She made it to her first class and found that someone had moved her seat. She was no longer in the back corner where scholarship students usually sat. Now there was a desk at the front, slightly separated from the others, with a cushioned chair.
Professor Hartwick who had ignored Elara for three years practically tripped over himself greeting her.
"Princess Elara! What an honor! Please, sit wherever you're comfortable."
Elara sat in the new desk, feeling everyone's eyes on her back. Halfway through class, the door opened. Marcus was late. He stopped when he saw Elara sitting at the front on a cushioned chair. He looked hurt.
She tried to catch him after class, but he disappeared into the crowd. She finally found him at lunch sitting alone at their usual table in the corner of the cafeteria.
"Marcus. Can we talk?"
"Sure, Princess Elara."
"Don't do that."
"Do what? Use your proper title? Isn't that what everyone's supposed to do now?"
Elara sat on the chair opposite to him. The cafeteria went quiet. Everyone was watching them.
"I'm still me. Nothing's changed between us."
"Everything's changed, Elara. You're a princess. You live in a palace suite. You have guards. The principal bows to you. And I'm just a scholarship student."
"That doesn't matter to me."
"Maybe not. But it matters to everyone else. Did you see the way other students are treating the scholarship students after your speech? They're scared that if they mess with us, you'll do something."
"Isn't that better than being bullied?"
"Is it?" Marcus looked at her. "They're not avoiding us because they don't care. They're avoiding us because they're afraid. That's not respect, Elara. That's fear."
She didn't know what to say to that.
"And us." Marcus continued. "What are we now?"
"We're friends. We've always been friends."
"Friends." He repeated. "Right. Friends. The princess and the scholarship boy."
"Marcus…"
"It's fine." He stood up, grabbing his tray. "Congratulations on your crown. I'm happy for you."
He walked away before she could respond. Elara sat alone at the table, surrounded by staring students, and realized that gaining everything meant losing something too.
By that afternoon, her new reality had fully set in.
Girls who'd never spoken to her were suddenly her best friends, offering to carry her books, inviting her to exclusive parties. Boys who'd never looked at her now couldn't stop looking at her.
During free period, she found a group of students waiting outside her suite with flowers and chocolates. One girl had brought a hand painted portrait of Elara wearing a crown.
"This is for you." The girl gushed. "I stayed up all night working on it."
Elara accepted it with a forced smile. The portrait was actually quite good, but this all felt wrong. These people didn't care about her. They cared about her crown.
By dinner time, Elara was exhausted. She'd been treated like a celebrity for the whole day. All she wanted was to eat in peace.
She entered the cafeteria and immediately, everyone stood up.
"Please." She said, embarrassed. "Sit down."
They sat, but their eyes never left her. She got her food and looked for somewhere to sit. The scholarship table was full, and Marcus had his back towards her. The elite tables were full too, but students were trying to make space.
"Princess Elara!" A girl called out. She was Madison Wright, a junior who'd once spilled coffee on Elara. "Sit with us!"
"No, sit here!" Another one said.
Elara's head was pounding. She just wanted to eat her food and be left alone. She chose a table near the windows that was almost empty. The two students sitting there immediately vacated their seats.
"You don't have to leave." Elara said.
"Oh, we don't mind." One of them said. "It's your table now."
They left. Elara sat down, staring at her tray. This was lonelier than being invisible. She was about to take her first bite when she felt someone looking at her. She looked up.
Caden stood acrross the cafeteria with his food his tray in his hand. They looked at each other and then he started walking towards her.
Everyone watched as Caden Blackwell crossed the room and stopped in front of Elara's table.
"May I sit?" He asked.
"If you want."
He sat down across from her. The energy in the room became electric. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
"Interesting speech this morning." Caden broke the silence.
"Thank you."
"I didn't say it was good. I said it was interesting." He took a bite of his food. "You're really leaning into this whole revenge thing, aren't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb, Elara. The speech about being bullied, and the way you looked at me. You might as well have called me out by name."
"If you're feeling guilty, that's on you, not me."
His jaw tightened.
"I'm not feeling guilty."
"Then why are you sitting here?"
"Because…" He stopped. "Because everyone else is treating you like you're made of glass. And I figured maybe you'd appreciate someone treating you normally." He smiled.
Elara laughed.
"Normally? You've never treated me normally."
"I treated you like everyone else treated scholarship students."
"You treated me worse than everyone else." She leaned forward. "You singled me out from day one. Why was that, Caden? What did I ever do to you?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"You looked at me like I was supposed to be better."
Elara blinked.
"What?"
"That first day when we met at the gates. You smiled at me like you expected me to be kind. And I hated that you could look at me and see something good."
"So, you proved me wrong?"
"Yeah. I did."
Elara didn't know what to do with this information. She reached for her water glass at the same time Caden reached for the salt shaker. Their hands brushed.
It was barely a touch. But it felt like lightning.
Elara jerked her hand back. Caden froze, staring at his hand. He stared at her for a moment.
"Enjoy your victory, Princess Elara, while it lasts." He snarled.
Then he walked out of the cafeteria, leaving his food behind.