Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
Xander, now sprawled out on the floor, winced as pain shot through his shoulder. He looked up at her, still perched on her bunk bed.
“Seriously, Cameron? I just asked you to join the basketball team. Did you have to kick me like you were trying to kill me? And it’s not even the first time,” he said.
Cameron replied flatly, “I don’t like people touching me.”
Bradley’s fingers twitched at his sides. ‘She doesn’t like people touching her?’ he thought. ‘I pat her head all the time, and she’s never reacted like that. Must be she just doesn’t want Xander touching her.’
Xander scoffed. “You think I enjoy touching you?”
“I’m not joining your damn basketball team,” Cameron said, her tone razor-sharp.
Xander shot up from the floor in one quick motion, furious. “As if I begged you for it.”
At practice that night, a few of the guys were clearly off their game. Xander had been worried, which was why he tried to bring Cameron on board, to keep things solid. He hadn’t expected her to shut him down so fast and so harshly.
‘Fine. Whatever. We don’t need her. We’ll win without her anyway; he told himself bitterly as he wondered.
He stormed out of the dorm room, slamming the door so hard the walls rattled.
Austin let out a helpless smile. “Still the same hothead.” Austin was the youngest in their dorm.
Bradley turned to Cameron, curious. “You don’t like basketball?”
“It’s not that I like it or dislike it,” Cameron said. “I’m just not into competitions.”
Elijah added, “With the SATS coming up, it’s pointless to waste time on things that don’ t matter.”
Cameron went quiet. Then she lay down, pulled the covers over herself, and said, “I’m tired. Goodnight, everyone.”
“Night,” Bradley replied, heading to the bathroom for a shower.
Successfully unlocked!
Elijah kept reading. Austin grabbed a pillbox from his desk. He had to take medicine before bed. The pills were bitter. He furrowed just thinking about it.
Right before lights-out, Xander came back. He walked straight over to Austin’s bed and shook him awake. “Austin, how are you feeling now? Are you doing any better? I wouldn’t even come back here if I weren’t worried about you. That guy in this room just gets on my nerves.”
That person, meanwhile, was pretending to be asleep.
Austin’s deep eyes were hazy with sleep. “I’m fine, Xander. It’s late. Go get some rest.”
“Alright.” Xander raised an eyebrow, satisfied with the excuse, and headed off to shower.
Bradley rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, “You’re really something, finding the perfect excuse to come back.”
****
The next morning, Bradley went out for his usual six a.m. run. Cameron woke up naturally, no alarm needed. Just as she got out of bed, Elijah did too.
While brushing his teeth at the sink, Elijah glanced at her. “Cameron, hurry up. Get to the classroom early. If you’re quick enough, I’ll have time to walk you through two questions before the first class.”
Cameron froze. ‘Help. Someone save me, she thought in panic, deliberately slowing her pace.
Xander climbed down from his bed, grumbling. “Elijah, if you’ve got all this energy, why don’t you help me study? I’m way smarter than Cameron.”
“I don’t have time,” Elijah replied without looking up.
Xander stiffened, glaring at him. “So you’ve got time to tutor Cameron, but not me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Elijah was always the quiet, aloof type. He acted like he had not heard a word Xander said, brushing his teeth in silence.
Xander froze. It felt like throwing a punch and hitting nothing but air. The lack of response was unbearable.
‘Cameron’s already turned against me. And now Elijah is acting like I don’t even exist? How am I supposed to survive in this dorm anymore?’ he thought bitterly.
Cameron saw right through him. Xander was clearly trying to stir trouble in a roundabout way, but she couldn’t care less. She took her time washing up.
Unfortunately for her, Elijah was waiting for her.
Xander got even more annoyed. “You two seriously have to leave together every morning?”
Elijah glanced at him with that same icy stare, offering no reply.
Xander pushed further. “What, Elijah, did you suddenly go mute?”
