I ran. And ran. And ran.

Away from weirdos.

Why was I running away from weirdos? Because suddenly all three dorms wanted me. I didn't understand at first, but much later Jamie explained that the competitions held between the three dorms usually result in amazing prizes for the winner. The competitions were usually picked in random, so everyone wanted the best of the best in their dorms.

Ever since that PE lesson I was chased endlessly by the three dorms as they persisted relentlessly to get me to join them.

Each dorm had a Head and these Head's were usually tenth or eleventh graders, because the twelfth graders were much too busy with their exams to care about which dormitory is the better one.

The first one to approach me was the Head of dorm 3.

"Little lamb, lost in the darkness, join me hand-in-hand as we pursue our dreams together!" He twirled around, his cape flying as he did so. "My name is Jesse, and dorm 3 is the dorm for you!" He stopped twirling to bow down to me with a handsome grin on his face. He was wearing a ridiculous outfit, which I later learned was actually his usual attire and not just a hobby. He dressed like something you would see in medieval times, except with a red cape, and wore a white silk hat. A weird combination, with bright colours. Anyone wearing something like that must be crazy!

And he was.

Jesse swooped me up in his arms and carried me like a princess. I wriggled out of his arms and tried running away, but suddenly about ten students surrounded me. They all wore their school uniform, but with a red cape added.

Dorm 3 students! I realised in horror.

They all twirled as they cornered me against a wall. I looked up and noticed it was only a wall separating the gardens, so I jumped up and over the wall leaving Jesse and his followers behind.

Next to chase after me was the Head of dorm 1. He was tall and big, obviously someone who could crush someone like me with his two fingers.

"I, Davis, challenge you!" he yelled and bent his knees with his arms either side, his hands balled in fists. "Enter dorm 1 and join us in battle!"

"Okay!" I yelled and copied his pose, but before he could approach me I jumped over yet another wall and made my escape. "I refuse!"

Insane!

Then… I met the Head of dorm 2. Though the Heads of dorm 1 and 3 were attractive in their own way, if you like muscle or arty men, Henry was the cherry on the cake. He had wavy strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes that shined. His smile was small but it made his handsome features stand out even more. His uniform was sloppy, his tie not even done properly.

However, I would know a playboy when I see one.

"Wow! You're incredibly cute!" he said and laughed. "Almost like a girl! Too bad… if you were a girl I wouldn't mind going out with you."

A pursed my lips. Yeah, a playboy.

"My name is Henry; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Then I saw the dorm 1 and 3 Heads, with all the dorm 1 and 3 students behind them. Then more students arrived and I guessed they must be part of dorm 2. At first Henry didn't do anything, but when he realised that Jesse and Davis were standing behind him with an army he ran up to me and clasped my hands.

"Join dorm 2!" he begged. "We havn't won anything for ages!"

"You're cheating!" Davis bellowed in a loud voice. "Fight me if you want him!"

"He's mine!" Jesse sang. "We need a heroine in our new play!"

Why am I the heroine!? "Enough!" I yelled, furious. "Do you even know my name?"

All three Heads looked at me.

Sheepishly they shook their heads.

"As I thought!" I crossed my arms. "I decided which dorm to join."

They bent forward in anticipation.

I turned around, crouched down in a starting position, and yelled, "Not one of them!" as I sprinted across the yard and into the East Wing building.

I didn't stop until I reached the infirmary, where the school doctor takes care of sick and injured students.

"Darren!" I yelled as I slid open the doors.

He was lying on the bed, reading an adult's (I'd rather not mention what was contained in it) magazine.

He rolled over and fell on the floor, his face full of surprise.

"Ali!" he became aware that it was me.

"Don't call me Ali here, it's Alex."

"Right, right," he moaned and got up off the floor. "What's wrong? Someone already found out your secret?"

"Of course not!" I scoffed. "I'm being chased by three dorms. I've never been so scared in my life."

