ROYALS

XII

Wednesday, January 26th, 2022.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Keira asked the girl who was laying down on her bed, her roommate nowhere to be found. Two days had passed since her life went downhill but the whispers and open judgments never ended.

"I came to see you" Melissa Davis replied smiling widely, and Keira scoffed. She hadn't been to class since Monday and had left her room in order to get water from the dining, which gave Melissa enough time to get in.

"How are you doing?" She asked genuinely as Keira sat down beside her, drinking her water

"Horrible, everyone's avoiding me, even my roommate"

"Well, that's expected, considering what you did"

"I really don't need to hear this right now" Keira breathed out

"You have to, I mean, I know the "ROYALS" aren't exactly decent people, but this was all you"

"What do you mean they aren't decent people?" She asked and Melissa sighed

"I'm going to tell you a story, about why I asked you to avoid them the first time we met" She said and Keira nodded, listening attentively.

"It started last year January, we were all juniors like you, My dad finally remarried after moving on from my mom's death which was 10 years ago. His new wife, Jane, already had a son from her previous marriage. His name is Ezekiel, he's my step-brother and we're not far from age, he's three months older. We talked once in a while before the whole marriage but we weren't exactly close. After the wedding, my dad made him transfer here, only the best for his son."

"I didn't know you had a brother" She said, to which Melissa simply smiled

"Ezekiel captured the attention of Yasmin Herrera immediately he got here. They were smitten with each other and that was how he got into the group. He was always with them, he attended their private gatherings, and his membership came with a lot of benefits. I got to attend their exclusive parties as well and even had a one night stand with the Arabian prince"

"You slept with Rahim?" Keira asked in shock and Melissa laughed, she couldn't believe he would give his time of day to any girl.

"Yes, I did, and it was great. They all loved Ezekiel, they enjoyed him being around, and for his 17th birthday on March 5th, they flew him out of the country to Singapore for a week. At a point they wanted to rename themselves "ROYALES", it was that serious"

"Wow, I didn't even get a party for my 17th this year January, and he got a whole trip?" Keira mumbled

"Like I said, they loved him"

"So what happened, where is is he now?" She asked, causing Melissa to smile sadly and look away wistfully

"He got expelled"

"What?! How?" Keira asked in shock

"No one knows, he never told anyone what truly happened, he shut down and cut everyone off, including me. He was no longer the cheerful Ezekiel we all knew"

"You think they had something to do with it" Keira said, figuring it out.

"The fact that you don't, shows how desperate you are to be one of them"

"You have no proof that they did it though" She pointed out

"They found drugs in his system during the World Olympic Swimming finals, because of an anonymous tip"

"So he was a druggie who got caught?" Keira asked and Melissa shook her head in disbelief

"You don't understand! Ezekiel never touched drugs, never. He drank and smoked, sure, but his elder brother died from an overdose years ago and he has been traumatized ever since. Don't you find it a bit suspicious that he was on the same team with Leia? The princess who doesn't shy away from drugs? And they were at the finals together, forced to take a mandatory drug test because a tip called their win cheating, yet he was the only one who got caught, the boy who never did drugs?"

"So what, you think they switched the results?"

"Yes, it's possible, but not just that"

"What else? You think they called in the anonymous tip" Keira said, gasping.

"Now you're getting it. If Leia's drug test came back positive, she would have been expelled, regardless of the fact that she's royalty. And it would have turned into a huge scandal"

"Wow" She breathed out

"They ruined his life, his chance to swim again. He took the fall for her, and never spoke a word of it. They probably bullied him into silence" Melissa said scoffing.

"This is a huge speculation, why would they do that"

"I'm guessing it's because they got tired of him? Or he did something to make them upset. Nevertheless, that's in the past. I only wanted to tell you that so you could see how lucky you are. You got out, you should be grateful"

"I should?" Keira whispered to herself as Melissa left her room. But she didn't feel very grateful, she was obsessed with the "ROYALS", and she now knew what she needed to do.

                                             ♠️

Friday, January 28th, 2022.

MAKING HER WAY out of her last class for the day, Keira felt accomplished, she finally had the courage to go back to school, and the news of her two timing had died down.

She was going up to the roof of the Fourth year hallway, she had been watching for a while now through her classroom window and had gotten used to seeing a certain someone heading there at the end of her classes.

When Keira opened the door to the roof, Yasmin Herrera, who was sitting on a bench towards the edge looked up at her, one hand held the vape pen in her mouth, while the other held her phone.

"Are you lost?" The Spanish heiress asked her as the fumes came out of her mouth.

"Not exactly, I was looking for you actually"  She said walking to her

"Why?" Yasmin asked apprehensively

"To tell you that I know about Ezekiel Davis" She replied and Yasmin froze

"What exactly do you know about him?"

"I know that you were in love with him, but then you and your group got him expelled" Keira said confidently, and Yasmin simply rolled her eyes

"So you keep up with the rumors, congrats. I was never in love with him, but it was nice having him around"  She said, her eyes filled with regret

"Is it just a rumor though?" Keira asked and Yasmin looked at her, dead in the eyes

"Is there something you want?" She asked

"I want you to get me back in the group" Keira replied, knowing that if anyone could get her back in Olivia's good graces, it would be Yasmin. The heiress simply laughed at her.

"Oh please, you were never in the group. And are you sure that's what you want?" She asked

"Yes, talk to Olivia for me, and I promise never to mention a word of Ezekiel ever again" Keira said and Yasmin nodded, putting her vape pen in her bag, standing up and walking away. Then she turned around at the last minute.

"I honestly don't know why you want to come back. I mean, you got out. Do you know how lucky you are?" Yasmin asked her quietly

"Why haven't you gotten out then?" Keira replied, tired of hearing how "lucky" she is

"It's way deeper than you think" Yasmin whispered, leaving and closing the door behind her.