HER MAJESTY, HIS ROYALTY

EPISODE 3: A RADIANT BOND

Crowns Academy had resumed for a new session, and the royal kids were looking forward to another successful semester. With Viscountess Casey around, you could count on that.

Mshell

Evly: Library by 10, DON'T BE LATE.

Me: Yes, Ma!

"Yo! Mshell, you've been texting a lot lately and smiling at your texts. Should I be worried?" Jerry asked as he came out of his room to the suite's living room where I was seated.

At Crowns, the dorms were made up of suites, and each student owned a room while sharing a suite. Choosing a suitemate was allowed, but there couldn't be more than 4 students in a suite because castle servants also stayed in the suite.

"Of course not, I'm calm. You're headed to the gym, yeah? I'll tag along," I said to quickly change the subject. Jerry was my closest friend here at Crowns, and as much as I hated to admit it, he read me like a book. Unlike me, Jerry was pretty athletic, and as a result, girls hovered around him like bees. Not that I was complaining, but he didn't exactly do anything to stop them, and it could be annoying. Jerry and I go way back; his father is the top minister at Athras Central.

"First basketball, now you're going to the gym? Who are you, and what have you done with Mshell?" Jerry said as he got dressed in his gym wear.

"I'm trying out something new, that's all," I said and walked out of the castle room, and he ran after me.

"This 'something new,' does it have to do with a certain girl?" Jerry asked.

I had forgotten that Jerry knew about my crush on Hayley. He hadn't said anything about it in a while, so why now?

"Oh, please, can't I do something for myself for once?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

"What are we doing for ourselves?" a panting voice from behind asked. I recognized the voice; I mean; how couldn't it ring in my brain for a while now? It was Hayley. I turned back, and she smiled at me. She was drenched in sweat and panting, but she wasn't alone; she was with the blonde basketball player Carlo.

"Hayley Deville, what a pleasant sight," Jerry blurted out.

"Oh, Jerry, I'm sure a wet girl isn't a new sight for you," Hayley said.

That was Hayley's way of talking. Unlike other girls I had met before, she never filtered her words; she was always blunt, and for some reason, I found that attractive.

"Mshell, I didn't know you work-out," Hayley said. I wasn't sure that was a question, but I still gave her a response.

"Oh, not normally, but there's always a first time, yeah," I replied.

She smiled and said, "Of course there is."

Carlo had not said a word; he just gave me a nod as though we were buddies. I know that might sound weird, but trust me, I wasn't jealous. I mean, why would I be?

After a few workout routines with Jerry, I checked my phone, and it was 9:49.

"Shoot! Jerry, I've got to go now," I said as I picked up my face towel and bottle to leave.

"And where are you headed? It's Saturday, plus classes have not officially started, nerd," Jerry said, attempting to stop me.

"I've got a library date," I said, and I zoomed off.

"You're one minute late, your Highness," Evly said when I finally arrived at the library after I rushed like crazy to get there.

Evly wasn't being sarcastic when she called me Your Highness. For some reason, she started calling me that, and all my attempts to stop her were futile. One of the rules of the Crowns Academy is that every royal and high position being are equal royals until graduation or outside the walls of the Crowns. But there were a few people who didn't exactly take that to heart.