Chapter 4: Leaving and Landing.

Juliana – POV

After dinner with my parents, I went back to my room upstairs.

I didn't sleep.

I tried, but every time I closed my eyes, my brain kept singing,

"This is an opportunity of a lifetime…"

Like a broken loop stuck on joy.

I got in.

I still couldn't believe it. Not through a regular test or ranking.

I got in because someone saw something in me — in my performance.

The Exceptional Talent Scholarship.

I was the only one. The 11th name.

But for the past week, I've been avoiding Julius and Juliet.

I skipped every hangout. I ignored calls. I kept texting, "Next time."

It wasn't because I didn't want to see them.

It was because I knew — if I saw them, I'd break.

One look at their faces and I'd spill everything. And I didn't want to ruin the surprise.

But still… I hated hiding it.

I kept imagining Juliet thinking I was pulling away.

Or Julius wondering if I was hurt by not getting in.

I didn't want them to think I was sad. I just… needed the perfect moment.

A big Juliana-style reveal.

So I poured everything into our anthem — our chant, our story.

I finished the full version of The Julies Anthem tonight.

Added a new bridge — soft like a whisper — that slides into the chorus.

🎵

It's like it's meant to be

It's meant to be

J-U-L-I-E-S

We are meant to be.

🎵

And I wrote another verse — with all three of our names.

Because this song will always grow with us.

I recorded a demo on my phone, whisper-singing so I wouldn't wake Mom and Dad.

Tomorrow, I'll record it for real.

"Don't judge me, Mom. Suspense with a twist? Classic."

"This is not a movie," Mom replied. "These are your best friends. How did you even manage to keep it from them for a whole week?"

"I have a plan. Just help me pull this off. One last time."

Juliet's mom had called earlier — Juliet thought I didn't get in.

"This is the last time I'm lying for you," Mom warned.

"Technically, it's not a lie. It's… dramatic storytelling," I smirked.

"Say that again and I'm calling Juliet right now."

"Mom, you know I love you," I grinned, acting cute.

She just rolled her eyes.

But I'm ready now. The song's done.

It's time to tell them — in Juliana style.

Juliet – POV

Julius and I are in my room, packing — slowly, quietly.

The mood is heavy. There's excitement, sure… but something's off.

 "It's not fair," I said, folding a shirt. "I feel like we're leaving her behind."

Juliana. She hadn't joined any of our hangouts this week. Barely called.

We tried to act normal, but we knew something wasn't right.

"Maybe she just doesn't want her sadness to rub off on us," I said softly.

"You know Juliana — she hates looking weak."

Julius tried to smile, lightening the mood.

"Or maybe she's just locked in her room writing a Grammy-winning heartbreak song."

Then — a knock.

We both turned.

The door creaked open… and Juliana peeked in, hoodie up, wearing that mischievous grin we knew too well.

 "Did someone say I'm getting left behind?"

We froze.

She stepped into the room, holding a sparkly cardboard sign:

"The Julies Forever – 3/3 ✨"

"No way…" Julius whispered.

"Yes way!" Juliana beamed. "They made me the 11th scholar. Exceptional Talent. I'm in!"

Everything exploded.

Laughter, hugs, Julius spun her around. I clutched the sign like it was gold.

 "I knew the stars wouldn't separate us," I said, tears slipping out.

 "When did you find out?" Julius asked.

"Same day as you guys. I didn't say anything because I wanted to surprise you."

We chased her around the house — laughing, half angry, half amazed.

She played our song, now polished and perfect, as her apology. We didn't even need one.

We danced. We screamed. I cried.

We're all going to Diamond.

We're not being separated.

We are meant to be.

Juliana's POV

After helping each other pack, we had one last family hangout—just us and our parents and their siblings.

Yes, they have siblings too. Julius has an older sister, and Juliet has two little brothers who look just like her but wilder. That night was full of food, laughter, games, and a little sadness underneath it all.

