A Previous Selection

Chapter Twenty-Three

"How excited are you for tonight?" Addison asks as she holds up two different necklaces to look at in the mirror. "Because I, for one, am BEYOND excited that we are FINALLY going to experience an actual royal ball!" 

"Yeah, I guess I'm a little excited." 

She quickly looks over at me with concern. 

"Just a little? You should be over the moon about this!" 

"I'm just kind of nervous for it," I tell her. 

"Why?" she asks. "It's your boyfriend's birthday, and he's throwing a big ball where we get to wear a fancy dress and dance the night away. And you are the lucky one that gets to dance with him all night long." 

"First of all, he has to dance with everyone because if you forgot, the Selection isn't over, and he's technically dating all of the girls. And second, he said the whole thing's going to be televised, and that we're most likely going to be interviewed about him. And I don't know how ready I am for that." 

"There's nothing to worry about. You've done amazing at all of the Reports we've been on. You're actually a natural on camera." 

"You think so?" 

"I know so. Once they start asking you questions, you slip into this different confidence, and you somehow always have the right answer. So move past those nerves because you've got this." 

"I guess so." 

She puts the necklaces down and comes to sit next to me on the bed. 

"What else is bothering you?" she asks. "Because I can tell that the interview is not the only thing." 

I let out a sigh. 

"You know, sometimes, it sucks that you can read me so well." 

"I'm just trying to help." 

"I know," I say. "I'm just nervous about this whole birthday thing in general, I guess. I really, really like Cameron, and I don't want to mess things up between us because I did something wrong on his important day. I mean, there are so many things that I can do wrong. What if my dress isn't good enough for something like this? Or what if my gift is stupid? Or what if I turn out to be a horrible dancer that steps on his toes every two seconds? Or - " 

"I'm going to stop you right there. Okay, first off, I've seen your dress, and it's gorgeous, and Cameron is not going to know what to do when he sees you in it. Secondly, whatever your gift is, I can guarantee it's not stupid, and he's going to love it because guess what? None of the other girls know him like you do. Thirdly, it doesn't matter if you can dance or not. Cameron likes you for who you are. He will still like you if you are the best dancer to ever step foot in this palace, and he will still like you if you have two left feet. So stop worrying about all of these little things. It's all going to work out. You just need to trust yourself," she explains, and I give her a smile. 

"Thanks, Addi." 

"It's what I'm here for. Now, what is your gift? I've been dying to know what cutesy little thing you've come up with." 

"Well, the first part of it has already been delivered. When we had our movie date, he mentioned how cinnamon rolls would be amazing to have on his birthday, so I woke up early this morning to make a batch, and then had a maid deliver them to him before breakfast." 

"Adorable! So what's the other part?" she asks. 

"That's going to happen at the party. I talked to Queen Kimberely and asked if it would be okay for me to play a special song at his party for him. And she loved the idea, so I'm going to be playing a song that I composed on the cello."