The Choosing

Chapter 3//: Surprise, Surprise

[ E D I T E D ]

♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 3//: Surprise, Surprise ♕✿~♕✿~

It was Friday night. I had just slipped my pj's on and was now joining my family and Macy's family, who had come over, in the living room to watch the Report. They were going to announce who had been chosen to participate in the Choosing. I doubt that I was chosen and was just looking forward to eating popcorn and watching the prince's reaction to all of the chosen.

Grabbing a bowl of popcorn for myself, I plop down onto the old beanbag on the living room floor. Dad is sitting in the recliner chair he always sits in when watching the Report. On the three-seat leather couch, mom is situated with her own bowl of popcorn and a small blanket. Next to her, Macy's mom, Lisa, and Macy's dad, Simon, share one bowl of popcorn and have a blanket wrapped around themselves. On the floor, Macy sits with Sydney next to her, both of them giggling about something one of them said.

Seeing everyone situated, dad turns on the small T.V. we own. The only reason we own a T.V. is because the government makes it mandatory to watch the weekly Reports. Families who can afford one buy one and watch the Report for free since the news channel doesn't require payment to watch. Even Eights wandering on the streets with no money in their pockets and no place to call a home watch the Report on the T.V.s displayed in store windows.

When the anthem of Norta plays, signaling the start of the Report, mom shushes Sydney and we all watch the screen intently as we eat some popcorn.

The logo of the Report flashes by, and the screen cuts away from the navy blue background to the scene of the news room in the palace where they recorded the Report. The host, Josh Ritter, smiles brightly at the camera as it focuses on him. I hear Sydney squeal in delight as she sees him.

"Madi, if you get chosen, you get to meet Josh Ritter!" she tells me excitedly. I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, I know, Sydney," I respond distractedly. In the corner of the screen, I can see the royals sitting in stiff postures. The king sits in a proud way, tall and straight as a board. Next to him his daughter, Princess Juliet, is fidgeting a bit but settles down into a slightly slouched position. The queen sits in between her children, her posture different from the other members of her family. Where her husband sits with the air of commanding, she sits with the air of gracefulness. The queen has far more gentle features than the king.

And then there's him: Prince Ahren. His black hair is combed back neatly, his stormy grey eyes seeming to pierce the screen of the television. He's wearing a black suit with a red tie, showing his father's House colors.

He's very good looking. The thought crosses through my mind without me even realizing it, and I blush a bit as I eat more of the popcorn, avoiding the gazes of my family.

The prince may be devastatingly handsome, but he is a Silver and I am a Red. He and other Silvers are like gods; I and other Reds are just the ants that walk by the feet of gods.

On the screen, the prince turns to his mother and whispers something to her, who smiles softly at him. Her smile is motherly and warm, and she looks kind.

"Mom, what caste did the Queen belong in before she married the king?" I ask mom with curiosity. Mom smiles at my question, happy that I'm interested in the royal family. "She was a Three," mom answers my question.

A Three. Perhaps the queen was a writer, or a teacher. Maybe a doctor before she took on the role as queen and became the wife of King Oliver. I wonder what the queen was like before she was chosen.