# Chapter One
The rain drummed against the tall windows of our classroom, and without a teacher to keep us in line, the usual chatter had turned into full-blown chaos. I leaned back in my chair, watching droplets race down the glass while half-listening to the conversations buzzing around me.
"Mia!" Julie's voice cut through the noise as she slid into the seat beside me, her dark hair still damp from running through the rain. "Did you hear? We're supposedly getting a transfer student today. And apparently, she's someone important."
I turned to face her, noting the tired lines around her eyes. "Hey, Jules. How was your grandmother's funeral? I'm sorry I couldn't make it back with you."
"It went well, I suppose," she said quietly. "As well as a funeral can go. But Bryan showed up, which was sweet of him."
Flair appeared at my other side, practically bouncing with excitement despite the somber topic. "Wait, Bryan was there? Did you finally tell him how you feel?"
Julie's cheeks flushed pink. "You know I'm not good with that stuff. Besides, we're stuck in this all-girls boarding school, and he's back home. What's the point of starting something when we can barely leave campus without the headmaster's permission?"
I nodded, understanding the frustration. Being here sometimes felt like living in a different world from everyone else our age. "She's got a point. Long distance is complicated enough without adding boarding school rules."
"Fine, fine," Flair said, waving her hand dismissively. "But you two would be perfect together. Childhood friends to lovers? That's like, romance novel material right there."
"Enough about my nonexistent love life," Julie said, but she was smiling now. "What about this transfer student? Have you heard anything, Mia?"
I shook my head. "Just rumors. But if the teachers are having an emergency meeting about it, she must be pretty important. Or pretty problematic."
The three of us fell into comfortable speculation, but I found myself wondering what kind of person would transfer to our school in the middle of the semester. And more importantly, what kind of person would warrant a faculty meeting.
As if summoned by our curiosity, the classroom door opened and Mrs. Henderson walked in, followed by...
The entire room fell silent. Not because of our strict English teacher, but because of the girl walking behind her. She was stunning in a way that made everyone stop mid-sentence and stare. Long, silky black hair cascaded over one shoulder, and she carried herself with a confidence that seemed almost otherworldly in our mundane classroom setting.
I felt my breath catch in my throat. I'd never been one to get flustered over appearances, but there was something magnetic about her presence that made it impossible to look away. Even in the standard school uniform, she looked like she belonged on a magazine cover.
"Class, please settle down," Mrs. Henderson said, though her own voice seemed slightly unsteady. "I'd like you to meet our new student."
The girl stepped forward with a small smile that somehow managed to be both shy and confident at the same time. "Hi everyone. I'm Kiki. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all."
The silence stretched for another beat before whispers erupted throughout the classroom. I heard someone behind me gasp, and Julie grabbed my arm so tightly I was sure she'd leave marks.
"Oh my god, Mia," she whispered urgently in my ear. "That's Kiki. THE Kiki. The singer."
My heart skipped a beat. So the rumors were true – we really were getting a celebrity transfer student. And she was going to be living here, in our world, breathing the same air as the rest of us ordinary students.
"Alright, that's enough," Mrs. Henderson said, clapping her hands to restore order. "Kiki, please take the empty seat in the third row."
As Kiki walked down the aisle, I could practically feel the energy radiating from every girl in the room. Someone's pen clattered to the floor. Another girl not-so-subtly pulled out her phone, probably trying to get a picture before Mrs. Henderson noticed.
"I can't believe she's actually here," Flair whispered, leaning across me to get closer to Julie. "Do you think she'll sit with us at lunch?"
"Are you insane?" Julie hissed back. "She's probably used to eating with movie stars and supermodels, not boarding school students."
I found myself stealing glances at Kiki as she settled into her seat. She seemed surprisingly... normal. Not in a disappointing way, but in a way that made her somehow even more intriguing. She pulled out a standard notebook and pen, just like the rest of us, and when Mrs. Henderson started talking about our upcoming essay assignment, Kiki actually took notes.
"Miss Chen," Mrs. Henderson's sharp voice cut through my thoughts. "Since you seem so fascinated by our new student, perhaps you'd like to share your thoughts on the symbolism in chapter three?"
Heat flooded my cheeks as I realized I'd been caught staring. "I... um..." I scrambled to remember what we'd been discussing before Kiki arrived.
A few seats away, I caught Kiki hiding a small smile behind her hand, and somehow that made my embarrassment even worse – and strangely, better at the same time.
The rest of the class period was torture. Every time Mrs. Henderson asked a question, half the class would sneak glances at Kiki to see her reaction. When she raised her hand to answer a question about the reading – and gave a thoughtful, intelligent response – the whispers started up again.
By the time the bell rang, the classroom was buzzing with barely contained excitement.
"Kiki!" A girl named Sarah practically launched herself from her seat. "I'm such a huge fan! I have all your albums!"
"Could you sign my notebook?" asked another.
"Are you going to perform at the spring concert?"
"Is it true you're dating that actor from—"
"Girls, girls!" Mrs. Henderson intervened. "Give Miss Kiki some space. She's here to learn, just like the rest of you."
But as students filed out of the classroom, I noticed most of them lingering in the hallway, still hoping for a chance to get closer to their new celebrity classmate.
"This is insane," Julie muttered as we gathered our books. "The whole school's going to be like this, isn't it?"
"Probably," I agreed, watching as Kiki gracefully handled the crowd of admirers. She seemed genuinely happy with all the attention, laughing and chatting with everyone like she was born for this kind of thing. Which, I suppose, she was.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of whispered conversations about our new celebrity classmate. By dinner time, the entire school was buzzing with Kiki-related gossip and theories about why she'd transferred here.
After finishing my homework in the library, I trudged back to my dorm room, exhausted from a day of non-stop Kiki discussions. All I wanted was to flop onto my bed and maybe call it an early night.
I pushed open the door to my room and froze.
There, sitting on what used to be the empty third bed, was Kiki. She'd changed out of her school uniform into comfortable pajamas, and was quietly unpacking clothes from an expensive-looking suitcase.
She looked up when I entered, and for a moment, neither of us said anything.
"Oh," she said simply, pausing with a folded sweater in her hands. "You must be my roommate."
"I... yeah," I managed, still processing the fact that THE Kiki was going to be sleeping three feet away from me every night. "I'm Mia."
"Kiki," she replied, though of course I already knew that. She gave me a small, polite smile - the kind you'd give any new roommate, not the dazzling smile she'd given her fans in the hallway.
An awkward silence stretched between us as I stood there with my backpack still slung over my shoulder, not quite sure what to do with myself. This wasn't exactly how I'd imagined meeting a world-famous singer.
"I hope you don't mind," she said, gesturing to the bed she'd chosen. "I just picked one. I can move if you had some kind of system worked out."
"No, no, that's fine," I said quickly, finally moving to set my bag down on my own bed. "That one's good. Great, actually."
Another pause. Kiki went back to her unpacking, and I pretended to organize my already-organized desk, both of us clearly trying to figure out how to navigate this strange new living situation.
What exactly was I supposed to say to someone who probably had millions of fans, when I could barely remember any of her songs?
End of chapter