Of Princes and Promises

by Sandhya Menon

  She knew he put on a little bit of effort when she was around. She was used to it; most people did that around her. What she was really interested in was seeing exactly what she was dealing with. How was he when he thought no one was watching? What might she have to work on with him in the ensuing two weeks? Surely being the son of a high-ranking politician would have imparted some social training in him, if only by osmosis.

  Currently he was sitting in a theater-style seat off to the left, a few rows down from her. As she watched, Rahul pulled his feet up onto the seat and hugged his knees, as if he were a child watching a movie about Santa Claus. Sighing, Caterina scribbled a note to herself on the back of the flyer. Lessons in how to sit appropriately when in company.

  “Caterina?” a voice from over her right shoulder whispered.

  She turned to see Ava staring at her, the whites of her eyes glowing in the near-dark room. Lights from the movie shone purple in her brown hair. “Hello.”

  “What are you doing here?” Ava asked, still looking completely thrown. “Are you… watching the movie?”

  “Of course I am,” Caterina answered, sliding the flyer down to where Ava couldn’t see the note she’d made. “Just like you, I imagine.”

  “Yeah, but I only came because Zahira wanted to come, remember?” Ava said, gesturing slightly to a Pakistani girl with a thin face who was staring avidly at the screen above them.

  That’s right; this was her new girlfriend, Zahira, a junior. Caterina had only somewhat listened as Ava had filled them in at lunch that day. And naturally, she hadn’t told Heather or Ava about the deal she’d made with Rahul earlier in the day. She couldn’t trust them to keep the information to themselves. It was a motto she held dear: if you want to tell someone a secret, tell yourself. Rahul was the clear exception; she couldn’t execute the plan without him being in on it.

  “Oh, well, yes,” Caterina said, smiling coolly. “I’m here for a similar thing, actually. A boy who’s taking me to the Hindman Gala is very interested in astronomy. I’m just picking up a few facts so we can talk about it together.”

  Ava gasped and grasped the back of Caterina’s seat. “Who is it? You didn’t tell us you were bringing a date to the gala!”

  Caterina brushed her aside as a boy in big glasses, probably a sophomore, turned to glare at them. Normally, she’d freeze him with an icy stare, but she was glad for the interruption this time. “Later,” she promised, turning back around.

  Just in time to see Rahul stick a pencil down the back of his shirt in an effort to scratch a place that wasn’t easily accessible to his fingers. As he scratched, he closed his eyes, as if to fully appreciate the sensation of doing something so private in public. He looked like a mangy mutt getting its ears rubbed. Appalling. Caterina barely restrained herself from running over and snatching the pencil out of his hand. Instead, sighing, she made another note on her flyer: Scratching of any kind is not permitted when there are human beings within sight.

  12 Days until the Hindman Gala

  Day two was worse. So much worse.

  Caterina walked a few people behind Rahul in the mathematics building after his advanced Boolean logic class. Another senior, a well-coiffed Black British boy named Will, whose family were real estate moguls, was attempting to engage him in conversation.

  “Did you have a good break, then, Rahul?” Will asked, smiling at Rahul as they walked, books in hand.

  Rahul looked straight ahead. “Yep.”

  “Did you go home? Your family’s from India, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah.”

  A long pause, with Will presumably waiting for Rahul to supply something of his own to the conversation, as all well-bred children of well-placed parents would. But there was nothing but deflating silence. Caterina sighed.

  “Ah… what do your parents do again? Isn’t your mum in politics?” Will asked, rallying valiantly to revive the conversation.

  “She’s a government worker,” Rahul replied flippantly, and Caterina almost choked on the air she was breathing in.

  A government worker?? His mother was the chief minister of Delhi! Why wouldn’t he say that instead? Why was he determined to be viewed as some wallflower when he could present himself as so much more?

  “Caterina! What are you doing here? I thought you were finished with all your mathematics requirements. You made such a fuss about it junior year.” She stopped to find Vanya Petrovic, a blond-haired senior and one of Alaric’s friends, looking at her in astonishment. The stained-glass windows high up on the walls cast pink-and-yellow squares in his pale hair.

