Prologue

Cordelia Scott, at the age of only fourteen, lived through horrors that most people of today would only witness on television. Being one of the first black students to integrate a white school, the type of bullying and racism piled upon her would make anyone's knees buckle. And she wasn't an exception, because no one is supposed to be. Still, she got out of bed everyday and walked through those doors, making it to each and every class.

Her high school life was as normal as it could be. She had a best friend- Candace Wright, and a crush- Ivan Daley. They were the only students in the school who didn't bully her or outright ignore her. But she kept her crush to herself because she knew that in her world, that relationship would never be allowed to exist.

He was white, after all. And besides, he didn't like her back. Or so she thought until on some random Friday he confessed his feelings to her on their walk from one class to another. She told him to never speak of it again and by the time they met up with Candace, she had pushed it to the back of her mind.

But she always saw him staring at her longingly through his unfairly long lashes and flashing that beautiful smile when they passed one another in the hallways. For way too long, she forced herself to ignore it, thinking that his feelings for her would fade. They didn't and eventually she gave in to them. They began sneaking around behind everyone's backs, including Candace's, stealing kisses and hugs whenever they could.

And it was kept a secret for over a year until it blew up in their faces. A page of her notebook was stolen with secret notes written by her and Ivy- which she lovingly called him. And, on what she thought would be a normal Tuesday, were read to the student body by the only other person in the school that she trusted.

Candace Wright called them unnatural and disgusting, and preached to every other student who would listen, that it wasn't normal. Ivan happened to not be there that day, having gone on a trip with his father, and so there was no one to save her from the bullying that she endured. There was an uproar from the students and the teachers alike.

Even students who looked like her hated her, because the bullying was made worse for them, all because of what she did. Ivan and his dad came back as fast as they could because everyone got into contact with them in anyway possible to express their horror and distaste.

Ivan had kept her a secret from his parents because he didn't know how they would react- and Cordelia had done the same. So she was more surprised than ever when Mr. and Mrs. Daley were supportive of the union.

They got her and Ivy an at-home tutor and let them hide away from the world before surprising them a few months later with a school of their own. A school that they named Ivy Cordelia and allowed in students who looked like the both of them- and those who looked like neither.

She ran into Candace not too long after the opening of the school. She admitted to being jealous because of the crush she, herself, had on Ivan. She believed the poison she had preached that day, stating that even though she wasn't racist, she'd never view their coupling as normal.

Cordelia wished her the best, and Candace wished that Cordelia would never be able to give birth and have half-breed children that would take away the purity in the world. She and Ivan had ten, beautiful kids who were sweet and smart and wanted the best for every person they came into contact with. Not in spite of her, but to be lights in the darkness of the world. And Ivy Cordelia became a boarding school even more historical and coveted than the oldest of its kind.

*This isn't a historical story. This part only serves to explain the history of the school, and how it came to be.