She's the Campus Prince

Austin's brows knit together. He thought, 'Xander is always glued to Cam. Cameron spent nearly all his free time helping Xander catch up on his studies.

'That's why Xander made progress so fast. The SATs are just around the corner, so why did he move back now?"

Even though that was what he was thinking, Austin still kept a smile on his face. He said, "Xan, Ms. Murphy is really nice to you.”

Xander had just finished making his bed. "Of course she is. She's my aunt."

Austin just smiled and didn't say anything.

Right then, Cameron and Elijah walked in together. Both Cameron and Elijah were surprised to see Xander in the dorm.

"Surprise!" Xander bounced over to Cameron, grinning from ear to ear.

"Cameron, I'm back. Aren't you happy?" Xander looked ridiculously smug.

Since Cameron refused to move out of Room 316, Xander had no choice but to move back. He thought that as long as he was here, everything would be fine.

Cameron stared at Xander but said nothing.

Elijah frowned. “Did you sneak back in?"

Xander shot him a glare. "Sneak back? I came back fair and square, okay?"

Elijah asked, "Does Ms. Murphy know about this?"

Xander smirked. "Bet you didn't expect that, huh? My aunt said I could come back, you dummy."

Elijah just frowned again, not even bothering to argue.

Cameron looked completely unfazed.

She thought the SATS were just around the corner, so she didn't care, what Xander would do.

Cameron headed straight to the bathroom for a shower.

The hot weather left her feeling sticky and gross all over by the end of the day.

As soon as Cameron headed into the bathroom, Xander hurried after her and stood guard at the door like a bouncer.

Of course, he was facing away from the bathroom door.

Xander suddenly remembered what Cameron looked like on her first day in the dorm.

Back then, Xander was in such a rush, kept telling Cameron to open the door, and even said they could pee together.

Now he understood why Cameron looked so uncomfortable at that time.

A smile tugged at Xander's lips as he recalled that scene.

Just then, Austin came over to wash up, eyeing Xander curiously.

Austin wondered, 'What's Xander doing standing at the bathroom door?'

Before Austin could ask, Xander beat him to it. "Austin, what are you doing?"

Austin paused, mid-squeeze with his toothpaste. "I'm brushing my teeth." Xander said, "Didn't you see Cameron is in the shower? Why are you brushing

your teeth now?"

Austin looked completely lost. "What does me brushing my teeth have to do with Cam taking a shower?"

Xander said, "It's not convenient for you to be here. Go back inside." He said it like an order.

6/38

Austin wondered, 'Not convenient for me to be here? Why not? I'm just brushing my teeth. What's so inconvenient about that? And what's Xander doing standing here? He really is just as annoying as Samuel'

Austin ignored Xander and squeezed out some toothpaste for himself.

Xander frowned. "Austin, I told you to go back. Didn't you hear me?"

Austin replied, “Dude, I'm just brushing my teeth, and that's all."

Xander snapped, "Are you deaf? I said it's not convenient." Austin just sat there in stunned silence.

Elijah saw the whole thing. He usually minded his

Own business. But this time, he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Xander, stop making trouble for no reason," Elijah said coldly.

Xander immediately glared at Elijah. “And you, Elijah, don't even think about coming over here."

Elijah stood up. "What, you came back to 316 just to pick a fight? Believe it or not, Cameron could get you kicked out of here tonight with just one call."

Xander paused for a second, then scoffed, "Who told

d you Cameron wants me out of the room?"

Xander thought, 'If anything, Cameron should be happy I'm back.

"What are you guys arguing about?" Bradley heard the commotion from out in the hallway. He pushed the door open and saw Xander actually in the

dorm.

"Xander, what are you doing here?" Bradley asked.

Bradley thought, 'So it was really Xander. Whenever he's around, this dorm gets a lot noisier.'

Xander said, "I'm back to stay."

Bradley said, "Fine, stay if you want. But what's with all the noise?"

Elijah said, "He won't let Austin wash up."

Xander shot back, "I'm not stopping him from washing up. I just told him to wait

until Cameron finishes his shower, okay?"

Elijah said, "And you really think that's fine?"

Xander shrugged. "What's wrong with it?"

Bradley asked, "So what's your reason for doing this?"

Xander frowned and didn't answer. He definitely couldn't say Cameron was a girl.

