2 I Wanna Be Like Bianca! (01)

Laurel Prep was about to start in two days.

It was still a little dark outside--the city was covered with a thin blue mist, with a subtle splash of orange across the sky. A tint of light passed through the window and shined on Beth's sleepy face. An alarm clock stood on the nightstand next to Beth's bed.

7:00 AM. The clock suddenly started buzzing and ringing.

'Breakfast is ready! Hurry up! You don't want to miss your plane to Laurel!'

Beth yawned as she tried to reach the alarm clock. Being still half asleep, she recognized her parents calling her from downstairs, yet she couldn't completely open her eyes--her eyelids still felt somehow heavy. 7:00 AM is not late! There's simply no need for worrying! She grunted and thought to herself. Notifications started popping out on her phone. Today will be sunny with a 25°C degrees of temperature. Here are your subscriptions for the Fashionista magazine. You have 30 unread messages from the 'Laurel Prep Class of 2019'.

Upon seeing the last notification, Beth decided to enter the group chat and see how her potential classmates have been doing. Some of her classmates had already arrived in Laurel; they were posting pictures of them posing in front of the school into the chat group. Looking at their photos, Beth could not help but fantasize about her school life as well. What awaits me in my new semester? I need to wear something pretty to give myself a lucky headstart.

In the corner of Beth's room, there was a suitcase she had already packed with all her clothes and favorite art books collected over the years. Next to the corner was her wardrobe. A yellow dress with sunflower patterns hung inside the wardrobe, with a purple cardigan on top of it. The dress had a vibrant color but a very basic design. Beth looked inside the wardrobe. She knew that they were nowhere stylish, but they were indeed the best-looking clothing that she could find for now. To go with the dress, she decided to put on her white sandals and yellow dot socks.

She didn't look bad in the mirror. However, she still wanted to look more 'funky,' like one of the models she saw from her magazines. There's this irresistible urge to be beautiful that lingers around her heart that can't go away, followed by a feeling of unfairness that she couldn't do that due to being trapped in this 'stupid' small town.

After breakfast, Beth's parents, Luke and Madison, drove to send her to the airport.

'Are you sure you wanna dress like this, Bethany? It's going to be chilly in Laurel. Here, take this jacket with you.' Madison asked with concern.

'Ay, mom! There's no need for the jacket!'

'But just in case you feel cold...' Madison added.

Beth shook her head and answered impatiently. 'I will think about that when I arrive there, okay? Don't worry about me that much, mom!'

'Beth, you know, me and your mom are gonna miss you so much when you go to school.' Luke joined the conversation, but Madison suddenly found something to add to the conversation as well.

'Yea. Oh, by the way, Beth, don't be silly when you arrive at Laurel! Be polite to the host family, and be proactive. Don't make unnecessary troubles at their house.'

'I am not gonna be rude to everyone! I make sure that I don't play my music too loud...'

'Yea? Look at you. You throw your clothing around your room and forget to put your stuff to their original places.' Madison raised her voice, 'and school! Remember, you tried getting the school principal fired and almost got yourself suspended. Don't ever do that again. Colleges don't want to see something like that on your record.'

'But mom, that was for good! The school principal was corrupt, and someone has to speak that up. A lot of people supported my actions, too! It was not all failure!'

Madison sighed.

'Do you even know how the world really works? It's none of your business to care about those things. Not a lot of people who showed up became your friends anyway. Besides, why don't you put more of your time into your studies? We checked your transcript, and it's LUCKY for you even to get accepted at Laurel Prep!'

Gosh. Did she even listen to what I have said?

'Mom!' Beth started getting all worked up. Not wanting the morning conversation to escalate into a quarrel, Luke had nothing to do but to intervene.

'Mads, don't be too hard on Beth! She is doing good enough.' Luke looked at Madison.

Then he turned to Beth.

'Beth, please promise us not to do that to ourselves again. We can't handle getting you expelled if that happens. Laurel Prep is a good school, and we don't have enough resources to place you elsewhere.'

Madison stopped speaking grudgingly, and Beth reluctantly agreed with Luke. 'We can't handle you getting expelled. Do you even know how the world works?' As the Clementine family reaches the airport, Beth couldn't help but think about those words again and again.

Are these how my parents see me as a daughter?

✨

On her way to Laurel, Beth was baffled. She thought that her parents were fixated on rules and the authority, and she didn't understand why.

I mean...someone has to speak about corrupt things, right? Some people have to make a change in this world. There's nothing wrong about that. Can't they look at a person more by their inner qualities instead of judge the person by arbitrary outer metrics, like their grades or how many friends they have?

Beth leaned against the airplane window and looked out into the dark. The beautiful image of Laurel City she imagined started to unravel before her eyes. The fascinating pop culture. The laughter and jokes that lit up every corner of the city. And the people that would eventually understand her aspirations.

Fortunately, Laurel did not disappoint Beth by its first impression.