The early morning in Forest Hills was awakened by a scream.
"My God, what is this?"
Alice, who was dozing in the attic, sat up abruptly, a corner of her mouth curling into an expected arc.
She rubbed her hair, intentionally stalling for a few seconds, before feigning a sleepy look and walking down the wooden stairs.
In the living room, Aunt Sarah was standing in front of the dining table, clutching that stack of cash tightly in her hand.
Her hands were trembling violently, and her pale face was flushed with an unnatural flush.
The worn-out handbag was wide open, its contents rummaged through and left in a mess.
Seeing Alice come down, Sarah turned her head sharply, her eyes as sharp as a she-wolf guarding its food, yet also filled with terror.
"Alice, where did this money come from?"
She held up the stack of money, her voice lowered, as if afraid of being heard by the mice in the walls.
"This is at least two thousand dollars. Last night, there were only a few coins in my bag before I went to sleep. Did I go sleepwalking to rob someone, or did you do something?"
Sarah scanned Alice up and down, seemingly trying to find even the slightest trace of drug dealing or prostitution on the fifteen-year-old girl's pajamas.
"Oh, that."
Alice yawned, walked to the refrigerator to get a bottle of milk, and spoke in a tone as flat as if she were talking about the weather today.
"That was left by Mom."
"What?" Sarah froze, her originally tense nerves relaxing slightly, but her confusion deepened. "Catherine? All of her accounts were frozen, and even that ship sank."
"I found it in that coat when I was organizing things in the attic last night."
Alice pointed to the grey cashmere coat hanging on the rack, her azure eyes full of innocence and sincerity.
"This was given to me by your mother when she was young. Since it didn't quite fit my style, I never wore it. I didn't expect her to have hidden such a large sum of money inside."
Sarah was somewhat skeptical, because her own sister was never a generous person.
Alice smiled and said, "I wouldn't know about that."
Sarah opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at the tangible cash in her hand—those green Franklins—it was the lifeline that could fix the car, pay the rent, and keep them from ending up on the streets.
"Fine, I guess she still has some conscience."
Sarah muttered, her eyes suddenly turning red.
She sniffed hard and pressed the stack of money tightly against her chest, as if it weren't money, but some kind of hope regained.
"Go wash your face and brush your teeth. Since we have money now, that piece-of-junk car can be sent for repairs today."
Sarah pulled two twenty-dollar bills from the roll of cash and slapped them on the table. The anxiety that had constantly shrouded her visibly dissipated significantly.
"Today you can go to the school cafeteria and buy a decent lunch; don't eat that discounted bread anymore."
Half an hour later, Alice walked out of the apartment with her schoolbag on her back.
Today's sunlight seemed exceptionally bright.
Aunt Sarah had already rushed out to handle the car repairs, and the oppressive atmosphere in the house had been swept away.
...
Midtown School of Science and Technology.
This public school located in Queens, despite bearing the label of science and technology, was first and foremost a typical American public high school.
Standing at the school gate, Alice immediately felt an atmosphere completely different from the private aristocratic girls' school in her past life's memories, or the strictly disciplined high schools in China on the other side of the ocean.
Looking around, the school gate was like a chaotic runway show.
Some were wearing crop tops and miniskirts, some were wrapped in oversized hip-hop style hoodies, and others had dyed their hair in parrot-like, multi-colored hues.
Compared to a school, this place felt more like a noisy bazaar.
And the first checkpoint for entering the school was not students on duty bowing and greeting, nor was it a dean checking grooming and dress code, but a cold metal detector gate and two school security guards with batons hanging at their waists.
"Open your bags. Coins, keys, cell phones, knives, take them all out."
A Black female security guard with hips at least a meter wide waved her hand impatiently, urging students through the security check like driving ducks.
This was the norm for New York public high schools.
Freedom and chaos coexisted; education and security danced together.
Alice passed through security and walked into the main teaching building.
The corridor was filled with a headache-inducing cacophony.
The social ecosystem of an American high school was vividly displayed here.
Athletes wearing yellow and blue varsity jackets occupied the center of the corridor, shouting loudly, barging through, and enjoying the privileges of being at the top of the food chain.
Well-dressed cheerleaders gathered together, examining the attire of everyone passing by with critical eyes.
As for the nerds wearing glasses and clutching thick books, they walked as close to the wall as possible, fearing to attract attention.
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