From Campus Pauper to Billionaire Campus King

Chapter 2

Isaiah ran as fast as he could with his long legs eating up the ground. He ducked behind the old and overgrown shed near the sports fields with his heart hammering against his ribs. He stayed there, hidden, for what felt like an eternity, all the while listening for footsteps or for shouts. After nearly two hours later, he was now convinced Harold and his crew were long gone.

Isaiah thought to himself. “I’m safe, for now.” 

He sighed as he crept out of the hiding place. His legs were asleep and his back hurt from staying in the same spot for over an hour. 

“Shit, how am I going to explain to the guys that I spilled their food? Jules is definitely going to be mad at me.” Isaiah took a deep breath to reassure himself, “It's fine. I will figure it out and for the rest of the guys, I will just borrow from a friend and somehow make it right.”

As he approached the main academic building, a strange sight caught his attention. Not the usual scattered students, but a dense crowd gathered under a large grove of trees like they were watching a show. He pushed through the edge of the crowd.

"What's happening?" he asked a student who gave no answer, just a look of irritation at the sight of Fetch-Boy. 

"What's going on?" He tried another, “Shushhh.” They just shushed him, eyes fixed on the center of the grove.

Then, the chanting started. "Jules!" "Walter!" “So romantic!” "Say yes!"

Isaiah's blood ran cold. Jules and Walter? That was his girlfriend they were chanting to say yes. And Walter, of course, everyone knew Walter. Another second-generation rich kid like Harold, only he wasn’t just the king of the faculty but one of the top kings of the university—Bradley Zay University. The school was actually named after the founder’s lost son.

A knot of dread tightened in Isaiah's stomach. He shoved harder through the bodies, ignoring the protests. 

"Hey! My lunch! You owe me!" someone yelled, grabbing his arm. 

“Fetch-Boy, where the hell is my coffee?” Another student yelled. 

“We should have known Fetch-Boy would be too stupid and incompetent to do something as simple as fetch us some food.”

Isaiah's eyes boiled with fury; he ripped himself free and pushed forward, leaving behind him the disgruntled students. He couldn't care less about them right now, as he was desperate to see what was going on with Jules.

He broke through the last line of students. And there it was. Walter, on one knee, a small, shining ring box open in his hand. And Jules, standing before him, blushing, a shy smile on her face.

"Jules?" Isaiah whispered, the name a strangled sound. 

This couldn't be happening. Not Jules, not his Jules. The one who demanded their relationship be a secret. It was a criterion before they began dating two months ago. It was tough for him to keep the love of his life a secret from the world. But he did it because he loved her and she knew he did.

He had always told her about his plans of settling down with her after school, to work as hard as possible to take care of her and their future children. In all of those late-night chats, she had replied with smiling emojis and stickers at his plans but never really stated hers. And here she was, being proposed to by another guy. 

Isaiah noticed that she hadn't said yes or no and had not taken the ring yet. She was just... blushing. 

Isaiah thought to himself, “That bastard, he must be pressuring her. In front of this crowd, this public spectacle, I have to save her from the embarrassment.”

Isaiah lunged forward, a raw and desperate instinct. He swatted at Walter's hand, knocking the ring box and sending it flying across the yard, into the hedges. The ring fell out. The crowd only got a half-second glance at the glint of silver as it bounced once, then rolled away, disappearing into the thick grass.

A collective gasp swept through the crowd. Walter froze while still on one knee, his hand hanging in the air. Jules's eyes widened, her blush replaced by a look of pure shock.

"Fetch-Boy!" someone muttered. "What's wrong with him?"

"He just ruined it!" another whispered. 

“How dare he.” 

“Fetch-Boy is at it again; why must he always display his foolishness?

“I heard from one of the guys that he also got in trouble with Harold. A guy in the crowd chimed in. “Harold and his friends are probably still searching for him all around the faculty as we speak.

“What an asshole. How could he ruin a romantic proposal like that?” The students began to murmur; Isaiah had just disrupted their romantic campus cinema. 

Walter slowly rose to his feet. He looked at his empty hand and then at Isaiah, who stood between him and Jules as if shielding her from him. 

