Royally Fucked

III:2 - The Royal Stalker

KENJI RUSHTON

"This has got to be the craziest day for George Kensington High," Leona began just as we settled down at our usual spot in the cafeteria. "Who would've thought the prince would show up here? I mean, really? George Kensington High of all?"She continued, sounding quite thrilled with the status of the situation. In comparison to my own thoughts and feelings of the situation, she was acting like she just saw Poseidon rising from the depths of the ocean and walking on water to claim Perseus. To me, I just saw Epiales, the personification of nightmares emerging from the absence of light.

"What in the hell is he doing here? I-I'm confused," Anthony chimed in, already chewing a mouthful.

I was just about to say something about the prince, but then I realized I'm about to paint a certain narrative that won't even be the truth, and I hope it won't be the truth. I initially wanted to tell Leona and Anthony about the little fiasco I stumbled upon back at the underground bar, but it would certainly raise questions that I wouldn't be able to answer. I don't want to sound dumb, but judging from what I have gathered, the prince's not just visiting.

"I heard he's going to join us here," Leona said. "That would be fun. At least for the people around here who could capitalize on his status."

"Like he's going to study here?" Anthony inquired.

"That's what I heard," nodded Leona.

Shaking his head in disagreement, Anthony shoved another spoonful into his mouth right before actually speaking. "I don't think that's true at all. What's your source, Leona?"

"Jesus, Anthony. You don't always have to know my source, sir. I've been accurate with everything so far."

"Alright, I get you."

We continued taking our lunch, and since Leona and Anthony stopped talking about the prince, I thought I'd be in peace for a moment. The jokes on me though, because even the people around us have the prince all smothered in their lips. The news has caught everybody's attention, and it's like a viral situation that I can't run away from.

"Why are you all thrilled that he's here?" I blurted out, not even knowing that I just snapped out of nowhere. "He's not like the messiah coming down from above to save us all from the misery of this hell hole. Can he turn water into wine? No! Can he turn loaves into fish? Definitely no! He's just another human being who just happened to be a prince, and it's not like that's special."

I went out on an unsolicited tirade that may have sounded hateful, and both of my friends were just glaring at me in total shock.

"Damn, Kenji. You sound really mad at the prince," Anthony muttered.

Leona let out a heavy sigh, staring straight at me, and I just saw how something clicked right behind her eyes. "Whatever did the prince do to you? Is this about you losing your phone a couple of nights ago? Well, I'm sorry that you lost your precious phone. It's not our problem that you're careless."

"This isn't about my phone, alright?" I snapped out, slapping the table and standing up.

"Woah, man. You've got to chill out," Anthony uttered. He had to hold his plate, worried that I might throw it out.

"Why are you acting like a total dick and not even a good hard and stiff one but much rather a flaccid one?" Leona went on; her voice was so loud that it somehow caught a few attentions.

I quickly realized Leona was right; I was being a total dick for no apparent reason. I looked around, and a myriad of eyes were glued all over our spot. I didn't know how to react to that kind of attention and ended up walking out like a scared cat.