King of my Heart-Unroyals #1

2.2 | All the kings go to hell

Kedar stood in front of the Aldridge-Heaton Academy, devouring the beauty of the school and the enigmatic mountains behind it. The building reminded him of the Parmar Palace, which he didn't like. There was an old, picturesque fountain in front of the school that was jetting water even in the rain. 
 
'Welcome to Aldridge-Heaton Academy, Prince Kedar.' The man with gray hair and thick-rimmed glasses who seemed to be the principal greeted him. The name tag on his jacket said, "Owen Bishop, Principal." He introduced himself and other teachers to Kedar. They took him on a tour of the school to get familiar with the campus. The main building was where they conducted the classes; a few meters away from it, the old Victorian-style building was the assembly hall, the adjacent building was the library and next to it stood the church. Down were the steep steps that turned in different directions; some vanished into the dense thicket of pine trees, some to the boys' dormitory, the dining hall and some to the girls' dormitory on the left. Behind it was a very small lake the size of a big pond, and the lake ended where the woods began, luscious with pine, cedar, deodar, oak, rosewood, and many other trees.
 
'Where are the students?' Kedar asked the principal, as he noticed no students in any of the classes. 
 
'They're in the assembly hall. Today's assembly is reserved for the school election campaign.' 
 
'Oh, you have school elections?' That's when he noticed the banners hanging above him and the few flyers glued to the lockers. One of them said, 'EHAN KAPUR FOR SCHOOL PRESIDENT' in bold red letters, and under that were the manifestos if he gets elected. It was the best-looking flyer among the others, with a picture of Ehan Kapur in a well-fitting navy blue suit and an undercut.
 
'Your stay in Dalhousie yesterday was arranged by them. His father owns Pinecrest group of hotels and resorts.' Owen said, catching Kedar looking at the flyer. Kedar nodded his head as the realisation dawned on him. Samara Kapur's brother. Samara Kapur is the famous Bollywood actress and the fifth or sixth girlfriend of his cousin Aryan Panwar. If they ever marry, he and Ehan would become relatives, which is highly unlikely considering Aryan's character when it comes to committing to one woman.
 
'Can you take me to the assembly hall, Mr. Bishop?'
 
'But you've just arrived here. You can take a day off.' Owen hesitated. 
 
'I don't like skipping school.' But he can't skip school anymore. Bunking classes had already created enough trouble. But he might do it again, just to annoy the sovereign.
 
'It's fine then.' Owen said, leading him to the assembly hall. The assembly building was much bigger up close than it seemed from the main building.  Instead of going in through the main entrance, they entered through the steps that led them to the balcony above the hall, which was empty. It resembled an opera house more than a school assembly hall with its sophisticated carvings, grand chandeliers, velvet-red curtains, and chairs. All the students were seated below the balcony. 
 
'It's a better view from here,' Owen said.
 
'You don't allow the students here?'
 
'No.' Said Owen, and led Kedar to the front seat. 
 
The campaign speeches had already begun when they reached. A girl in a red headband who seemed to be from western Asia was giving her speech. The next one to give the campaign speech was Ehan Kapur, who walked confidently to the stage with his head held high as if he had already won and the elections were for the sake of conducting an election. And it was evident from the amount of cheers, applauds, and woohoos he received that he was a fan favourite. The crowd died down with a wave of his hand. He had Samara's looks—the same eyes and cheeks. His speech lasted more than five minutes. Another round of applause followed as he ended his speech. 
'Alright, alright.' He said as the crowd kept applauding. 'We've got a very special guest in the house.' Ehan's eyes travelled up the balcony, where Kedar was sitting. So did the other students' eyes. Everyone unanimously looked at him. Kedar's shoulders stiffened. Gasps and murmurs filled the hall where applause echoed seconds ago. 
 
'It's good to see royals among the fellow Heatons.' His lips twisted into a slight smirk, as if he were mocking him. 'Applause for the crown prince.' He said, emphasising the word crown a little too much. The students, still looking at Kedar, erupted into a loud applause. 

The girl who was welcoming the speakers called the last speaker's name. Himani Arora. The crowd fell silent as Himani Arora climbed up the steps to the stage, her straight, slick ponytail, adorned with a pearl hairclip, bouncing behind her. She wore brown coloured loafers with black socks in contrast to the black, checkered jacket and plain black, pleated skirt. She did not have a sweater vest over the white shirt, just like every other student and wore a black satin bow tie around the shirt's collar. Her face was flushed with pink blush above her cheek bones, which drew attention to her heart shaped face, and her siren eyes were a lighter shade of brown. She looked flustered yet confident. Disinterest beamed in the face of every student. But Kedar was eager to hear what she had to say, more than he was interested in Ehan's speech. But it didn't last long. Himani pulled out a paper from the pocket inside her jacket, but she didn't look at it during her speech. The prepared speech acted as support, just in case she forgot what to say. Her election promises were much better and more feasible than Ehan's, but the crowd's response was dull. Her speech continued longer than expected.
 
'Mr. Panwar,' the principal said, drawing his attention. 'We were informed about your Oxford plans by the palace.' Kedar noticed how he had a South African accent.
 
'Oh, that's Dada's... I mean the king's idea.' 
 
'But we'll be giving you full assistance in achieving it.' 
 
Kedar smiled in response.
 
'And we've sort of got a rule here.'
 
'What's it?' Kedar tilted his head.
 
'We give equal importance to co curricular activities just like we give importance to academics. So, every student should be enrolled in at least one club.'
 
'I've got to be in one too, right?'
 
'Yes, but it's fine if you don't want to.'
 
'Mr. Bishop, I'm now a student here. You don't have to treat me as the prince all the time.' 
 
'Yes, but...'
 
'No buts, could you show me the list of clubs that I could enroll in?'
 
'Sure.' Owen said as he turned on his iPad and gave it to Kedar. Kedar was going through the long list of clubs, which was tiring and confusing, but his attention was drawn back to Himani Arora once again. 
 
It was her speech, which was getting more personal as it progressed. She took the spotlight to praise democracy and how much school elections are beneficial for young minds to form their own opinions and political beliefs, and she suggested everyone use their voting rights for those candidates who make reasonable promises. And it went on until she said how much we've changed as a society since monarchy was taken over by democracy and that no elected leader should act as a sovereign. She shaded the monarchy in every way possible, which was not intentional. But for Kedar Nath Panwar, it was. His fingers curled into a fist, trying to suppress the anger. For him, her speech was personal because, in the future, he is going to be that sovereign she was hating on. According to her, he is going to be that king who acts as if he owns the whole world. The speech, directly or indirectly, was a poisoned arrow aimed at him and his family. He wanted to scream at her that he's not like the monarchs that she has heard of, but it would only make him look like a clown in front of the whole school.
 
Himani Arora ended her speech, and a round of scattered applause followed.
 
'Have you decided which club you want to join?' Owen asked.
 
'Debate Club. Debate Club looks fine.' He said, his jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, and still looking at Himani Arora, who was walking down the stage.