The Selection

🛩Send-off🛩

I woke up to Dena splashing water in my face. Recalling the previous events, I jumped up and down, ecstatic. "I'm going to The Selection!"

Tuck was happy too, patting me on the back. Random strangers even got up to congratulate me, letting me know how they were pulling for me.

When Tuck and I got home, the phone was ringing, and it didn't stop.

Obviously, after that, I was excused from work. Many palace prep people came, one was a tailor who needed measurements, some guards came to go over security measures, etcetera. For a background Seven like me, overwhelming was an understatement.

The day before I left for the palace, a man came with a heap of paperwork. He went over rules and how it would work. There would be 35 girls, each from a different district. The Prince would eliminate us from the competition until it got down to one girl. When ten remain, they would be the Elite, where you learn about princess duties. He also said that I was Three now. A three! Let alone a caste jump was rare for a Seven, but becoming a Three was one-in-one-million.

The next day, I woke up and freshened up. The palace had sent a "uniform of the Selected" which consisted of a white short-sleeved blouse and black pants. I braided my hair again, and put on the owl necklace and red slip-ons. The palace also required me to wear our district's flower, which was a poppy. The poppy's red popped out and also matched my shoes. The outfit was like nothing I'd ever worn. It was stylish and so comfy, made of fine material.

My aide, Abby, arrived at our shack with a car and drove me and Tuck to Midston's send-off station. I'd never been in a car before, so I was busy gawking at everything. Abby led me up the stage in front of people, who were mostly cheering, but a few, like Lily, were giving me death stares.

She gave me a comforting smile and went to stand by Tuck right off the stage. The governor was there, which was quite overwhelming. I also noted cameras aligned throughout the crowd.

Putting on a winning smile, I walked to the governor and shook his hand. "Thank you, everyone, for coming!" I cheerfully said.

"Thank you for coming, Lady Aria! Anything you'd like to say to this crowd?" The governor said.

"Well, I'll do the best I can for y'all." There was a smattering applause, which surprised me. "This is a huge opportunity for me, and I really want y'all to be happy with how I compete in The Selection. Well, thanks again, and have a nice day!" I walked offstage with a wink.

"That was perfect, Lady Aria." Abby said, walking towards Tuck.

"I'll miss you, sis." Tuck said, giving me a tight hug.

"I will too," I said.

"Ok, go and win that prince's heart." He said with a grin, pushing me towards the limousine. Abby opened the door for me, then followed me into the long car.

"Wow," I awed at the huge array of luxuries in the limo, but forced myself not to touch any.

"Not really used to this?" Abby asked.

"No, Sevens spend their time laboring away in this stupid sun. Not any time to make little speeches and ride in fancy cars." I said.

"Mmhm, the sun is bad out here." Abby implied. "Back in Angeles, the sun is nicer."

"Okay," I vaguely said, staring out the window.

After a few minutes, we were already at the airport.

A few girls were already there. I tried my best to memorize The Selected, and recognized them as Winnie Slopen, a Three from Sota, and Mara Forrester, a Four from Tammins.

While I was questioning how I was supposed to greet the two girls, Mara ran up and hugged me. "You're Aria, right?" She asked with a smile.

"I am!" I brightly said. "And you're...Mara?"

"Mmhm!" She said, Her skin tone was tan like mine, but that's where our similarities stopped. She was taller, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her beauty didn't seem forced, but more natural.

"What did you do as a Four?" I asked.

"My family owns a bakery." She responded. "And weren't you a Seven?" Her tone didn't use any snarkiness or a rude implement, more like being a Seven was cool.

"Yeah, I was. It's so weird being a three now. My brother and I worked for a family of Twos." Her head tilting to the side explained that she was confused as to why I hadn't mentioned my parents. "Oh, and my parents died in a rebel attack when I was five." My tone was somber.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried.

"No, it's fine. I barely remember them anyways."

"I have a huge family," Said Mara. "I have four older siblings and two younger siblings. And my aunt, uncle, and four cousins live with us too!"

"Wow," I said, awed. I wondered what life was like for Mara with such a big family. I noticed another girl walking in. She had glossy, black hair and an average skin tone. Her makeup was well done and brought out her natural beauty. I instantly recognized the girl as Selena Dellman, a Five from Kent.

She shyly walked up to us. "Hi, are y'all Mara and Aria?"

"Yeah we are!" Avery said in her bubbly manner. "I'm so bad at names, but I recognize you."

"I'm Selena." The girl said. "I used to be a Five."

"That's neat." I said. "The Twos I used to work for had a group of Fives that always performed at their parties. Sometimes I heard them warm up, they sounded so good. What does your family do?"

Selena's face lit up. "Well, me and my sister, Lia, dance. I usually danced in the ensemble in musicals, and loved it. My sister does ballet. My brothers and parents can play instruments, and my mom can sing."

Before we could continue our conversation, a man in a pilot uniform walked up to and briefly counted. "That's all." He muttered to himself. "Follow me, please."

Obediently, we all followed the man through a nice-looking hallway with black and white aviator photos. It led us into a huge room with five gates, which I interpreted to let you out onto the aircraft. Around each gate were many sets of seats, and everything seemed so modern.

The pilot briskly walked to one of the gates, where three stewards smiled at us. They introduced themselves as Molly, Natalie, and Olivia. They took everyone's bags and walked into a hallway that the gate connected to. It seemed very long, but eventually we stepped into the airplane.

I was in awe. Plush, leather seats and couches lined the wall, and there were spaces that contained fridges, and I even noticed a bathroom! As a Seven, I never even dreamed of flying on a plane, so it was overwhelming. Selena, Mara, and I sat down on a set of seats facing each other, so I was next to Selena and across from Mara.

"So you know I like dancing, how about y'all?" Selena asked.

Mara cleared her throat. "I actually love acting." She admitted. "I practice a lot in my room, even though my caste would never allow it."

They both questioningly looked at me, assuming that as a Seven my only skill was trimming bushes. "I love fashion design," I said, a light glowing in my eyes. "I read about it a lot in our town's library, and sketched it when I could get my hands on some paper. And once, a Two let me pick out some fabrics and I made her a dress."

"Wow," Said Mara. "I like looking at dresses, but I could never make one!"

"Same here," Said Selena.

We all quieted down and I closed my eyes and leaned my chair back. Molly brought me sparkling water, so I occasionally sipped on it. I surveyed The Selected in my head. There were four Fives and two Sixes, but I was the only Seven. I started stressing out, thinking about how my odds were really low for winning. I cleared my mind and dreamed up a dress.

An evening gown, off the shoulder. A-line. A bright, lively magenta and purple streaks. Diamonds on the sleeves. Simple, but lovely.