"Finally!"

Of course, that's the first word my best friend will say the moment she found me at the airport. It's as if we haven't seen each other since forever.

Jessica came, beaming at me, and engulfed me a bear hug.

"I thought you'd never come! Come here, you!"

"I thought I'd never come too."

She pulled away and looked at me with worry. Of course, she will be worried, she's part of the plan after all.

"Why?" she asked and started looking behind my back. "What happened? Did they figure out? Are you being followed?"

I laughed at the ridiculous way she kept peering over my shoulder and looking everywhere as if every person she sees is an enemy.

"No!"

She sighed and narrowed her yes at me.

"Are you pulling my leg?" she asked, her left eyebrow raised.

"No. It's just that something happened before, but everything's fine now."

"Fine. But you're ought to tell me everything once we get you to my apartment."

I nodded, and we hugged again before we took my things and hailed a cab.

When my father announced their year off the country, Jessica knew exactly what I was thinking. She probably even saw the gears working in my head as I glanced at her the moment the idea settled. Of course, she didn't need a lot of convincing since she offered her place in New York to be my hideout. And considering my brothers are troublemakers, they were more than eager to participate in planning my great escape.

I've been a good girl since I arrived from Cambridge. I attended business meetings, endured boring parties, and whatnot that proved my parents that I'm responsible enough to be left alone to run the business together with the country.

I'm a horrible person, I know.

My parents are probably somewhere in the other side of the world, relived that their daughter is dependable and had matured enough since her time in Cambridge while I, on the other hand is very relieved that I was out of the country as well.

I blew out the regret and guilt out of my mind.

Consequences be damned

I have my whole life ahead of me to devote myself to my country. I need a little breather.

It was a quiet ride. And I let it that way for the rest of ride. I figured, Jess and I need a little bit of silence as we try let this predicament sink in.

When we got off, I stared at the apartment building. It's not something that will strike as living preference by someone with the same status as us. The outside looked dark, probably from all the dirt and smoke around or just haven't been scrubbed for the past five years.

It's not that Jess and I prefer to live in more luxurious building but it kind of defeats the whole purpose of hiding from the spotlight if we chose to stay in an exclusive hotel.

"You have that look." Said Jessica, who was suddenly beside me.

"What look?"

"The it's-ugly-but-brilliant look."

I snorted. "And what makes you say that I have that kind of look?"

"Well, probably because we think so much alike, that I know exactly what would be on your mind before you even thought of it," she said as a matter of fact. "Besides, you know I'm just brilliant."

She wiggled her eyebrows at me, as if to tell me to just agree.

I wanted to burst out laughing but I kept myself at bay. Instead, I narrowed my eyes at her. "How brilliant?"

"So brilliant that I could quote Fuller and Rolfe, but of course, in our case, you can never tell a building by its outside walls."

I laughed so hard that bystanders started looking our way. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I never even thought Jess would know Lester Fuller and Edwin Rolfe.

She started tugging my elbows to the entrance, "come on, it looks better inside."

And yes, it is better inside. Much cleaner than I expected.

"The elevator is sometimes not working," Jessica announced as the door closed.

"Do I have to be worried about getting stuck in this elevator one day?"

"Are you claustrophobic?"

Before I could answer, the elevator dinged in the second floor.

A girl about 16 entered while holding her phone. When she looked at the buttons, she went back to her phone, leaning at the very corner of the elevator.

Silence

Since she was at our backs, I pretended to face Jessica to assess the girl.

She has red hair that compliments her pale skin well. Blue eyes that are so focused on her phone. Her―

I felt Jessica's glare. And I stopped assessing. It's been a habit. My father trained us to assess everyone to know their intentions and read their minds through their eyes.

"Eyes express things lips can't or don't," my father once said. Which Jessica argued that you could get people to tell you what's in their mind if you simply ask them. Staring is very rude.

The elevator dinged again, signaling the floor to Jessica's unit.

I looked back, and locked eyes with the redhead, a hint of recognition flashed before her eyes before the doors closed.

I dismissed the idea that someone would recognize me and entered to Jessica's place.

Inside her unit is better than the inside of the building itself. Well, that's expected because she's a little bit on a neat freak side.

We started to unpack my things while doing more of our catching up. I filled her in on our little accident during the testing of my little brothers' security system hacking.

"Let me guess, they did something pretty stupid at first and when they succeeded, they were so smug about it," Jessica said in that all too familiar I-know-I'm-right.

"Exactly."

"I can already picture them right now with all their stupid grins on their faces," she said. "Every time I stay at the palace, they never leave me alone."

"Correction. They never leave us alone."

"Yes, but unfortunately, I seemed to be the receiver of all the teases and pranks of those goons you call brothers."

