Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
Bradley had barely taken a few steps when he ran into a classmate, Amelia. He gave a polite nod and tried to step aside.
“Hi, Bradley,” she greeted, stopping him.
Bradley paused. “Amelia, do you need something
Successfully unlocked!
Amelia, usually so poised and untouchable, looked a little shy today. A faint blush colored her cheeks as she looked up at him. “Bradley, oh well, have you thought about which college you’re applying to?”
Bradley raised a brow in confusion. ‘Why is she suddenly asking about that? College preferences are kind of personal, aren’t they? We’re not even that close. Besides, there are still three months until the SATS, Isn’t it a bit early for this conversation? he wondered.
He saw no reason to share anything with her. But Amelia was staring at him, waiting. So Bradley simply replied, “Regalburg University of Political Science and Law,”
Amelia smiled. “I figured. You’ve always wanted to be a lawyer, so applying to it makes perfect sense.”
Bradley gave a small nod and moved to leave. But Amelia stopped him again. “Bradley, actually, I’ve always been interested in law and criminology, too.”
That surprised him. “You like law and criminology?”
Seeing that she had caught his attention, Amelia quickly said, “Yeah. I’ve already started reading some materials, but there are parts I don’t really understand. Could I ask you a few questions sometime?”
Bradley was far from clueless.
A girl who repeatedly struck up conversations with him, always initiating, even tailoring her interests to match his-he could easily guess her intentions.
“If you’re truly interested,” Bradley said calmly, “I’d recommend finding a professional tutor.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Amelia bit her lip, her face burning with embarrassment.
He seemed so warm, so gentlemanly, and yet all she felt from him was the cold sting of rejection.
But the way he had laughed and joked with Cameron, both that day and today, was so different. He had seemed approachable.
‘Cameron and Bradley must be pretty close, Amelia thought to herself.
Cameron had just reached the library entrance when a girl with a high ponytail suddenly jumped out and blocked her path. It was her younger sister, Milena.
“Cameron. Finally caught you,” Milena said, her face tight with anger.
Cameron frowned. ‘Even after they completely cut ties with me, she still won’t let it go?’ she wondered.
“Move,” Cameron snapped, showing no intention of being polite.
Milena shot right back with an icy tone. “What the hell is your problem, Cameron?”
Cameron’s face remained expressionless. “Get away.”
Milena’s voice dropped low, seething with rage. “You’ve got some nerve. You and Bradley pulled that ridiculous stunt with that so-called agreement? You think that paper actually means something?
‘Newsflash! Biological ties don’t just vanish. And Bradley? He’s still in high school. Where does he get the authority to act like your lawyer?”
She added, “Oh, you two make such a cute little team. What is this, some kind of make -believe courtroom? Because of your little drama, the Chapman family has broken off the engagement with the Wallace family.
“That damage is on you, and you’re the one who’s gonna fix it. You better get your act together and call Mom and Dad.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything to do with your family anymore,” Cameron replied coolly. “All the paperwork’s been handled. Whatever mess you all have going on, don’t bring it to me.”
“What?” Milena shook her head instinctively. “That’s impossible. There’s no way. You couldn’t have done it.”
‘You need proof of residence to process something like that, Milena thought bitterly.’ Cameron doesn’t even have a place of her own. She’s probably struggling to buy food. There’s no way she managed to transfer her household registration.’
“If you don’t believe me, go home and ask your dad to check for himself,” Cameron said coldly. “Milena, stop bothering me. If you show up again, don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Milena’s neck stiffened. “Oh yeah? And what exactly are you gonna do?”
“I’ll go straight to Amelia and tell her the truth that I’m a girl,” Cameron said. “Now tell me, what do you think will happe successfully unlocked family finds out they’ve been lied to for eighteen years?”
Milena froze in place. Before she could react, Cameron gave her a hard shove and stepped into the library.
“Cameron, you heartless brat,” Milena screamed after her.
