i.
shuri.
of course it's her.
across the cafeteria, riri scowls as she watches m.i.t.'s residential royalty enter the dining hall, accompanied by two female bodyguards. everyone's eyes travel to the princess, who pays no mind to the attention she's garnered, merely taking a seat at a secluded table in the corner of the room.
she's vaguely aware of mj mentioning something about a party, but riri isn't listening. she sits back and folds her arms, feeling her teeth grit at the sight of the woman's perfectly curled hair and her dumb designer clothes and that stupid bracelet she always seems to wear. probably just another way to show off her wealth.
it's not that she hates shuri udaku. riri's spent enough time around mj to know that hating people is just a complete waste of time and energy. but that doesn't mean she has to fucking like her either. she never feels quite as inadequate as when she's next to the princess of wakanda. even the air is different — it's hers. laced with sandalwood and hierarchy and royal blood.
maybe it's the fact that despite being a pampered rich girl, she's managed to worm her way to the top of every course and class she takes. maybe it's the fact that despite likely having never worked a day in her life, she easily landed a spot at the most prestigious science and engineering university in the world; while riri spent years working day and night, putting in hours of labor and endless amounts of blood, sweat, and tears just to narrowly earn a scholarship. or maybe it's the fact that despite all the rumors and theories about shuri simply buying her way to the top, she's still the only stem major in all of m.i.t. who can actually rival riri's intelligence.
okay, so maybe riri hates her just a little bit.
realizing her roommate is no longer paying attention, mj turns around and follows riri's line of sight towards shuri. the princess has her legs crossed, a book folded in her lap as she intensely carries out a conversation with the bodyguard to her right. they seem to be arguing about something.
"looks like someone didn't get their double cappuccino macchiato this morning." riri says, sarcastically.
mj turns back around, rolling her eyes. "and i'm going to need one too if i have to listen to you bitch about the princess this early in the morning. i still don't get why you're so threatened by her."
riri looks genuinely insulted at that. she sits up straight, her nostrils flaring. "i'm not threatened," she snaps, exasperated. "i'm pissed off. people like us had to work our asses off to get to where we are today, but people like her just get to waltz around and have everything handed to them on a silver fucking platter. it makes me sick."
she punctuates the last word by furiously stabbing a piece of sausage with her fork. riri glares back up at shuri and wrinkles her nose. she can smell her privilege all the way across the room.
mj gives her a pointed look. "okay, but don't you think you're being hella judgmental? i mean, have you ever even talked to the girl before?" she asks, reasonably.
riri says nothing. the honest answer was no, but that didn't make her point any less valid. it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that being the princess of the most technologically advanced country in the world must get you special privileges in college, especially when living on campus.
when riri remains silent, mj smirks.
"well, it looks like you'll get the chance to actually talk to her later on." she says, taking a bite out of her toast. noticing the crinkle of confusion in riri's eyebrows, mj elaborates. "if you had actually listened to me earlier, you would've heard that a bunch of people are saying she's coming to that party theta's having tonight."
upon hearing this information, riri's eyebrows skyrocket. as far as she knew, the royal guards of wakanda never let the princess out of their sight.
"seriously?" she says, disbelievingly. "the dora milaje are allowing her royal highness to leave her castle so she can grace the commoners at a fucking frat party?"
mj shrugs. "that's probably what they're fighting about right now. guess we'll find out tonight."
subconsciously, riri's eyes glide back over to the princess. she and the guard are still arguing, but then she sees her turn towards the window, pointing a finger straight in the direction of theta's headquarters. for a split second, riri feels a slight sense of curiosity rise within her. but as the princess turns back around, her gaze accidentally snags on riri's. riri quickly looks down at her lap, feeling her heart skip a beat.
fuck.
she counts five beats before risking a glance back upwards, but by then the princess has already looked away, back in deep conversation with the dora milaje.
ignoring the subtle spike in her heart rate, riri forces herself to look back at mj, shoving a mutilated piece of sausage into her mouth.
"i'll believe it when i see it."
