Princess Badass

Chapter 17 - Under Mistletoes & Hidden Agendas

Joke's on you, my subconscious snarled.

Now that I'm the princess, everyone's keeping such a close eye on me that even me hiccupping could possibly end up in a tabloid paper the next day. I'm not even kidding. It already happened once. PRINCESS EMBARASSINGLY HICCUPS IN AUCTION DURING KING'S SPEECH splattered on the front page and sold in news stands everywhere. Yup, life's crazy like that. Now I understood how my parents couldn't visit me back when I was still in the orphanage, unknowing of what's ahead of my future.

Once I was done thanking the girls, I hastily took the gown off so I could take a short break before they did my make-up. I handed them the gown and made my way to the door. But before I made it to the door, I heard the familiar ding of my phone.

Slowly, I turned to see Greta staring at my screen. "It's Parker," she said as my eyes lit up. "I am just going to keep it like you instructed."

"What? No, give that to me!" I exclaimed excitedly, rushing to Greta's side and before she could pocket my iPhone, I snatched it from her temporary possession and happily opened the text message. "It really is him."

I had the biggest smile on my face as I read his text, which said:

Hey love. I'm sorry for getting back to you so late. I had some things to settle. Always thinking of you. -P

While I was composing my reply, I heard Greta tutting behind me. I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Greta," I muttered with a hint of humor in my tone. This might sound ridiculous but after receiving Parker's text, my mood has turned to a complete 360 and no one, and I mean no one, can ruin it.

What can I say? I've become the love struck teen who lies about having the strongest self-control. I have become every other girl I used to mock in the past for being sappy and sick in love when in fact, it's rare to ever find a relationship that lasts these days.

Boy, was I wrong.

I mean look at my parents. As annoying as they are, they're still one of many couples who continued to love despite the differences many couples in this generation choose to break up from. I only hope to have a successful relationship like theirs someday.

I sent a text to Parker, inviting him to the party tonight. My grin was quickly turned to a frown when I read his reply minutes later, declining my offer, saying he had somewhere else to go to.

What a bummer.

I decided to take a quick shower to freshen up before I head back to the prep room where I will have to sit through hours of careful hair and make-up procedures done by three very eager ladies. All that prodding and dabbing isn't very comfortable you know.

After my shower, I went back down to the private kitchen – the only kitchen that was peaceful unlike both of the public kitchens where everyone was located, preparing for the function – to grab a small pint of my favorite flavored Hagen Dazs. Now don't judge, I've been craving for cookies and cream for the longest time. Luckily, I befriended our gourmet chef and bribed him to stack up on ice cream. I also needed this to make me feel better after receiving that text from Parker.

But of course this feeling of contentment was only short-lived because just as I was halfway through the pint, an angry voice resonated from the empty kitchen, "What are you doing eating ice cream when you should be getting ready for the ball?"

Out of shock, my pint went flying behind me, landing just a few inches from the person who disturbed my peace. "Jesus, Tenley. You've gotta stop doing that," I wailed. "I swear I'm gonna die from a heart attack one day."

"Go get ready. You don't have much time."

After voicing out her last order, she left. Just like that. She didn't even give me the chance to respond or protest. I eyed the wasted pint of ice cream where a small puddle was slowly forming on the white marbled floor. If it weren't for that damn broad, I would probably have finished the whole thing.