Princess in Waiting by Meg Cabot

besides.
    On the bright side, if Newsweek does run the photo, maybe Michael will get all jealous of Rene the way
    Mr. Rochester
    did of that St. John guy, and he'll boss me around some more!!!
    Two days, fourteen hours, and twelve minutes until I see Michael again.
    I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Monday, January 18, 3 p.m., Genovian Time,
    Royal Genovian Jet, 20,000 Feet in the Air
    I cannot believe that:
    a. my dad is staying in Genovia in order to resolve the parking crisis rather than coming back to New
    York with me
    b. he actually believed Grandmere when she said that my princess lessons need to continue
    c. she (not to mention Rommel) is coming back to New York with me
    IT IS NOT FAIR. I held up my part of the agreement. I went to every single princess lesson Grandmere
    gave last fall.
    I passed Algebra. I gave my stupid address to the Genovian people.
    Grandmere says that in spite of what I might think, I still have a lot to learn about governance. Except that
    she is so wrong.
    I know she is only coming back to New York with me so she can go on torturing me. It is kind of like
    her hobby now.
    It is so not fair.
    And yes, before I left, my dad slipped me a hundred dollars and told me if I didn't make a fuss about
    Grandmere, he'd
    make it up to me someday.
    But there is nothing he can do to make this up to me. Nothing.
    He says she is just a harmless old lady and that I should try to enjoy her while I can because someday
    she won't be with
    us any more. I just looked at him like he was crazy. Even he couldn't keep a straight face. He went, 'OK,
    I'll donate two hundred bucks a day to Greenpeace if you keep her out of my hair.'
    Which is funny because of course my dad hasn't got any. Hair, I mean.
    I sincerely hope Greenpeace appreciates the supreme sacrifice I am making for its sake.
    So she is coming back to New York with me, and dragging a cowering Rommel along with her. Just
    when his fur had
    started to grow back, too. Poor thing.
    I told my dad I'd put up with the whole princess lesson thing again this semester, but that he'd better get
    one thing straight
    with Grandmere beforehand, and that is this: I have a serious boyfriend now. Grandmere had better not
    try to sabotage this,
    or think she can be trying to fix me up with any more Prince Renes. I don't care how many royal titles the
    guy has, my heart belongs to Michael Moscovitz, Esquire.
    My dad said he'd see what he could do. But I don't know how much he was actually paying attention,
    since Tapeka, the bareback rider, and Natasha, the trapeze artist, were kind of having a fight over him at
    the time in the royal palace lemon
    grove.
    Anyway, a little while ago I told Grandmere myself that she better watch it where Michael is concerned.
    'I don't want to hear anything more about how I'm too young to be in love,' I said, over the lunch
    (poached salmon for Grandmere, three-bean salad for me) we were served by the royal Genovian flight
    attendants. 'I am old enough to know
    my own heart, and that means I am old enough to give that heart away if I choose to.'
    Grandmere said something about how then I should get ready for some heartache, but I ignored her. Just
    because her
    romantic life since Grandpa died has been less than satisfactory is no reason for her to be so cynical
    about mine. I mean,
    that is just what she gets for going out with media moguls and dictators and stuff.
    Michael and I, on the other hand, are going to have a great love, just like Jane and Mr. Rochester.
    Or Buffy and Angel. Or Brad and Jennifer.
    Or at least, we will if we ever actually get to go out on a date .
    Twenty-two hours until I see him again.
    Monday, January 18, Martin Luther King Day,
    National Holiday, the Loft, at Last
    I am so happy I feel like I could burst, just like that eggplant I once dropped out of Lilly's sixteenth-floor
    bedroom window.
    I'm home!!!!!!! I'm finally home!!!!!!
    I cannot tell you how good it felt to look out the window of the plane and see the bright