Only then did Elijah furrow his brows and speak. “Stop looking for a fight, Xander. If you need extra help, just ask your aunt. She’s the academic director. She can assign the best teachers on campus to tutor you personally.”
That was a clear warning to back off. But Xander was not about to drop it. “Then why are you tutoring her?” He pointed straight at Cameron.
Elijah replied calmly, “Because I want to.”
Xander was left speechless.
Cameron, though slow and deliberate, had finished getting ready. She had changed into her uniform and now stood at the mirror fixing her short hair. She clipped on a pair of obsidian diamond studs. He looked sharp.
Elijah frowned slightly. A man should not be so concerned about his looks. Outer appearance was nothing but a shell, not worth wasting time on.
Without another word, Elijah left the dorm with Cameron.
Xander clicked his tongue in frustration, then turned to Austin, who had been woken up by all the noise. “Come on. Let’s go together.”
But Austin said, “Xander, my health isn’t great. Mr. Graham gave me a pass to skip morning prep. You should get going or you’ll be late.”
Xander’s jaw tensed. Oh, right. He had almost forgotten. Austin was on the school’s special care list, fragile as glass. Successfully unlocked! alone.
**
Cameron and Elijah walked into class together. As soon as they sat down, Elijah pulled out a stack of worksheets. “Did you go over the problems I marked for you yesterday?”
Cameron nodded. “Yeah, I did.”
“Great. Let me see you work through them,” he said.
Cameron immediately changed her answer. “Actually, no. I didn’t get any of them. Elijah, can you go over them with me again?”
“Which one’s giving you trouble?” Elijah asked.
Cameron pointed at a random multiple-choice question. “This one.”
“This one?” Elijah said. “This one’s pretty basic. Look at the question stem-” He walked her through it patiently.
But Cameron just stared blankly, her delicate and androgynous face full of confusion. She shook her head. “I still don’t get it.”
Elijah switched strategies and tried explaining it in a different way. Cameron tilted her head again, clueless. “Nope. Still lost.”
He explained it a third time. She blinked at him innocently. “I’m not getting any of this.”
Elijah held his frustration back and walked her through it yet again. But Cameron shook her head. “I really don’t get it. Maybe it’s better if we don’t waste your time?”
Elijah went quiet for a few seconds. “Try going over it on your own first,” he finally said.
Cameron smiled sweetly. “Got it.”
Elijah paused, slightly stunned. ‘She looks so happy? I explained that question four times, and she still doesn’t understand. What’s she smiling about?’ he wondered.
The second the early study session ended, Cameron left the classroom. She headed to the cafeteria and grabbed some breakfast. As she ate, she pulled out her phone and started scrolling through Twitter.
The official Noir ?clat account had just posted that submissions for the competition were now closed. The judging phase had officially begun. Cameron’s lips curled ever so slightly.
“Hope Milena didn’t submit that masterpiece from Eric Fletcher, the founder of Noir ?clat. If she did, and it flops, that’s going to be a real embarrassment,” she wondered.
She was still engrossed in her screen when someone set a tray down on the table across from her.
Cameron looked up and met a pair of deep, amber eyes gleaming with a soft smile. It was her roommate, Austin, the one she had only just met the day before. there was
His eyes were striking, deep, and soulful. Whenever he looked at someone, this strange illusion, like his gaze held admiration or affection. But in reality, that was just how he looked at people. It meant nothing.
Cameron gave a small nod and put her phone away.
Austin smiled. “Hey, Cameron. We didn’t really get to talk much last night. I just wanted to say it’s great to meet you. I’m really looking forward to being friends.”
Cameron thought to herself, ‘Austin’s so fragile. I guess I really should keep an eye on him.’
She nodded again. “If there’s ever anything you need, feel free to ask me.”
“You’re really kind,” Austin said with a warm smile. After a short pause, he added, “But you were kinda rough on Xander.”
Cameron blinked.
