Melody couldn't believe her bad luck. Not only her cousins had enrolled in the same school as her, Lucy was going to be one of her roommates. It felt like a total bummer.

Lucy's rude and stuck-up attitude made all her dormmates dislike her. They also heard about how Melody's cousins mistreated her for years, which disgusted them.

Thankfully Tom wasn't in Benjamin's dormitory. Benjamin didn't think that he would like Tom very much.

Melody enjoyed school. She attended all the classes, spent evenings hanging out with her new friends, and took part in activities.

Melody even joined the school music club. Stephanie and Benjamin were also in the club, so the trio spent a lot of time together.

Melody got to know the other girls as well. Ashley loved drawing and painting. She was planning to be an artist when she grew up.

Emma was very intelligent and was going to study law. She told Melody that she wanted to make the world a fairer and better place.

Paisley wasn't only different. She was also quite delicate. She had been sick very often as a child and wasn't allowed to play sports.

Paisley couldn't go outside for too long as she would get sunburnt easily. She had to take a parasol every time, which made her feel foolish. Paisley had no idea what she could do, which made her sad.

Stephanie also wasn't sure what she would do after school. Although she liked singing, she didn't see herself making a career out of it and wanted to keep it as a hobby. But her father would be more than willing to allow her to have a job at his company until she figured out what she wanted to do.

Melody told Stephanie about her dreams and Stephanie encouraged her to go for them. "I think that it's wonderful that you want to do what makes you happy. You will definitely succeed."

One day, two weeks after the start of term, a popular girl, called Marjorie Carmen, announced that she was going to celebrate her eighteenth birthday at the country club and she was inviting everyone.

Melody barely knew Marjorie. They only had one class together. Marjorie was usually surrounded by girls who only seemed to exist to suck up to her. Marjorie was just as wealthy as Stephanie and Benjamin. Her parents owned a jewellery shop.

Stephanie told Melody that Marjorie was adopted. Her parents had been unable to conceive, so they adopted her.

Marjorie wasn't very attractive looking. She had shoulder length light brown hair, pale skin and grey eyes. Her nose was a little big and she had uneven teeth.

Melody wondered why Marjorie would invite everyone. Wouldn't she keep her eighteenth birthday celebration with only her closest friends?

Because the party was at the country club, Melody went there that Saturday with her swimsuit underneath a simple blouse and skirt. Everyone was wearing swimsuits or just casual wear.

So when Marjorie showed up, everyone stared at her in asthonishment. For Marjorie was in a frilly pink dress with matching gloves. She wore heavy makeup and her hair was done in a glamorous hairstyle. She wore a princess tiara and had a sash which read, Birthday Girl.

"Good heavens!" said Ashley. "Why on earth does Marjorie look like she is going to a ball?"

Marjorie was wearing diamond earrings, a diamond necklace and a diamond ring. She looked less like a girl enjoying her eighteenth birthday and more like a princess going to a ball.

"Hello everyone," said Marjorie with a plastered smile on her face. "I am so glad you all came to my birthday party. Please go and enjoy yourselves."

The boys didn't have to told twice. They ran towards the swimming pool and jumped in, although most of them were still in their clothes.

The girls were more leisurely. They went into the changing rooms and changed into their swimsuits. Ashley and Paisley didn't swim. Paisley because she wasn't allowed, and Ashley because it was that time of the month for her.

Melody wasn't a good swimmer, but she liked sitting in the hot tub. Stephanie went with her.

"I wonder why is Marjorie dressed up like that," said Stephanie. "Why does she dress up like that at a pool party?"

"Yeah," said Melody. "It doesn't make sense for her to not enjoy herself at her own party."

After a while, Melody felt peckish, so she decided to ask Marjorie if the food was served yet. But she couldn't find her anywhere. How strange!

Melody went to the bathroom, but then she heard some strange sounds coming from a stall. "Who's there?" she asked.

"G... Go away," came a teary voice.

"Are you crying?" asked Melody.

"N... No," came the voice.

"Are you sure? It sounds like crying to me," said Melody. "Maybe I can help you."

Slowly, the door opened to reveal Marjorie. Her makeup was a total mess and she had dark circles under her eyes.

"Marjorie?" asked Melody. "What's wrong?"

"I... I want to go and swim, but I am not allowed," said Marjorie. "I feel like one of those Barbie dolls. I have to sit and look pretty all of the time."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that some Barbie dolls wear swimming suits," said Melody. "I used to own one as a kid."

"I feel so fake," said Marjorie. "I only exist to keep my family's reputation together. I can't eat junk food, can't go to theme parks, and can't have fun at all. It takes so much energy to put on all that makeup every morning. My friends aren't even genuine. They only hang around me because I'm rich."

"It's your birthday, right?" asked Melody. "Why don't you go and have fun?"

"Not allowed," said Marjorie.

"Come on. It's your birthday. Shouldn't you have fun?"

Marjorie looked at Melody for a while. Then a smile spread across her face. "You're right! I will go and change."

Five minutes later, Marjorie was in a hot pink swimsuit and jumped into the swimming pool and almost landed on a very surprised Benjamin. "Woo-hoo! This is the best day ever!"

However, as Marjorie was preparing to blow out her candles, she was tripped by an unknown person and fell straight into the huge white cake.

Melody gasped. "Are you okay?"

People started laughing at Marjorie and recorded her. Melody was shocked to find out that those people were Marjorie's fan group.