to a girl.
"you can't do that!" ying exclaimed. "who even is she? she doesn't even go here." ;) "no matter what, the shining star belongs to me."
"young lady, we must have faith in our friend's beauty as well." the director said. "and with that being said, this year's award goes to..."
the mysterious girl went up on stage.
the crowd gasped.
as the winner started stuttering, kamlai cheered for her, "go chompoo!"
the audience started going into shocked whispers.
"don't forget that beauty is your value. let's thank our beauty for what it does. to all of you out there, you're all beautiful and don't you ever forget. i believe in you. good luck. now, go and shine."
BEAUTY.
"oh, society, is it true that pain is beauty?"
✞︎ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ━ hi, hello. you know what? fvck a little hiatus. i started this two months ago and i was supposed to finish this in a month so fvck it. after i'm done with season one, then i'll have a week break then start write season two.
isn't clink like when people "cheers!" then bump their glasses. yeah, that's what i meant by “clinked”... bumping of glasses.
originally, kamlai was supposed to win the contest, she was supposed to changed her look to an “ugly” person but i was too lazy to pursue that idea. lmao but if you're gonna use that idea, please tag me so i can read it.
okay, now, that i'm done acting like i have some influence, nanno and kamlai are platonic because of r—
this chapter sucked ass.
stay safe and make the right choices.
༆ » 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂: 2425.