Intending to avoid Sabrina and her friends, Cooper, Kwan, and Daniel slipped into their first class before the teacher or other students were there, excluding one student who was always there before anyone: Stephoné.

Kwan laid eyes on the girl, her arms folded on her desk and her head resting on her arms. He nudged Cooper and pointed to the empty seat beside her. "Now's your chance." He whispered with a sly grin, taking a seat by the window.

Cooper strangely looked at Kwan, his eyes moving over to the brown-haired girl. 'Her brother and friend aren't here, so maybe I could try . . . but I don't want to bother her, plus studying her yesterday, she seems to not like people that much.' He thought, subconsciously sitting where Kwan had suggested.

Daniel sat behind Kwan and threw his brother a thumbs-up. "Just say hi," He mouthed, a cheeky smile displayed on his lips and Kwan seemed to have the same smile.

Cooper looked away from his brother and friend and looked at Stephoné. He awkwardly cleared his throat and smiled slightly. "Um, hi, I don't think we've formally met, I'm Cooper. You waved to me yesterday in the cafeteria." He offered his hand to her.

Stephoné lifted her head and met the same blue eyes as she had seen yesterday. 'Oh no, he's here before Ariana and Will! What am I going to do? I never thought he'd try to talk to me! I can't be rude and ignore him but my social anxiety won't allow me to say anything! I need to say something but where are the words? Just think of something to say! Hi! Yes, hi is a perfect response but why can't I say it? Why can't I just speak? Why won't my mouth just say something? Where are the words?' She thought to herself, giving an awkward smile and hesitantly looking at his hand.

She swallowed harshly and held out a shaky hand. "Uh . . . I'm Stephoné." She replied, withdrawing her hand and stuffing them between her legs while pulling her eyes away and focusing on her desk. 'He's gonna think I'm rude . . . like Sabrina said I was . . . rude.' She thought, guilt weighing down on her heart.

Cooper withdrew his hand but still kept a smile on his lips. 'Maybe offering to shake her hand wasn't the best idea. I need to take it from a different approach since she seems uncomfortable.' He thought to himself. "Stephoné. That's a pretty name."

Stephoné pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and fidgeted with her fingers. "My mom named me after Persephone . . . So, it's not spelled like you'd typically spell Stephanie, it's spelled s-t-e-p-h-o-n-é with the accent going to the right on the E." She replies, her voice barely audible.

Cooper had to strain his ears to hear what she said, and subconsciously he leaned closer to better hear her. "That is interesting. I don't know why my parents named me Cooper, but people do often misspell and mispronounce it as Copper. I'm sure people mispronounce and misspell your name too, huh?"

Stephoné nodded her head meekly, tugging at her sleeves. "Yeah," She shortly replied, getting lost in her thoughts. 'That was so lame. Sabrina was right, I seem rude when I'm unable to talk to someone. No wonder people avoid me even when Ariana and Will aren't around. Cooper won't be any different. I shouldn't get my hopes up that he'd be different.'

Cooper didn't think she was rude. 'She reminds me of how I acted the first time I arrived at the palace when I was 13. Uncomfortable and unable to find my voice, especially with the bullying of other nobility, excluding Kwan.' He thought and then spoke up. "So, um, I heard your friend is planning prom, will she need help?"

Stephoné glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "You'd have to ask Ariana. I don't know." She shortly replied, continuing to tug at her sleeves as she thought. 'Does he want to help or is he just asking to be polite? Sabrina and Lacy always ask but they never truly want to help, I can never tell with Kiki.'

Cooper nodded, making a mental note that he'd find time to ask her. "Okay," He flashed a smile, although she didn't see it since her head was turned away. "Can I ask you a question? A strange question." He asked, glancing over to Kwan and Daniel who flashed a thumbs up.

Stephone quickly glanced over at Cooper and nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek. 'I wonder what he wants to ask me . . . please Ariana, Will, get here soon. This is so uncomfortable and I can't say anything.' She thought to herself, trying not to panic.

Cooper wasn't exactly sure that talking to her like this was such a good idea, she kept seeming uncomfortable. "Why do people like prom so much? Sabrina said it's because it's the closest thing Americans can get to being royalty."

Stephoné's heart sank the moment he said Sabrina's name. 'Why is he talking to me when he's talking to Sabrina . . . he must have heard rumors about me by now through Lacy.' She thought, a downcast expression growing on her face. "I don't know. I've never been interested in it."

