The courtyard of Serval Ray Boarding School for Girls bathed in the mellow sun’s rays on a warm autumn morning, occasionally pierced by the whistling of songbirds and starting from three years ago, also by the loud orders of a 17-year-old girl.

“Come on, hurry up! I’m going to be late for class!” Fiona shrieked, stomping through the golden leaves piling up on the sidewalk. “And have someone clean up the sidewalk. I don’t want to see any leaves here tomorrow.” She seemed to be an ordinary girl, but what was not ordinary was the army of young girls following in her wake. They were more than willing to obey Fiona, carrying her things with grins wider than their faces.

“Can you believe it? Our first day and the legendary Fiona already gave us so many orders!” a girl, barely even a teen and sagging under the weight of Fiona’s bag, breathed to her friend. Ever since Fiona arrived, whispers of her stupendousness started to seep through the school, beginning with girls Fiona’s age; now, the whole school was soaked by Fiona’s grandeur. The younger girls clutched at each opportunity to be near Fiona, even if that meant being her slave.

As the high school building loomed into view, the girls handed Fiona back her things, which they considered to be more valuable than gold, while casting admiring glances. Just as though Fiona stepped on a switch, she turned off all conversations when she came strolling through the door. Fiona couldn't say she didn't enjoy having all eyes on her. Growing up in a sizable family with five older siblings, she was considered inferior and was often laughed at for being the least successful. It's time for things to change, she had thought on the day her parents sent her away to a boarding school. I will show them my true potential, that my siblings are not the least bit better than me. Fiona soon climbed to the top of the school, being the source of admiration and jealousy.

"Fiona," Ms. Miller, her science teacher, stiffly called from the front of the classroom. "Um... congratulations. You got the best grade in your year on the last assessment. Again. Good job." A few weak claps echoed through the room, as she strutted to the front with a smirk. The whole class watched her snatch her test out of her teacher's hand, and skim through the pages, her eyebrows gradually creeping together.

“Ms. Miller,” Fiona sneered, capturing the confused woman in a death stare, and disregarding the fact that the entire class followed the exchange, she continued, “can I ask where my one percent went?" A paper with a “99%” written in red was thrown in Ms. Miller's face.

The sound of the science teacher clearing her throat exploded in the silence. “Miss Fiona. You got question five completely wrong." Her voice trembled despite her efforts to regain her composure. Fiona studied the woman, though twenty years her senior, shaking with an open
mouth and wide eyes, and sighed.

"Fine," the intimidating 17-year-old scoffed, stalking back to her seat.

The bell for lunch tolled, interrupting Ms. Miller's lecture, and pulling Fiona out of her daydream. She grabbed her bag and trotted out of the room, ignoring Ms. Miller's continuous rant about homework and her classmates hurrying to write one last note or pack up. Fiona had never bothered about taking notes or doing homework. Why put in so much effort when you already get the best grade in every test? Her daydream blew into her mind like a gust of wind. Yes, she was going to get into the best university and make mountains of money. Life for Fiona had never been easier.

"Hey Samantha!" she called, “It's your turn to have lunch with me, remember?"

Samantha turned, looking like she had been shot by an arrow, and started towards Fiona's table, followed by sympathetic and reassuring looks from Samantha’s friends. Fiona watched as the other girl sat down and stared at her untouched plate. “Come on Sam! Look lively! You promised you will, and you know the consequences if you don't!" Fiona hissed.

“Yes. yes. I understand," Samantha quietly acknowledged. Then almost in an afterthought, she added, “And also, um. I think you ought to know. There's a rumor going around that you ... have a super dark side—"

“What?" Fiona growled before the other girl even finished whispering the last few words. "You didn't start it, did you? You know it's going to ruin my reputation!"

"Oh no, no—"

"I want you to tell everyone that that rumor is not true," Fiona demanded. Samantha saw from Fiona’s piercing gaze that she wouldn't take “no" for an answer.

Not even the sharpest axe would break the silence between the girls as they finished their lunches. Their brief conversation still clung to Fiona's mind as she made her way to her pre-calculus class. As usual, she paid no heed to the glare the ancient stocky lady gave her, or the fact that she was ten minutes late.

"Miss Fiona. Do you, by any chance, have any information on the whereabouts of your peer, Madison Harper?" Ms. T asked pointedly.

Fiona quickly denied this, not even sparing a glance her way, slumping down in her chair and dumping her bag on the ground. "No. What happened?”

"Why, I thought you had already been informed. Madison has disappeared since lunch.”
Fiona considered this for a moment. Madison Harper was the second-smartest student in school, after Fiona herself. Fiona still had a grudge against the other girl for scoring one point higher than Fiona on an exam the year before, and everyone was aware of that. Then it all clicked into place ... the disappearance, the dark rumor, everything. Fiona had a well-defined motive for wanting Madison gone, so everyone suspected that Fiona had something to do with the disappearance, hence the rumor about her "dark side”.

"Oh! That's the most unfortunate. I swear I have nothing to do with it!" Fiona insisted. Ms. T's eyes were glued onto the mask of innocence on Fiona’s face.

"Very well. Now, continuing with functions…”

As usual, Fiona turned a blind eye to the lesson. Opting instead to daydream or write in her secret little red notebook. Her thoughts jumped to Madison's disappearance, which she couldn't say she wasn’t glad about. Fiona contemplated an idealistic world without Madison, if Fiona could be first in everything without any competition...

The rest of the day flew by, ending in Fiona's favorite event all year - the awards ceremony. It was the ideal chance for Fiona to prove to the whole school that she was the best. There Fiona sat, in the front row of the theatre, awaiting her awards. She rubbed her palms together, her face glowing. The awards in themselves were no more than pieces of paper but to Fiona, they were symbols of her various successes.