  “Taking pictures of the architecture,” Caterina replied with her practiced answer, holding up her phone. “It’s for photography class. How have you been, Vanya?”

  “Very well, thanks,” he said, smiling. “Looking forward to seeing your fabulous sartorial choices at the Hindman Gala soon.” Then, his smile slipping, he added in a conspiratorial whisper, “But I feel I must warn you about Alaric. He’s got—”

  “A date with Lizel Falk. Yes, I know.”

  Vanya looked pained, the expression sweet on his square face. “I’m sorry, Caterina. I tried to tell him it was much too early to be—”

  “Don’t worry.” She smiled a somewhat genuine smile. Vanya had always been the most tolerable of Alaric’s friends. “I’m bringing someone too, and I couldn’t care less what Alaric does. Really.”

  Vanya searched her eyes with his blue ones for a moment and then smiled back. “Well, good. I’m happy for you, then.” Squeezing her arm gently, he added, “But I must go now.”

  Caterina turned back around to see that Rahul had disappeared. Annoyed, she slipped her phone into her blazer pocket and made her way down the hall, Vanya’s words playing in her mind. So Alaric had told everyone about Lizel Falk. He’d made it seem like he’d moved onward and upward while Caterina was still pining after him, wringing her hands, waiting for a text with haunted eyes.

  Screw him. Screw them all. She slammed the door open with the heel of her hand and strode out into the cold sunshine. At the Hindman Gala, they’d see just how spectacularly she’d moved on.

  11 Days until the Hindman Gala

  The last phase of observing Rahul in his natural habitat had commenced. He was sitting at his usual table in the dining hall, about to eat his lunch. His friends Grey, Leo, and Samantha were already there, all of them with plates of food of their own. Caterina had taken a seat toward the kitchen, a table that was usually unoccupied because of its undesirable location. Hopefully, Rahul wouldn’t see her there.

  She waited with bated breath as he picked up his sandwich. Perhaps this was one area where she wouldn’t need to coach him. Perhaps he’d have the genteel table manners of an English duke. Perhaps—

  Rahul’s method of eating could only be described as “violent snarfing.” He stuffed the bread into his mouth, chewing and swallowing in record speed before shoving even more of the bread in. It didn’t look to Caterina like he could breathe. Bits of olives and pickles fell off his sandwich onto his plate, and like some kind of circus juggler, he managed to pick those up and reintroduce them into the rotation while he continued to feed bread to his gnashing teeth. Completely unacceptable. He was eating like he was a starving prisoner with a cruel guard about to snatch away his daily allotment of dry bread and watery broth. Caterina couldn’t even imagine taking him in his current form to the Hindman Gala. They’d be the laughingstock of the entire—

  “Caterina? Why are you sitting here?”

  Oh, for God’s sake. Why couldn’t people just leave her alone?

  She turned to see Jaya and Daphne Elizabeth gaping at her, plates of food in their hands. Jaya was the one who’d spoken, but Daphne Elizabeth looked equally startled to see Caterina sitting in such an unfavorable spot.

  Caterina smiled at Jaya. “Hello, Jaya.” Then, letting her smile vanish, she turned to Daphne Elizabeth and stared at her in cold silence. Daphne Elizabeth continued to gawp at her, looking much l
ike a bird hypnotized helplessly against its will by a predatory snake. To facilitate the breaking of Daphne Elizabeth’s paralysis, Caterina raised a recently threaded and powdered brow.

  “Um, I better get, um, just going to…” Daphne Elizabeth gestured vaguely around her, turned on her heel, and sped off.

  Jaya cocked her head at Caterina, her long black French braid brushing her arm. “That wasn’t very nice.”

  Caterina smiled again and crossed her hands neatly in front of her. “Haven’t you heard? I’m not very nice.”

  Jaya’s expression softened at that. “Well, neither of them treated you very well. But for what it’s worth, I really do think DE regrets that quite a lot.”

