The opening ceremony of St. Mary's Noble College is always luxurious. Crystal chandeliers illuminate the auditorium, and red velvet curtains hang down to the marble floor that can be seen. I—Emily Carter, huddled on the hardwood chairs in the last row of the auditorium, unconsciously rubbing the rough stitches of the skirt of the school uniform. This second-hand school uniform is already the most decent clothes in my closet.
"Since its founding in 1887, St. Mary's College has been adhering to the philosophy of elite education and has cultivated countless political and business leaders." President Watson stood on the gilded podium with a loud voice. "I would like to thank the four major families - Rockefeller, Montague, Vanderbilt and Rothschild families for their continued support."
My eyes swept through the front VIP area with the principal's gesture. There are descendants of the financial supporters of the academy sitting there, and each of them looks like they have their own halo. The most striking thing is Victoria Rockefeller, whose long golden hair hangs like silk, sitting as elegant as if shooting a magazine cover. William Montague beside her had a deep contour unique to the nobles, but from time to time he lowered his head and wrote something on his notebook, which was in sharp contrast with the students around him who were applauding perfunctorily.
"This year, we are honored to welcome the 37th Carter Scholarship Award, Emily Carter."
Hearing my name, I took a deep breath and walked towards the podium. When I passed the VIP area, I clearly felt Victoria's scrutiny gaze, and her slightly raised chin seemed to say "You don't belong here."
"As a representative of the eugenics, I want to talk about the 'equal opportunity' concept that St. Mary is proud of." After standing still, my voice was more stable than expected, "But when I saw some students who could get A because of their family surnames, while civilian students stayed up late to study hard but could only get B, I couldn't help but ask-"
The auditorium was so quiet that it could hear the sound of a needle falling to the ground. The expressions of several teachers in the front row were frozen, and fine beads of sweat oozed out of the principal's forehead.
"—Are we really equal?"
After a breath of air conditioning, noisy talk broke out in the auditorium. I saw William Montague suddenly sitting upright, with surprise and...appreciation in my eyes? Victoria Rockefeller narrowed his blue eyes and pursed his red lips into a thin line.
As I walked off the podium, my hands were shaking slightly, but my heart was extremely calm. I told the truth, that's enough.
After the ceremony, I hurriedly packed my schoolbag and prepared to leave, and a low voice came from behind.
"Courtesy, Miss Carter."
When I turned around, I almost bumped into a "wall" wearing a custom school uniform. William Montague is half a head taller than me. Looking up, his eyes are a rare gray-green one, like the sea before the storm.
"Montaigu...student." I took a step back and looked at the sudden noble young master vigilantly.
"Just call me William." He smiled slightly, and the smile made him liven up. "I admire your speech very much. Especially the quote from "Animal Manor" is very clever."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise: "You read George Orwell?"
"Read secretly." He lowered his voice and made a gesture of silence, " The family thinks it's too 'radical'. "He glanced at his watch, "The next section is a literature class, are you going to go together?" "
In this way, I walked side by side with St. Mary's most prominent young master for some reason, attracting countless attentions. We talk about 1984 and Beautiful New World and find that each other has amazing common views on dystopian literature.
"Do you know," William stopped in front of the literary building, "You are the first to keep up with my literary discussion..."
"Civilian?" I finished speaking for him, with a teasing smile on my lips. "Student." He carefully corrected, "There is a new recruit from the theater club in the afternoon, will you come?"
Before I could answer, a cold female voice inserted in: "William, my father asked me to remind you that there will be a family meeting tonight."
Victoria Rockefeller appeared next to us at some point, and she held William's arm intimately, but her eyes slashed over me like a knife. "I remember, thank you for the reminder." William pulled out his arm a little embarrassedly, "Victoria, this is Emily Carter."
"I know who she is." Victoria looked me up and down, looking like she was evaluating a flawed product. "Congratulations on your...incitement speech. But remind you that St. Mary's tradition is not so easy to change."
She pulled William away quickly. Before turning around, I saw William throwing a sorry look. In the distance, Victoria took out her phone and quickly typed something, with a sneer on her face that she was sure to win. I know, I might have just caused myself a lot of trouble.
But strangely, I don't regret it at all.