Also… we celebrated Julius's birthday. He turned 17 that week. He's the oldest among us—just three months older than me. Juliet and I were born in the same month, but I'm a few days earlier, which makes me the middle, and Juliet the youngest. Our trio had always joked that we were born for this—our lives were aligned from the start.

And now, we were ready to leave.

It was Friday. School would resume Monday, but Diamond College opened a week earlier for students who wanted to check in or meet officials ahead of time.

My dad gave me a black leather jacket and a pair of sneakers, saying, "This will make you look cooler when you're performing on stage." I hugged him tighter than I planned.

Mom gave me something I wasn't prepared for: a customized bracelet with my name. But the J was shaped like a little dragon, and the last A curled into a bunny.

Tears welled up in my eyes. That hit.

I would miss my family. A lot. This was the start of a new chapter. I might not come home on some breaks. I wouldn't hear Dad's off-key humming every Saturday or Mom calling me ten times before I even came downstairs.

We got to the airport in Dad's car. Juliet and Julius arrived a few minutes later. We were all flying together—with Julius's mom.

Juliet's mom had to stay behind to care for her younger brothers, and my parents said goodbye at the airport gate.

My mom teared up as we hugged goodbye. I could feel my throat closing.

I turned to my dad and teased, "Now you get alone time with your wife. Try not to mess it up."

We all laughed. I needed that laugh to stop myself from crying.

Finally… Diamond College

As soon as I stepped out of the plane and took in the city, I could smell wealth. But the moment we drove through the gates of Diamond College?

Jesus.

It was more than just a school. It was an estate. The kind of place you only see in movies—or on the front of magazines with people who are "born into wealth."

"Holy Jesus," I said, stunned.

"Yeah right. We've seen the adverts but damn," Julius added.

"This is massive," Juliet breathed.

Even Julius's mom was amazed.

We started snapping photos—everything from the flowers to the statues to the digital welcome banner scrolling our names. It was like we were documenting every single second before it became real.

We made our way to the administrative building to check in. Then a polite man from the staff put us in a Diamond College shuttle that took us to the dorm area.

And the dorm…..

The school dorms weren't in the same compound as the main campus. But that didn't mean they were any less impressive.

The dorm was basically a gated apartment estate.

Buildings stood tall—six floors each, like luxury condos. Not the kind of "bunk-bed-and-curfew" situation we'd expected. These were real apartments.

Each had two bedrooms, a shared living room, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. Two students per unit.

Since we were scholarship students, they had grouped our names together.

> "Juliana Johnson and Juliet Adams. Dorm 115A," the man read.

"Wow. They put us together!" Juliet said, excited.

"I was going to throw hands if they didn't," I said.

The man gave me a look and chuckled. "No need for that, young lady."

We all laughed.

"What about me?" Julius asked. "Where's my room?"

"Julius Lakes, dorm 116A. Your roommate isn't here yet. Name's Matthew Jordan."

And just like that, we were in.

We had arrived. We weren't dreaming. We were standing at the beginning of the rest of our lives.

And even though the air smelled different, the buildings looked like palaces, and our dreams were too big to carry all at once—

We were still The Julies. Together. 3/3.

Juliana's POV

We helped each other unpack—with Mrs. Lakes assisting too. Thankfully, the units were already furnished, so we didn't have much to do beyond setting up our clothes and organizing our personal stuff.

I placed my guitar carefully by the window in my room, Julius brought out his basketball like it was a precious jewel, and Juliet, of course, set up her stack of books and a few solved Rubik's cubes like trophies on her shelf.

Once everything was in place, we followed Mrs. Lakes to the front gate. She would be spending the night at a hotel in the city and heading back tomorrow.

"Take care of each other. I know you've got each other's backs," she said before hugging us goodbye.

That sentence warmed something in me.

As we walked back to our dorm, chatting and laughing, a couple of students passed by and struck up a casual conversation. That's when we learned that our building was just one section of the dorm system.

