Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
He and Cameron walked over together, and Bradley made the introductions. “Eddie, this is my roommate, Cameron Cam, this is my fourth brother, Eddie.”
Eddie gave Cameron a once-over and waved his hand. “Hey, Cameron, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Cameron replied politely.
Eddie turned to Bradley. “You brought the card, huh?”
With a sigh, Bradley pulled his bank card out of his pocket and handed it over. “I’ve only got 300k left. Don’t blow it all at once.”
Eddie sighed, “How am I supposed to win over girls if I penny-pinch? You don’t get it, you lonely loser.”
Eddie was nineteen, a freshman majoring in psychology. Ever since college started, he’d been dating one girl after another, and his money flew out the door like it had wings.
He ran out of cash yesterday, so he came to ask Bradley for help.
Bradley rolled his eyes and said, “The PIN’s my birthday.”
Eddie blinked and muttered, “Your birthday?”
Bradley retorted, “You don’t even know that? You don’t deserve to use my money.”
Eddie raised his eyebrows and replied, “Tch, I can just ask Mom.”
Hearing that, Bradley hit him with a dramatic eye-roll.
Cameron sat quietly to the side, listening to their bicker with a smile.
She thought to herself, ‘They are actually kind of close. That’s how real brothers do, unlike me and Milena… She caught herself mid-thought and shook her head. ‘Forget it. I already made up my mind to cut ties with them. No point thinking of them.’
Bradley ignored Eddie and slid the menu toward Cameron. “Here, order something you want.”
Cameron ordered a waffle. She was already full from the two pies, but since she was here, it felt rude to just sit and stare at them.
Bradley took the menu back and added a few more things for himself.
*****
Meanwhile, Xander was sitting alone in one corner of the cafeteria.
His table was loaded with breakfast items-enough to feed ten people. But he hadn’t touched a thing. He just kept staring toward the entrance, grumbling under his breath, “Where the hell is that little punk?”
He’d been waiting for over ten minutes. The crowd had started to thin as people finished their meals and left.
Xander checked his smartwatch and said, “It’s half an hour already.”
Getting annoyed, he decided to call Cameron, only to realize he didn’t even have Cameron’s number.
So, he sent Milena a message instead.
Xander: [Morning, Milena. Hope this doesn’t bother you.]
At that moment, Milena was actually having breakfast with some classmates in the cafeter?a.
Her face lit up when she saw the message. She jumped to her feet, ready to reply somewhere more private, only to spot Xander across the room, not far away.
More eye-catching than him, though, was the mountain of food on his table, which was way too much for one person. Milena swallowed her curiosity, sat back down, and replied: [Morning, Xander. I’m having breakfast. What about you?]
Xander: [You’re still in school, huh?]
Xander: [Makes sense. Since Cameron’s still studying, you probably are too. What school are you at?]
Milena: [That’s a secret.]
Xander: [Alright, you can tell me when you’re re
Successfully unlocked!
Milena: [So, did you message me just to say good morning or what?]
Xander: [Actually, can I get Cameron’s number? I need to talk to him about something.]
Milena’s face fell instantly, and she screamed in her mind, ‘Cameron? It’s that bitch AGAIN!’
Milena was a bit excited about getting Xander’s message, but it crashed hard the second she realized that he only texted her because of Cameron.
She clenched her phone, biting back the anger. ‘Last night was bad enough, but now he’s hitting me up just because of Cameron? Wait, did he get all the breakfast for her? Seriously? He went all out for Cameron? Is she even worth it?
From across the room, Milena glanced toward Xander. He was staring at his phone learly waiting for her reply.
Milena replied: [Can I ask why you’re looking for Cam? Sorry, he values his privacy a lot.]
Xander: [I said I’d get him breakfast. I bought a whole table of food, but it’s all cold now. That brat still hasn’t shown his face.]
Xander’s message confirmed Milena’s worst suspicion. Her grip on the phone tightened so hard that her knuckles went pale. Her chest heaved since she was furious.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down and texted again. [Xander, thanks for looking out for Cam like that.] Xander: [It’s not just that. I wanted him to join the school basketball team, but no matter what I say, that guy still says no.] Milena’s blood boiled, and she thought, ‘Cameron? Join the basketball team? That’s like the highest honor. She thinks she deserves it? Not a chance. I won’t let it happen. She belongs in the shadows, under my feet where she’s always been.’ Milena replied: [Ah, I see… but if Cam’s not into it, I really hope, for my sake, you won’t push him, alright?]
Xander stared at the text for a while and read it again and again. He thought with a frown, ‘Wait, is she telling me not to recruit Cameron for the basketball team?’
With a deep frown, Xander replied: [Fine.]
Tossing his phone on the table, Xander looked at the untouched breakfast, feeling more annoyed than before.
A moment later, another message from Milena came through. [Thanks, Xander.]
Xander barely glanced at it, not even bothering to reply this time.
It’s weird; he thought. ‘The other day when I ran into Milena outside the mall, my heart was racing. But now, I feel nothing. I’ m not even interested in asking her for Cameron’s number anymore. I’ll hit someone else up.’
Just as he was thinking about reaching out to Amelia, a glance at the class group chat made him freeze. He opened it and instantly lost it.
Student A: [Cameron’s seriously hot!]
Student B: [Didn’t notice before, but now seeing that pic of him with Bradley, he totally holds his own. He’s so damn good- looking.]
Student C: [How did we all miss such a hot guy?]
Xander scrolled up and found the photo they were all talking about: a candid shot of Cameron and Bradley, standing side by side, both of them smiling.
The smiles felt like a punch to Xander’s gut.
He’d been sitting there and waiting like an idiot for Cameron. Meanwhile, Cameron was out there grinning with Bradley. He didn’t understand what Cameron meant by that.
Xander hit the call button and dialed Bradley. It rang for a while before Bradley finally picked up. “Hey, Xander. What’s up?”
Xander held back the fire in his voice and said, “Is Cameron with you right now?”
Bradley glanced at Cameron, who was calmly eating a waffle. “Yeah, he’s right here.”
Xander snapped, “Can you pass him the phone? I need to talk to him.”
Bradley handed the phone over. Cameron took it and said in a calm tone, “What’s up, man?”
Then came Xander’s roar, “Cameron, do you even hear yourself? You’re seriously asking me what’s up? Are you enjoying playing me like it’s some kind of game?”
Cameron blinked, locking eyes with Xander across the room, feeling totally confused.
Successfully unl
Cameron thought, ‘Play him? What the hell is he talking about? How did I play Xander? What did I even do?
She was completely thrown off by Xander’s sudden outburst, but it didn’t take her long to snap back.
With a cold face, Cameron said, “What kind of episode are you having? Need me to call 911 and get you checked into a psych ward or something?”
Cameron’s words lit Xander up even more. He was already pissed, and her sarcasm just made it worse.
Xander slammed his foot onto the chair next to him and barked, “Cameron, what the damn is wrong with you? I waited for you in the cafeteria for half an hour. Where the hell were you? Oh, wait, you’re out here laughing it up with Bradley. What the hell is that about?”
Cameron replied, “Why were you waiting for me at the cafeteria?”
Xander shouted, “We agreed I’d grab breakfast for you. I didn’t know what you liked, so I bought one of everything. And now you’re acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about?”
Cameron narrowed her eyes and replied, “When exactly did we agree on that?”
Xander clenched his jaw. “This morning, in the dorm when you just woke up.”
‘Agree?’ Cameron thought, ‘This morning, he indeed offered to buy me breakfast, but I refused him. How could he call it agreed?’