"You don't look scared; you have that same expressionless face as per usual. You know, you would have a thousand lovers if you just smiled once a while."

"I'm not desperate like you," he showed me his middle finger when I said this, "and I'll be hiding here for a while." I turned to face him with my hands on my hips. "And why are you here, anyway?"

"Well you need someone to protect you. Only I and the Director know about that after all."

"Well that I can manage perfectly on my own. I did it many times in the past."

"This is All-Boys Wilson Academy, one thousand boys all shoved into one school. Almost fifty of those students are in the dorms you'll be living in."

"I said I'll be fine. Just because I've known you my entire life doesn't mean it makes it fine for you to just follow me everywhere."

"Someone needs to protect you."

"I'm fine protecting myself!"

Darren looked at me sceptically. Finally he brushed back his long brown hair in defeat as he sighed. "Well, I'll help you out best I can."

"You're a pervert, no thank you!" I turned to leave, but he took my arm.

"Ali…"

"Alex," I corrected him.

"Just be careful."

"I know…"

"You are a girl, after all."

I believe in God. I've never gone to church, and I barely touched the Bible, but I still believe.

He believed in God as well. He always spoke to me about how he wanted to live pure and happy in order to reach Heaven.

Are you in Heaven, Alex?

I held my bags tightly in my hands as Henry guided me through dorm 2. He explained the schedules to me, his hands around me as we walked through the halls, and then finally showed me my room.

"You'll be sharing with Jamie," he explained to me. Who's Jamie? "I heard you requested a private room for personal reasons but we're struggling as it is. The biggest room has four students living in it!"

I looked inside the room. It was big, much to my surprise, that it wouldn't be too much of a problem living with another. It had a bathroom with a shower and a toilet, and tiny fridge and microwave, and an upper level where there were cupboards. The white and blue bunk bed sat in the furthest corner.

"Will you be okay here?" Henry asked politely.

"Yeah, it's great." I walked in and placed my bags next to the bed. The bottom bunk had messy sheets, and the top looked unused for a long time. Looks like I'll be sleeping up top, perfect.

"Jamie will be back after soccer practice," I was informed.

"Thanks."

"See you at dinner."

"Yeah."

Henry closed the door. I glanced around the room before unpacking most of my things.

"Ah!"

I turned around to see who it was, only to see my new roommate Jamie standing there with his hands deep in his pockets.

"Ah!" he said again.

I looked at him. "What?"

"You're my new roommate?"

"Yeah."

"And you sit next to me. Man…"

I remembered he was the kid I met in class. "Oh! Jamie!"

"What, you already forgot about me?"

"Yes."

"Really honest, aren't you?"

I shrugged.

He started staring at me again. Feeling uncomfterable I asked, "Is it okay if I have the top?"

"Yeah, I don't like sleeping high up. I sleep walk sometimes."

"Oh, okay." I climbed up and dragged one of my bags with me. As Jamie turned his back toward me I quickly unpacked bandages, denim vest, and a few other things. I hid them inside my mattress after Jamie went inside the bathroom. I continued to make sure he wasn't looking.

When he came out I fell to my bed, trying to pretend I was just lying there, but he saw me move.

"What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing! What about you?"

He cocked his eyebrow and said, "Dinner is soon, you better hurry." He left the room and I sighed, thoroughly relieved. I was tense, and worried. If a girl was caught in this school I would never hear the end of it.

I walked into the common room after making sure all my 'lady' things were hidden properly, and everything else was unpacked neatly into my cupboards.

The place was already full of students, and almost every seat was taken up. A boy was lying on the sofa randomly reading a book. He had black hair and wore thick reading glasses. When I walked in he noticed me and just stared, before turning back to his book.

Suddenly I could feel an arm around my shoulders and turned to see Daniel. He kept his blonde hair back with a headband.

"You're quite the runner," he said with a challenging smile.

"Uh…"

"I know you're just new in the country and you just got back from overseas but I was wondering something…"

"What's that?" I asked.

