Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
Inside the black Mercedes, Bradley sat quietly behind the wheel. The car interior was dim, and the pale blue light from his phone screen reflected off his glasses, casting his eyes in shadow.
Of course, he’d seen the post too. He’d been sitting there for over half an hour, staring at the same photo.
He was sure the person in the photo was Cameron.
Bradley thought back to that time when Cameron casually said he didn’t like girls, but Bradley brushed it off as a joke.
Maybe the signs were always there, but he never expected Cameron to be this different. Bradley had always tried to look out for him and always tried to help, but Cameron kept his distance.
Bradley just thought it was Cameron’s pride in the way, but now he wondered if Cameron had been treating him as the “opposite sex” all along, and that was why he didn’t want to get too close.
Bradley didn’t even know how to put his feelings into words right now. His emotions were in a mess.
He didn’t know how he was supposed to get along with Cameron from now on.
Bradley didn’t head back to Room 316 until the dorm lights went out.
Cameron’s bed curtain was pulled shut, not a sliver of light peeking through.
Elijah and Austin were already lying down. When they heard him come in, they both greeted him quietly.
Meanwhile, Cameron didn’t make a sound as she was already asleep.
She was already asleep.
Bradley washed up and climbed into his bed that was right next to Cameron’s. Normally, Cameron would always say something when Bradley came back. But tonight, she didn’t say a word.
He wondered if the nasty comments in the post had hurt her, and for some reason, he really wanted to comfort her.
But this kind of thing was way too personal that even between close friends, it wasn’t something one could just bring up.
So he lay down, scooting as close to her side as he could. After thinking it over, he extended his arm, planning to comfort Cameron quietly.
After thinking it over, he reached out, planning to quietly comfort Cameron.
Bradley just wanted to ruffle Cameron’s hair, but his fingers ended up landing right on the sole of Cameron’s foot.
Cameron was shocked. She shot up in bed, yanked open the curtain, and stared at Bradley in the dark.
Bradley’s hand froze in midair and he thought, ‘What have I just done?’
Cameron, still half-asleep, mumbled, “Brad, what are you doing?”
Bradley said, “Sleeping.”
“Oh.” She thought it must’ve been accidental.
Then, she lay back down, shifted her head closer to Bradley’s side, and pulled the curtain shut.
Bradley asked softly, “Cameron, are you okay?”
Cameron replied, “I’m so sleepy.”
Bradley had no words.
After Cameron finished talking, everything went quiet, just as expected.
Bradley had a million things he wanted to say, but in the end, he just kept them to himself. No matter how he phrased it, it would only make things awkward.
Elijah said softly, “Brad, don’t worry. Cameron said he’s got it covered.”
“He’s got it covered? What’s that supposed to mean?” Bradley asked.
Austin jumped in, clearing his throat. “Uh…Cam didn’t say much. He just told us not to worry.”
That was that-Bradley didn’t press any further.
Only a thin curtain separated his bed from Cameron’s; they were barely a foot apart. He could hear Cameron’s soft, steady breathing on the other side.
Bradley’s mind was all over the place, and it took him a while to finally fall asleep.
*****
At Young Manor, Skyler and Avery were posted up in front of the computer, cracking up over the nasty comments on the forum about Cameron.
Skyler especially loved it. She’d even forgotten, for a moment, that Elijah and Cameron were a couple.
“Avery, I freaking love you. Cameron’s getting roasted so hard. Someone even suggested kicking her out of school. This is hilarious.” Skyler laughed.
“Alright, that’s enough. Just make sure you don’t slip up at school tomorrow,” Avery reminded her.
Skyler grinned. “Relax, I’m not that dumb. I posted anonymously, so no one knows it’s me. They could guess all day, but still never trace it back to me.
*****
Besides Skyler, there was someone else who was absolutely over the moon. As soon as Milena saw the posts, she went straight to find her parents.
With a big grin, she said, “Mom, Dad, look! Cameron’s been acting all high and mighty at school, and now someone finally put her in her place.”
Milena still couldn’t get over the fact that Cameron refused to give up the mansion. By now, her parents had completely given up on Cameron.
Heidi glanced at the posts and sneered, “Serves her right. We raised her for eighteen years, and all she does is avoid us and never show us any gratitude. Karma’s just catching up to her.”
Martin scoffed, “Getting roasted online is nothing. It won’t hurt her.”
Milena laughed. “Dad, you just don’t get it. After this, Cameron will never be able to show her face again.”
Milena hugged her phone and went back to her room.
She took her time scrolling through all the comments trashing Cameron, enjoying every single one of them.
*****
The next morning, Cameron woke up like clockwork. She had a good sleep last night.
She pulled open her curtain and blinked when she saw Bradley still sitting at his desk, reading a book, instead of being out on his usual morning run.
Cameron ruffled her messy short hair. “Morning, Brad.”
“Morning,” he greeted.
Seeing Cameron was up, Bradley slowly put down his book and turned to look at her lazy, sleepy face.
“What’s up, Brad?” Cameron immediately noticed something off about his look.
Bradley hesitated for a while, then said, “Cameron, I saw the post on the forum.”
Cameron nodded, totally unfazed. “Pretty sure the whole school knows by now.”
Bradley was stunned, thinking, ‘He’s really this chill about it?’
Noticing Bradley was still staring at her, Cameron finally caught on.
She walked over with a smile. “Brad, judging by the look on your face, you don’t actually believe what the post said, do you?”
‘Do I really look like I swing that way?’ she wondered.
Bradley stared at her. “So, it’s not true?”
Cameron couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course not. That photo was just me and Elijah.”
Bradley glanced at Elijah, who was just coming out of the bathroom. “It’s you and Eli?”
Bradley hadn’t even looked closely at the photo in the post, and now, it turned out the other guy was actually Elijah?
Cameron nodded. “Yeah.”
Elijah added, “Brad, someone set Cameron up. I was the one who took him to the hotel that night.”
Behind his glasses, a flicker of surprise crossed Bradley’s eyes.
“That night? There’s something going on between Elijah and Cameron that I haven’t known about? So that is the truth.
For some reason, Bradley felt an enormous wave of relief.
He looked at Cameron. “What are you planning to do? Need legal support?”
Cameron was already at the sink brushing her teeth. “No need to make it complicated. I’ll wait and see what she’s really after first.”
