Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
Bradley said, “I’ve already texted Mom.”
Eddie said, “That’ll put her mind at ease. You should let know, too-he flew all the way back from Fiora just for you.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll tell him in a bit,” Bradley replied.
ERIC
After hanging up with Eddie, Bradley received a WhatsApp message from Beth.
Beth: [Brad, that’s wonderful news. I can finally stop worrying. If you
I can, bring your girlfriend home for a visit.]
Bradley smiled and replied: [Sure thing, Mom. Get some rest.]
Then Bradley called Eric and got right to the point. “Eric, guess what? Turns out Cameron’s actually a girl.”
Eric thought he must’ve misheard. “Cameron’s a girl?”
Bradley said, “Yeah, so you can stop objecting to us being together now.”
Eric asked, “Are you for real?”
Bradley replied, “Would there be any point in me lying?”
Eric was speechless. It really was pointless to lie. But then, lies always came to light sooner or later.
But Eric couldn’t help his curiosity. “Brad, how did Cameron end up being a girl a sudden?”
Bradley answered, “She was actually disguising herself as a guy.”
Eric pressed, “Any reason why she’d do that?”
Bradley admitted, “I never even asked:”
Eric was stunned for a moment.
“Oh, and Brad,” Eric suddenly remembered, “that time you said you were in Cam’s bed-don’t tell me you didn’t know she was a girl back then?”
Bradley replied, “I was drunk. I really was in her bed, but Cameron had already left for school.”
Eric asked, “So you were lying to me?”
Bradley said, “Eric, you were just letting your imagination run wild.”
Eric rolled his eyes. He wasn’t fully convinced about Cameron being a girl. He decided to reserve judgment for now.
A guy suddenly turning out to be a girl was just way too wild. But winter break was coming up soon. He’d get to the bottom of it then. If Cameron really was a girl, well, that would be perfect.
Que
When Cameron got home, her whole family was waiting for her.
Lance had come back home for the holidays. As soon as he saw Cameron, he hurried over. “Hi, Cam.”
Lance hadn’t seen his little sister in months.
They’d only just reunited as siblings, but because of school, Lance had to be apart from her again. Nobody else could really understand how much that hurt.
Lance wanted to give Cameron a hug.
But from the side, a hand suddenly shoved him away, and someone dashed straight for Cameron. It was none other than Gavin.
Lance was speechless.
“Cam?” Gavin rushed up to her, his face full of doting affection. “You finally finished your finals. Now, I can see you every day.”
Gavin grinned and patted Cameron on the head.
Cameron said, “Gavin, I saw you push Lance just now.”
Gavin was speechless.
Lance hurried over and held out his arms to Cameron. “Cam, it’s been so long. Can I give you a hug?”
Cameron smiled, “Sure, Lance.” She gave Lance a gentle hug.
Lance glanced at Gavin on purpose.
‘I swear, I could just gouge Lance’s eyes out right now,’ Gavin fumed inwardly.
As soon as Cameron let go of Lance, Gavin immediately spread his arms wide. “Cam, can I get a hug?”
Cameron hesitated. “Uh, Gavin, we see each other all the time. Is that really necessary?”.
Gavin’s heart sank at the obvious favoritism from his beloved sister. He shot Lance a glare. Lance just grinned triumphantly.
“Hi, Dad, Mom,” Cameron beamed as she threw herself into Levi and Jacqueline’s arms.
“Your dad’s been worried about you all night,” Jacqueline said with a laugh. “He was complaining about you going out for dinner with your friends instead of coming straight home.”
Levi quickly interjected, “Sweetheart, don’t listen to your mom. I’d wait for you forever without a single complaint.”
‘My heart feels so warm,’ Cameron thought. “I know, Dad.”
As soon as she stepped through the door, she felt herself completely relax, every bit of tension melting away. This was a wonderful feeling she’d never had before.
It just felt so good to be back with her family again.
It was getting late. After the whole family spent some time chatting and laughing together, Cameron finally went back to her room to call it a night.
As she plugged her phone in to charge, she noticed a WhatsApp message from Elijah that had come through an hour ago.
Elijah: [Cameron, I saw on Lila’s Instagram that you guys have already finished your finals. What are your plans for winter break? Are you going to work at Aurevia Biotech?]
Cameron replied: [Sorry, Elijah, I just saw your message. I’ll probably be spending the break with my family.]
Cameron saw herself first and foremost as a drug developer. Once she graduated from college, she planned to start bringing her own products to market.
As for running Aurevia Biotech, she left it all to David. For the past six months, David had kept everything at Aurevia running smoothly. Cameron was more than satisfied.
She hardly ever got to spend time with her family. So for the holidays, she figured she’d just hole up at home.
Elijah replied almost instantly: [Do you want to come along? Lila and Calder are planning a trip to Seasouth-it’s super warm there this time of year. Want to join us?]
Cameron: [I don’t want to be the third wheel.]
Elijah: [Well, what if it’s just the two of us? I’ve always wanted to hike mount. You up for it?]
Cameron thought for a moment and replied: [Sorry, Elijah. I don’t think I’ll have the time.]
Elijah couldn’t help but look disappointed, the feeling plain on his handsome face.
It had been two months since he’d confessed his feelings to Cameron. But after all this time, they were still stuck in the same place.
Elijah wanted to get closer to her, but Cameron Kept turning him down. He didn’t dare do anything reckless, afraid he’d get himself in troue like Austin did.
He stared at his phone screen for a long moment, but in the end, all he could do was reply: [Alright. Get some rest.]
Elijah stood quietly by the window, gazing out into the pitch-black night.
Loving someone was at once blissful and bittersweet. But right now, what Elijah felt most was the bitterness.
‘It’s fine, I can wait for her, Elijah told himself. Honestly, they were both still young. Maybe Cameron just didn’t want to date anyone right now. Hevesen in a hurry anyway.
Just before she fell asleep, Cameron got another message, this time from Bradley.
Bradley: [Cameron, are you asleep? I was honestly shocked-and pretty happy-to find out you’re a girl today. Oh, and just a friendly heads-up. You’ve got three days to decide if you want to say yes to me
Cameron thought about it for a moment, but didn’t reply. She decided to just pretend she was already asleep. She lay there, her arm under her head, staring up at the ceiling.
‘If I turn Brad down, will I lose him as a friend?’ Cameron wondered to herself. Bradley was the first person who’d shown her kindness since she time- traveled.
Cameron reached out and switched off the light in her room. ‘Three days left. No need to hurry,’ she reassured herself.
Xander lay in his dorm room. All around him, his roommates were busy whispering sweet nothings to their girlfriends over the phone.
Xander sat up, annoyed. “Seriously, can you guys keep it down? It’s the middle of the night.”
