Page 4 of Prince Material
He gestured to the empty bed on the right side of the room. “That’s yours.”
I dragged my suitcases over, grateful to finally set them down. The room was smaller than I’d expected, with two narrow beds, two desks, and built-in closets. Orson’s side was already meticulously organized: books arranged by size on his desk, his pencils and pens neatly lined up, and a small fan positioned perfectly in the window.
I winced. If he expected the same kind of neatness from me, he was in for a nasty shock. But right now, I had other news to share with him that was more pressing. While I had zero desire to announce my real identity to the whole campus, I did want to come clean to my roommate. He was bound to find out anyway when living with me, and I’d rather have him hear it from me.
“Listen,” I said, wiping sweat from my forehead, “I should probably tell you something before we get settled in. The info you got about me said I was an exchange student from the Netherlands, but I’m actually?—”
“A prince.” He crossed his arms. “I got a call from the Dean’s office yesterday, telling me that your last name wasn’t van Orange but?—”
“Van Oranje Nassau,” I said softly, figuring he was stumblingover the pronunciation. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they would call you before I had a chance to explain myself.”
“I was wondering why they’d placed me with an undergraduate, but it made sense when I found out about your identity.”
“Yeah, I figured they were hoping a graduate student would have a positive influence on me?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Do you need one? A positive influence, I mean?”
I firmly shook my head. “Nope, I’m good.”
“But if you’re a prince, what on earth are you doing here?”
“Getting an education, like you. I’m in my third year of university back in the Netherlands, and I’m doing this year at Vernon as part of an exchange program to finish my bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.”
“Because you need that for what, exactly?”
I sighed. “I’m fifth in line for the throne, Orson. I will never be king, and trust me, I’m delighted about that. But I am expected to do something with my life, to contribute to society in some meaningful way, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“I googled you.”
I winced. Nothing good could come from seeing what the press wrote about me. Ask me how I knew. “Most of it are lies.”
“I sure hope so because otherwise, we’re gonna have a problem.”
I held up my hands placatingly. “No problems, I swear. I want to study and fly under the radar. Other than you and the Dean, no one knows my real identity. All my papers say Floris van Oranje.”
He studied me for a few beats more, then slowly nodded. “As long as you don’t expect special treatment. I’m here to study, not babysit royalty.”
“Trust me, that’s the last thing I want,” I assured him,running a hand through my sweat-dampened hair. “I’m here to study and experience a somewhat normal college life. No royal fanfare, no special treatment. Hell, I’d prefer if you forgot about the whole prince thing entirely.”
Orson’s posture relaxed slightly, though his analytical gaze remained. “That’s… surprisingly reasonable.”
“Well, I do expect you to bow every time I enter the room…” I grinned, unable to resist teasing him a little. When his eyes widened in alarm, I quickly added, “I’m kidding. Seriously, I hate all that formal stuff. We have a saying in Dutch, which translated, goes, ‘Just act normal and you’ll be crazy enough.’ The Dutch don’t tolerate people who think they’re above everyone else. Even our Prime Minister rides his bike to work.”
Orson blinked. “That’s interesting.”
“Anyway, all this to say that I don’t want any special treatment.”
“Good, because I don’t have time for that.” I caught the ghost of a smile. “And don’t expect me to be your tour guide. Or your party buddy. I have a strict study schedule, and I plan to stick to it.”
“Duly noted.” Of course, that was like offering a red rag to a bull because now I wanted to crack that disciplined exterior. There was something intriguing about my serious roommate, something that made me want to see what lay beneath all that careful control. Plus, he was seriously cute in an adorkable way.
His gaze flickered over my face, then to my suitcases. “You carried those up yourself?” There was a note of surprise in his voice, though his expression remained neutral.
“Yeah, I wanted the full college experience.” I wheezed out a laugh, still trying to catch my breath. “Though I’m seriously regretting that decision now. I didn’t expect the stairs to be quite so…”
“Brutal?” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Welcome to Smelter Hall, where every day is leg day.”
“At least I won’t need a gym membership.” I collapsed onto my bare mattress. The springs creaked in protest, and I winced. “Please tell me the beds aren’t always this loud.”
