Selection redo

Arrival

The world around me flashes, then fades. In its place is the closest airport to Carolina, my home province. Wow. I really went back in time. The Selection hasn't even started yet. I wonder what Maxon's doing right now. Probably stressing himself out over the matter of crying girls. I smile to myself. Wait, where are the other girls? Then I remember that I was the first one to the airport and that I still have about half an hour to wait. I sit down, thinking about my crazy day. Could I have possibly dreamed the past two years up while asleep? No, I decided. I wasn't that creative. Consumed by I thought I barely noticed when two girls my age came in wearing outfits that were identical to mine. Marlee! I thought, jumping up. Ashley was a few steps behind her. I waved enthusiastically, then I remembered they didn't know who I was so I introduced myself. "Hi, I'm America." "I know!" Marlee said. She immediately hugged me. I smiled and relaxed into the hug. "I'm Marlee and this is Ashley." Ashley waved and smiled at me. " I love your hair!" Marlee exclaimed. "It makes you look so alive. I hear that people with red hair have bad tempers. Is that true?" I remember her saying that! I struggled to recall my exact response, though. "I don't think so. I mean, I can have a bad temper at times, but my sister is a redhead, and she's as sweet as can be." Yes. That's what I said. Marlee brought up the topic of movies, and we had a conversation about which make actors were cutest. A little while later, Celeste sashayed in. I had to fight the urge to get up and embrace her. She didn't know me yet, but I planned to spend as much time with her as I possibly could. The other girls didn't have the same reaction. Ashley whispered "Oh, no" as she made her way over. Marlee managed to force out a hello, but Celeste just sighed. "When do we leave?" She wanted to know. I told her that we weren't sure, but she was the last one. "Sorry, quite a few people wanted to see me off. I couldn't help it." She boasted. The pilot told us it was time to depart for Angeles. Celeste slept, Ashley wrote letters to family, and Marlee and I chatted. When we finally landed, there were crowds of people waiting to meet us. This time, though, I was prepared. I met almost everyone there, talking to each individual, Signing autographs, taking photographs, And everything in between. I remember meeting young girl with red hair like mine. This time through, I took extra time with her and the other kids. They'd be the next generation of Illéa, after all. But it was much more than that. I wanted them to look beyond castes and see people as people, not see them as Sevens or Twos. After we got in the car, we looked at the well-wishers waving signs. Celeste made a snarky comment about Marlee, and I wanted to scalp her then and there, but then I remembered our conversation in the Library. It's funny to think that's the future. Hopefully I'll get used to it. When we got to the palace, we had to do that whole exhausting makeover process. They made my look exactly the same as the first time. Then, finally, finally, I had some time alone. I embraced my maids on the spot, especially Anne. I missed her so much. Once I convinced them to leave, I suddenly realized that since I wasn't missing home or crying over Aspen , I had a lot of time to kill before I met Maxon. I decided it was time to pay a visit to Celeste.