Bright School: I'm A Princess Part 1

The warm sun baked the sparse green expanse of the Morongo reservation as the tribe gathered to give their best and brightest a proper send off. The entire tribe had come out to see Kateri Serrano off to college, showering her with praise, adoration, well wishes, and the odd playful warning about drinking too much or the Freshman 15, not that she found herself likely to have such a problem. While most, if not nearly all adults who lived on the reservation had fattened significantly over a lifetime of cheap fried foods and copious amounts of alcohol, Kateri made sure to remain fit and muscular. She was spiteful towards her tiny, US Government-mandated home for many reasons, including what the lack of resources and nutrition had done to her once-proud and strong people. In response to the mass alcoholism and rampant obesity that plagued her people, Kateri went out of het way to keep as trim and fit as she physically could, even if that meant sacrificing popular western ideals of femininity and beauty in order to remain strong and healthy.

Still, despite Kateri being known to be a bit dour-faced and grumpy most times, it was hard not to smile when everyone she’d ever known or loved was cheering her on after being accepted into a new, but already well-founded school. She wandered to the end of the reservation where a bus waited to pick her up, taking one last look at the rez before leaving for her next big adventure.

(1)

In all actuality, Kateri felt that her leaving was not only bittersweet, but much later than she would have liked. She’d been able to attend an off-reservation high school where she’d made a couple friends throughout her early teen years, but given her difficulty accessing viable technology, transportation, and funding, Kateri had an immensely difficult time getting a school to accept her without costing a billion dollars to just get in. Without Sachiko and Emefa there to share in her weirdo misfit POC woes, she felt not only alone but….Insufficient. Despite the both of them being on the less wealthy end of the spectrum and being just as ethnic as Kateri (give or take a few shades of skintone), the other two had managed to go off to different universities with full-ride scholarships. Last she heard, Sachiko was hammering out issues with her student password and Emefa was slated to become the head of the student diversity initiative while Kateri sat around in the reservation library endlessly clicking through application after application after application just for a chance to catch up.

“I can do this,” she would say. “I just have to make it mine.”

After over a year of sitting on her ass and trying desperately to fall into slump of despair, food, cigarettes, and booze that everyone else on the reservation her age were already falling prey to, Kateri decided to cycle through and apply to each one again out of desperation. This time, she padded her resume with lies, claiming to have worked at a subway after high school and writing down that she was a member of various clubs that did but no longer existed with the assumption (or at least hope) that no one was going to check on one high school student’s extracurricular credentials. She’d gotten so used to filling out the apps that she had all of the information saved onto a flash drive so she could copy and paste most of it to save time, but found that the majority of the schools she had applied to still had her information on file from the year prior. Almost, save one.

“Dear Miss Serrano,” The email began.

It had come as a complete surprise to Kateri to see something other than spam and rejection letters in her inbox. She’d nearly had a heart attack when she saw it and in her anxiety and excitement, pulled the librarian himself over to read it to with her. It had only been a day since she had applied to the newest school on the registry: Ashford Academy, but they had already sent her a message that didn’t begin with “AUTOREPLY DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL”. She remembered the name from the cultural she'd attended last summer after Lucille Ashford herself praised her for bitching out an entire crowd for her family buying up Morongo land and shrinking the reservation's access to natural resources.

“First and foremost, I would personally like to thank you for your interest in our school. Know that this email is neither an automated response nor that of an AI chatbot, but from the head administrator of the Academy itself.

I have been made aware that several of your claims on your application including your employment history on the Morongo reservation as well as certain club activities were verified to be untrue. Normally, this along with the fact that you are well below our desired student body income bracket would normally disqualify you from the application process and be punished with a permanent ban. However, this has not been the case.

The director of our DEI initiative program and personal friend of mine Emily Knight-Dell has endorsed you for a full-ride scholarship as well as a pardon for what she refers to as “tactical deceptions” that she believes you found necessary in order to give yourself a fighting chance.

Simply put: This is a Law School. We know who you are. We remember what you did. We know you lied. Despite this, we are accepting you anyways on recommendation from one of our higher ups.

