Royal Performer - Chapter 19

Princess Alexandria Alessi’s life has turned upside down in the blink of an eye. Only a few days ago, she was enjoying a clandestine summer shopping with her best friend at the local mall. Coming home, she was alarmed to discover her mom was there, and her secret of being transgender was suddenly no longer secret! Within a few short hours, her life became like a movie as she discovered that her long-lost father was the Crown Prince of Osané, a small, secluded island nation. Alexandria was immediately thrust into the spotlight in a whirlwind weekend that led to a Monday press conference to announce her royal lineage. Royal Performer is the second Tiffany Shar's 'Suddenly Royal' series.

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Chapter 19: Summer School?!?

THE NEXT MORNING saw Anna being as merciless as ever with her torture of waking us all up! From somewhere, she and Giselle had gathered suitable dresses in the girl’s sizes for breakfast in the garden with Grandma. ‘Her Majesty’ was the queen to them, and of course not their grandma… but she was their friend’s grandma, so it was definitely a little bit odd for everyone. In the end, though, they all hugged me as they were picked up by Léa and Louise’s father, who also gave Lanie a ride home.

“Thanks for inviting us, this was awesome!” Lanie said to me as they left.

Somehow, the castle felt empty without my friends. Not even practicing for a couple of hours on my clarinet in the music room could lift my spirits. Madame Lavigne tried to bring me out of my shell at dinner but seemed to accept that my nervousness about attending a new school was normal. I found a journal that Madame Lavigne had encouraged me to keep and wrote down everything I was scared of.
1. I was going to a new school.
2. I was going to school as a girl!
3. I didn’t have Ellie for support!!!
4. I was in a foreign country!
5. I had a grand total of maybe 2 friends! (3 if you counted Louise in Elementary School!)
6. I had a witch cousin who thought she should be the next queen!
7. And I would probably be playing clarinet next to her, too!

Talking with Mom and Ellie Sunday night helped me a little bit, but I couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about everything as I tossed and turned in bed. Even my fatigue from staying up late didn’t help me sleep. Still, I must have succeeded eventually because the next thing I knew, my phone had buzzed, and I was getting ready for my day!

I had felt like I was in some sort of teenage drama movie throughout the past weeks, but never more than the second I laid eyes on the plaid skirt. It was made primarily of navy blue for the base, with several thin and thick stripes of grey weaving in and out with lighter blue and white stripes. After donning my panties and nude-colored padded bra, I just held the skirt in my hands for a moment, shaking my head. I had read more than a few online stories in schools that had uniforms over the years, but I had never really believed I’d be wearing one of these!

With a sigh, I stepped into it and pulled it up to my waist. It was obvious that it had been made specifically for me with the perfect fit. After undoing a few buttons, I pulled the short-sleeve white button-down blouse over my head and then buttoned it back to the second to last button. I was grateful this school didn’t require ties for girls, as I felt that was the worst accessory in the world to be forced to wear. Not to mention, it’s too close to male clothing!

The matching navy-blue socks were ankle-length, and I noted they had some patterns woven into them. With a look in the mirror, I tucked the blouse into my shirt per the requirement and then donned the odd sweater vest. ‘Does this get hot?’ I couldn’t help but wonder. Osané was a bit cooler than back home, but it was still clearly summer!

Rather than put it on, I carried the blazer adorned with the school’s crest out to the bedroom, where Giselle was waiting at the vanity for me.

“You look great,” she told me.

I said, “Thanks? My hair’s a mess?” I told her my hair was still damp from the shower.

“Let’s get that taken care of then.” She said, putting another towel over my shoulders before loosening the turban into which I had put my hair. I heard her use the hair dryer and brush gently through my hair. It was at least calming not to worry about this part of the day. I had faith that my hair would be immaculate when she was done.

“Do you just want to wear your hair down?” She asked.

“Or?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t go with a formal hairstyle, but I could do a couple small cute braids to the back of your hair?”

“It won’t look too young?”

She laughed, “No more so than another schoolgirl in a uniform?”

I groaned, “I look that young, huh?”

“Well, they’ll know you’re at least in year seven since you’re required to wear the jumper until then?”

She kept up a running conversation, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Anna had made herself scarce to let me be more comfortable with Giselle. She was always friendlier and more sympathetic to me as a teenager!

I was eventually pronounced done, and I turned my head to see the two small braids meeting in the back of my hair. They were tied with tiny rubber bands and covered with a small white butterfly clip.

“Makeup?” I asked her.

“You may use a little bit of lip gloss, but more than that gets you in trouble.”

“Really?” I asked, looking up at her.