 “Fetch-Boy,” Walter said with a very threatening tone, his face darkened with a storm brewing in his eyes. He was already thinking of a thousand ways to rip Isaiah into shreds. He opened his mouth, ready to unleash hell upon Isaiah. But before he could speak, Jules reacted.

She spun, her hand connecting with Isaiah's cheek in a sharp, stinging slap. "How dare you?!" she shrieked, her voice laced with fury. She pushed him hard, sending him stumbling back. "Who the hell do you think you are to spoil my moment?!" 

Isaiah was stunned, more from the shock of her words than the force of her slap and push. He said to himself, “What the heck? I thought... I thought I was saving her from Walter’s pressure. Could it be that she is just reacting to my rude interruption? Maybe I should have let her say no first.”

Isaiah looked at her fuming and angry face; in contrast, he had an expression of shock and despair, almost like a lost puppy. He stepped closer to her. “Jules I… I’m sorry, I was just trying to…” 

But then she hit him again, a second and harder slap. Her eyes blazed with an anger he'd never seen directed at him. She turned from him, rushing to Walter, clutching his arm.

"Walter, I'm so sorry about this… this stupid boy. Does... does the offer still stand?" Her voice was pleading.

Walter looked at her, then at Isaiah, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Yes, Jules. It does."

"Then... my answer is yes!" Jules beamed, throwing her arms around Walter's neck. "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend!"

"No!" Isaiah cried out; he clenched his fist and pushed forward. "She's already my girlfriend, Walter!"

Laughter erupted from the crowd. Loud, mocking, and derisive. "What the hell is he talking about, his girlfriend?”

“Fetch-Boy think he has a girlfriend?" 

"Damn I knew he was stupid, but I didn’t think he was delusional too.”

“The CEO of Broke can’t even afford to date any girl in this school, not to talk of Jules Norvel."

Jules pulled away from Walter, turning back to Isaiah, her face a mask of disgust. "Your girlfriend? Don't be ridiculous. The only thing that connects us is this school and the errands I send you on, like everyone else!"

Isaiah stared at her, utterly stunned. "Jules... you..."

Walter stepped forward, his smile gone. "You heard the lady, Fetch boy. Now leave before I pay these students to beat you mercilessly."

Isaiah stood his ground. "Jules! Tell them! Tell them the truth!"

Just then, two campus security guards, who had been watching and enjoying the scene from the edge of the grove, approached. They were big and burly men.

Isaiah noticed them coming their way. "Officer!" Isaiah blurted out, pointing at Walter. "You have to do something; Walter is trying to take my girlfriend."

The guards exchanged a look; the sight of Isaiah begging them was pathetic. They scoffed and turned to Walter, snapping a salute. "Mr. Walter. What's the trouble here?"

Walter gestured vaguely at Isaiah. "This guy. He just lost the twenty-thousand-dollar ring I got for Jules."

Jules's eyes widened, her head snapping to Walter. "Twenty thousand?!" She looked at Isaiah, a new fury in her eyes. That was the most expensive piece of jewelry she'd ever had. And he'd lost it. "You better find that ring, Isaiah, or else I swear to God I will make your life a living hell!" she demanded.

The students around them echoed her. 

"Yeah, find the ring, Fetch-Boy!" 

"You lost it, you find it!"

The security guards turned to Isaiah. "You heard the lady. Look for the ring."

Isaiah looked defeated, a weak man in a mountain of crowds demanding him to get on his knees and look for a ring used to steal his girlfriend. It was cruel, but Isaiah had no choice. He frantically searched the grass, pushing aside leaves and digging his fingers into the dirt. But it was of no use; he couldn't find it.

Walter pulled out a wad of cash, peeled off a thousand-dollar bill, and handed it to one of the guards. "Take him to Professor Lance. He's been looking for him."

The guards saluted, grabbing Isaiah by the arms. "Let's go, kid."

Isaiah struggled. "No! Jules! Please…Jules!"

The students began to boo him. 

"Don't come back a loser!" 

"Good riddance, Fetch-Boy!"

As the guards dragged him away, Isaiah looked back at Jules, who was now smiling up at Walter with her hand in his. The ring was forgotten.