That being said, we are pleased to welcome you to Ashford Academy and are looking forward to seeing your resourcefulness channeled into more Ashford-friendly pursuits.

All issues aside, you have been approved for a full ride scholarship and priority registration for any class or club you so desire. Be advised that you will also enjoy VIP student status for the duration of your enrollment until graduation.

See you soon,

-Lucille Ashford”

Kateri was nervous the entire bus ride to the train station, and nervous all the way to the school campus. From the very get-go Kateri knew that the dean didn’t like her after the stunt she’d pulled, but her nervousness began to fade as the dry desert scenery gave way to a verdant oasis in the distance complete with it’s own train station. The Native girl had been so caught up in her anxiety that she had failed to realize that at that point in the ride, virtually everyone on the train was headed to the university and would likely be her classmates, so she was astounded at how crowded it had become when the sounds of chattering voices had grown loud enough to take notice.

The moment the train stopped and the car doors opened, hundreds upon hundreds of students poured out into an already impressive crowd as men in professional looking suits sorted them into groups based on their registration status. Kateri stepped through the doors and was immediately accosted by a man with a clipboard.

“Name please.” He stated quickly, holding his ground as a multitude of young adults moved past him.

“Kateri Serrano?” Kateri called out, almost shouting to be heard over the crowd.

“Excellent. Could you please follow me, miss?”

Kateri did as she was asked and followed him away from the crowd. The two walked towards a closed gate as the other students looked on enviously.

“Don’t mind them, miss.” The man said casually upon noticing her looking backward at the crowd with a guilty look on her otherwise strong features.

He handed her a pristine white envelope sealed with the shimmering, golden Ashford family crest.

“They’re just jealous that you get to be at the front of the pack for the opening ceremonies. This is for you. It contains your student mantra as well as your dormitory keycard. For now I ask that you enjoy the tour of the campus and afterward, take your place in the VIP section for the dean’s speech.”

Kateri did her absolute best to follow instructions, especially knowing that she had already begun on thin ice after the stunt she’d pulled to get in, but it still felt weird and wrong to be receiving such special treatment effectively for lying on her application. On the rez, everyone had to help everyone or they wouldn’t survive. If one person got a leg up, they would help all the others up too. And if someone was receiving some sort of unique benefit, it almost *always* came at someone else’s expense. There was a social debt to be repaid in such situations, lest the tribe see your gains and wealth as ill-gotten or hoarded from the rest of the people. Walking through the gates without everyone else while they watched her get an express tour didn’t sit well with Kateri at all.

Still, the campus was beautiful and lush despite the oppressively bright and pink buildings that comprised an entire half of the student dormitories. While the boys had been sorted into more conventional looking white buildings, the girls’ dorms and apartments were all a luminous pastel pink with tasteful white accents on the trimmings and frames.

(2)

Apart from that, there were numerous lecture halls and sports centers, with several on-campus gyms and gymnasiums that contrasted the equally numerous libraries, computer labs, science labs, and classrooms. There were student-run restaurants and cafés as well as indoor pools, various rec centers, an equestrian center, and even a hookah lounge. For all intents and purposes, Ashford Academy was a paradise….

…But still, Kateri couldn’t quite put her finger on what felt so wrong about the place.

When the tour had ended, Kateri was led to a seat in a specialized area in front of a massive crowd of standing students. Her chair was comfortable and even had a little shade and a glass of lemonade in one cup holder that stood opposite an identical cup filled with sweet tea in the other. It was immensely boujie, Kateri thought, and too decadent for her taste. Her head spun back to the people standing in the heat and she wondered what purpose there was to not supply them chairs other than to make the VIP area more desirable by comparison. She was just about to offer the drinks in her cupholders to whoever wanted them behind her when the most shockingly large-chested woman she had ever seen walked daintily up to the podium, her hand held delicately by an attendant before he bowed and shuffled away once she had reached her destination.

The woman was slim and fit, but that seemed to be the only visibly natural thing about her. Her hair was obviously an expert dye job as only the barest hints of her darker roots could be seen at the base of a flowing mane of platinum blonde hair that gleamed brightly in the golden sun. Her skin was almost too smooth to be considered properly human and the woman’s immensely massive and clearly fake breasts dominated her upper body before pinching into an unnaturally thin waist and flaring back out into a thick set of womanly hips. She was an absolute marvel in some ways, and to Kateri, an abomination in others. The overwhelmed new arrival shuddered at how much time and money this woman had spent forcing her body to look the way it did for what was most likely male attention.

