The Next Selection

Chapter Seven: The Report

"I have to wear heels?" I whined as Grace described my outfit for tonight while she curled my hair.

"It's mandatory, Kealee," Nina giggled as she put on the finishing touches of my makeup. "Now keep your face still!"

"The outfit's ready!" Leela yelled as the door to my bedroom opened and closed.

The reason for all of this preparation was for the Selected's Report Special today. Since it would be three hours long, live, and Angeles is on the West Coast of North America, which is Pacific time, the Report would be on from 4:00-7:00 in the afternoon here. Due to how big Canada and the U.S. had so much land, the times in the other time zones ranged from 8:30-11:30 at night to 2:00-5:00 in the afternoon. Crazy, right? Here in the Pacific time zone, it was about 2:15, and I had to be in the Report room by 3:00.

"Ok, we're done!" Grave announced as I heard the clatter of feminine products being set down and unplugged and put away.

"Yay!" I exclaimed happily. I hate having my makeup and hair done. Sadly, it happens every day, and I have to get used to it while I'm here. I dashed out of my fairly large bathroom to my fairly large bedroom. As I jumped onto my bed, I saw my outfit hanging on the closet door. My gown was a gorgeous dark blue, like midnight or navy blue, and it hugged my figure until right below the hips. Then it went straight down, but it had some extra material more towards the bottom so I could move my legs and still look stunning. My shoes were opened-toed heels with a few straps, and it was a solid black. My earrings were light blue pearls, and it was all accented with a white jeweled necklace and white pearl bracelet.

"You guys are awesome!" I squealed as I spun in a circle. One side of my curls was behind my shoulder and back while my other side was in front of my other shoulder. My eyes had dark blue eyeshadow with black eyeliner and mascara. I had slight blush that was barely noticeable, and my lips had on a light maroon shade of lipstick. (See the picture above; the dress is supposed to be dark blue, which is the color on the pic.)

"You look stunning, Kealee," Nina complimented with a twinkle in her eyes. She clapped her hands together.

"Wait until your boyfriend sees you!" Grace teased like the 14-year-old girl she had inside of her. She giggled as I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"You better get down there!" Leela advised. "You have to be down there in 15 minutes."

"Ok," I replied, taking a deep breath and turned towards my door that led into the hall. "See you in a few hours!" Luckily no one else but the occasional guard were in the halls so could I could think in peace.

Once I reached the open door that led into the Report room, I saw the space behind the cameras for the first time.

To my left and right for about a third of the room, there were ten rows of cushioned foldable chairs set up. I think they were used for guests and advisors. For the next third of the room, there were cameras and chords everywhere. The last third was the polished black floor that was used for the stage. On the right were the six thrones that the Royal Family sits in. In the middle was a podium with the Illéan symbol on it; it was a bald eagle holding a scroll in one claw and a maple leaf in the other, all enclosed in a red circle. It was a mix of some well-known symbols of the two countries that formed to create one. Also in the middle were two leather chairs that matched the blue curtains and the dark brown polished coffee table. It was the interview mini-set. And, finally, on the far left side of the stage were 35 cushioned folding chairs set up in 5 rows with 7 chairs in each. So every Selected could be seen, bleachers were added so the rows were tiered. About 20 of the girls were down there, and one of them was Cecilia. I power-walked over to her since she was sitting alone in the top row.