Chapter 4

Mr. Gregory was another of samara's parents' employees. He was a tall, thin man in his mid-thirties, with neatly combed black hair and an air of efficiency about him. He approached samara with a practiced smile, a poor attempt at warmth that didn't reach his eyes. ''Good morning miss samara,'' he began his tone carefully measured. ''your parents regret that they couldn't be here today. They have been tied up with urgent matters at the company. I'm sure you understand….''

Samara didn't respond immediately, instead looking at him harpy, she rolled her eyes at the feeble excuse. Mr. Gregory was trying to soften the blow for the little girl he thought needed reassurance. But samara didn't need reassurance as she never had expectations.

She said nothing, merely offering him a brief, inscrutable look before turning her gaze away. She had long learned that politeness was wasted on someone like Mr. Gregory.

In her previous lives she had seen him as a dutiful caring person that worked for her parents, but over time his sycophantic and selfish tendencies became clear. He wasn't dutiful or caring, he was just a spy from her uncle to her father. That didn't care what happened to anyone so long as he benefited from the power and prestige of the Gennadi family.

Mr. Gregory seemed slightly unnerved by her silence but quickly regained his composure. ''well then,' he continued, ''shall we proceed inside?''

Just then the vice principal came to the entrance, a broad smile on her face as she hurried over to greet them. She was a short woman, stout woman with brown hair, dressed in a formal suit. Her enthusiasm was evident as she spoke, his voice full of practiced charm. ''ah miss samara Gennadi! Welcome to Haldir academy! You're the first of the new students to arrive today. A Gennadi, always punctual!''

Samara nodded politely, keeping her expression neutral. She had met her in her previous lives as well, though not on this day, and her over eagerness to please the children of the elite families was just as she remembered. The vice principal quickly shifted into flattery, clearly aiming to make a good impression. ''you know, miss samara, you're only the second student to be admitted to Haldir academy at the age of seven. The only other students to have achieved such a feat is Alexei Sergey. truly remarkable!''

At the mention of Alexei, samara's heart skipped a beat. Alexei Sergey, the prodigy of the Sergey family, a name that carried weight even among the top elites' families. in all her lives as samara, Alexei had been a figure of fascination and, in many ways admiration for samara. He was intelligent, charismatic, and everything, someone otherworldly. Serena always thought that if this new world was a book, he would either be the from birth op main character or the hidden boss placed to never be defeated. Even by standards of this world, he was untopped. As much as samara admired him, these slight comparisons that eventually blew out of proportion, had been her first and most constant source of pain in her first two lives as samara.

The principal continued her praise unaware of the thoughts running through samara's mind. ''you must be quite exceptional, miss samara to have a feat like the young master of the Sergey family.''

Samara thought to herself '' no… he is on a different world scale altogether.'' She had learned the hard way that using him as a comparison standard was a futile endeavor, and any attempt to measure up to him only led to devastating disappointment and self-doubt. ''it's a black hole'' se reminded herself. '' a hole I refuse to fall into again''.

Seeing no reaction from either samara or Mr. Gregory, the principal's smile faltered slightly, and she quickly moved on, realizing that her flattery was getting her nowhere. ''well, let's get you all settled in, shall we?'' she said, her tone more businesslike now.

Afte the formalities were completed, the principal escorted them to his office, where the necessary documents were signed. Mr. Gregory ensured everything was efficient. Once the process was complete, he turned to samara. ''what time should arrange for your pickup, miss samara?''

''I'll call you through my homeroom teacher's phone about 30 minutes before I'm ready to leave,'' samara replied calmly. ''phones aren't allowed in the elementary school, so that will be the way to contact you.''

Mr. Gregory nodded, clearly accustomed to such arrangements. ''very well, miss samara. I will be waiting for your call.'' With that, he gave a respectful bow and left the office, leaving samara to her first day t the academy.

Samara was led to her classroom by a student guide, and when she entered, she found it empty. The room was well air conditioned. It was neat and orderly with 20 foam padded seats and desks arranged in a five by four grid. samara walked down the rows and made her way to the second seat from the back by the window at the corner of the classroom and placed a tag on it. It was stated in the rule book, that pupils who arrived early could pick and claim their seats with hose tags.

As she placed her books in the locker with her number tag at the back of the classroom and under her desk, samara reminisced about how she had chosen this spot in her first life because, in the anime shows she had watched as Emily, this was where the main character sat- a spot with a view, where the protagonist could daydream while looking out the window. But now, she chose it for a different reason: it was a place where she could remain unnoticed, where she could observe without drawing attention to herself.

''its funny how things change,'' samara mused as she sat down.