(3)

“Good morning everyone! And welcome to the Ashford Academy Opening Ceremony!” She declared triumphantly in a voice that sounded more to Kateri like a very posh Fox News pundit than a beauty queen or any of the Luscious Sisters.

It was deeper and more professional sounding than she had expected. She spoke like a woman who knew what she was talking about as opposed to the squeaky bimbo she thought she would be listening to instead.

“As many of you know, my name is Lucille Clarissa Ashford and I am the dean of this soon to be prestigious academy in conglomeration with Bright Universities. Each of you here has either paid a significant price to be here to study amongst or elite staff of experts in their field, or have demonstrated a uniqueness that our talent scouts…and in some cases, high-ranking administrators…”

Lucille grinned knowingly at Kateri as she spoke, quirking an eyebrow up and down quickly in recognition as she did.

“…have found to be commendable and interesting enough to be admitted under special circumstances, be they merit-based or simply knowing the right people. I myself am the latter.” Lucille said, causing a chuckle amongst the crowd as she smiled and looked away, her flawlessly white teeth only barely concealed by her perfectly pink and puffy lips.

“However, it is my very great hope that each of you will aspire not for greatness, but to find your place in the societal dream that we here at Ashford all share. To know who you are and appreciate your station in life without regard to what your lessers may think of it. To allow yourself to be the one to stand out in the crowd, unshackled by the past and present, that you may move toward the future carrying only the weight of the life you have built for yourselves.

So go.

Shine.

And as my very good friend would say, usher in a better, brighter, whiter future for all of us!”

The crowd erupted into hellaciously raucous applause as Lucille stepped off of the platform, placing her hand gently on her attendant’s so that he could escort her out of sight. Kateri clapped briefly, but did so with a furrowed brow and leery eyes. Half of that speech, she thought, was about how much one person should consider themselves better than the others. Standing out was one thing, but to see others as her “lessers” and ignore their input about her behavior was something only a very rich, and very entitled white woman would say with confidence. That, along with the heavy insinuation in Kateri’s immediate direction that she only hot in because she “knew the right people” was not only insulting, it wasn’t true. She had no idea who this Emily person was, much less why she would have endorsed her for an all-expenses paid tutelage at a richy bitch trust fund brat university. As the students all dispersed and wandered towards the dorms, Kateri found herself seething with anger.

 “Ay yo! VIP!” Called a voice from the middle of the sidewalk.

Kateri turned to see a heavyset and bulky black girl in jeans and an unbuttoned flannel approaching.

“We ain’t supposed to be over here. This where the po’ people at. We gotta head on down to the apartments.”

The girl continued walking towards Kateri and seemed to recognize her from the ceremony, but Kateri didn’t remember seeing her in any of the other seats. She was broad shouldered and had a mean look on her face, but Kateri didn’t find her especially intimidating. If anything, this woman was far more realistic and authentic looking than many of the other dolled up girls in the area.

(4)

“Aight. You gotcho passwert, rite?” The girl asked.

Kateri remained suspicious but cracked a bit of a smile at how pushy the girl was being. She may have been the smaller woman, but she had been in far more than her share of fist fights growing up and was confident in her ability to kick the shit out of anyone trying to bully her.

“Yeah.” Kateri said bluntly.

“You read it?” The girl asked, an aggressive and skeptical look on her face.

“Uh..No..” Kateri admitted.

“…Should I have..?”

The heavyset black woman rolled her eyes.

“Oh yeah, I read mine. I ain’t gonna use it tho. They got me tryna humiliate my damn self fo they enna’tainment. Ain’t gon’ happen.

Guess what it says.”

Kateri had no idea where to even begin guessing. She figured the password was going to be a series of numbers with a letter or two, but with no context, there was nowhere to even start.

“Gue-Girl, you ain’t gon’ guess?” She asked, the dark circles under her eyes growing larger as she stared accusingly before suddenly breaking her gaze and looking away casually.