Apparently, our block was the closest to the school—just a 10 to 15-minute walk. It was mostly occupied by scholarship students and mid-tier students because it was more affordable.

Honestly? It looked pretty great to us.

Until we went exploring.

And then… we saw the other dorms.

The deeper we walked into the dorm estate, the more jaw-dropped we became.

Some buildings were like boutique hotels. Clean-cut modern architecture, sleek glass balconies, smart-lock doors, rooftop gardens, glowing nameplates. Every building had its own look, and yet, they all screamed luxury.

There were dorms with swimming pools, private gyms, and lounge areas that looked like five-star lobbies. One dorm even had a rooftop cinema.

We stood there speechless.

"This is a dorm?" Juliet whispered, clearly stunned.

"I need to be adopted," Julius muttered.

We learned that those dorms were for the top-tier students—the ultra-rich. Children of multi-millionaires. Billionaires. Legacy kids.

We didn't even bother going deeper into that side.

We were already wowed enough. We saved that trip for another day.

We also learned something else interesting—it wasn't compulsory for students to live on campus. Some stayed in the dorms, while others, especially those who lived in the city, took dorm units but didn't really stay in them full-time.

Some came and went as they pleased. Some slept at home more often than not. But most had a dorm assigned regardless—just in case.

For us though, this was it. Our new home.

And even though our dorm was the "affordable" one, it was still more than we had ever experienced before.

We weren't here to compete with the wealth.

We were here to change the game.

We went out on Saturday—not exactly for shopping, more like sightseeing with the occasional "I-have-to-have-this" moment. Julius bought a jersey, Juliet found a cute dress, and I picked up a stylish hat. The rest of the time, we wandered around, soaking in the city and its luxury.

Then we stumbled on a group of girls—clearly Diamond College students, judging by their confidence and the bags from designer stores dangling from their wrists like accessories.

They were loud, laughing, and deep in conversation, not even noticing us nearby.

 "I can't wait to see The Monds this term. What hair color will they go with this time? Red? Gold? Mint?" said a girl with shiny brown hair.

"You know they're not really The Monds anymore. Raymond and Desmond fought," another girl replied casually.

"But Edmond is still friends with both of them. So technically, they're still kinda connected," the brown-haired girl added. We later heard her name was Emily.

They kept moving from one boutique to the next, still gossiping like they were in their own world.

 "Raymond is mine," one girl declared confidently.

"I'm going for Desmond," Emily said with a smirk.

"You better keep your eye off him. Laura will kill you," the other warned.

"They're not even together. Laura can't intimidate everybody," Emily scoffed.

"Laura's got her eye on everyone. But Desmond is her ultimate," the other girl said. "Edmond is less stressful."

 "You think Edmond is less stressful? Edmond is crazy," Emily laughed.

 "They're all heartbreakers. But at least they're hot while doing it," Kim—the one with the cool, calm voice—said.

I nudged Julius and whispered, "They're not wrong about the handsome part."

He gave me a side-eye.

"Well, that's a lot of information," Juliet muttered.

 "Looks like we're in for some rich kid drama," I added.

 "The Kim girl seems sensible… and beautiful... and—" Julius started.

We both gave him the look. He stopped mid-thought, and we all burst out laughing.

"You're going to have a lot of competition, Julius," I teased.

 "I'm not here to compete. I'm Julius. Are you kidding me?" he replied, pulling up his collar dramatically.

"Oh, great Caesar," Juliet said, and we cracked up all over again.

Diamond is already delivering. The Monds. Emily. Laura. Kim. This is going to be interesting.

Sunday

When we got back to the dorm, Julius's roommate had already arrived and settled in. He was African-American like me, but with warm brown skin while mine's lighter. His name was Matthew Jordan. He seemed chill, but we'd see how things go.

Later that Sunday, the kind man who helped us check in came by again — this time with our school uniforms. Diamond College students wear uniforms on Mondays.

And just like that, Monday arrived. Our first official day at Diamond College.

 Just like Juliet said: "This should be fun."