Chapter Eleven: Rooming Assignments
Carrying massive luggage and enormous boxes, students moved back and forth across the narrow hallway of the student residence. When Selina opened the door to her dorm room and saw the condition of it, she could not help the frown on her face. She would like to believe there was a mistake—she didn’t deserve to settle in such a place—but the pink baggage at the foot of the bed and the key in her palm spoke a different story. When the princess realized she was obstructing traffic in the hallway, she entered her room and regarded it with contempt. There was nothing in the room other than the bed in the corner, the large closet next to it, and the plain wooden desk near the window. The ceiling was a standard cream hue. The walls were coated in gray paint, and the floor was just plain red cement. This room offered nothing unique. It was dreary and tiny. It was depressing.
She reached for her phone, intending to call Henry, to complain, but changed her mind at the last moment. Who knows if the king has recovered from his ordeal? She didn’t want to irritate him any further. He’s probably too upset to listen to her right now.
Selina sat on the bed and tried not to panic. She calmed herself by mentally noting the advantages of having such a room. She touched the mattress and noticed that it was still wrapped in clear plastic, indicating that it was new. The furniture, while clearly ancient—no, antique, she convinced herself—appeared to be sturdy. The closet was large enough to hold her clothes, at least that’s what she hoped. The dorm mother had previously told her she could do whatever she wanted in the room as long as she didn’t blow it up. Suddenly, the prospect of tweaking the room piqued her interest. She no longer saw it as an insult to her stature, but as a blank canvas waiting for her to create art on.
She made a list of the things she’d need in the room, such as a dresser with a mirror, a mini fridge for her skin care, a bookcase, and bed linens. She was looking at the walls, deciding what kind of wallpaper would look best and how many rolls she would need, when she noticed a door near the closet. It was the same gray color as the walls, so she didn’t notice it right away.
It leads to a small toilet and bath. Inside, she found another door. She grabbed the door handle and yanked it open to discover it led to a room that looked exactly like hers. Only the interior was more furnished, with items strewn about as if the occupant was just settling in. She has a roommate. And their rooms were only separated and linked by the bathroom. This was a nightmare.
Just then, the door to the second room opened, and Selina’s eyes widened in surprise as she saw who had entered.
“… Of course, I can do it,” Jet was saying to the person behind her cheekily. “But I said to myself, ‘You have a big brother, so why stress yourself when he can do it for you?’”
“I’m pretty sure this is against some dorm rules—” Jasper replied, pausing when he noticed Selina standing by the bathroom door, staring at them in disbelief. “Greetings... Your Royal Highness.”
“What exactly are you doing in my room?” Jet charged towards the older girl, but Jasper grabbed her arm before she could do anything else. “You can’t just walk in here like you own the place! Hey!”
Selina made a 180-degree turn. She ran through the bathroom and her room, out the door, as if she were being chased by demon bats. She stormed into the dorm mother’s office, fuming in anger.
“I don’t see what the problem is, Miss Rozenberg.” The older woman looked at the princess with a bored expression on her face after Selina explained what had happened.
“You don’t see—” Understandably, the princess did not take it well. “You assigned me an occult as a roommate!”
“Yes, you told me. I heard you the first fifty times.”
“Why aren’t you taking this seriously?” the Rose Princess shrieked. “That monster can have access to my room and kill me anytime—”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” the dorm mother said dismissively. “There have been no Occult attacks in the last ten years. But I can see why there would be a first this year.”
“How. Dare. You.” Selina could not believe a commoner would speak to her in that manner. “You’re going to pay for this. How dare you!”
“Of course. But just so you know, you’re not the first highbrow to threaten me or my job, and I’ve been in here for years.” The dorm mother pressed a button on her table, causing a loud buzzer to sound, and the office door opened by itself. “You won’t be the last. Now, get out. Next!”
Selina stormed out of the office, so furious that she didn’t care if a large number of students heard and saw her in such an unflattering light.
She decided to take her complaint to the university’s highest official, second only to the king… the executive administrator. Unfortunately, all she did was stress and exhaust herself for nothing. Again.
“I apologize, but I can’t do anything about that,” President Loughty said. “If the dorm mother—”
“You’re this school’s president, aren’t you?” Selina sharply shot back. “How can a dorm monitor have any more say in this than you do?”
The man looked as if she slapped him across the face. “These rooming assignments were done in random, Miss Roze—”
“Princess. Her Royal Highness Princess Selina of Rozenberg.”
“Princess,” acknowledged the president. “Princess Selina, the king specifically told us not to segregate students based on race, and to make an effort to foster harmony and camaraderie—”
“I couldn’t care less what the king said. I’d like to have another room. I don’t want to share a room. I’m a princess; I’m your future queen; I deserve better!”
“I…” the president took a calming breath. “All right. I’ll see what I can do, Your Royal Highness.”
“Good!” Selina smiled, pleased by the development. She rose and smoothed her dress. “For the time being, I’ll be staying in a hotel. Please contact me if you’ve done something about these ‘rooming assignments.’ Good day!”
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