“Well if you ain’t gon’ guess, I ain’t gon’ tell you. I got one too but it soun’ weird. My business. Anyways. Lead on.”

Kateri was only slightly put off by the woman’s demeanor, but amused by the show she’d put on. Even so, her ability to smell bullshit a mile a way had kicked in pretty hard during the girl’s speech.

“Where’s your dorm at then? “ Kateri tested.

“Apartment. I got’a apartment over wit da rich kids.” The girl said, her very obviously ghetto ebonics pouring over her every word like syrup.

“Oh yeah? Well then…lead on.” The thinner girl said, gesturing.

“Since you’re in the VIP apartments, you must have had the tour. Why don’t you take the lead and I’ll follow you?”

The black woman stared indignantly for a moment, clearly looking like she was holding back a tantrum.

“Aight, bitch, I see you tryna test me. I see you. Aight. Fine. I ain’t a VIP. I just wanted to see what kinda shit they gave you ova me but dass’aright. I ain’t hatechu f’being skeptical. But lemme tell you. If you’s native? Then they got you fucked up to be tryna steal up this Indian land an shit fo the school. But that ain’t me…just thought you should know. Anyways. I’m Theresa. Figure I might see you around tho so if you needa talk or have a frien…..that ain’t me. You do you, boo boo, okay? But if people be getting racist n shit….I dunno, ah help out. If they bullyin you fo bein dumb or bein a bitch I ain’t gonna help. Thass’ all you but if they bein racist I’mma help out. Anyway…If you see me around………preten’ you di’nt, aight?”

Theresa walked away with a pronounced swagger on her boxy, fat frame towards the dorms. Kateri was amused and a little offended by the woman, but couldn’t help but find her unyielding ghettoness refreshing after hearing Lucille’s very supremacist speech. Still, Kateri couldn’t help but wonder about the password that Theresa was so unwilling to say out loud and ended up reaching into her pocket and pulling out her own envelope.

As she walked down the paved stone sidewalk leading to her apparently high class apartment, Kateri stared at the envelope in her hand as Theresa’s words clanged around in her head like a rusty bell. She had no idea whether or not the school had been abusing the local native population, but the idea infuriated her. Or, she thought, she could have meant that the school was built on stolen native land which was….pretty much the entire country. She didn’t know, but she still felt angry.

With a thudding heart and a strong sense of foreboding, Kateri opened up her envelope and first pulled out a blank keycard with the number “7” printed on it in some kind of italic font. Secondly, Kateri removed a small piece of stationary from the envelope and leaning her head towards it suddenly scowled at it in confusion.

“….I’m A Princess.” She said aloud.

Suddenly, Kateri was doubled over in pain and hideous nausea. Everything around her seemed to spin as she fought valiantly to stay on her feet, her stomach groaning in miserable agony. And then, as quickly as the pain had come, it was gone. There was suddenly no trace of nausea or sickness, but Kateri chalked it up to needing water and to get off of her feet. She’d had a very long trek and after having to sit in the desert sun, her stomach must have been cramping up from dehydration. She looked down one more time at the card and shook her head, causing thick waves of freshly conditioned hair to tousle in front of her while the scent of the natural aloe soap made by her tribe washed over her with the comforting smell of home.

She had finally made it to a place where she could decide her future and become someone with the resources to help uplift the Morongo out of poverty without the help of a damn casino or cheap carnival rides. But even as she made her way towards the nicer, fancier apartments, Kateri could feel the…pinkness….of the buildings washing over her in an unwelcome deluge of cotton candy color.

She stretched and centered herself, unwilling to let herself be influenced by her environs and the people that inhabited it, staring down the campus like a wary coyote watching a potential threat. She knew that her cleverness had paid off enough for her to luck into the situation she was in, but her dishonest means still didn’t help her feel less out of place after both Theresa and Lucille had made a big deal out her supposed status. It felt unearned.

..Or rather…not *completely* unearned, but the prospect of being in this strange new place all alone was a daunting prospect.

“I can do this.” She told herself, flipping her sleek black mane behind her shoulder.

“I just have to make it mine.”

(5)