He bent forward and whispered in my ear, "How are the girls over there?"

"Uh—Uh…" Why are you asking a girl that!? "I guess that depends on the person I guess…"

"I see…" He looked at me. "So I guess you havn't gotten a girlfriend yet either, huh?"

Either?

"Well, a lot of the guys here think that stuff is important so try and keep up an image."

What type of image have you got? I wondered, looking at the innocent boy.

"You seriously have this 'girlish' feel to you though," he said thoughtfully and looked at me.

"Don't be ridiculous!" I almost yelled. "How can I be a girl if I'm here?"

"Yeah, you're right, you're right." He patted my chest. "Otherwise you'd have something there, right?" He let go of me and grabbed my elbow, guiding me to the dining tables. I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn't discovered yet, but that was certainly a close one.

I accidently bumped into someone. He was shorter than me, and he had beautiful red hair and big amber eyes. He was half-crying as he shouted, "I'm not handing over my position to the likes of you!"

I looked at him. "What was that?" I asked aloud.

Henry appeared by my side. His green eyes seemed to be laughing as he pointed behind me at the wall and said, "Probably that."

On the wall was a poster with SCHOOL'S IDOL printed on it with my photo plastered all over. Next to my photo was a smaller photo of the boy I bumped into earlier.

"We usually have competitions for who's the prettiest boy in the school," Henry explained.

"You've barely been here a day and you're winning over Sammy," Daniel told me.

This is the weirdest school I've ever been to…

"The guy in charge is that one over there," they said at the same time, pointing to the glasses-boy lying on the sofa with a book. "He's Brodie." Daniel added, "And my roommate."

"Anyway, I'm going to go have dinner," Henry said and gave me a one-armed hug before walking away.

"Be careful, Alex, you can get pregnant by just touching people like him," Daniel whispered to me. However I could hear a faint, angry mutter coming from Henry's direction saying, "I can still hear you Dan!"

During dinner I sat between Daniel and Jamie. Daniel talked to me nonstop, but Jamie didn't say a word.

Daniel must've sensed I was uncomfortable because he whispered to me, "Don't worry about Jamie, he's been in a bad mood ever since he was placed as a reserve on the soccer team."

"He's a sub?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's changed ever since the one week holiday."

After dinner many students continued just hanging around the dining room. Once all the plates were cleared away someone ran into the room waving a scroll in his hand.

"We have another one!" he yelled.

Everyone gathered around him. He unrolled it and read it out loud.

"The birds are singing as the sun sets. The first person to find the treasure gets weekend's off-campus tickets!"

Everyone cheered.

"Of course!" Jesse sang as he spun around with his arms wide open. "Dorm 3 will be the winners of this challenge!"

Davis punched one of the dorm 1 students as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Dorm 1 will be crowned as kings!"

Henry pushed back his strawberry-blonde hair and just smiled. "As a lover of women I'll never back down."

Someone appeared next to me. His long black hair covered most of his face and he had a tall and slim figure. "I feel something amiss," he said hauntingly as he held up his hands. "A bad, terrible feeling." He looked at me. "And you… you are different from the rest of us. You will change… everything."

HUH!?

"Alright…" I said.

Daniel scratched his chin. "The birds are singing as the sun sets… what could that be?"

Everyone fell silent.

"Of course, dorm 3 will win."

"Dorm 1!"

"Dorm 2, as a lover of women."

The three dorms and their Heads suddenly broke out fighting again.

Sammy, the 'school idol', tugged on the arm of Dorm 2 Head.

"Henry! I will win this for you no matter what!"

With a look of utter disgust he pushed Sammy away. "I can win this on my own." He turned to me. "As the new transfer student in this academy, win this for us!"

What's this about winning on your own?

"Not him! He may be cute, but I'm much cuter!" Sammy whined.

"Hey hey!" someone charged in through the door. "We found an alien in the yard!"