Cooper nodded, her reply may have been short but she did seem like the type of person who didn't like being the center of attention which was what prom was all about. "So you won't be attending prom?" He asked, pressing to see if she would attend.

Stephoné shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly. "I don't think I have a choice with Ariana planning prom." She said then added in her head. 'Ariana did sign me up to be I'm running for prom queen as Cinderella, but I can't say that. Anyone who entered is forbidden to talk about it.'

Cooper didn't know why he was feeling a bit excited that she would be going to prom since he probably wouldn't know who she was since it was a masquerade-type event. "It must be fun to have your friend plan prom, innit?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

Stephoné glanced up at Cooper. She had never really thought any school events were fun. Most ended up with Sabrina doing something to humiliate her. She shuddered at the memory. "Ariana seems to be having fun." She shortly replied, dodging his question.

Cooper could see she was dodging his question and he wouldn't push her for an answer. "I'm sure the whole school will have fun. Having a Cinderella slash masquerade type prom is certainly interesting, especially with the layout of running and voting work."

Stephoné folded her arms on the table and rested her chin on top of them. "She had more ideas. She spent all summer working on them and begging the principal to allow her to submit her ideas to the secretary this year." She softly replied, keeping her eyes on the edge of her desk.

Cooper was surprised he had gotten her to say a few sentences instead of short replies. "Oh, so she had to go through a lot of work to be able to plan prom? Huh. I typically think it's the teachers and principal who pick the theme and tell the students."

Stephoné slowly nodded, letting out a little sigh. "It varies depending on the school. Some will have the school faculty choose or others will make a vote and the popular choice gets picked." She replied, realizing that she wasn't as nervous as she was before. 'Maybe because of no eye contact?' She asked herself.

Before Cooper would say anything else Ariana walked into the room. "Steph! I texted you multiple times this morning and you never answered." She said, sitting down in front of Stephoné and turning towards her.

Stephoné's eyes moved from the edge of her desk up to her friend's brown eyes. "Oh, I must've not turned up the volume from last night. Sorry 'bout that, Ari." She replied in a soft voice.

Ariana sighed softly, putting her hands on the back of her seat. "Oh, that explains why you never got them. I was just asking if you wanted a ride to school but I guess you rode your bike here, huh?" She asked, resting her chin on her hands.

Stephoné nodded her head slowly, letting out another soft sigh. "Yeah, I took my bike. I figured it'd be better to get here before anyone else and just nap or study while I wait for the teacher." She said, pushing her ponytail to her back.

Cooper, who had remained silent, turned his attention over to his brother and friend. "What do I do now?" He mouthed to them, feeling a little awkward now that Ariana was there.

Kwan exchanged looks with Daniel, furrowing his eyebrows. "Danny, do you think Cooper is afraid of Ariana?" He whispered, leaning forward in his seat as he crumbled up the peanut package and shoved it into his pocket.

Daniel glanced over to Cooper, then to Ariana, then to Stephoné, and back to Kwan. "Probably. Maybe what Sabrina said stuck with him, although I wouldn't hold a single word she said to the candle." He whispered back, resting his arms on the back of his seat.

Kwan motioned for him to say something to her, although he wasn't sure if he had motioned clearly since that wasn't exactly his forte. "Just say something." He mouthed back, making sure Ariana wasn't paying attention.

Cooper frowned looking at Kwan and Daniel. 'They're not any help," He thought, turning around and facing Ariana and Stephoné who were casually talking about plans after school. "Um, your Ariana, aren't you?"

Ariana stopped mid-sentence asking Stephoné if she wanted to get a slushy afterward. "Uh, yeah, I'm Ariana. Why?" She asked, skeptically looking at Cooper. 'Why does he want to speak with me?" She asked herself, glancing at Stephoné.

"I'm Cooper," Cooper held out his hand instinctively for her to shake. "I saw you yesterday in the cafeteria." He replied, mentally facepalming at how lame his words were. "But you probably already know who I am."

Ariana politely smiled and shook his hand with a nod. "Yeah, you're the talk of the school. Exchange students from Europe for the remainder of the school year. You seem to be very popular, especially since Sabrina and her friends are speaking to you." She sarcastically replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

Cooper could sense that anything having to do with Sabrina was met with bitter tones. "I wouldn't say popular. No one other than Sabrina and her friends have spoken to us since we got here, except for the kids in our extracurriculars." He admitted sheepishly.