That statement alone made me laugh so hard. If only she knows how my little brothers are crushing on her. To the point that I might tease them that they're a little bit in love. They've been following her everywhere, trying to get her attention when she visited last year.

"What's that stupid look on your face?"

"I just realized that my brothers love me so much. So, if they would want the throne, I will be more than willing to give it up to those two devils. But of course, you know how much they hate responsibilities, right?" I said, remembering all those whining my parents and I received from them.

"Well, they did share their burden with you," she sighed thoughtfully. "And now, they've got more burden to carry because of their BIG sister! HA!" she spat, while throwing a pillow at my face, catching me by surprise.

Oh, it's so on.

I threw her the nearest pillow, but she effectively ducked so it flew past above her head. "Hey, no fair!" I giggled, and we started the pillow fight.

We ended up messing the whole room. Exhausted, we plopped ourselves on the queen-sized bedroom that we will be sharing from now on.

Although I didn't bring my whole wardrobe, we finished unpacking and placing my things away late in the afternoon.

I know it wasn't much, but I feel really tired and sleepy. It's like my eyes will shut any moment, and every sound can lull me to sleep.

At that moment, I realized something.

"By the way, can you help me find a job?"

Jessica gave me a puzzled look.

"Uh, why? You don't need to help pay the rent."

"It's not that," I paused. "Well, a little bit. But that's not it at all."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I want to experience the real workplace."

Confusion was suddenly etched on her face after that statement.

"I'm not following. You've already trained in your own company under your parents' wing."

"That's the point," she looked at me as if I have gone mad. "What I'm trying to say is that I want to experience working like the rest of the world."

"You mean, you want to be harassed, do someone else's bidding, and be pissed from 9 to 5?"

"What's with the pastel colors?" I asked, ignoring her question as my eyes looked around.

"What does that have to do with what we're talking about?"

I shrugged, "Just asking."

"I like pastel colors," she answered. "Don't dodge my question."

Recapitulating what she asked, "I don't think the entire world is getting harassed."

"I'm hot so I get that sometimes."

I snorted in response.

Suddenly, she looked at me.

How can I tell when my best friend is up to no good? She has that Elsa look. As in Elsa in the movie Frozen. Yep. That look Elsa has in one of the posters. That is exactly how she's looking at me right now.

"Something tells me you're going to make my life miserable."

She wiggled her eyebrows to confirm my suspicion.

"Let's talk about it over some pizza. I'm starving."

*****

"It's a surprise that your parents even let go with this independent adventure of yours." As she said that, my lips turned into a playful grinned as I turned towards her to say something, but she already beat me to it when she realized what I did.

"OH MY GOSH! You're parents didn't know that the queen-to-be left the palace? How did you escaped? How did you made it here? Or even get away from the bodyguards?" she rambled aimlessly, giving me a wild look.

"I thought you would already figure out that my parents would never allow their 'queen-to-be' to leave the palace walls." I said, not answering her questions.

"How would I know?" she asked

"Because I already changed my whole identity in order to get here and–"

"I thought your parents agreed to that so they can assure your safety because when people learned that you are the 'queen-to-be', they will be chasing after you, reporters, paparazzi–"

"That is why we have to keep it a secret." I said finally. "I changed my whole identity because we can't let the media know that Laura Jenkins is in New York. We don't want to alert my parents, or other people. I came here because I wanted to live like an ordinary person. I can't live normally if there will be reporters flocking around, and paparazzi reporting my every move."

Jessica gave a sigh. "Then that means, you can't come with me to visit my parents in California?"

"I'm sorry, Jessica. I love your parents but I can't risk it." Jessica's parents are my parents' bestfriends. Her dad is just an ordinary man when he met my dad, who was just a prince at that time. Her dad saved my father's life by getting him out of the car before it exploded. My dad said that after that event that he can never repay her father for his deed. When my dad got married, and so is her father, they decided to betrothed their first borns.

Unfortunately, we were born, Jessica and I. But they were still friends. Her family moved to California because her mother received an offer there that will fulfill her dreams of becoming a lawyer, even though they already have enough money for their family. My dad offered to give them a mansion, but her mother politely declined, saying that they have already given her family too much.

Jessica's mom is independent, and she acquired that trait to her. She was also the one who shares us what freedom means. She is and always will be our bestfriend so it is very frustrating that I can't see her because I have to hide. Jessica and I know that her mother will not be fooled by the appearance I have. She will recognize me immediately.

"By the way, can you help me find a job?" I asked.

"Oh yes of course!" she said giving me a mischievous smile. "I can recommend you to my manager"

"Something tells me that you will make my life miserable"