That’s eighteen years. Even a dog would know to wag its tail for the person who raised it. But Cameron? The Wallace family raised her for eighteen years, and now she turns on us like it meant nothing. She’s nothing but a thankless little traitor, Milena fumed silently.
By now, Cameron had already walked inside. The custom-made glass doors blocked out the noise from outside. The library was calm, the kind of calm where you could hear every turn of a page and the scratch of a pen on paper.
Even the students working together kept their voices low. Stepping inside, Cameron felt as if the air itself had cleared. Anywhere the Wallace family was involved always felt suffocating and toxic.
She wasn’t here to read, though. The real reason she came was to hide from Elijah. Elijah was terrifying. He kept explaining problems to her, nonstop. And explaining was not enough. He would make her redo the entire problem right in front of him.
The rest of their classmates thought she was crazy lucky. But to Cameron, Elijah was just annoying beyond words. And she was so poor.
“Cameron?” a voice sounded.
She was just about to grab a random book off the shelf when she heard someone call her name. Cameron froze. The voice was all too familiar. Her whole body stiffened up, and she wanted to disappear immediately.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Elijah? Could I be any more unlucky?’ she groaned internally.
Completely exasperated, Cameron made up her mind. It was time Elijah saw what she was really made of. She didn’t want to endure his torture any longer. She walked straight toward him.
Elijah was dressed in the school uniform. Since the temperature inside the library was just right, he had taken off his jacket and was only wearing the white short-sleeved shirt underneath. He sat by the window, his face calm and unreadable, watching as Cameron approached.
She sat down across from him. Elijah said, “Perfect timing. The library’s a great place for tutoring.”
“I don’t need tutoring. I already know everything,” Cameron cut him off flatly.
Elijah blinked. “What are you talking about?” He frowned.
Cameron replied, “I’m saying I’m actually a top student too. Maybe I’m even a tiny bit better than you.”
Elijah stared at her. “Is that supposed to be funny?”
“I’m not joking,” Cameron said.
Without another word, Elijah slid his math workbook across the table and pushed it toward her. “Fine. Try this one. Solve it.”
He handed her his pen.
Cameron took it with ease. “It’s easy.”
Elijah kept his eyes locked on her, watching closely.
Cameron scanned the question, then immediately began to solve it. Her hand moved confidently across the page.
Elijah was visibly surprised. “Have you seen this problem before?”
“Nope,” Cameron replied. “Can you give me something harder? Like the ones you put up on the math challenge room board?”
“You sure you’re that confident in yourself?” Elijah asked.
“Absolutely,” Cameron said without hesitation.
Elijah flipped to the second-to-last page of the workbook. His long, slender fingers tapped on one of the questions. “Alright then. Solve this.”
He had been stuck on this one for days. It was the same problem he had posted on the challenge board. The mysterious person who used to solve those had disappeared without a trace. No one had managed to crack this one.
And he definitely did not expect Cameron to figure it out. But she was acting a little too full of herself, and he was go Successfully unlocked! lace.
“This one?” Cameron pointed to confirm.
“Yes.” Elijah nodded.
Just a few seconds later, Cameron grabbed a piece of scratch paper nearby. In just a few quick strokes, she had solved the entire problem.
Elijah paused, caught off guard. Then he immediately picked up her scratch paper. His eyes scanned the solution, and suddenly, it all clicked.
“So that’s it. This step needs that formula,” he murmured.
Cameron raised her eyebrows slightly. “Need me to prove anything else?”
Elijah lowered his voice. “Cameron, how are you able to solve problems this hard?”
Cameron replied, “Not just this one. All those math problems you put up before? I was the one who solved them.”
Elijah froze. The look on his face told Cameron he still did not believe her. ‘Well, I’m not letting him walk away without the truth today, she thought.
Then she opened her mouth and spoke a string of fluent Spanish. “Elijah, Mr. Drake had already promised the Chapman family he would expel me, but then turned around and made a huge deal out of inviting me back to school. Do you know why?”
Elijah blinked in surprise. ‘When did her Spanish get this good?’ he wondered.
