Return Of The Campus King

CHAPTER 9

The next morning, Justin woke slowly on the wooden bench of the park close to Elysium Hotel.

His body was still aching from the brutal beating he had received the night before. 

For a moment, he thought about his father and the inheritance waiting for him, and then he remembered the betrayal.

Then, suddenly, a sharp beep from his phone broke through his thoughts.

He frowned slightly and reached into his pocket, pulling out his cracked phone. His brows furrowed the moment he saw the notification.

“A message… from Britney?” he muttered under his breath, clearly surprised.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at the screen, unsure of what to expect. Then he opened the message and began to read carefully.

As his eyes moved across the words, his expression slowly shifted from confusion to disbelief.

“Justin, please listen to me,” Britney had written. 

“What happened last night with Steven… It was a terrible mistake. I was drunk, I swear, and I think he might have spiked my drink. I didn’t know what I was doing. I would never intentionally cheat on you like that. And the things I said to you… the way I mocked your job… I didn’t mean any of it. I feel so ashamed of myself. I’m really, really sorry, Justin. Please forgive me.”

Justin's eyes narrowed as he read this.

She continued in the same message, sounding even more desperate and emotional. 

“I’ve already found a better job for you, something much better than working as a janitor at the hotel. I want you to come to school immediately so I can present it to you in front of everyone. I want to make things right publicly. Nobody even knows we’re dating, but I’m ready to tell them everything and admit that what happened was my fault. Please come, Justin. I want to fix this.”

Justin lowered the phone slowly after finishing the message.

“Could this… actually be true?” he murmured to himself, his voice filled with uncertainty.

He sat there quietly, staring into space as his thoughts began to race.

“Could it be that Steven really spiked her drink?” he wondered aloud, his tone conflicted. “Was everything yesterday just a misunderstanding?”

He exhaled slowly and ran a hand through his hair.

“Maybe… maybe I should hear her out,” he said to himself after a long pause. “If she is telling the truth, then I should at least give her a chance to explain.”

A faint sense of hope began to creep into his chest, despite everything that had happened.

“And besides,” he added quietly, “she mentioned a new job… maybe she really wants to make things right.”

After a moment of hesitation, Justin quickly dialed her number.

The phone rang briefly before she picked up.

“Justin!” Britney’s voice came through immediately, and to his surprise, she sounded emotional, almost as if she had been crying. “You read my message, right?”

“Yes, I did,” Justin replied cautiously. 

“Britney… what exactly happened yesterday?”

“I’m so sorry!” she said quickly, her voice trembling. “I didn’t mean any of it, Justin. I was drunk, I swear! I think Steven did something to my drink. I would never betray you like that knowingly.”

Justin remained silent for a moment, listening carefully.

“I even cried while texting you,” she continued, her voice breaking slightly.

 “I feel so horrible about everything I said to you… especially about your job. I didn’t mean it.”

Justin swallowed lightly.

“And the job you mentioned?” he asked.

“Yes!” Britney replied quickly, as if eager to shift the conversation. “I found something much better for you. I want you to come to school right now. I’m going to present it to you in front of everyone.”

“In front of everyone?” Justin repeated.

“Yes,” she said. “I want to make things right publicly. No one even knows we were dating, and I want to fix that. I’ll tell them everything.”

Justin’s heart skipped slightly at her words.

“I… see,” he said slowly.

“So please come quickly,” Britney added. “I’m already in class. Everyone is here.”

Justin hesitated briefly before replying, “Alright… I’ll be there soon.”

After the call ended, he lowered the phone and stared at it again.

Deep down, something still felt off, but another part of him wanted to believe her.

“Maybe this is my chance,” he said quietly to himself. “If she can accept me even now, when she still thinks I’m poor… then maybe she really does care.”

He paused, then added in a softer tone, “And if that’s true… then maybe I can finally tell her the truth about who I am.”

With that thought in mind, Justin stood up from the bench. His body protested immediately, but he ignored the pain.

He glanced down at himself and noticed his torn, dirty janitor uniform, stained with mud and dried blood.

“I don’t have time to change,” he muttered. “She said I should come quickly.”

Without wasting another second, he began walking toward the school.

When Justin arrived at the school compound, he went straight to his department. 

As he approached the classroom, he could already hear voices inside. It sounded unusually lively.

He frowned slightly and stepped in.

The moment he entered, he froze.

The classroom was completely full. Over a hundred students were present, all seated and facing the front. 

On the platform stood a podium, and beside it… a large, beautifully decorated cake.

Justin blinked in surprise.

“What… is going on here?” he whispered to himself.

Then his eyes found Britney.

She was standing confidently on the platform, dressed neatly, addressing the class with a bright smile.

“Today is a very special day for me,” she was saying.

The students listened attentively.

“I want to honor someone very important to me… my boyfriend.”

The moment she said that, the entire class erupted into applause.

Justin’s heart leaped.

“…She’s talking about me,” he realized, a small smile forming on his face.

At that moment, Britney noticed him standing at the entrance. She immediately waved at him.

“Justin!” she called out warmly. “Come, come!”

The students turned to look at him, and as he began walking toward the front, they started clapping.

Justin felt a strange mixture of nervousness and happiness as he walked toward the stage.

“This is it,” he thought to himself. “She’s really going to acknowledge me.”

As he climbed onto the platform, he quickly glanced around, searching for Steven. However, he could not find him anywhere.

“Maybe she was telling the truth after all,” he thought. “Maybe Steven really was the problem.”

Britney turned toward him with a smile, though something about it felt slightly off.

“Justin,” she said sweetly, “this cake is for you.”

Justin’s eyes widened slightly.

“Really?” he said, clearly touched. “Wow… I really appreciate this, Britney.”

She nodded and picked up the cake from the podium with both hands.

“Come closer,” she said.

Justin stepped forward, his heart softening.

Then, in the very next moment—

SMACK!

Britney suddenly slammed the entire cake directly into his face.

Cream and icing exploded across his features, covering his eyes, nose, and mouth completely.

For a split second, the room went silent.

Then—

Laughter.

Loud, uncontrollable laughter filled the entire classroom.

Justin stood there, frozen, cake dripping down his face.

Britney stepped back, her expression no longer soft or apologetic.

Instead, she was smiling mockingly.

“This,” she said loudly, pointing at him, “is a cake to celebrate your foolishness.”

The laughter grew even louder.

“For actually thinking that a pig like you could ever date me!” she added harshly.

“Everyone, welcome my real boyfriend… Steven Ward,” she said, pointing at the entrance. 

The crowd cheered as Stephen walked in through the door with a smirk.

Justin's eyes spun with humiliation.