Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
Elijah added, “I’m not going either.”
Xander was speechless, cursing inside, ‘Damn it. Are they doing this on purpose? When it’s Cameron’s treat, everyone jumps at the chance. But when it’s my turn, no one can make it.
‘Fine. Don’t come then. Saves me money anyway.’
Soon, the dishes-imported lobster, king crabs, abalone, shark fin, and whatnot-were served, filling up the ten-person round table.
Austin gave a helpless smile. “You really went overboard with the orders.”
And that was after Cameron had already trimmed down the menu.
Xander snorted, “You call this a lot? It’s not even as fancy as dinner at my place last night.”
Austin was speechless.
Elijah said, “With food that good at home, aren’t we just making you suffer by bringing you here?”
Xander rolled his eyes.
Bradley didn’t join in their banter. He quietly picked up a lobster, peeled it, and handed it to Cameron.
“Thanks, Brad,” Cameron said. Honestly, she could’ve done it herself, but Bradley was just that thoughtful.
Elijah grabbed a lobster too, peeled it, dipped it in sauce, and popped it in his mouth. He nodded, “Not bad.”
Austin was working on a king crab. “This crab’s really good. Super fresh too.”
Xander picked up a lobster, peeled it, took a bite, and said, “It’s just okay.”
Everyone had no words. But ignoring Xander’s long face, the rest actually enjoyed the meal. By the end, Cameron had dropped over 15 grand on lunch. Pricey, sure, but she didn’t regret it. Some networking was just part of the deal.
Once lunch wrapped up, Elijah and Austin headed home. Xander trailed after Cameron and Bradley, assuming he’d ride back with them too, since he came in Bradley’s car.
A hand gently pushed it shut as he reached for the front passenger door. And it was Bradley.
Xander frowned. “Brad, what’s that supposed to mean?”
Bradley adjusted his glasses. “You reek of seafood. I can’t stand the smell. Go grab a cab.”
Xander had no words.
After saying that, Bradley opened the passenger door again. “Cameron, get in.”
Xander glared at him. “And that bia Successfully unlocked! seafood?”
Bradley replied, “He does, but not as bad as you. I can deal with it.”
He had no words once again.
Xander wasn’t an idiot; he could tell Bradley was sticking up for Cameron.
Xander thought, ‘Didn’t Cameron already reduce the portion? Why am I still getting picked for it now?’
Cameron quietly got into the front seat without saying a word. Meanwhile, Xander stood in a daze as the black Mercedes drove off.
Bradley glanced over at Cameron. “You really went all out tonight.”
She had spent over 15 grand on their lunch.
Cameron shook her head. “It’s fine.”
Bradley said, “Cameron, how about we move to a different neighborhood?”
Just thinking about having Xander as their neighbor in the future was already giving him a headache.
Cameron shook her head. “Forget it, I can’t afford to buy a new place right now.”
Bradley said, “I’ve got an empty place.”
Cameron quickly shook her head. “No way, Brad. I already owe you 15 million dollars. If I owe you any more, I’ll never be able to pay you back.”
Bradley just smiled. He teased, “So you’d rather put up with Xander than owe me more money?”
Cameron said, “Like you said, he’s just a kid. His moods come and go. I’ll just ignore him.”
Bradley kept his eyes on the road. “So, are you still going to tutor him?”
Cameron shrugged. “That’s up to him.”
Bradley laughed. “Cameron, you’re really kind. And pretty cute, too.”
If it had been anyone else, they would’ve blown up at Xander by now. But not Cameron, even after he had made things hard for her so many times.
Cameron smiled. “Let’s be real. It’s all for the money.”
Cameron looked over at Bradley and asked, “Brad, what do lawyers do if you run into a really tough client? Would you ever just kick them out?”
Bradley turned the steering wheel and shook his head. “No, we wouldn’t.”
After all, the client would always be right. With that analogy, Bradley immediately got what she meant.
They had a smooth ride back to Noble Vista. Cameron headed straight home, only to find Xander waiting at her door.
Cameron just stayed silent as Xander glared at her. After a while, she finally asked, ” What do you want?”
Xander asked, “Do you just really hate me or something?”
Cameron was quiet for a few seconds, then said, “Sometimes, yeah. You’re way too self-centered. You never think about how other people feel. It’s honestly pretty annoying.”
Xander shot back, “You’re the one who started it.”
If she and Bradley hadn’t teamed up to piss him off this morning, he wouldn’t have ordered all that food.
Cameron said, “That’s pretty childish too.”
Xander didn’t say anything. Seeing he was still blocking the door, Cameron asked, ” Anything else?”
“Help me with my homework this afternoon,” Xander said.
Cameron nodded. “Sure.”
There were just over two months left until the SAT. She had to make every minute count if she wanted to tutor Xander.
Cameron entered the password and stepped into the room, with Xander following behind her.
“Did you bring your books?” Cameron asked.
Xander shook his head. “Nope.”
So Cameron opened her laptop, pulled up some study materials online, and started tutoring him.
They spent the whole afternoon at it, with Cameron tutoring Xander for three hours. “You still have 100 thousand with me,” Cameron said.
Xander was completely wiped out.
]
He’d never studied this hard before. But he had to admit that Cameron’s explanations made things way easier to understand than his teachers ever did.
“Hey, little punk. With tutoring fees this high, does it at least come with dinner?” Xander joked.
Cameron shot back, “Want me to order you takeout?”
Right then, her phone buzzed with a text on WhatsApp from Bradley. [Dinner together?
Cameron: [Xander’s here with me. Want to join?]
Bradley had no words. He hadn’t expected that Xander would actually be at Cameron’s place after their blow-up at lunch.
Bradley: [Can’t you get him to leave?]
Cameron packed up her laptop and said, “I’ve got something going on tonight. You’ll have to eat by yourself. What do you want?”
Xander said, “Then I’ll skip dinner. I’m heading back now.”
His place was also a garden villa, with pretty much the same layout as Cameron’s, and it was already cleaned up.
Xander stood up. “I’ll come find you tomorrow morning. Let’s keep going with the tutoring?”