He thought it would be awkward when a girl was showering inside while guys were washing up outside. They should let her finish before they do their

business.

10:00 Wed, 4 Jun

Bradley said, "If you can't answer, then stop making a scene."

"Yeah, I'm making a scene. So what? When Cameron's taking a shower, none

of you are allowed anywhere near here," Xander shouted.

The other three people all looked at Xander, confused.

"What are you guys arguing about?" Cameron stepped out, wearing loose black pajamas, her short hair still damp.

Xander stared at Cameron's fresh face for a few seconds, his heart pounding out of control. Suddenly flustered, he bolted back to his own bed.

The other three people looked more confused.

They wondered, 'What's with his reaction? Why did he suddenly get so weird?'

Even the slowest person could figure out what was going on by now.

They thought, 'This just doesn't add up. Xander always seemed so tough. How could he end up like this? What's Cameron thinking?"

Bradley and the other two all turned to look at Cameron at the same time.

Cameron grabbed her dry towel from the rack and started drying her hair. She asked again, "What were you guys arguing about just now?"

"N-Nothing," Austin stammered.

Bradley nodded. "Yeah, nothing."

Elijah chimed in, "Nothing."

Cameron thought, 'I definitely heard them arguing just now. Well, if they say it's

nothing, then it's nothing.'

Cameron stood in front of the mirror to blow-dry her hair while Austin brushed his teeth.

Elijah and Bradley both headed back into the room.

Bradley's gaze slowly swept over Xander. Elijah couldn't help sneaking a few glances at Xander too.

Now, Xander's heartbeat had finally calmed down, and he asked, "Why are you guys staring at me?"

Elijah and Bradley, totally in sync, just ignored him.

Xander didn't care either. He was feeling pretty pleased with himself because he was the only one in Room 316 who knew Cameron was actually a girl.

After brushing his teeth, Austin just stood there, quietly watching Cameron blow- dry her hair.

Cameron stopped when her hair was almost dry. If she completely dried it too much, it would just ruin her hair.

She put down the hair dryer and looked over at Austin. "Did you want to talk to me about something?"

Austin smiled. "Cam, I'm just curious about what kind of girls you like. Someone like Amelia?"

Cameron froze for a second. She really hadn't expected Austin to ask that out of nowhere.

Cameron shook her head. "I've never really thought about it."

She replied inwardly, 'I don't even like girls, okay? But since I'm disguised as a

guy, saying I don't like girls would just sound weird.'

So she added, "I'm not into Amelia. If you like her, you should go for her."

Austin shook his head. "Nah, Cam, I'm not into girls like Amelia either."

10:01 Wed, 4 Jun

Cameron asked, "Then what kind do you like?"

Austin hesitated. "No idea."

He realized he'd never really thought about it before.

Growing up, all he ever worried about was staying safe and not getting killed by

Samuel or his stepmother. He had time to think about relationships.

Cameron smiled and headed back inside.

Xander stared at her, sounding a little jealous. "What were you guys talking

about? You looked so happy."

Cameron shot him a look. "Why are you so nosy? Does this have anything to do

with you?"

Xander muttered, "I was just asking."

The other three people thought, 'Normally, Xander would've started bickering with Cameron by now, but tonight, he is so meek.

If they hadn't seen it for themselves, they never would've believed it.

It was getting late. Cameron climbed onto her bed, pulled the curtain shut, lay

down, and planned to read a bit before going to sleep.

Just then, her phone, sitting by her pillow, vibrated.

Cameron picked it up and saw a message from Bradley. [Cameron, didn't you say

before that you're not into girls?]

Cameron wondered, 'Huh? What's going on? Why is Brad asking almost the same thing Austin did earlier? Did I miss something here?'

Before Cameron could reply, another message from Bradley popped up. [Cameron, I mean no offense. I'm just asking out of curiosity.] Cameron replied, a bit noncommittally: [I didn't say that. I just haven't really thought about it. My mind's on other things.]

Bradley just wanted to figure out if Cameron actually liked girls or not. He

wondered, 'So... does that mean yes or no? Does Cameron even know what Xander's thinking?'

For some reason, seeing Xander act so out of character made Bradley feel weirdly unsettled.

Bradley mulled it over for a while before messaging Cameron again! [So, do you

like guys?]