  Caterina waved her comment away; she wasn’t interested in what Daphne Elizabeth felt, not even a tiny bit. The girl was immaterial.

  Setting down her plate of what looked like avocado salad, Jaya took a seat. “Seriously, what are you doing here? You looked very intent on whomever you were watching.” She looked in the direction Caterina had been looking. “That’s my table.” She turned to Caterina. “Who were you watching at my table?”

  Caterina blinked and looked away out the window, as if a bird pecking at the frozen ground had caught her attention. “Nobody. I was sitting here for some peace and quiet, which it’s clear I’m not about to get.”

  But Jaya didn’t take the hint. She propped her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. “Rahul? Are you watching Rahul?”

  Caterina glared at her. “No, I’m not.”

  “Yes, you are.” Jaya smiled a half smile. “What’s going on? Why don’t you just go over there and say hello?”

  “I don’t want to go over and say hello.” Why was Jaya so exasperating with her social graces and her wish for everyone to be as sickeningly happy as her and Grey? “And I wasn’t watching him.”

  Jaya’s face got more serious as she took a beat to absorb whatever she thought was happening. Sitting up straight, she said, “He’s my friend, Caterina.”

  Caterina kept her expression cold as she adjusted the jade bracelet on her wrist. “I’m well aware.”

  “Don’t hurt him, whatever it is you’re doing. Rahul is… He likes you. A lot. He’ll follow wherever you lead.”

  Caterina didn’t respond.

  The two looked at each other for a long moment, and then Jaya nodded and stood, grabbing her untouched avocado salad. “All right. I’ll leave you to it, then.”

  “Goodbye.” Caterina watched Jaya walk away to join her friends for a moment before she stood and began making her way to the doors, wondering why she spent so much time feeling so alone when she was always surrounded by people.

  But never mind that. She had all the information she needed. Now it was time to build herself a new boyfriend.

  CHAPTER 6

  RAHUL

  Rahul looked in the mirror and smoothed his hair back. It sat there limply, never quite able to muster enough oomph to do anything interesting, like Alaric’s hair seemed to do so effortlessly. He sighed and, abandoning his hair, tugged on the sleeves of his tan sweater. It was the only garment he had in his closet that fit him well, because it had been a birthday present from Leo, who had an impeccable fashion sense (though he didn’t like it if you assumed it was because he was French; he said he’d had to work at it like anyone else and that Rahul should too).

  His pants were a different matter. He wasn’t sure when he’d purchased them, but it had been at least two summers ago because pants shopping was one of his least favorite activities in the world. For basically just being temporary leg coverings, people fussed over them way too much. Grabbing his phone off his dresser, Rahul walked out of his dorm room and shut the door behind him, feeling the first flurry of nerves.

  It was Thursday, and to be precise, T-2 days until the Hindman Gala on Saturday. Caterina had been meeting with him nearly every day until now, and today marked one of the last of his social training classes. He was meeting her in the senior common area, which, like the rest of the dorm, would be empty. They had the next day off, so the seniors were all on an optional skiing trip that the school administration had organized; as far as Rahul knew, he, Caterina, and a couple of seniors who’d been unlucky enough to get sick were the only ones who’d opted to stay behind. He’d just told Grey and the others that he felt a little under the weather. The benefit of having a reputation of being honest to a fault was that no one thought to question you when you actually lied.

  Him and Caterina, alone. Caterina and him, by themselves. Talking. Laughing. Growing closer? His brain couldn’t wrap itself around the concept. Anytime he thought about it, he went into a mild state of shock.

  Doing one last check in the mirror to confirm he looked decent, he turned and walked into the common room.

  Caterina stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the far side, staring out at the mountains in the distance. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back like thick ribbons of silk. She was wearing a shimmery gold sweater with voluminous sleeves and dark jeans that hugged her skinny legs and butt. Her shoes were so high and pointy, Rahul wondered at her ability to walk in them.

