14 From Not to Hot

She had not chosen this outfit. Lily had replaced it entirely. Her meaning and Lily's meaning of 'stylish' seemed to be completely different.

Her outfit had been replaced with a dark green shirt, a teal pencil skirt, and beige heels that were to replace her sneakers. She had originally chosen a rust-coloured suit, a white tee and decided to match them with her white sneakers that she was already wearing, but wearing white sneakers with the clothes Lily brought would've been a fashion disaster. Emma sighed as she quickly changed into them, promptly leaving the restroom.

"Em, you look magnificent. I knew I made the right choice switching your outfits, this suits you famously," she praised.

"Thanks", Emma said, silently wanting her bestie to stop.

"You went from not, to hot," she continued.

Emma narrowed her eyes at her best friend.

"So you did switch my outfits," she observed.

Lily shrugged.

"I just figured it would suit you, and I was totally right," she said smugly.

Before Emma could say anything, the limousine stopped.

Outside the one way windows of the limousine, the two girls saw the view of a picturesque collection of gorgeous buildings with low roofs, a perfectly manicured lawn, and a statue out front. The marble figure that stood out front of ZALE, was the late King Arthur. Princess Madison's father.

While Lily scanned the many buildings of ZALE, Emma stared at the statue of her late father - well, kind of - wondering why she felt at peace and relaxed when looking at it. She found his face oddly familiar, but she didn't know how or why.

"Emma? Earth to Emma," Lily said as she waved her hand in front of Emma's face.

"We're here, don't you want to get your books and tour the campus grounds?" She asked the dazed Emma.

Author's Note: Campus doesn't necessarily mean the grounds of a university or college. In this wording, I used the word campus, the meaning being the grounds of a school or other institution.

Emma snapped out of whatever trance she was in, nodding as she regained her senses.

"Oh, umm, yeah, let's get our books, then we can tour the campus grounds and get a good look around ZALE," she mumbled, getting up and exiting the limousine.

After the girls got all their baggage out of the limousine's trunk, they headed for the administration office, where they were asked to visit to get their book lists, and dorm numbers.

They had entered the administration office and waited their turn.

They sat down on a sofa near the main desk, watching a scene unfold in front of them.

"I'm staying in a regular dorm?! Do you know who my father is? I'll have you know I could get you fired!" A girl exclaimed. She was a beautiful and glamorous girl with brown eyes and dark black hair in ringlets. She wore bright-coloured eyeliner and a diamond pendant with a letter C.

Lily whispered, "Mean girl alert. School hasn't even started yet, and she's already stirring up trouble."

Emma was thinking the same thinking, even theorizing that the pendant she wore was actually her GPA.

Emma wanted to say something, but she was cut off by a trembling receptionist.

"Lady Walton, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't change it. The school dorms are on a first come first serve basis. If you have any problems, I'm not the person you should come to," she said timidly.

Lady Walton, full name Courtney Walton, was the daughter of Crown Prince Caspian of Denasia. By default, she was a duchess, and she intended to make full use of it.

Emma whispered into Lily's ear.

"Lady Walton? She's probably a royal," she theorized.

While she was whispering to Lily, she hadn't noticed Courtney crossing her arms and storming out of the office furiously.

Lily whispered back.

"Hey, that Walton girl left. It's our turn now," she whispered.

Emma nodded.

"I can't wait to find out which room we'll be staying in. Let's hope we're roommates," she said, crossing her fingers as she got up, Lily following suit.

They made it to the administration desk and were greeted by a cheerful lady behind it.

"Hello girls, how may I help you?" She asked, her timidity already disappearing and nowhere to be seen.

"We're here for our dorm room number, and our ZALE book list," Emma stated.

The lady nodded.

"And what are your names?" She asked, scrolling through a list of students on her monitor.

"Emma Grey and Lily Carmichael," Lily added.

"Oh, yes. You'll be staying in room 12. Your roommates already checked in earlier. As per the rules, you'll both be getting one keycard to access your room, and if you lose it, you'll obtain demerits. As for your book list, I'll be printing it out for you two. You both will be attending the same classes, and you'll be able to collect your books from the ZALE bookstore," she explained.

Emma and Lily exchanged a look.

Roommates? They weren't informed about this. They thought it'd just be the two of them.

Emma nodded, and she started, "Thank you, miss…"

She trailed off, before noticing the pin on her shirt.

"Miss Sophia," Emma said, completing her sentence.

"Now, if you'll wait right here, I'll be back with your keycards and your booklist," she said as she left, opening the door on her left with a fingerprint scanner as a security measure. The door opened, and Sophia disappeared into the office.

Lily nudged Emma in the shoulder.

"Who do you think's our roommate? A princess from another kingdom? A wealthy businessman's daughter?" Lily asked.

Emma shrugged.

"It could be anyone. ZALE is the best finishing school out of all the kingdoms. It's a given for all royals, and the wealthy to send their children here. Even though I can't get my head wrapped around the idea that we're all of age, and still need to attend a finishing school," Emma reasoned.

Lily replied, "Tell me about it. It's like a jail for the rich and royal. Except it's much fancier and the people here don't have to wear orange onesies."

Emma laughed in agreement.

"Yeah, it kind of is," she said.