Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
Elijah was quietly reading at his desk. Without realizing it, he’d gotten used to the chaos between Cameron and Xander Their constant bickering didn’t even faze him anymore. He stayed focused, flipping pages as if the room were silent.
Meanwhile, Milena sat in the back of her car, fuming and wiping tears from her face after being humiliated by Cameron. Suddenly, her phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number popped up. [Hey, are you Cameron’s sister? I’m Xander, his roommate. Mind if we get to know each other?]
Milena nearly dropped her phone. Her mind screamed, ‘Xander? THE SAME XANDER I KNOW? The whole school’s heartthrob? He wants to get to know me? No way, this has to be a prank.
She froze in disbelief, unable to judge if it was true or not.
Just then, another message from Amelia arrived. [Milena, Xander asked me for your number. He wants to chat with you on WhatsApp.]
Milena’s heart was pounding upon seeing the message.
She thought in excitement, ‘So it really is the same Xander, the heir to the Murphy family, the future CEO of Murphy Enterprise. If I win Xander over, who cares about the Chapman family? But when did I even get on his radar?”
Her mind was buzzing, but she didn’t rush to add him on WhatsApp or reply to his message. She wanted to play it cool. When she got home, she didn’t say a word to Martin or Heidi. She just went straight to her room.
She made herself shower to calm down. It was almost midnight before she finally saved Xander’s number on WhatsApp.
Xander had been waiting. As soon as he saw Milena come online, he instantly messaged: [Hey there, Ms. Wallace]
Milena beamed at her screen, but she waited a minute before replying: [Hi, can I help you with something?]
She was grinning like a fool, but kept her tone icy on purpose.
Xander replied with a shy emoji: [I just really wanna get to know you. Is that cool?]
Milena squealed and flopped onto her bed, kicking her legs in the air. She couldn’t stop giggling.
She thought, ‘I can’t believe it. Xander acts all tough and aloof, but he’s actually kinda cute.’
Still playing hard to get, she replied: [May I know why?]
Xander: [I saw you last Friday. You were wearing
The smile on Milena’s face froze in an instant
*ook my breath away]
Successfully unlocked!
Milena stared hard at her phone screen, and the site on her face frore goff
She thought in anger, Friday night, red dress. He means Cameron, tr? that wachs Venner civet i sa Cam thought it was maybe Cameron’s sister
Milena felt like she was about to cough up blood from the rage She’d thought Zander started to notice at the realizing it. But it was Cameron dressing up as a girl to seduce him
Milena cursed in her mind, ‘That’s disgusting She seriously doesn’t realize she’s gonna be Amed’s that smeta And she’s out here hitting on Xander? What a slut
Just as Milena was shaking with fury, Xander’s name popped up on her screen again.
Xander: [Ms. Wallace, did I scare you? I’m really sorry I didn’t mean to just wanted to get to know you is that day
Even Xander, normally a total slacker, sounded like he’d swallowed a thesaurus.
Milena clenched her jaw as she stared at the text, thinking, I can literally feel how careful he’s being with his words. This is Xander. That bastard Cameron must’ve done something to get his attention like this?
She glared at the message, jealousy burning in her chest, twisting her features. She shouted inwardly, Hop Why st Cameron he’s into and not me? Doesn’t he know he’s into a crossdressing freak?
Then something clicked. Her expression changed in a flash. A slow, calculating smile crept across her face. Her eyes gleamed as she typed back.
Milena: [That was you? Sorry, I’m kinda nearsighted. I was just caught off guard, not scared.]
Xander: [You knew it was me? That makes me so happy.]
Milena: [How could I not know you?]
Xander: [My honor.]
Xander could rarely sound so cautious and polite.
Xander replied with an expectant emoji: [So can we be friends?]
Milena: [Of course.]
He immediately sent back a happy face.
Milena: [By the way, could I ask you for a favor?]
Xander: [Sure.]
Milena: [You don’t even know what it is yet.]
Xander: [Doesn’t matter. I’ll do whatever you ask.]
Milena stared at her screen, feeling another wave of jealousy wash over her.
She thought bitterly, ‘This is the so-called Xander, and he totally falls for Cameron.’
That thought alone was enough to drive Milena insane. But still, she loved the attention. The idea that Xander would be at her beck and call from now on gave her a thrill. However, she knew she wasn’t actually Cameron.
Milena quickly typed back: [Hey, can we keep this friendship between us? My brother doesn’t like me hanging out with guys.
Xander: [That explains it. He denied having a sister. I had to ask Amelia to get your number.]
Milena: [Please keep it a secret.]
Xander replied with a shy emoji: [Of course, it’s our little secret.]
Milena hadn’t expected Xander to agree so easily. She let out a quiet breath, thinking, ‘He came to me first. There’s no way I’ m letting a catch like Xander slip through my fingers.
‘And as for Cameron, I’ll make sure she becomes a man first. That way, even if Xander finds out he saw me that night, it’ll be too late. I just have to make sure we never meet in person until then.’
Successfully unlocked!
“Yes! Terrific Xander shouted with glee, gripping his phone like it was a trophy
He jumped off the bed, did a string of flashy one-handed flips across the room, and kicked up into a handstand against the wall to strike a pose like he was in some action movie. He looked like pure joy in motion.
Cameron, half-reclined on her bed with a book in hand, glanced over lazily and sneered, “What? You forget to take your medicine?
Xander dropped from the wall, cleared his throat, and tried to tone down his grin
Milena had told him to keep quiet, not let Cameron find out their relationship. He had to keep his promise
Putting on a straight face, Xander said, “I’m not gonna waste time arguing with you. I’m taking a shower?
A minute later, the bathroom was filled with the sound of rushing water and Xander’s happy singing.
Cameron didn’t care what he was so worked up about
She glanced at Bradley’s empty bed beside hers. It was close to midnight, and he still wasn’t back
Where the hell did he go? she thought, a little uneasy.
She considered texting him but then remembered she didn’t have his number. Actually, come to think of it, she didn’t have any of her dorm mates’s number.
With a sigh, she closed her book, tucked it away, pulled the curtains shut around her bed, and lay down to sleep.
The next morning, Cameron woke up at six on the dot just like always.
She pushed the curtain aside, got down from bed, and instinctively glanced at Bradley’s bed. It was still empty. She hadn’t expected him to be gone all night.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sky was starting to lighten with the pale blue of dawn.
“Morning, Cameron, what do you wanna eat for breakfast? I can grab something for you. Just meet me at the cafeteria after checking the attendance, Xander said, still half-asleep but perking up the moment he heard Cameron’s footsteps. Cameron rolled her eyes and snapped, “Don’t bother with that. I don’t have a sister.”
Xander blinked, then muttered to himself, ‘So Milena was telling the truth. This guy really doesn’t let her talk to guys. What a fossil
He rolled out of bed and followed Cameron to the sinks. The two of them started brushing their teeth side by side. With a casual air, Xander said, “By the way, asking for your sister’s number yesterday was just an excuse. What I really wanted was to invite you to join the school basketball team.”
Cameron shot him a cold look and replied, “I don’t have time.”
Xander nearly lost it. He really wanted to give Cameron a hard kick. But then he remembered that Cameron was Milena’s brother. He swallowed the urge and let it go.
Elijah also got up. Cameron turned to ask him, “Do you know why Brad didn’t come back last night?”
Elijah shook his head and replied, “He didn’t say anything.”
Though Cameron still felt confused, she nodded slightly.