It was the first official school day. Sophia set off on her bike for school, having had some breakfast. She was wearing a new dress she had bought on Saturday. She looked smart.
The school would issue uniforms that day, and from then on, someone would check whether students were wearing the right clothes at the school gate.
She arrived early. She glanced in at her class, and there were only a dozen students there. As the school day had not yet begun, everyone was sitting around, chatting. Sophia walked into the room and looking about casually.
The class quietened down in an instant. The students all kept their heads down and did not even dare to breathe.
***
She hadn't done anything!
Most of her classmates hadn't known her identity three days ago on the registration day. But when she showed up, the news about her past had spread across the campus like wildfire. Everyone knew that Sophia, the arch-bully, was coming back and that it would be a disaster for the school.
The students who had not seen Sophia in person soon saw her photo anyway. It wasn't difficult to find. Two years ago, many photos of the Sister Alliance were posted on the school forum. They had uploaded them themselves. Anyone could see them with a simple google search. Some of the students worried that they might have her by accident by walking past without recognizing her and that they may now be in trouble.
Sophia walked to her seat and sat down, looking out the door.
She was in the back row, with a second door to the classroom near to her. A few students who had just arrived were heading for that door when they saw her looking out of it. They immediately turned and ran towards the door at the front of the room for fear of being targeted by her.
Of course, not all the students were afraid of her, and some didn't pay her any attention. Molly McDowell, for example, just glanced at her as she passed, and walked by with her head held high.
Molly's family was rich and powerful, and she didn't believe Sophia would dare to mess with her.
Before long, the other three girls of the Sister Alliance arrived.
They were all dressed in the clean and tidy clothes Sophia had bought with them that weekend. With their hair in neat ponytails, they looked just like everyone else.
The class looked at the three girls taken aback. A few brave students looked at them a few times. It was an odd and surprising sight to see the Sister Alliance wearing such plain clothes.
Didn't they always wear miniskirts, crop tops, and have colorful hair?
Just then, the bell rang.
Ms. Acheson arrived and walked to her desk, smiling kindly.
Although she did not say "Stand up," the students stood up automatically and said, not quite in unison, "Good morning, Ms. Acheson!"
"Good morning, everyone!" Ms. Acheson leaned slightly on her desk and waved for everyone to sit down, "As school has just started, we don't have our class committee. So we will select some students to be the members of the class committee in the last period of the day. We will have a monitor and several representatives in charge of different subjects. Anyone who wants to be considered can write an application, and then we will have an open election."
Ms. Acheson's words immediately caused a stir in the class, and many students were eager to put themselves forward. Some had already started to take out paper to begin writing their application.
Carol tapped Sophia on the arm and whispered, "Boss, you should be the monitor."
Sophia shook her head, "No."
She didn't want to be a monitor or a committee member. Knowing her real age, she felt competing with her classmates for the class committee would be like bullying them. And she knew that everyone was afraid of her. If she became the monitor, the students would be terrified.
Molly sat in front of Sophia. She looked back at Carol and said to her neighbor in a voice audible to the back row, "I might put myself up for it, but I'll be in the advanced class after midterms so I won't be in this class for long."
Her friend hesitantly replied, "Molly, your grades are good, but only the top sixty students get into the advanced class. There are over forty classes in our school which means less than two students a class can get into it. I heard that Kevin got excellent grades, and he might have a chance."
Molly frowned, "You're right. My grades were ranked sixty-two this time. If I can't get amazing grades in midterms, I won't get into the advanced class. Maybe, I should go for a math representative or class monitor. If I get into the advanced class, I'll give it to another student."
"Hmmm." Carol remarked from behind, unconvinced, "As if you can be the math class representative."
Molly turned and smiled smugly, "I got full marks in maths in our last exam. Ms. Acheson will definitely choose me as the math class representative."
Ms. Acheson said from her desk, "Okay, stop talking. Let's start our class now."
The class was quiet again.
In the first class of the semester, Ms. Acheson taught from the new textbook about the sine and cosine laws.
Sophia stared straight at the blackboard, looking like she was studying hard. She did this on purpose. She wanted to set a good example for the three girls and motivate them to study hard. Of course, she was just acting, and she had no interest in such simple knowledge. She knew it all.
The girls of the Sister Alliance were following her example, and they listened to the lesson carefully. Their grades had never been excellent, but they were not too bad. They could keep up with the lesson. As Sophia was listening, they were willing to listen too, just for their boss.