Everyone grabbed brooms and rakes as they ran out, screaming, in order to look at the alien.

"How random…" I said. "What's with this place?"

Jamie was the only one left in the room.

"We get bored here," he explained monotonously. "So every few days we receive a challenge from the Director and we get prizes out of it."

Mrs Wilson? The way she explained it to me was that they're the ones making up competitions… What the hell?

I just nodded my thanks to Jamie for explaining before walking toward the infirmary. On my way there I heard a yell from outside.

"Hey! This isn't an alien, this is our math teacher!" someone shouted.

"Aw man… Again!?" a voice that sounded very much like Daniel's said.

They're all insane, I thought.

I slid open the doors only to find Darren reading another adult magazine on one of the beds.

He once again rolled off the bed and landed on the floor in surprise. "You're back! I knew you couldn't resist my charms."

"Lay off it, Darren." I sat on the bed and placed my face in my hands. "This school is insane. So many random people appear and the dorm Heads and the students are just insane. What was Miss Wilson thinking, placing me here?"

"It was you who begged her for it," Darren said and sat on a chair in front of me.

"I didn't know I would be living here."

"In any case," he muttered, "you only came here to fulfil your dream."

I shook my head. "It isn't my dream."

"Right, right. It's Alex's dream." He raised his thick eyebrows and looked at me. For a man in his late twenties he still looked quite young and handsome. After a few seconds of silence he said to me, "You and him have always looked alike."

I laughed. "Of course! We're twins!"

"Straight black hair, sparkly grey eyes, small and smooth faces. Alex and you were just like little dolls."

"I know. We wore the same clothes and had the same hairstyle, no one could tell us apart, even though one of us is female."

Darren laughed at me. "I was always the victim of your pranks!"

"As our personal doctor we hated you with love," I teased. "Anyway I'm going back to my room, I'm tired."

"You could always sleep with me."

"I'd rather not."

"Good night, Ali."

I looked at him and scowled. "Good night, Pervert."

Five months before I entered All-Boys Wilson Academy I still had Alex by my side.

My twin brother.

We were alike in many ways. Our blood type was the same, our black hair was the same, our grey almond-shaped eyes were the same, our height, our smooth skin, our facial expression and even the way we spoke. Everything about us was the same, even our names were similar. No one could tell us apart.

The only thing that was different between him and I were our genders. I was born as the girl; Alicia Alexis but shortened to Ali. He was born as the boy; Alexander.

We were inseparable. We never left each other's sides. After Mother died after our seventh birthday we moved from America to Japan. After living there for a year we moved back to America. We slept in the same room even as we grew older.

Alex had a dream. He dreamed to become a professional soccer player. He wanted to enter Wilson Academy and reach the finals of the annual Soccer Match Competition, which was said to be the most competitive soccer match amongst middle schoolers in the world. Many were scouted during these matches, and even became famous afterwards.

"I will reach the finals!" Alex told me. "That's my dream! What's your dream, Ali?"

I looked at my brother. I adored him. I couldn't imagine a life without him. "To support you all the way," I answered every time he asked me.

"You can't have support as a dream," he scoffed. "You dress up as a guy all the time to play soccer with me and the other guys, but shouldn't you have a dream that other girls have? Like getting married?"

Always, always. I couldn't imagine a life without him.

"Married?" I muttered. "Then wouldn't we be separated?"

He looked at me. We had the same face, the same posture, but his smile was so much brighter. "Then we should get married!"

I choked on the chocolate milk I was drinking. "What?"

He took my hands in his. "It's fine, right? I don't want to be separated."

"We're brother and sister, we can't get married!" I laughed.

"So what? I can't imagine loving another woman but you. Who cares whether we can or can't? Let's get married."

At the time I had no idea how much I took his words to my heart. Marrying a sibling was unheard of, and marrying a twin would sound very narcissistic.

"Alright," I grinned and laughed again. "Let's get married!"

Because I can't imagine loving anyone but you, Alex.

But…