London, England. This 'Swinging City' is one of the five richest cities in the world, with an annual gross domestic product of over 500 billion pounds per year. Its beautiful landmarks make it a popular tourist destination, and people all over the world hope to one day visit this city of dreams.

However... there is more to London than the glitz and glamour on the surface.

A teenage girl sat alone on a bus. Her hair was mostly light-colored, but the tips were dark, as if she had improperly bleached. She wore a pale green vest, and a brown miniskirt. On top of her vest was a moss green jacket, with patches sewn onto it. Each patch was light yellow, and displayed the letter “G”. On the base of the girl's neck was a birthmark – a star, but tattered off towards the right side like a worn down piece of fabric.

The girl had a paper bag on her lap, and was holding a piece of paper in her right hand. The paper was neatly folded, but the creases on the folds were worn down. As the bus rumbled along, the girl took a small coin purse out of her jacket pocket. The purse had one pound 50 in change, alongside a folded coupon for 50 pence off a drink at the local grocers. The young woman sighed to herself.

“Exactly what I was afraid of,” mumbled the girl. “Without my weekly allowance... I won't be able to afford real lunches anymore. It seems that today's sandwich may be my last for a while…”

The girl looked up at the castle-like building going past the bus – she was nearing her destination. The young woman stood up, then tripped as the bus came to an abrupt stop. The girl attempted to walk forward, but was unable to progress – looking down, she noticed a piece of gum stuck to her shoe. After some struggling, the young woman managed to get herself unstuck. She stumbled to the front of the bus, dropping her remaining coins in the fare box as she left. The girl placed her coin purse back into her jacket pocket, and began to approach the imposing building.

Winminster Academy. Originally founded as a church in the year 890 under Alfred the Great, the first king of England, Winminster Academy has grown into one of the most well-respected and expensive learning institutions in the whole of Europe!

As the young woman approached the academy, she saw three students standing in the middle of the sidewalk, huddled around a homeless man.

“Oy, smelly!” shouted one of the students. “You're in our way! What the hell are you doing down there, anyway?”

“Oh, 'pologies. I'll move out your way as soon as I finish feedin' my friend here.”

A frog popped up out of the center of the crowd. The vagrant tossed a fly into the air, and the frog caught it. As the frog hopped, a pattern on its back glinted in the sunlight. This pattern was bright gold, and in the shape of a sine wave.

“See, 'bout a week ago this frog showed up on this street, and he won't go back to his pond no matter how much I try. So, I've been bringin' him flies to keep him from goin' hungry.”

“Dumbass!” yelled another student. “Just let the stupid animal starve and move on!”

“You know…” said the girl from the bus, “It only takes one person's generosity to change a life forever.”

The young woman stepped up to the trio of students, and peered down at the homeless man.

“What the- where did you come from?!”

“Wait, I know you! You're Georgia, aren't you? The girl who stays in the dorms over summer break! I can't believe the likes of you has the audacity to tell us off!”

Georgia opened her brown paper bag, and took out a tuna fish sandwich. She handed the sandwich to the vagrant, who accepted it with delight.

“Here,” said Georgia. “If that frog isn't going hungry, you shouldn't be going hungry either.”

“Hey! Stop ignoring us!” shouted one of the harassers. “Do you know who our father is?!”

“I don't, and frankly I don't care. That man on the ground is worth ten times what any of you are.”

“You little…”

“Oy, sister!” said a student with a nudge. “Check that folded piece of paper Georgia's waving around! I bet it's a love letter from some secret admirer~!”

“Yeah, I bet you're right! Hey, Geo! Give us that paper! We wanna read it too!”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because if you don't drop that paper right now... I'll call the cops on your little friend over here! I'm sure I can think of some sob story – and I'm really good at crying on command.”

Georgia sighed in annoyance. She dropped the folded paper. It fluttered to the ground, and Georgia quickly stepped on it as it landed.

“Get off the letter, dumbass!”

A sound of bells tolling resonated through the street. Georgia turned and ran from the trio of students. As she did, the folded piece of paper fluttered into the avenue.

“After that paper!” shouted the ringleader.

The rich students ran into the street. Cars honked as they swerved to avoid the teenagers. One of the students fell to the ground and skinned his palms. Another tripped over the first, and knocked her head on the ground. Finally, the third student managed to grab the paper, catching it just in time to stop it falling into a vent. However, before his very eyes, the paper seemed to change its color. Soon enough, the paper had transformed into a coupon for 50 pence off a drink at a local grocers.

Georgia dashed around a corner, turning into the courtyard in front of the school. She reached down to her shoe, and pulled the real paper off of the piece of gum it was stuck to.

“That was a close one,” thought Georgia. “I only hope those rich asswipes didn't make me late for class…”

Georgia took a pause to catch her breath, then entered the halls of Winminster Academy.

Georgia ran down the corridors of the former monastery. Soon, she reached room 882 – Georgia's chemistry class. She opened the door. Inside the room was a large lecture hall, with rows of desks spanning multiple levels. The classroom had no windows, and the single incandescent light bulb hanging from the ceiling made the room look like it came out of a noir film. A silver-haired woman in a lab coat stood at the front of the room. The woman turned to the panting girl as she entered.

“May I help you?” said the teacher.

“I'm... sorry, where's Professor Yen?” gasped Georgia.

“Out sick for a few days, I'm afraid. I'm Miss Bottine, the substitute.”

“Ah. I'm Georgia…”

“Oh, so you're the girl I marked absent! Seat 30, correct? I'll let you in without a “tardy” today... but don't make a habit of it, understand?”

“Of course, thank you ma'am.”

Georgia climbed the steps, and took her seat behind desk number 30. She opened the now-dirty piece of paper.

“Every week on Monday, at 2:30 PM, a sum of £88.23 appears in my bank account, as spending money for the week,” thought Georgia. “And every alternating Friday, at 8:23 AM, a messenger bird from my father arrives at my windowsill. He's managed to keep this schedule 100% consistent for the past four years. And yet... the last letter my father sent arrived on February 18, and the last allowance he sent showed up on February 14. It's been over three weeks since I've seen a letter from him, and four weeks since I've gotten an allowance. So... what's going on?!”

Georgia looked down at the letter, and began to read.

“Dearest Georgia,

“Apologies for this letter's short length. I'm spending a lot of time setting up websites recently, which is a problem for someone with my... lack of expertise.

“This letter came to you as a great blue heron – a sight which stunned the locals, I'm sure. It's a beautiful bird. Did you know that the great blue heron can eat a bullfrog in a single gulp?

“Keep making waves, Geo,

“~Dad”

“There's nothing in there that could imply he was going away for a week,” thought Georgia. “Maybe he's in trouble... no, there's no way, he's strong enough to get out of any sticky situation! Is... is he mad at me? In my last letter... I remember exactly, I said “goodbye” at the end. Did he mis-interpret that?! Did that one word make him want to abandon me?!”

The school bell tolled again. Georgia looked up with a start – she had been so engrossed in her father's letter, that she had completely ignored that week's lecture. She folded the letter up, stuck it in her jacket pocket, and left the room with all the other students.