ɢʀᴇᴇɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ

u n m a t c h a b l e

Sophie

Sophie was...unmatchable.

She blinked once. And blinked again. Maybe something was wrong with her eyesight.

But no, the words still showed boldly on the screens Juji and Brisa were holding up to face her.

SOPHIE ELIZABETH FOSTER IS UNMATCHABLE.

Sophie didn't know what to feel.

What does this mean?

She hadn't realized she'd spoken the words aloud until Brisa answered her, turning her screen back around and tapping it a few times. "It means nothing, Sophie. There's most likely just some sort of glitch in the system."

But Sophie could tell Brisa was hiding something. She was clearly trying to keep her voice and face neutral, but Sophie could hear the slight tremor in her words. And she was pretty sure that was...fear in Brisa's deep blue eyes.

Sophie shrunk back into her chair, tugging out an eyelash. "Has this happened before?" she whispered, dread tightening her chest. Because this could mean...this could mean she couldn't be with Fitz.

Juji's dark skin looked pale as she exchanged glances with Brisa. When they didn't respond, and didn't respond, and still didn't respond, Sophie spoke again, repeating her question. "Has this happened before?"

"Like Brisa said, there's probably just a glitch," Juji answered her, glossing over Sophie's question so smoothly it was almost impressive. "I'll bring it up with--"

"No," Sophie interrupted, and then blushed furiously when she realized she'd just back-talked a matchmaker. "Sorry, I mean--I'd really like to know..." UGH, why couldn't she talk? The Black Swan had made her all powerful and stuff--why couldn't they have bothered fixing her social skills? Or clumsiness? Sophie cleared her throat awkwardly, wishing she could crawl into a dark corner and hide forever. "What I mean is, I'd really like to know if this has happened before. It might...make me feel a little better?"

Sophie stifled a groan. She hadn't meant to make that sound like a question.

Brisa shifted around in her seat, showing a rare display of uncomfortableness. "I apologize, Sophie, but that is classified infor--"

"Please," Sophie begged. "This is my...love life." She choked on the words, but forced herself on. "This is my life, I think I deserve to know."

Juji and Brisa shared another look before Juji let out a long sigh. "Sophie, you must understand, this is a very grave secret."

Sophie barely managed to stop her snort. "I've been keeping secrets all my life." Juji reminded Sophie so much of Mr. Forkle at that moment that she wanted to laugh. But she couldn't, not with...this.

Juji bit her lip. "I suppose that's true." She paused and stared at Sophie for a moment, like she was weighing the options. Finally, she exhaled again. "All right. Since you're in such a...unique situation, I suppose it's all right to break protocol this once." She hesitated, and then said, "Yes, this has happened before--but only once."

Only once before.

"Am I...allowed to ask who?" Sophie whispered. She knew she was pushing her limits here, and didn't expect an actual answer. So she was beyond surprised when Brisa spoke.

"I suppose so, since we've already told you this much," she sighed. "But you must promise not to breathe a word to anyone--especially to the person himself."

"Him?"

"Yes, him," Brisa responded. She hesitated for a few more moments--though it felt like eternities to Sophie--before speaking again. "Keefe Sencen."