Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
“Fine, just hurry.”
Cameron was amused. She could hear how anxious William really was. He must have been on edge for days.
She and Elijah hopped onto bikes and made their way to school.
Not long after, they found William pacing outside the school gate like an expectant father.
“There you are,” William chuckled.
“Mr. Drake, breathe. It’s still early,” Cameron smiled.
“It’s already eight past ten.” William mopped his brow. “Only an hour left.”
Cameron was speechless.
“Mr. Drake.” Elijah greeted him politely.
“Elijah.” William clapped his shoulder. “Our potential state runner-up!” Once upon a time, Elijah had been William’s star pupil. But ever since Cameron emerged, his focus had gradually shifted to her.
Elijah nodded. “We’ll see when the scores come out.” He had performed well, rankings were anyone’s guess.
As for Cameron, William was practically bursting with confidence in her. “Come on. My office has AC. It’s hot outside.” In his frenzy, he nearly forgot Elijah.
Cameron glanced back. “Elijah, come with us.”
“Oh, right. Both of you.” Only then did William remember Elijah.
The three of them entered the office. Surprisingly, Tiana was already there.
“Ms. Murphy.” Cameron and Elijah greeted in unison.
“Hello,” Tiana smiled warmly. The school’s reputation rested on these two students.
With more than an hour left, William kept glancing at the clock, his nerves growing more intense by the minute.
Cameron sat down and looked at Elijah. “It’s still early. Want a quick match?”
Elijah pulled out his phone. “Sure.”
William gaped. “You’re gaming now?”
Cameron grinned. “Yeah. Want to join, Mr. Drake?”
William sat beside her, eyes fixed on her face. “Aren’t you nervous at all?”
Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Nervous about what?”
William paused.
“They’re already decided,” Cameron said, tapping the screen. “Worrying won’t change them.”
William sighed.
Elijah added, “Gaming calms the nerves, Mr. Drake.”
William threw up his hands. “Fine.”
He thought, ‘Apparently I’m the only one dying here.’
Gaming made the hour fly by for Cameron and Elijah, while William and Tiana just sat there, enduring each minute.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye. At 11:59 p.m., William practically lunged at his computer, the score portal already loaded, “Come on,” he called out to Cameron and Elijah.”
Cameron didn’t glance up from her phone. “Go ahead and check, Mr. Drake. I’ll finish this round first.”
William stared at her, speechless for a moment.
Tiana chuckled, “Cameron, you have such composure. If only Xander had absorbed even 10% of your calm during your tutoring sessions. He’s still as impulsive as ever.”
Tiana had also heard that Xander had been apparently heartbroken. Logan and Gwen were beside themselves. Tiana was curious about whether Xander, who had always been proud, could pine like some common teenager.
“I’m flattered,” Cameron murmured, fingers still’dancing across her screen.
Elijah’s character died just then. He hesitated, wondering whether he should offer to check his scores first to ease the tension.
“Alright, Cameron. Give me your ID number.” William turned to Cameron.
Cameron rattled it off without breaking gameplay.
“And your registration number,” William said.
Cameron gave that to him.
William inhaled sharply, held it, and exhaled three times before hovering his finger over the enter key, but he couldn’t bring himself to press it.
“Mr. Drake,” Tiana reminded him. “The time has come.”
“I know.” Another dramatic breath. William squeezed his eyes shut and slammed the key. And even then, he didn’t open his eyes.
Tiana was nervous too, but she was nowhere near as bad as William, “Mr. Drake.” Her voice carried awkward amusement.
“Just tell me the total score. Is Cameron number one?” William’s entire body trembled, eyes still screwed shut.
Tiana cleared her throat. “Uh, Mr. Drake… The system says the ID number is incorrect.”
“What?” William’s eyes flew open. The screen showed an error message for the ID number.
Just like that, the tension that had built up inside him vanished in an instant. He turned to Cameron. “Did you give me the wrong ID number?”
Cameron looked up at him. She suddenly remembered that her ID number had changed. The second-to-last digit had been odd when she was registered as male, but now even for female. She then recited the corrected number.
All tension drained from William now. He entered the digits and pressed the key without hesitation. A new page instantly popped up on the screen.
Tiana gasped behind her hand. “The first place! William, Cameron is the state’s top scorer. Our school finally claims the title!”
William stared at the screen, unblinking: [The Reading and Writing section: 788. The Math section: 800. Total: 1588. State ranking: 1]
The numbers William had dreamed of for years burned into his retinas. His body remained frozen in the chair, but a smile slowly spread across his face. His eyes grew shiny.
He thought, ‘In a hundred years since the school’s founding, this is Langford Academy’s first time having the state’s top scorer. For years, Langford
Academy had been overshadowed by Horizon Academy, and that was why Charles had always been so arrogant:
William kept staring at the numbers, touching the screen with trembling fingers. “First place… First place… Cameron, you did it. You really did it.”
Cameron had just finished her game. She strolled over, stood behind William, and rested her chin on her hand as she studied the scores. “Hmm, I won first place.” The result was as she expected, so her reaction was utterly composed.
William shot up, laughing, “Thank you, Cameron. Thank you!” He reached to hug her but remembered her gender at the last second. Instead, he grabbed both of her hands tightly. “Thank you!”
“Calm down, Mr. Drake,” Cameron smiled. “At your age, being too excited will affect your health. I just did what I should.” No matter how lowly she had been in her past life, this life would shine brighter than ever before.
William nodded. “Alright. Cameron, your scores are out. Go home and get some rest. I have something else to do. See you later.” He couldn’t wait to celebrate.
With a warm pat on her shoulder, he turned and walked toward the door, beaming.
“Mr. Drake,” Tiana called. “You haven’t checked Elijah’s scores.”
“You handle it,” William replied without even turning around, his happiness radiating from his bouncing stride.
Tiana smiled awkwardly, “Elijah, I’ll help you check your scores. Mr. Drake had something come up.”
Elijah shook his head with a smile. “Thanks, but I can do it myself.” He didn’t begrudge William’s partiality. Cameron deserved every bit of that attention.
“Sure.” Tiana stepped aside and offered Elijah the seat.
Cameron stood with arms crossed, observing intently as Elijah swiftly keyed in his details and pressed enter.
Elijah’s scores flashed across the screen. [The Reading and Writing section: 760. The Math section: 774. Total: 1534. State ranking: 2]
Tiana practically jumped for joy. “Yes! Elijah, you genius! State runner-up.”
Langford Academy had achieved the unimaginable-claiming both first and second place in the state.
Tiana immediately dialed William. “Mr. Drake, Elijah secured second place. Two of the top three spots belong to our students. Congratulations!”
William’s voice carried undisguised delight. “The honor is ours to share, vice principal.”
Tiana froze. “William… What did you just call me?”
