The Traitor

Chapter Three: To Choose The Right One

I woke up with a start, shaking off any drowsiness that lingered from lack of sleep the night before. I couldn't believe I fell asleep! The Choosing Ceremony was in less than two hours and I hadn't even finished packing. I flung my legs over the side of my bed in an attempt to finish the previous night's work but then froze. I glanced around the room in shock. My once messy bedroom was completely clean and spotless, and my two suitcases were full and lined up neatly against the wall next to my door. The before disarrayed drawers of my desk and dresser were pushed back in and the clothes I wasn't taking, which had been carelessly strewn about the room, were folded and stacked neatly in a large plastic box, which sat next to my dresser. 

I looked around in wonderment. But how? I thought, then answered my own question. Brandon. If anyone had taken the time to do this, it was him.

Quickly, I threw on my nicest pair of jeans and my favorite blouse I had been planning on wearing that day, and rushed out of the room and down the hall, stopping at Brandon's closed door. I knocked and waited not two seconds before he answered the door. He was already dressed in a blue polo shirt and khaki pants, and his hair was neatly gelled and combed out of his face.

"Oh, hey Teya." Brandon smiled. "Ready for your big day?" He clearly was; I, on the other hand, was not.

Despite being completely out of it, I managed to answer, "Um, yeah, I think so. Hey, do you know who did that?" I gestured to my open bedroom door, where the floor was spotless and the suitcases were neatly lined up against the walls.

"Did what?" he asked. "Wow, you did a good job cleaning last night after I left. How late did you stay up?" He looked genuinely curious, not like he was hiding the fact that it was him. 

I frowned. "That's just it: I didn't. I woke up this morning after accidentally falling asleep and my room was spotless. I thought you did it."

He looked confused. "Me? No, I didn't. I wish I had. It looks really good," he replied, admiring how immaculate it looked, especially after having seen the explosion it was last night.

"Yeah," I agreed. It really did. "But if it wasn't you, then who was it?" Crossing Brandon off the list of people who might have done it meant I had the list was now empty. I didn't think anyone else in my house would've stayed up that late to clean my room for me.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Did you ask Nathan?"

But I had already crossed Nathan off the list before I even put him on it. "No, I don't think it was Nathan. He was probably too busy planning his next date with Sierra to even realize I'm leaving today."

For a second, a distraught look crossed Brandon face at the mention of me leaving. "I'm really going to miss you, Teya." 

Tears began welling up in my eyes and I looked away for a moment before returning his gaze. "I know, me too," I told him. "Maybe...maybe I'm making the wrong the choice...I mean-"

"Hey," he cut me off. "Don't forget how much time you put into researching this. I don't want you rethinking your decision because of me. I trust you, and I know you're doing what's best for you." And that is why he's one of my best friends. But despite my desperate want to stay, I knew he was right; I had to go.

I sighed, then nodded. "I just wish you were coming with me. After I choose today, I'll never see you guys again." 

"Unless the Daines capture me," he joked with a smile. "Then you can come visit me in prison." He winked at me and I knew he was joking, but I couldn't keep the image of Brandon being captured and thrown into a cell alone, out of my mind. He must have noticed that the thought made me uneasy because he said, "Teya, it was a joke. I'll be fine."