Ariana exchanged looks with Stephoné before turning back to Cooper. "Yeah, people tend to avoid people who Sabrina has set her eyes on for various reasons, all not good." She passively said turning to Stephoné. "Are you going to watch Will train in the pool again?"

Stephoné glanced at Cooper who had turned face forward in his seat and fallen silent. "Uh," She turned towards Ariana and shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know." She softly replied, resting her cheek on her folded arms.

Ariana's eyes shifted between Stephoné and Cooper. "If you're not going to spend time alone, you could join me in the theater room mending some costumes."

Stephoné wasn't particularly fond of being in the theater, mostly because she found theater kids strange, and she was sure they felt the same about her. "I don't know. I'll think about it." She replied in a soft voice.

Will shuffled through the door. His hair was disheveled, dark circles under his eyes, and a protein shake in his hand. "Steph, Ariana, you will not believe the crazy night I had." He said, slipping into the seat behind his half-sister.

Ariana exchanged looks with Stephoné and then looked up at Will. "Crazy? Will, did you have a party and not tell us about it?" She asked playfully, knowing fully well that Will wasn't a party person, he was barely a people person.

Will dryly laughed at Ariana's words, shaking his head. "No, the tenants above us, their pipes burst and we woke up at four this morning with our ankles deep in the water. Mom and I slept in the car until she was able to call the apartment landlord to have their plumbers come. She is at home waiting for them to arrive."

Ariana's eyes widened. She shook her head at his story. "No way, that sounds awful! I feel bad for you and Steph," She said looking at her brown-haired friend. "Your hot water heater is still not fixed, right? You know my dad can come over and fix it right?"

Stephoné looked up at Ariana and sighed softly. "Yeah, it's still broken. Uncle Owen keeps promising he'll be over and Mom's holding him to that promise. I wish your dad could fix it though, but I don't think Mom would let him since Uncle Owen already promised."

Ariana frowned. That sounded like Lillian, holding out hope her parents and brother would do the right thing. "If you need a hot shower you can take one at my place. You can use the master bedroom bathroom, Dad replaced the shower door since Mom accidentally broke it when she was cleaning the bathroom the other day."

Stephoné was glad her friend had offered, but she didn't mind taking cold or cool showers. "That's okay. Mom called Uncle Owen yesterday and asked him again when he'd be coming, he said sometime this week after he's done with this big case he's working on." She said with a small smile.

Ariana frowned a little, exchanging the same look with Will. "Okay, but if he ends up finding an excuse for why he can't fix it, my offer for my dad will still be on the table." She said, turning her frown into a smile.

Kiki peeked around the corner of the door and into the room. 'Phew, Sabrina and Lacy must still be in the bathroom primping.' She thought to herself and slipped into the room. She made a beeline for the spot beside the window in the front row.

She glanced back at Ariana, Will, and Stephoné who were talking. She shifted her eyes over to Cooper who was sitting alone. She turned around and saw Kwan one seat behind her and Daniel beside him. She whipped around her head with wide eyes. 'Uh oh, please don't let Sabrina try and get me to talk to him.'

Speaking of the devil, Sabrina walked into the room, talking with Lacy who was following at her heels. "Oh, Kiki, this is where you went." Sabrina's voice rang out as she spotted Kiki sitting at the desk.

Kiki peeled her eyes away from the window and towards Sabrina. "Um, yeah, I wanted to get a window seat. I never got one and I wanted one this time." She sheepishly replied, wrapping her arms around herself.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, ignoring Kiki and turning to Cooper who was three seats behind her. 'Why is he sitting next to Stephoné?' She thought, her eyes going over to Daniel and Kwan who were by the window. "Cooper!"

Cooper's attention was pulled towards Sabrina, who walked up to his desk. "Oh, Sabrina, hello." He curtly greeted, side-eyeing Ariana who rolled her eyes, Will who placed his hand on Stephoné's shoulder, and Stephoné who hid her face in her folded arms.

Sabrina glanced towards the tight-knit trio and back at Cooper. "Why are you in the back? You should come up closer and sit by us." She beckoned a honey-sweet tone in her voice and a smile on her lips.

Cooper leaned back in his chair and rubbed the nape of his neck. "Thank you for the offer, but no thank you. I'm comfortable here, plus the chances of getting called on go down when I'm in the back." He flashed her an apologetic smile.

