Author:

Linda Lee

Once upon a time, in a great palace between 32^nd and 33^rd street on Roosevelt Terrace in Bayonne, New Jersey lived a young, handsome, rich prince named Prince Gabriel. Although he was exceptionally good looking and wealthy, he was spoiled since birth and had no care for anyone other than himself. His mother had died at his birth, and his father had passed away just recently when a hot dog got stuck in his throat at Petridis. With both of his parents dead, Prince Gabriel became more and more of an outsider in his own kingdom. Coldhearted and alone, he became a tyrant over the workers of the palace.

Prince Gabriel now sought the entire family’s fortune. Infamous for his heavy partying ways in Bayonne, he wanted to create a Boatworks II in order to use the several town houses for throwing various parties and discos. One week after his father’s death, Prince Gabriel met with the family’s banker, Mr. Green, at Robert’s Cafe` to discuss the family’s riches.

“I guess it’s obvious to both you and me that the family fortune is now all in my possession,” the Prince said to Mr. Green in an overbearing tone. “Make sure that everything that was in my father’s account is now in mine. And hurry! Make some good use of yourself for once.”

Mr. Green replied softly, “My apologies, Prince Gabriel... But there cannot be any money given to you at this point. Your father, before he passed away, left me specifics as to what would happen to the family treasures if he were to suddenly pass away. According to the King, you must finish your last year in Bayonne High School, and pass with at least a 3.3 GPA in order to obtain any of the royal holdings.”

“BAYONNE HIGH SCHOOL!” screamed Prince Gabriel. “That disgusting public school?! The King must have been out of his mind! This is insane. I CANNOT attend Bayonne High School. I am a Prince for goodness’ sake!”

“Oh, but you must, your highness...” said Mr. Green. “Otherwise, you will not be able to take hold of any of the family’s fortune. Not even a penny.”

“Ha-ha. You are one amusing fool. Do you KNOW how much money I have in my debit card?! Do you know how much I am worth?!!”

Prince Gabriel stormed out of Roberts’ Cafe` and walked to the nearest ATM machine. He was shocked to find that there was zero dollars in his account. Confused and angry, the Prince ran back to the Cafe` and back to Mr. Green. “Where did all my money go! How come I can’t retrieve any of my money!”

Mr. Green politely replied, “Your Highness, as explained, there will be no money, no cars, and no extravagant living until you complete your senior year in Bayonne High School. There will be a spell placed on all of your possessions.”

The Prince, utterly disappointed and disgusted with the thought of public high school, left to go back to his palace. However, once he got there, the guards were blocking the entrance. On the main door of the palace was a large note that read, NO EXTRAVAGENCE WHATSOEVER. THAT INCLUDES THE PALACE. FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, YOUR HOME WILL BE IN THE BASEMENT OF 707 Kennedy Boulevard. Prince Gabriel was furious, but knew that he only needed to get through the last two months of school to inherit all of the fortune.

The next day, Prince Gabriel enters Bayonne High School, but none of the students recognize him as the Prince in his middle-class clothing. He starts the day off miserably, finding it disgusting to share a room with such “low-class” people. As he enters House 3 for his 7^th period class, the Prince crashes into a plain girl named Rebecca. Knocking her over, Prince Gabriel shrugs and walks away. Rebecca simply stands up, picks up her books, and solemnly walks to class. As she walks to her 7^th period class, she spots Prince Gabriel sitting in her English class. The girls in the room are surrounding him because they are intrigued by his extreme good looks. Uninterested, the Prince ignores them. One high-maintenance girl named Sophia was sitting in Rebecca’s seat in order to be closer to the Prince. Rebecca, not wanting to give up her seat, walked up to Sophia and said to her, “Um, Sophia? Can I have my seat back please?”

Sophia, shocked that a plain, unstylish girl like Rebecca would talk to her, bluntly stated, “No! Just sit on the floor, you ugly mess. You belong there anyway.”

Rebecca, always having been a kind, gentle girl, said nothing and remained standing. As tears began filling her eyes, Prince Gabriel sat watching her. He became intrigued and fascinated by Rebecca’s natural beauty and kindness. The Prince went up to Rebecca and for the first time in his whole life, felt warmth inside of his heart. He could tell that Rebecca felt the same way by the look in her eyes. He had fallen in love with a poor, raggedy girl. He told himself that his reputation and status meant nothing to him if he couldn’t be with Rebecca.

“I..I think I’ve fallen in love with you,” said the Prince.

Rebecca replied, “I think I have too. I don’t even know you. It’s silly, but I can’t help but feel a deep connection with you.”

Just then, Mr. Green magically appeared in the doorway of the classroom. When Prince Gabriel asked him why he has suddenly appeared, Mr. Green replied, “Your highness, the true wish of your father was to make you understand what true love is. He wanted you to be able to give up everything in order to keep one thing. And that one thing that you chose was Rebecca. As soon as you chose Rebecca over your royal status, the spell was broken. Now you may have all of the family’s posse Lin 4_1_fairytale.htmssions!”

“Wow... I can’t believe it. But even though I have my wealth back, I think I will finish high school here. I get to be with the most special girl in the world, who I can spoil and woo the way she deserves to be spoiled. And I also get to protect my dear Rebecca from wretched girls like Sophia.”

Just as the Prince mentioned Sophia, he winked over at Mr. Green, and Sophia was immediately transferred to Hudson County Park. She was forced to pick up garbage along the polluted water.

From then on, Prince Gabriel and Rebecca both found their missing parts in each other, and lived happily ever after...