Chapter 2

What should she do next?

If everything goes as planned, the $50,000 will be in her account soon, and then she will have many more options. After all, the first pot of gold is the hardest to earn, but once you have money, it can grow and multiply, especially for someone with the advantage of being reborn.

However, her time was limited because her middle school was a boarding school.

Why did she choose a boarding school? It had something to do with ballet.

Although she found ballet beautiful in her previous life and had practiced hard in this one, she gradually realized that ballet was much more challenging than she had imagined, especially after switching from soft shoes to pointe shoes. And Catherine certainly didn't want to end up with "elephant legs."

Grier Girls' School, founded in 1853, is an all-girls boarding school that offers grades 7 through 12.

In the United States, middle school is grades 7 to 9, which is different from China, but by the 21st century, China also seemed to be changing the term for middle school.

Grier Girls' School is one of the top 100 high schools in the United States, but it admits no more than 100 students each year, with a total student population of only 200 to 500, which is very small.

The school is located in Pennsylvania, just a few hours' drive from New York City. It operates on a small class system, with an average of 9 students per class and nearly 100 teachers.

Despite the small number of students, the school covers a total of 130 hectares and has indoor and outdoor swimming pools, an indoor gymnasium (with a basketball court), a riding arena, a soccer field, tennis courts, and a comprehensive learning environment. The campus also includes academic buildings, an auditorium, dance studios, a library, a dining hall, a café, a post office, and a student health center.

The dormitory arrangements are also excellent, with two students per room, sharing a bathroom, and roommates are chosen by the students themselves, allowing them to live with their friends.

It was precisely because of these advantages that Catherine chose this school.

In the United States, summer vacation starts in May and ends in September. Catherine's birthday is on June 1st, and after her birthday, she will officially be 12 years old, or 13 by Chinese age.

According to the timeline, "Harry Potter" will be released on October 1st, but Catherine estimates that it will only start to gain popularity after the release of the second book, as it is often described as a "slow-burning" novel.

The school is large, but the number of students is small, making the learning environment at Grier Girls' School quite excellent.

— This was Catherine's impression after enrolling on August 31st.

However, her unfortunate fate remained unchanged—she still had to return to New York for ballet lessons on weekends.

"Damn capitalism."

Catherine could only sigh in frustration.

"My name is Lily, Lily Padgett. I'm fourteen years old and in eighth grade. I love Elvis Presley's music..."

After new students enroll, the school pairs them with older students to help them adapt to school life more quickly.

Catherine was no exception. The pretty and lively girl in front of her was enthusiastically introducing herself.

She was wearing a slightly tight, beige floral dress and had a large camera hanging around her neck.

"This school is really great."

Looking at the beautiful surroundings, Catherine sighed in admiration.

"Catherine, over there is the riding arena. We learn horseback riding during physical education classes."

Listening to Lily's explanations, Catherine increasingly realized that the education she received in her previous life and American education were like two different worlds. Although she found some aspects of American behavior annoying, she couldn't deny their strengths.

"Call me Kate."

"Alright, you can call me Lily too, Kate."

Lily smiled. The cute blonde girl was not the stereotypical dumb blonde; to get into Grier Girls' School, one had to have some talent, or how could the school rank among the top 100 in the United States?

"Kate, smile~"

Catherine turned around just in time to see the flash.

"Photography is my favorite hobby. I want to become a photographer. Are you interested in joining our photography club? We take photos and make short films."

"Sounds great, but I have to go to SAB for ballet lessons on weekends. I'm sorry." Catherine had never really understood why photography was so interesting, even though she was a visual enthusiast who preferred high-resolution images. To her, photography seemed more like a tedious and time-consuming job.

"That's okay. I heard you won the junior competition at SAB in May. That's impressive."

"Thank you."

Catherine smiled.

Her physical condition was excellent, and learning ballet was easy for her. However, her mother's strict requirements made her feel that she wasn't very good at ballet. Moreover, she didn't think winning against a group of kids made her invincible, given her adult perspective. So, she didn't take the award too seriously.

The flash went off a few more times before Lily finally stopped.

Then, Lily took Catherine on a tour of the school, introducing the large campus and taking photos of her along the way.

"Do you want to live with me? I'm alone in my room."

"Is that okay?" Lily seemed very enthusiastic, and Catherine had a good impression of this "big sister."

"Of course, our school allows us to choose our roommates. Why don't you come and see my room first?"

Lily led Catherine to her dorm room.

There were two beds in the room, but it seemed only one was occupied.

"This is an Elvis Presley record. Do you want to listen to it?" Lily took out a record.

"Elvis Presley?"

Right, the 1960s were also a peak period in Elvis Presley's career. The king of rock and roll was an idol to most people. The hippie movement was just a few years away, and people would become even more wild.

Although she wasn't a big fan of rock and roll, Catherine didn't want to dampen Lily's enthusiasm, and she was curious to hear the legendary Elvis Presley's songs, as she had never listened to them before.