Sabrina narrowed her eyes a little, her smile never wavering. "Oh, that is understandable. I heard you made a lacrosse team. That's wonderful. I hope to watch you practice." She said, glancing at her nails.

Cooper sucked in a deep breath and held it. 'She is never going to leave me alone is she?' He thought, letting out the air he was holding. "Is that a thing? People spectating high school sports?" He asked, a hint of agitation in his voice.

Sabrina nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes. Some have free time to watch depending on what extracurriculars a person takes or doesn't take." She shortly replied, glancing over at Kiki who looked back out the window.

Lacy picked up on Cooper being agitated, although she wasn't sure why. "Sabrina, we should take our spot in case someone decides to take it." She said, addressing her friend. She turned back to Cooper and flashed a smile. "We should have lunch together again."

Cooper watched as Sabrina and Lacy took the two seats beside Kiki. 'I do not want to have lunch with them again.' He thought to himself as their teacher, Celine Grandeur walked into the room and took her seat at the table.

Daniel got up from his window seat and walked over to Cooper, sitting in front of him. "Looks like you got invited to have lunch with Sabrina again." He teased, a cheeky smile displayed on his face.

Cooper shook his head and sighed, resting his elbow on the desk he put his cheek in his hand. "I never said I would." He reminded his brother, letting out a small sigh. "Do you think I can weasel my way out of crossing paths at lunch?"

Daniel thought about it for a moment. Could his brother avoid Sabrina and her friends? "It's possible. You did bring a lunch Mum made for you so you can skip the cafeteria altogether." He whispered back, making sure that no one could hear that.

Cooper thought that was a good idea, he could avoid Sabrina. "That is a good idea. Do you have a good place in mind to eat lunch that Sabrina wouldn't find me?" He asked with hopefulness in his voice.

Daniel glanced at Sabrina out of the corner of his eye, who was chatting away, probably gossiping with Lacy. "You don't like Sabrina, do you?" He mused, turning his attention back to his brother.

Cooper heaved a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "It's not that I don't like her. I don't know her well enough to not like her. It's just, I know people like her back home and I never wanted to associate myself with them."

Daniel could understand that. He didn't like people like them either but that was neither here nor there. "Well, whether you like it or not, she's taken an interest in you. You're going to have to face her and Mum and Dad did say we needed friends -"

Cooper quickly, in a hushed manner, cut off his brother. "I wouldn't call Sabrina and Lacy the friend type. Kiki on the other hand it's hard to tell with her, she's nice but quiet. I think Kwan could figure out Kiki better than any of us could." He said, glancing at Kiki and then at Kwan.

Daniel glanced at the two, seeing Kiki steal glanced back at Kwan who was eating something from his pocket. "You do know first impressions aren't always correct. Just, I don't know, give it some time. That's what Dad would say." He reminded his brother with a gentle smile.

Cooper crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair as other students began to make their way into the classroom. "Where was this attitude yesterday at lunch?" He inquired in a playful voice.

Daniel knew what he was getting at and could understand why he said what he did. "I've been giving it thought and no one else has approached us so can we be picky during our time here? Unless you want to talk to other people."

Cooper wasn't exactly the type to make the first move, especially since he hadn't been in the royal life, but for four years. "I mean, I will probably have some friends in lacrosse practice. They all seem nice. I hope to get to know them better and I could make a few more acquaintances."

Daniel could settle for acquaintances, that was better than nothing. Although, he wasn't too sure how that would go with Sabrina and her friends. "You do need acquaintances other than Cal and Samira when they're around back home."

Celine stood up and clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention now that the class was full. "Good morning everyone," She greeted, the class echoing the good morning. "Time for roll call. You know the drill." She started to list everyone's names which marked the beginning of school.

〰️♛〰♛〰♛〰♛〰♛〰♛〰

A/N:
Sorry this took a little longer than I hoped. I was pretty busy and kinda procrastinated a little. I'm hoping to get this book done by the end of the year, not sure I'll accomplish it or not but we can hope!

Chapter Talk:
I don't really have anything to talk about other than I hope this wasn't too much of a filler chapter? I'm trying not to have very many but I do enjoy Cooper speaking to Stephoné a little bit. It was kinda cute.

You've heard about Samira Abbott, and now you're hearing about Cal a family friend who is a Duke. You won't meet him until the second book along with Samira, but he will be spoken about throughout the book.

Thanks for reading!