Hidden Royalties

ten ༉‧₊˚.

ALICE AND I took our usual seats at the front of the class and watched the rest of the class roll in. The weekend tired me out with the fundraiser and the beginnings of trying to plan a wedding. I needed some sort of caffeine to wake me up. She was talking about her weekend in Bejing with her dad. She never really gets to see him much. Her father turned into a workaholic once her mother had passed when she turned twelve, hence why her father shipped her off to boarding school. From what Alice has told me previously, he's lost his affectionate side over the years. In a sense maybe that's why Alice and I get along, sharing the same neglect of affection from our parents.

"Dad's got a new girlfriend again," Alice rambled without a care in the world. "Might stay around until she's got enough money to dip. She's a YSL kind of girl."

Her dad's numerous flings, girlfriends and potential stepmothers have made her numb to anyone new sacrificial lambs. They come and go, but never stay. One thing they all had in common was their established hatred for her. Needless to say, she's definitely got daddy issues.

She jumped as if she just had an epiphany. "I forgot to mention, guess who I saw at my dad's training facility."

"I don't know? Some famous dude?" I sarcastically answered.

Alice glared, "No silly, Morgan. You know, the one that's freakishly good at soccer and goes to our school. I did not know it was possible to have an eight pack."

I looked at Alice, "Were you sure you counted correctly?"

"Yes! I'm surprised his body isn't exhausted all of the time."

"Alice, he's an A-class athlete, I'm pretty sure he can handle himself," I paused with a realisation. "Do you fancy him?"

Alice was taken back. "What? No, he's too nice. I can't," she said defensively. At least she knows that the boys she keeps hooking up with won't stay for long.

Class began with the professor, who I hadn't realised while walking in, putting a calculus equation up on the projector. I brought up the equation on my tablet and began working on it. The class was brought to an abrupt interruption with Peter walking in late followed by Elenor.

"I see we have two volunteers to complete the equation," the professor sneered, clearly irritated by their tardiness.

They both looked at each other before approaching the board. Peter put his belongings on the desk beside me, whispering to me to 'wish him luck'. My cheeks became hot from the gesture.

I watched Peter roll the sleeves of his dress shirt to his elbows to ensure that the markers would leave a stain while also showing off his muscular forearms. It was an incredibly attractive manoeuvre that made me melt.

The two of them began working out the problem with the professor judging them from the side. The awkward air in the room was nothing by the squeaking sound of the whiteboard markers. Elenor finished a few seconds before Peter, however, their answers weren't the same. Elenor had a look of accomplishment on her face while Peter glanced over and smirked. The professor then examined both solutions, concluding that Peter had the correct answer.

"You use the quotient rule, not the chain rule silly," Peter carried on before sitting in the seat next to me. Elenor sneered at him before returning to her seat next to Elias in disbelief. Elias raised his eyebrow looking at Peter then looked back at his girlfriend.

"Thanks for the luck, babe," Peter whispered to my ear. I felt my heart skip a beat. Hearing him say 'babe' felt extremely weird but directed towards me felt more alluring.

Once the lunch break bell rang, all the stress from school work disappeared from my body. That was until Elias pulled me aside after class. That man was a walking stress trigger.

"Don't you think it was weird how Elenor came into class late? She's never late to anything," Elias asked me.

"You're asking me a question where I couldn't possibly have the knowledge of knowing," I sarcastically answered. "However, I did find it weird how Peter actually got his answer right."

Elias glared at me, muttering something about how useless I was. "Anyways, how are you?" he asked. I was taken aback by the sudden question.

"Why?" I asked with confusion lingering under the tone of my voice.

He crossed his arms, "Is it wrong to ask my wife how she is? I thought checking up on your significant other was a gentleman-like gesture."

"Will you stop calling me your wife? What's the rush anyway? Wedding isn't even until six months," I stated with aggression.

"You complain and question things way too much," Elias said before standing up from the wall and walking towards the doors. "I'll see you later princess."

I rolled my eyes and then made my way to catch up to Alice who was waiting outside. Being outdoors was so refreshing, something about nature and cold crisp air carried dopamine. We walked towards our favourite spot in the yard which was the bench underneath the great mahogany tree.

I reminisced of all of the times we had spent in this spot. "Can you imagine not being here after we graduate? I'll sure miss it," I said as I admired the scenery.

Alice chuckled, "Don't know what's there to be missed, I'm ready to get out of here. Did you decide what you're going to do after graduation?"

"I got accepted into Yale and Oxford. Haven't decided yet," I partially lied. Mother told me I was to focus on my royal duties for a few years, relinquishing me of all of my educational rights. I did manage to get a place for the two universities however I wasn't even to step foot in either of the campuses. A tertiary education meant a lot to me, but my mother had the last say in anything of my life.

"That's great Mary, I'm so happy for you! I'll make sure to visit you as much, however, England is a bit cold but I guess if it's near home you'll obviously choose it."

"Again, still haven't decided, but you'll be the first to know," I lied again. I couldn't make up anything else on the spot. It was becoming a tiresome chore to figure out more lies.

"So anyway, I managed to grab a few seats for Paris Fashion Week next week," Alice exclaimed. "I was hoping that you could come and see me." Shit, I totally forgot about Paris Fashion Week. I mean, I was already going but Alice didn't know that. I was excited for Alice to make her debut catwalk on a big stage, it was her biggest goal when she decided she wanted to get into fashion like her mother. I felt bad.

"Ah, I'm so sorry but I'm in London again," I fibbed. "I'll make sure to watch it live."

"Is this what you felt like when I was away all the time?" she rhetorically asked herself. "This sucks."