Royally Off Your Throne

4 - Royally Can't Believe That Worked

There were about a million things I could have imagined Wilkerson's deepest, darkest secret to be. And they were along the lines of him puking himself in front of someone important, or being caught in a scandalous position, or maybe having a secret, weird cousin.

But him turning out to be a prince?

In what imaginary world? As I passed by people in the hallway, my mouth wanted to burst with this information, desperate to tell someone. But I had to keep it quiet so it could be used strategically.

I wanted to tell my friends at least, so they wouldn't have the right to call me crazy anymore. I'd show them that I was right all along, and they'd all bow down to me. First, I'd have to complete this task.

After a quick conversation with Marsh, I'd managed to track Wilkerson down to the rec room upstairs. When I made it to the door, I could see some of his friends chatting on a sofa. They all looked up at me as I approached. One of them was Everett, a red-head who I'm pretty sure still remembered the time my friends and I accidentally knocked over his earth model. That was two years ago; he had to be over it by now.

I gave him a small wave. "Hey, lovely weather we're having, right?"

He furrowed his brow. "I guess..."

Okay, so maybe he had a right to be a little suspicious. But, whatever, he wasn't my priority. "Have you seen Wilkerson around here?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Am I not allowed to talk to my fellow students?"

He muttered something and glanced away from me. I suppressed an eyeroll and gave Omar, the guy sitting next to Everett, a smile. I don't think he hated me. "You've seen Wilkerson?"

"Ah, still after him." So Wilkerson had told him I was supposedly after him? Hm, maybe it was a half truth. Actually, no, because he deserves it.

I crossed my arms. "Not after him. Maybe he shouldn't have snitched on me." I paused, a question coming to me. Did they know he was royalty, too? How could you keep something like that a secret? Is that not insane? But something told me they had no clue.

"He's over there talking to Risa," Omar answered.

"Thanks." I located him talking to Risa, a girl I had modern linguistics with, leaned against a shelf near the corner of the room, a smile on his face as he spoke.

I couldn't wait to wipe it off.

I straightened my back, put on the most placid expression, and made my way towards Wilkerson. Confusion flashed on his face as I approached. But I ignored him and instead waved at Risa. "Hey, how's it going?"

She shrugged. "I'm alright. Accents are actually killing me."

"Oh well. If you try all of them, you're bound to say to pick the right thing. It's how I got an A on the last quiz." That technique had gotten me far in many aspects of my life.

"Really?" She laughed. "If push comes to shove, I guess."

"It often does come to shove." I turned to Wilkerson with a smile. "Mind if I steal him away for a bit?"

Disappointment flashed on her face. Sigh, how unfortunate she'd never understand what a fraud he was. And, oh my god, she didn't know she was talking to a prince! I suppose that made him mystical and all, but I'm here to blackmail, not fawn over him.

"Yeah, go ahead," Risa said as she walked off.

And then it was me and that smug bastard. He would be humbled soon enough. He crossed his arms. "How can I help you?"