Another Selected (Book 1 of Selection fanfics)

Chapter 3

"Get up, get up, get up!" Annika exclaimed, shaking me out of my dreamless sleep. I groaned, and ducked back under the covers.

"Erika Grace Carpenter! I swear, I will tickle your feet until you get out of that bed!" She exclaimed, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"You wouldn't." I peeked my head out from under the covers.

"I would." She said forcefully.

I groaned, tossed the covers off of me, and stood up slowly. Annika was already dressed in a pretty purple top, with her nicest pair of light blue jeans on. I, on the other hand, was still dressed in a ratty tank top and shorts, what I called pajamas.

"Would you hurry up? We still have to eat and get ready!" Annika exclaimed, looking like she was half ready to drag me down the stairs.

I grumbled in response, and followed her down the stairs. The house was quiet, since it was Saturday morning. Kaleb, Aidan, and Dad had gone to the market to sell some of the crops, and Amber was still sleeping. If I hadn't been woken up by Annika, I would be too.

Mom was up early like usual, already making breakfast for us. It looked like the chickens had decided to lay some eggs, so breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs and a toasted piece of her homemade bread. Annika basically inhaled her food, and unfortunately for me, that meant I got dragged away from my unfinished plate.

"I was still eating!" I complained as Annika dragged me into the bathroom.

"Stop complaining! Now hold still." Annika instructed as she grabbed the hairbrush. She ran it through my messy blonde hair, magically taking away the bumps and knots. She quickly applied a tiny bit of lipgloss, careful not to waste any of it.

"Go get dressed, and do it fast. We have to leave before it gets busy." She quickly pushed me out and got to work on herself.

I walked over to the closet we all shared, and quickly threw on my favorite pair of jeans and a pretty blue tank top. Amber was still fast asleep, so when Annika was finished, we slipped out of the room quietly.

We walked into the kitchen, and mom stood up when she saw us. She clasped her hands together, and beamed. "Oh my. You girls look beautiful."

Annika grinned widely. "Thanks momma."

I smiled and pecked her on the cheek. "Thanks mom."

She smiled and fingered a piece of my hair. "They'd be crazy not to pick one of you two. Oh, I hope they pick one of you." She sighed.

I took her hand and squeezed it. "We'll be okay mom. Even if we don't get picked, we'll find a way."

Annika nodded in agreement, and mom smiled softly. "I sure hope so."

We stayed in silence for a few more moments, before Annika grabbed my hand and said we needed to go. With one last kiss for mom, we pulled our boots on, grabbed our forms, and left.

The walk to the Kent Province Offices didn't take too long, only about five minutes. But from a mile away, you could see the line. And it was gigantic. Girls from varying backgrounds were lined up, hoping to get a chance to go to the palace.

I saw multiple other girls like Annika and I, farm girls from the outside of town. But mixed in were girls who were clearly very different than us. I saw a group of girls wearing enough lipstick for everyone here standing right in front of a very dirty girl wearing clothes that strongly resembled that of rags. It was clearly obvious what kind of caste these girls would have been in, had the castes still existed.

I was born while the castes were still in the process of being removed, but for most of my life, there were none. I knew the removal had brought about great change, but there were still obvious problems. Without the castes there were no Sevens and Eights, or any caste for that matter, but many people were still stuck in the situations they had been while the castes were still in effect. Others weren't given jobs based on their previous caste. It was a mess sometimes, and nobody knew how to fix it.