Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
After hanging up on Bradley, Cameron grabbed a quick lunch. Once the timing felt right, she hopped on her e-bike and headed back to school.
The afternoon classes wrapped up, and they were given a one-hour break, which was just enough time for a round trip to Noble Vista.
She hadn’t changed her pad all afternoon, so she really had to go back. But as soon as she stepped out of the classroom, she spotted Xander sitting on the flowerbed outside the door with his arms crossed.
Cameron froze. She didn’t even have to guess, as she knew Xander was here for her.
Before he could say a word, Cameron jumped in first. “I’ve got something urgent to take care of. Whatever you need, it’ll have to wait.”
With that, she took off like the wind.
Xander stiffened, thinking, ‘Is this little punk dodging me? Fine. I’ll just wait him out. Let’s see how long he’s gonna take.’
Xander sat on the flowerbed, getting more impatient by the minute. Finally, Cameron returned, and she was surprised to see him still there. She walked over, asking him flatly, “So, what did you want?”
Xander didn’t beat around the bush. “Hey, brat, are you avoiding me?”
Cameron was rendered speechless, thinking, ‘Why would I be avoiding him?’
Cameron shot him a look. “Xander, quit looking for trouble when there isn’t any.”
Xander pressed. “So you are avoiding me, huh?”
Cameron had no words. She couldn’t be bothe Successfully unlocked! it headed into the classroom.
Xander watched as Cameron sat down next to Eijan, anu ne sappe singers, an idea forming in his mind. ‘Elijah’s seat isn’t bad. Sitting that close to that brat makes it easier for him to tutor me. I’ll take that seat.’
Xander wasn’t one to beat around the bush. He marched straight into Tiana’s office and demanded, “Aunt Tiana, transfer me to Class 15.”
Inside Tiana’s office, the principal, William, and a bunch of other school leaders were in the middle of a meeting. They were discussing Cameron’s incredible comeback in yesterday’s basketball game and how she deserved recognition.
Tiana gave him a tight, forced smile. “Xandet, quit making a scene. We’re in a meeting. Wait outside.”
“Aunt Tiana. I’m serious. Transfer me right now. It’s urgent,” Xander pressed.
Tiana frowned, thinking, ‘This little troublemaker is totally spoiled by his family. He’s always acting on impulse without considering his surroundings.’
With a forced smile, Tiana shoved Xander out the door. Before leaving, she gave William an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Mc Drake. I’ll be right back.” Then, she closed the door behind her softly.
Once outside, Xander tugged at her arm. “Aunt Tiana, transfer me to Class 15. I was to sit next to Cameron.”
Tiana looked exasperated and quickly dragged him away from her office.
“Xander, the exam is around the corner. You’d better behave. And don’t even think about bothering Cameron, Tiana warned.
Xander protested, “I’m not bothering him. I just want him to tutor me.”
Tiana looked like she was staring down a crisis. She smacked him on the shoulder. “Are you out of your mind? Cameron barely has enough time to study for himself. How is he supposed to tutor you?”
Xander pouted. “What do you mean he doesn’t have time? He looks pretty free to me.”
‘Otherwise, how would he have time to run home every day?’ Xander thought, but didn’t dare to say this out loud. “Xander!” Tiana snapped and said sharply, “I let you mess around with other things, but if you dare mess with Cameron’s studies, I swear I’ll break your legs.”
Once again, he witnessed his usually gentle aunt completely lose her temper. He stood there, still a little stunned. Tiana took a moment to compose herself, then said earnestly, “Xan, do you have any idea how much Mr. Drake is counting on Cameron? He wants Cameron to be this year’s top scorer in the whole state. Do you get what that means?
“The SAT is around the corner, and you’re making a fuss, bothering Cameron. If he doesn’t do well, how am I supposed to answer to Mr. Drake?”
Xander protested, feeling wronged, “But Aunt Tiana, Cameron already took my tutoring money.”
! Tiana was speechless for a moment.
