Treachery, Royalty, and Annoying Girls

Chapter 1, Part 1

I got out of the car that brought me to campus in the pouring rain. I got my umbrella out and watched as the water ran down the sides of the wired fabric. It was already wearing but what could I expect? It's not like we can afford nice things. Rarely do I get anything new. My mom is disabled and can't work. I'm not old enough to get a job so we're stuck with $100 a month from the government.

It's every basic highschool in the movies. Super loud halls, distracted students, and the mean popular girls, like Marilyna Fawson, the "queen bee" of the school. She thinks that she's all that just because her dad has a position in the government and she's spoiled to the core.

Back to the school, it was eerily quiet. When nobody talked, (that's including my best friend, Pandora. She's a total chatterbox.) I decided to lean over and whisper, "So, who's going to start talking?"

She looked at me, eyes widened. "Callix!" She scolded, "Don't disrupt the silence! We don't want to disturb it." She whisper yelled.

Another student behind us, I think her name was Celitha or something like that. "Shut up, both of you."

I looked back at her, puzzled. "Why?"

Pandora leaned to me and whispered, "It's not worth asking, she is stubborn about keeping the way things are"

I still wanted to talk. "Okay? That doesn't give her the right to be a jerk."

Celitha looked at me with a frustrated look. "Just be quiet, are you de-" She was cut off by the loudspeaker.

"Hello, students. Today we will begin the drawing of the ladies in our school. As most of us know, the prince is coming of age and it's almost time for him to choose a wife. There are 10 eligible girls at this school, but none filled out the forms. The queen will choose 3 from our school and she will go to the remaining schools and draw the rest of the girls. Thank you."

I wasn't surprised. "Didn't the principal mention this yesterday?"

She shook her head and smiled, "Yes, but not everyone was here yesterday. You and I were but we didn't fill out the forms, so like she said yesterday, it's a drawing." She explained.

So that is what those forms were about, I thought to myself. "Yeah, yeah. That makes sense." Pandora and I arrived at our next class. As I was pulling my laptop out of my backpack, she leaned over to whisper something. "So, why were you trying to talk in the hallway?"

"What?" I asked. I wasn't paying attention to what she said.

"What were you saying in the hall?" I still didn't understand so I made something up.

"Well, I was wondering why it was so quiet instead of full of chatter." I started to laugh a bit, "with talk of who's going to be the new princess. You, Pandora, would be a perfect match."

"Why are you laughing, Calli?" She asked.

"Because it's funny to think about you and the Prince together. You would always try to make me jealous."

She cracked a smile, "Well you aren't-"

She was cut off, once again, by the loudspeaker. "Sorry for the disruption, teachers and students. I need everyone to proceed into the auditorium for the drawing. The queen is here to explain and draw names." Pandora looked at me, keeping her smile. "It won't be us."

"Hopefully. I don't exactly like the idea of being trapped in the palace for a long time and competing with other girls over a guy."

All of the students headed to the auditorium. I was praying that I wouldn't be chosen. I didn't want Pandora to go either, the thought of her going was terrifying to me. Being alone in a school without my best, and only, friend. Once everyone was seated, the queen walked up to the podium.