  He cleared his throat and she turned, looking a little foggy, as if she’d been light-years away. “Hey.”

  She looked at him inscrutably for a moment and then walked a few steps forward, holding up one long index finger. “Lesson one: You do not greet people by saying ‘hey.’ Instead, try, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ or if you know them, ‘It’s so nice to see you again.’ ”

  “Right. Sorry.” Rahul took a step forward. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

  Caterina nodded. “That’s better. Also, don’t say ‘sorry.’ You should say, ‘Excuse me.’ ”

  “Right,” Rahul repeated. “Excuse me.” After a pause, he added, not able to help his curiosity, “Do people really care about that?”

  “About what?” Caterina asked, cocking her head.

  “The minutiae. ‘Excuse me’ rather than ‘sorry’ seems a little… I don’t know. Who really keeps track of all of that?”

  Caterina raised one thin eyebrow, and Rahul knew he’d stepped in it. “I do. As do many others. Etiquette separates us from animals, Rahul.”

  “Really?” he said. “I thought that was opposable thumbs.”

  For a moment, he was aghast. He shouldn’t have said anything. He was being rude; she’d change her mind about helping him with these lessons. But then Caterina smiled a half smile, and Rahul’s heart sang.

  “All right,” she said, turning toward a small table that had been set with two chairs, napkins, silverware, and plates. “Let’s say we’ve been led to the dinner portion of the evening and they’ve shown us to our tables. Demonstrate how you’d proceed.”

  “Okay…” Rahul glanced at Caterina, as if there might be some trick she was playing on him. “I mean, it’s pretty straightforward, right? I’d… go sit down?”

  Caterina held one hand out as if to say he should do what he felt was right, so Rahul nodded, walked quickly and decisively to the chair, and sat. Looking up at her hopefully, he said, “How’d I do?”

  But Caterina was already shaking her head. “No. Firstly, you have to wait for me to take my seat first.”

  “Oh, right. Sorry.” Rahul shot up from his chair and joined her at her side. “I mean, excuse me.”

  Caterina walked, gracefully and surely, to the table and looked at him, waiting.

  “Um… go ahead?”

  Giving him a withering look, she said, “Hold my chair back, please.”

  “Oh, okay.” Rahul rushed forward and held the back of one of the chairs, but Caterina didn’t move.

  “The lady always gets the better view,” Caterina said, nodding her head toward the bank of windows meaningfully.

  Rahul walked to the other chair and held its back.

  Smiling, Caterina walked over and took a seat. “Perfect.”

  Feeling a lot more pleased than he should, Rahul took a seat oppo
site her.

  Caterina reached into a small purse thing she had with her and pulled out a Lara Bar. Reaching over the table, she set it on Rahul’s plate. “Eat it, please.”

  Rahul glanced at it uncertainly. “Um… should I unwrap it first?”

  “Yes!” Caterina said after an incredulous pause. “How will you eat it if you don’t unwrap it?”

  “I don’t know,” Rahul replied. “I wasn’t sure if unwrapping was a faux pas or something.”

  Caterina took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Please unwrap and consume the Lara Bar.”

  “Okay.” Rahul unwrapped it and took a bite, and then another, and another, until the bar was gone. He looked at Caterina while chewing (with his mouth closed; he wasn’t a total troglodyte), his eyebrows raised.

  “Say your name,” she said, gazing at him steadily.

  “Mmm?” Rahul asked, frowning.

  “Say your name. Right now. Don’t bother swallowing first.”

  So he did, in spite of his misgivings. As he’d known it would, a disgusting spray of Lara Bar landed in front of him on his empty plate.

  “Sor—excuse me,” he said, rushing to wipe it up with his napkin.

  “That’s a lesson in eating etiquette,” Caterina said calmly. “If you can’t comfortably say your name with food in your mouth, you have far too much food in your mouth. Slow down and take smaller bites. It’s not a contest.”

  Rahul nodded. Caterina reached into her purse and pulled out yet another Lara Bar, then set it on the napkin on top of his plate. “Let’s do that again.”