The lights in the theatre dimmed, and stirred up an enlivened atmosphere. A single spotlight shone on the stage, revealing a tall man with hair as white as snow.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The awards ceremony is one of the most anticipated events all year, featuring young ladies who proved themselves as extraordinary…” The principal, as old as the school itself, proceeded to make the opening speech, "Now please welcome the winners of this year's Academic Achievement Award!” Fiona's ears perked up, listening intently to the list of names called out “.... Madison Harper, who, unfortunately, can not be with us today, Heaven-Leigh, Fiona Elsher…” Fiona glowed, the bundle of kindling in her gut ignited, and she walked onto the stage, towards the principal with her head held high.

She was one step away from and facing the principal when a steady but high-pitched voice from the side of the stage called, "Fiona Elsher. I have your award.”

All heads turned. The figure stood in the shadow, so Fiona was unable to make out her features. "Fiona. Turn around and face the audience,” the figure continued. Confused and startled, Fiona obeyed. "Good. I'm going to give you your award.” Hundreds of pairs of eyes stared as the figure stepped forwards and into the spotlight. Fiona heard herself and others gasp as the light gave away the identity of the slender and lanky girl.

It was none other than Madison Harper, the girl who disappeared... and in her hand, she held a knife…

In the blink of an eye, Madison was on Fiona, coming up behind her and holding the knife to Fiona’s throat, and she felt the cool metal blade press into her flesh, a nanometer away from cutting through. Fiona’s blood ran cold, and she held her breath, motionless as a corpse. For a minute she could not think or move, and her words froze in her mouth. As her gaze scanned the audience, the fact that nobody was going to help her embedded itself in the pit of her stomach. The once lively audience was as still as dolls, staring, awaiting, and almost expecting her death. The silence in the theater was interrupted by the hammering of Fiona’s heart, trying to persuade Madison to spare its life.

Fiona gasped, releasing a breath that she had held for too long, but even that small movement made the blade bite into her throat even more, enough that a drop of warm red blood dripped from the cut and onto Fiona's shirt. The red dot was gradually spreading through the veins of her white sweater, draining her life force. Feeling the warm liquid trickle down her throat from the cool metal blade was like boiling water dripping from ice, and it burned through the haze in her brain. The despair of the moment came crashing down on her so hard that her knees buckled. Wrong move. Madison's arm tightened around her chest with strength that nobody realized she had hidden in those scrawny arms, and she heard the grating of Madison's teeth as the knife was pushed in deeper. The red patch grew...

Fiona was sobbing now, a flood of tears gushing down her ashen cheeks, mingling with the blood at her throat. She clawed and kicked and struggled, but nothing could break the iron grip of the other girl, reinforced by sheer willpower.

"Stop.” The voice of Madison rang out, quiet but commanding, so sudden that even Fiona froze for a second. "Everyone. Listen to me," Madison continued, her voice echoing through the theatre, more deafening than the volume of ten speakers combined. Fiona felt, rather than heard, the deep breath sucked in by her holder. “I know you are all wondering why I am doing this, but I have a clear and ethical motive.

“Let me start from the beginning. I arrived at the same time Fiona did, and we became instant friends. I, as an ordinary teenager, was attracted by the idea of befriending someone who supposedly came from a rich, even royal family. We shared nearly everything with each other, and in hindsight, I reckoned I shared a bit too much. I expressed my intentions and dreams of graduating as the first of my year, and Fiona took that the wrong way. She wanted to be the best, and she will do anything to get her way. Fiona used our friendship against me, threatening that if I ever get a better grade than she does, she will spill all my secrets.

“This went on for a while, and then, instead of just blackmailing me, she forced me to cheat for her. I could not bear it anymore, so I went up to her and shouted in her face that if she continues to cheat, I will tell everyone everything she was doing. Well, the next day, she spread a rumor that made everyone lose trust in me.

“After that...after that…” Madison's voice cut off, her huge sob rattling the theater, followed by sniffles. Her shoulders trembled, but she did not, for one millisecond, loosen her hold on the knife or Fiona.

"Maddy! That's not true!” Fiona took the chance to scream, resuming her struggles with even greater efforts.

"After that," Madison went on, her voice even stronger than before, “I found out that she was blackmailing not only me but also other students and teachers, with their secrets. She was blackmailing you. How she discovered your secrets, I do not know. She forced you, all of you, to make her popular, to do her bidding, to give her the best grades, and you have no choice but to comply. If you don’t believe me, look in her little red notebook.

"So yesterday. I was thinking. Enough is enough. I need to do something about this. I had the perfect idea - I will give Fiona a taste of her own medicine. I will spread a rumor about her "dark side" and fake my own disappearance, then later, during the awards ceremony, I will expose her in front of everyone. And now…” Madison stopped to breathe, her knuckles turning white on the knife handle. Both girls had tears streaming down their faces and were shaking with silent sobs. Madison tried to regain her composure, but all she could say were stuttering words. Finally, she managed to finish what she was saying.

"Fiona, I'm sorry. I truly am, but I'm done giving you chances. All I wished for was a friend, and it was pure bad luck for me to have met you. You ruined my dreams, my future, my career, my reputation, my hopes for getting into a prestigious university, and my life. And now, I'm going to ruin yours.”

Without hesitation, Madison dug the knife deep into Fiona’s throat. The stage exploded with a show of bright red fireworks. Madison released Fiona's stone-dead body and watched as it crumpled onto the stage, already surrounded by a sea of red. Only then did she truly look at the audience, taking in their reactions.

Madison Harper noticed and heard something. The audience was applauding.