She nodded, “My little sister just graduated, and I got to hear her gripe every single day about it! She served more detentions for makeup than most kids probably did for anything!”

I giggled at that.

“I definitely don’t want to get in trouble… I don’t think having my grandmother called to the principal’s office to deal with my discipline would be good.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” I heard Grandma’s voice surprise me.

I blushed, “Not planning on it,” I told her.

She smiled as she came around and hugged me, “I’m sure you’re not!”

Several minutes later, I was wearing the blazer in my black lace-up shoes as Grandma posed for a picture with me to send to Mom and Ellie. I had a small breakfast of fruit and toast before Madame Lavigne led me through the service entrance, where Giuseppe and another security officer waited.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” he told me.

“Good morning,” I told him back, feeling the nerves in my stomach as I fingered the shoulder straps on my new backpack.

Grandma had given me a choice of three bags after my quick breakfast: one was all brown leather, another was white leather, and the final one was a pink corduroy. It had some leather straps on the top, and the actual shoulder straps were fine leather, too, but it seemed more ‘me’ than the staid leather bags. I felt it might have been the cheaper of the three, but it seemed the most ‘me’ out of the options. It only held my clarinet, a couple of notebooks, and writing implements.

Madame Lavigne was also carrying a small duffle bag with my PE ‘kit,’ as she called it—a Britishism that she had to explain to me!

“Your Highness, please put one of these on your wrist?” Giovanni offered me a choice of three familiar-looking scrunchies.

I took the white one and asked, “Are these the same as back home?”

“Yes, Your Highness, we can track you anywhere with it.”

I blushed but said, “Okay.”

“While you’re at school, we’re not planning on having a detachment follow you to every class,” he told me as we were on our way in the black SUV. “We’d like you to experience a normal school day each day if possible.”

“Thanks,” I said while thinking, ‘I just hope that doesn’t bite us in the rear!’

Giuseppe went over some emergency plans if something did happen, even discussing how to behave if terrorists became involved. “Really?” I asked. “Is that a worry?”

“It could be,” he said with a shrug. “We’ll always have a detachment on campus with you; they won’t be far if something happens.”

I nodded at that.

We arrived on campus, and I noticed other students being dropped off or walking into the school just then. I noted that everyone was wearing uniforms, and there were a variety of ages around the campus, from middle school to high school. I could just see across the street a playground and what was clearly their version of elementary school. I could make out kids running around there, and Louise was probably there. Léa and Louise’s younger sister wouldn’t start school until the fall term, but Louise would be on the secondary campus then.

There were a lot of kids in a building that was quite modern in design. I was drawing a few looks with the three security detachment members, including Giuseppe, walking with me, as well as Madame Lavigne.

‘If they didn’t know I was coming here before…’ I groaned.

Inside, Madame Lavigne led me to the headmaster’s office, which she seemed familiar with. An older man wearing a grey pinstripe suit with an immaculately placed bow tie was standing in the office. His graying hair was combed in a combover that I felt he needed to give up and accept his baldness! I certainly wouldn’t say that, though. He gave me a bow, “Your Highness, welcome to our school; I’m John Higgins, the Headmaster here at Lycée du Alessi,” he said in English with a British accent.

I squirmed as I registered that I was attending a school with my last name attached to it! I answered respectfully, “Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here, Monsieur Higgins.”

‘Total lie… hopefully he doesn’t know it!’ I thought as he led us inside a finely appointed office, unlike any principal’s office I’d seen in our schools growing up! I sat down in the chair as directed beside Madame Lavigne and placed my bags on the floor beside me.

He smiled as if he could read my mind, “Somehow, I don’t think going back to school over your summer break was your plan?”

I laughed politely, “No, but nothing about my summer has gone according to plan.”

He nodded, “I can see that. I’ve spoken with your grandmother and Madame Lavigne; we intend you to be a regular student here. No titles shall be used?”

I smiled, “That sounds great!”

He looked surprised at that, “You’re okay with that?”

“I’m just a regular teenage girl,” I told him. “I prefer it that way.”

He pulled out a piece of paper from a leather folder on his desk and switched to French: “Well then, here is your schedule of classes. I understand you have finished what would be ninth grade in America and are in year ten here. We’ll keep you in year ten, though, as we finish out the year.”

I nodded, “That is what Madame Lavigne and my grandmother had said.”

“Very good. It’s always nice to see that students aren’t surprised by their circumstances.”

I looked at the schedule and noted that it had two different schedules. On the ‘A’ day, I would have English, Math, Biology, Orchestra, Lunch, Geography, and PE. For the ‘B’ days, I would have French, Math, Chemistry, Orchestra, History, and Computer Programming.

“I’ve never taken a programming class before?” I told them.

