Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
Cameron smiled. “Okay, enough about that. Were you here shopping?”
She glanced at the chair beside him. There was only a small shopping bag resting on it.
Bradley picked up the gift bag and nodded. “Yeah, I went to buy a necklace, and they threw in a few pairs of earrings as free gifts I don’t raty in the kind of stuff, so I figured I’d give them to you.”
As he spoke, he took cut five jewelry boxes from the bag and slid them over to Cameron. “Take a look at them. Do you like the styles? They send theme all the latest designs.”
Cameron was speechless as she noticed the logo on the box. The jewelry was designed by Eric Saunders, a top talent in the fashion field, which made them extremely costly.
Even a single pair of earrings from this brand could cost tens of thousands.
Cameron asked, “Brad, what kind of necklace did you buy to get so many earrings as free gifts?”
Bradley smiled. “My mom’s birthday is coming up, so I bought her a ruby necklace.”
Cameron was rendered speechless again. But she thought the ruby necklace must’ve cost a fortune. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have given away so many earrings as free gifts with this purchase.
Cameron said, “Brad, since you don’t wear earrings, could’ve asked the sales assistant for something else.”
Bradley adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. “I don’t really like any jewelry to begin with. I just thought you might like them, so I took them.”
Cameron didn’t know what to say. She really didn’t feel right accepting them, and she’d already owed Bradley too much.
Cameron shook her head. “Brad, I really can’t take these.”
Bradley replied casually, “Then I guess I’ll just toss them in the trash.”
Cameron had no words.
“Excuse me,” Bradley said, snapping his fingers.
A waitress hurried over. “How can I help you, sir?”
“Could you throw these away for me?” Bradley asked.
Cameron was rendered speechless by his action, while the waitress stared at him in shock. “Sir, you want me to throw all of this out?”
“No,” Cameron cut in quickly. “Sorry, he’s just kidding.”
The waitress let out a breath and nodded in relief. “No worries, got it.”
Bradley smiled. “Changed your mind?”
Cameron sighed. “Brad, you’re being way too dramatic.”
“Dramatic? If I don’t need these things, why would keep them?” Bradley replied.
She gave up. There was no winning against him. Sighing, she scooped all five pairs of earrings into the bag. “Alright. I’ll take them.”
Bradley smiled faintly. “You should try them on. They actually look pretty good.”
Cameron glanced up at him. “You didn’t buy these for me, did you?”
Bradley paused. “Cameron, you’re overthinking it.”
Cameron chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
Meanwhile, Austin was locked inside his private villa, under heavy guard and completely cut off from the outside world. It was impossible for him, de do
He paced nonstop, frustrated and on edge. At one point, he nearly charged the doors, ready to risk everything and blow his cover if it meant getting out But somehow, he held himself back.
He didn’t sleep a wink for almost 24 hours because he was worried sick about Cameron. All day and night, he wondered, ‘Did Cameron meet up with Samuel? Did Samuel hurt him?’
A million questions ran through his mind, but no one could give him any answers. However, that afternoon, the people watching him suddenly left.
Austin was completely baffled. The guards had disappeared without a trace, and no one had explained why, but he didn’t have the headspace to figure it
Qut.
He wanted to contact Cameron immediately, but Samuel had taken his phone, and he couldn’t remember her number, no matter how hard he tried. With no other choice, he jumped in a cab and rushed to Noble Vista.
The living room was a mess when he stepped into Cameron’s place. There were even blood stains on the floor, but Cameron was nowhere in sight.
“Cam!” For a split second, panic shot through Austin.
‘Why is there blood? Whose blood is that? What did Samuel do to Cam?’ Austin wondered.
With fear gnawing at his gut and a hundred worst-case scenarios running through his head, Austin turned right around and rushed back to campus.
As soon as he pushed open the dorm room door, he stopped dead in his tracks. There, he saw Cameron and Bradley just hanging out and chatting.
Cameron was standing there in his school uniform, perfectly fine.
For a moment, Austin’s vision blurred with emotion. He dashed across the room and grabbed her by the arm. “Cam!”
Cameron was stunned.
Note
Cameron blinked at him, completely caught off guard. “Aus, what’s going on?”
Austin stared at Cameron emotionally. “Cam, you’re okay. I’m so glad that you’re okay.”
‘So the blood on the floor had to be Samuel’s. Serves him right, Austin thought.
Cameron gently shook his hand off. “I’m fine. What about you? Samuel took your phone, didn’t he?”
Austin glanced o at Bradley, who was still in the room. Then, he nodded. “Cam, can we… talk outside for a minute?”
Bradley adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. “No need for that. I was just about to head out anyway. You two can chat here.”
With a calm nod, he picked up his textbooks and walked out, leaving the two of them alone. Cameron just watched his retreating figure for a second but said nothing.
“I’m sorry, Cam. It’s my fault,stop Samuel from taking m
Cameron could see how guilty he phone. He made me say all that stuff,” Austin confessed.
She patted his shoulder, comforting him, “Hey, relax. I’m standing here in one piece, aren’t I? And don’t worry, I didn’t just walk away unscathed. I made sure Samuel paid for it.”
Austin asked curiously, “Paid for it? do you mean?”
Cameron gave him a brief rundown of everything that had happened.
By the time she finished, Austin was practically looking at her in admiration. “Cam, that was incredible. You’re so amazing, like seriously, you’re my idol
He’d spent the entire trip here, drowning in worry, and now he was completely starstruck.
Cameron chuckled. “Aus, you’re too dramatic.”
“I mean it, Cam. You’re awesome. I really look up to you.”
She waved him off with a smile, clearly amused.
Just then, the door creaked open again. Elijah stepped inside, only to find them grinning at each other. Subconsciously, he tightened his grip around t strap of his backpack.
Elijah hadn’t seen Cameron in two days, and he hadn’t expected that the first thing he’d see when he walked in would be her chatting and laughing wi someone else.
Cameron and Austin hadn’t even known each other that long, so Elijah wondered when the two had gotten so close.
Elijah’s expression, already distant by default, turned even colder.
Cameron waved at him casually. “Hey, Elijah. You’re here.”
Austin followed suit, cheerful as ever. “Hey, Eli.”
“Hey.” Elijah nodded slightly and headed straight to his desk, quietly organizing his books.
With Elijah around, Austin immediately toned it down, and he stopped talking about his family.
“Cam,” he said instead, “I just finished writing a new song. Want to check it out? We could go to the music room, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.”
Before Cameron could say anything, Elijah jumped in first.
He said, “Austin, the SAT is coming up. Cameron should be spending more time studying and not wasting it on stuff like this. He doesn’t need in pes distracted by something so unimportant, right?”
Austin and Cameron were both taken aback by his words. But they could tell something was definitely off with Elijah today.
Austin shot back, “Eli, maybe it’s not important to you, but it matters a lot to me. And anyway, it’s not up to you to decide what’s important or not