“Cameron took your tutoring money?” William’s voice suddenly came from behind them, and his sudden appearance startled both the Murphys.
“Mr. Drake, Xander’s just being childish…” Tiana hurried to smooth things over, but William interrupted her, looking thoughtful. He asked Xander, “Is Cameron really that strapped for cash?”
Xander replied, “Strapped for cash? That’s an understatement. He’s practically obsessed with money.”
Tiana shot him a glare. “Watch how you talk in front of Mr. Drake.”
Xander cleared his throat and said, “Mr. Drake, Cameron’s family isn’t that well-off.”
William asked, “How much did you pay him for tutoring?”
“300 thousand dollars,” Xander answered without hesitation.
Tiana was stunned by the amount.
William nodded. “Alright, got it.”
Confused, Xander wondered, ‘What does Mr. Drake even mean?’ But before he could ask more, Tiana dragged him away.
Tiana leaned in and warned, “Don’t go bothering Cameron.”
“Aunt Tiana, I just want to sit next to him in class,” Xander explained.
“Don’t even think about it.” Tiana shot him down.
At that moment, he no longer felt like his aunt’s precious golden boy.
Cameron was halfway through her first evening self-study session when her advisory teacher, Brody, called her out of class. “Mr. Drake wants to see you. Go on over,” Brody said kindly.
Cameron looked surprised but didn’t ask any questions. She simply nodded and left for the principal’s office. When she arrived, the door to the principal’s office was al
Successfully unlocked!
Just as Cameron reached the doorway and was ………..ked up from his desk. He set down his pen, smiled warmly, and waved her in. “Come on in, kiddo.”
Cameron raised an eyebrow but stepped inside. From the look on William’s face, it seemed like he had good news for Cameron.
“Have a seat,” William said, pointing to the leather chair in front of his desk. “What would you like to drink, kiddo? Juice or coffee?”
Cameron shook her head. “Mr. Drake, let’s just get to the point.”
William poured her a glass of orange juice and set it in front of her. “I didn’t expect you to be so straightforward.”
“I’m in the middle of class,” Cameron replied.
William paused, then quickly said, “Alright, I’ll keep it short.”
Cameron was ready to listen to whatever he had to say.
William cut to the chase. “You played a huge part in our victory in yesterday’s basketball game against Horizon Academy, so the school has decided to reward you with 300 thousand dollars.”
Cameron was stunned, thinking, ‘Did a pile of cash just fall out of the sky?’
Then, she gave a light smile. “Thank you, Mr. Drake.”
Seeing Cameron smile, William instantly grinned too. Originally, he’d only planned to give Cameron 150 thousand dollars, just as a token gesture.
But after Xander mentioned that Cameron was strapped for cash lately, William changed his mind.
He already knew her family wasn’t as well-off as most at Langford Academy, but he hadn’t realized it was that bad. So, he doubled the reward on the spot.
William continued, “Also, kiddo, if you get the top score in this year’s SAT, the school will award you three million dollars in cash and a house worth another three million. Sound good?”
Cameron was stunned. Although these rewards didn’t mean much to Langford Academy, with their annual tuition fee being 300 thousand dollars, it was a lot to Cameron.
But she wondered the reason William had brought this up out of the blue.
Seeing Cameron stay silent, William asked, “What’s wrong? Do you think it’s too little?”
“No.” Cameron shook her head. “It’s not that. I’m just curious why are you telling me this today, Mr. Drake?”
William smiled. “Isn’t the SAT coming up? I thought you could use a little motivation.”
Cameron gave a polite smile that didn’t show her stance.
Then, William continued, “I’ll have the basketball prize money transferred to your account tomorrow.”
Cameron nodded. “Alright, thank you.”
“That’s all from me. You can head back to class now,” William said.
With that, Cameron got up and left the office.
Meanwhile, William let out a sigh of relief. With his promise, he believed Cameron wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore, right?
At Cameron’s age, he should be focusing on his studies. If he was always thinking about making money, William was worried it would affect his studies.