“We know, but it’s a basic course. It rounds out your schedule the best.” He paused. “If you end up attending this school next year, we may have you start with the first course again.”

“Okay,” I told him.

“Any other questions?”

I shook my head, “I don’t think so?”

“Very good! I have a student, Zoé Fontaine, who will escort you to your first class.”

I stood and was soon led out to the office, where a girl a foot taller than me with black hair waited in an identical uniform. ‘That’s going to take some getting used to,’ I thought.

“Zoé, this is Alexandria,” he introduced to me. Alexandria, this is Zoé. She’ll get you around today as she has the same class schedule as you.”

“Thanks,” I said, holding up the small duffle bag. Is there a place I can leave this?”

“Our form room,” she told me. “Come on.”

“What’s a form room?” I asked her as we walked. She gave me a quick lesson about how Grandma had brought all of what she considered the best aspects of British schools to this one. When they built the new campus about eight years ago, they included ‘Form Rooms’ for studying, with a ratio of about twelve to fifteen students each. I would make it fifteen for theirs. Each Form had this separate room with large lockers to store books and things like my gym bag. I soon discovered how it worked for attendance, too.

Before long, I was in my first real class and was relieved to see a familiar face. “Léa!” I said with a smile.

I turned to Zoé and realized she was smiling too. “She’s as nice as you said,” she told her.

“I take it you’re friends?” I asked.

Both girls giggled, “Yeah, we’ve grown up with each other. Come on,” Léa told me as she dragged me to an empty seat. A girl who was only about eight inches taller than us came in then, and Léa waved to her. “Noémie, this is Alexandria,” she said.

The girl’s eyes were a little shocked, “Like… Princess?”

I laughed, “Somehow? But if you’re friends with Léa, I’m sure we will be too? Call me Allie?”

Before we could speak anymore, a younger female teacher began class. I endured a brief ‘Introduce yourself’ moment, and she continued teaching the end of a unit focusing on Romeo and Juliet. I was at least grateful that I had done that before. She had a slightly different approach, and it was only as the class continued that it occurred to me she’d been speaking in English the entire time, and no one seemed to be lost.

On the way to my next class, I asked, “We have English classes from the Second Year on,” Léa told me. “Very few students here can’t speak fluent English.”

I shook my head in surprise but remembered America being one of the few countries that insisted on all other languages being ‘electives.’

Math was the next class, and I was grateful that the other two girls were in the same class with me. I set my bag down and was greeted by the teacher, “Bonjour, Your Highness, I am Monsieur Leroy; it is a pleasure to meet you.” He was probably in his sixties, and I wondered about his use of my title.

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I’m just Alexandria here, though,” I said with a smile.

“I know that Monsieur Higgins has told us that, but I refuse to not treat you with the respect your family deserves.”

I blushed, “As you wish,” I said diplomatically.

Then, I noted a brown-haired girl in a desk glaring at me from across the room. It took me a moment, but I recognized her as one of the girls Lola had been with that day in the shop!

I groaned in my mind but paid attention in class instead. Monsieur Higgins was apparently teaching Algebra that day. I was grateful I could recognize what was happening and how to solve the sample problems he gave. At one point, he gave us time to work on five problems independently, which I finished rapidly. While I waited for the others to finish, I looked around the room.

So far in the morning, the rest of the kids had just stared, given me nervous smiles, or made quiet comments to their friends. I sighed, knowing how hard it would be to make more friends in this place! I was grateful that Zoé warmed up to me quickly, and of course, having Léa there helped, too! The girl next to me was struggling with the last problem.

I was about to offer to help, but Monsieur Higgins asked for answers on the board then. My desire to be treated like every other student was given a green light as he asked me to come up and do that final problem. I carried my answer in the notebook to the board and realized it was the first time I’d ever written on a board like this in a skirt! The previous four people had used much of the easily accessible space, and I was left with a corner that practically left me on my tip toes!

I was cautious as I wrote, grateful for the knee-length skirt requirement, and completed it seemingly without embarrassment.

“Is she correct?” Monsieur Leroy asked the class.

“Yes?” I heard the class tentatively say.

“She didn’t solve it the right way, though!” Lilou griped.

“How so?” Monsieur Leroy said while motioning for me to stay where I was.

“You’re supposed to solve it…” She gave him an answer I could see would work, but it involved four more steps.

“You’re both correct,” he told us. “Princess Alexandria used a different method that makes some different assumptions. It does work just as well; it’s just not how you’ve been taught.”

“I thought you teachers were supposed to forget her title?” Lilou asked coolly under her breath, and I could hear her myself as I walked back to my seat.

‘I hope she’s not going to cause trouble over this!’ I worried.