Cameron wondered, 'What's up with Brad tonight?'

Cameron: [Brad, why are you asking that? Did something happen?]

Bradley: [Just curious.]

Cameron: [Oh.]

Bradley thought, 'What's that supposed to mean? Why doesn't he just answer

me?'

Cameron: [Brad, I'm tired. I'm gonna sleep now. Good night.]

Bradley said to himself, 'He still hasn't answered my question.'

In the end, Bradley didn't push any further and just replied: [Good night.]

Cameron didn't think much of it. She put on her sleep mask and drifted off Bradley, however, just couldn't fall asleep. He thought, 'Why didn't Cameron answer me? Is he dodging the question on purpose? Does he like girls, or is he

into guys?'

80%

Xander couldn't sleep either he was way too excited.

He wondered, 'After searching for so long, the person I've been looking for is right

there beside me. I'm really so lucky. Once the SATs are over...

Elijah couldn't focus on his studies tonight. He cleared off his desk early.

Without thinking, his eyes drifted over to where Cameron's bed was as he thought, 'Does Cameron even know that? What's going through his head? Didn't

Xander used to chase after Cameron's sister, Milena? That's a pretty big change. What's going through his head?

Elijah couldn't make sense of it. Still, he wasn't about to ask Xander. He didn't even have to ask. Just by looking at Xander's reaction, he'd know the

answer.

Austin couldn't sleep either. He lay in bed, and even after lights out in the dorm,

he kept glancing over at Cameron.

Austin thought, 'Xander is so annoying. There's no way Cam would ever like him,

right? Wait, Cam likes girls. Xander doesn't stand a chance.

Thinking that, Austin finally felt a lot better.

The next day, as usual, Bradley headed out for his morning run at 6 AM.

Cameron was up not long after. But to her surprise, Xander was already awake before her.

Xander looked at Cameron with a big grin. "Hey, morning."

Cameron yawned, her short hair sticking up in a messy bedhead after a full night's

sleep.

Xander smiled at her. "You're seriously adorable."

Cameron's hand froze in her hair. "What did you just say?"

Xander repeated, "I said you're adorable." Cameron shot him a look. "What's wrong with you?"

Xander just laughed. "Nothing, I'm perfectly fine."

Cameron couldn't be bothered to deal with him and headed straight for the

bathroom.

Xander hurried after her, still smiling. “Cameron, I got your water ready, and I even

squeezed the toothpaste for you." As he spoke, he handed her the cup and toothbrush.

Cameron looked at him with a blank face. "Let me guess, you're trying to butter

me up?"

Xander grinned. "Not exactly. I mean, I was kind of a jerk before, right? I just want

to make it up to you a little."

Cameron took the toothbrush and toothpaste. "This is your idea of making it up to

me? Seriously? I've got hands. I dnoveldrama

need your help."

Xander said, "Then what do you want as compensation? As long as I can do it,

anything goes."

Cameron replied, "There is something you can do."

Xander looked at her, full of anticipation. "What is it?"

"Stay away from me," replied Cameron.

Austin and Elijah were already awake, but they both kept quiet. Hearing Cameron

still giving Xander the cold shoulder, they finally relaxed.

Elijah got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. “Xander, can you not annoy

Cameron first thing in the morning?"

Xander was about to snap back, but then Elijah added, "If Cameron bombs the

SAT, are you gonna take responsibility?"

"Don't jinx it! Cameron's totally gonna make it," Xander shot back.

Elijah said, “He will if you stop bugging him."

Xander glared at Elijah. "What, are you looking for trouble? When did I ever

bother Cameron?"

"It's just concern, right, Xan?" Austin chimed in with a grin.

Austin thought, 'As long as Cam's not interested in Xander, Xander's just wasting

his breath.'

Xander clapped his hands. "Exactly, I'm just concerned about Cam."

"Move." Cameron finished washing up and pushed past Xander, who was

blocking the way.

"Where are you going?" Xander hurried after Cameron.

"To the classroom," Cameron replied.

"I'll go with you," Xander said.

"Go your own way. Why are you following me?" Cameron shot back.

"Come on, we're headed the same way," Xander insisted.

Cameron rolled her eyes.

Austin coughed. "Xan, looks like Cam and Eli are actually more on the way.

They're desk mates, after all."

AD

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