Selected: Part 2 - Flowers with Thorns

15. THE BOND

THE WARMTH OF JULY WAS almost unbearable under the Angeles sun. The selected girls and I were all gathered in the Women's room after our morning lesson, enjoying the air conditioning blasting from the vents. More than that air though, there was an air of irritation across the room. Still dazed from the long, honest conversation I'd had with Ethan, I had barely noticed it, until one of the girls finally spoke up.

"I don't get it." Agatha said, loud enough to turn a few heads. "How is the prince even supposed to get to know us if there are so few dates?" She sighed, as we all turned to her. "Don't any of you think this is unfair? I feel like we don't get enough of a chance to show who we really are." On the sofa near her, Evelyn started crying again. "At least you've had more than one date." She wailed miserably. Ariel slumped down on her seat. "He doesn't even look  at me." She whined. My head was going back and forth to each girl, wondering how this sudden outburst of dissatisfaction came to be.

"Well, if were all confessing things," Taylor started. "I feel like I'm only here because I'm famous." At that, Ruby rolled her eyes. "Being a celebrity is an advantage, you idiot." Towards the back of the room, Scarlett chimed in. "Then why are the Fives and below still here?" Feeling targeted, it was like the room suddenly got heavier. Hazel's sudden laughter lightened it up some. "You're all such drama-queens!" I could understand though, as the stress of the Selection was probably weighing everybody down.

Elena was thinking the same thing. "I mean, this isn't the typical situation. This whole thing is so stressful, and when I stress, I eat too much." She confessed, touching her stomach self-consciously. We had never all opened up to each other in this way, and I wondered why. After all, we were all probably going through the same feelings. "That's it!" Agatha's loud outburst startled me, along with a few others. "Since we all have nothing to do today, instead of wallowing here, we should all go downstairs and bake. I bet some sweets could do wonder for our frayed nerves." She beamed, proud of her idea.

There was some protest, and confusion, but in the end, all fourteen of us headed down to the kitchens, heals clicking in unison. Along the way, I could hear Scarlett complaining about how stupid this was, but chose to ignore her. We had never done an activity just us girls, and this could actually be fun. I stood by Gwen, my best friend here, and we smiled excitedly at each other. I could really use this distraction.

The cooks, a bit surprised by our sudden request, obliged even so. There was still many hours until dinner, so we were allocated as much space and tools as we needed. With all that though, none of us had the faintest idea what to bake. After a moment, Claire remembered a cookie recipe from an old cook book. I volunteered teaching the girls how to make tarts, having made a little lemon one for Ethan recently. Moreover, Agatha claimed to know how to make cupcakes, as she supposedly baked for her younger siblings back home.

We decided our best course of action was dividing into three teams. Why have one tasty dessert when you could have three? Claire, Ariel, Elena and Shannon, all quiet girls, were in charge of cookies. Agatha had a strong team, with Naomi, Scarlett, Ruby and Taylor making the cupcakes. I was content with Gwen, Hazel, Mai and Evelyn to help me with the tarts. Though I had made lemon before, we decided to go for raspberry, dividing the tasks amongst each other. "I've never cooked before. Back home, I'm a writer, and though I've transcribed a few recipes before, I've never actually done them." Evelyn lamented. "Although, as a writer, you must be very in touch with your emotional side, am I wrong?" Gwen offered. "A lot of emotion goes in to baking. Things always taste better when they are made with love!" We all smiled, knowing that to be true.

As we shaped the little crusts, Gwen continued. "I've always been in touch with my feelings, and this Selection has definitely been a roller-coaster." We laughed. "I'm always crying!" Evelyn exclaimed. "I don't know what's wrong with me." Just then, Hazel spoke up. "I think something might be wrong with me: I never cry." She was such a positive person, I had never thought of it as a problem. "I just think this whole thing has been so fun, especially getting to know all of you. Though, if I'm honest, I miss the hard-work of modelling; I'm happy to have something to keep my hands busy today." Gwen handed her a bowl. "If you love being busy so much, why don't you get started on the raspberry filling?" We all laughed, and I looked around, wondering if the other teams were enjoying themselves, too. Claire's team was quiet, focused, while Agatha's team as a mess, Scarlett and Ruby preferring to look at their nails than help out.

"What about the prince?" Mai finally spoke up. "Aren't you enjoying getting to know him?" I tensed up, not liking where the conversation was heading. The thought that Ethan was getting close to all these other girls was a bit painful. Of all things, Hazel sighed. "Prince Ethan is nice, but a little boring for my tastes, to be honest." Mai gasped. "How could you say that? I don't think he's boring at all. He's so smart." Evelyn joined in. "And so sweet." Gwen seemed to reflect on this. "Prince Ethan has a lot of layers, I think, but at the core, he's just so..." I seemed none of us could find the right words to describe him. "I think he'll make the kindest of kings."Mai offered, and I agreed. "I don't think I'd make a good queen." Evelyn confessed, insecure about her standing. "But look how beautiful your tarts are turning out!" Hazel exclaimed dramatically, in an effort to lighten the mood, I suspected.

"How are you girls doing?" Agatha inquired, from the next counter over. "Just about to put these delicacies in the oven." Hazel smiled brightly. "We should put some music!" Taylor suggested, and we did. With everyone loosened up a little, Claire's team started chatting with each other, as they waited for their cookies to bake. Their cupcakes in the oven too, I overheard Naomi, talking to Scarlett. "You should have helped more, Scar. It was actually really fun." She rolled her eyes. "If I'm to become Queen, I'll never need to bake; everything will be done for me. I don't see what's the point."  Naomi dropped the subject, perhaps feeling it was a lost cause.

As our pastries were baking, I couldn't help but notice the huge mess we'd manage to make on the counters. Feeling bad for the palace staff who'd have to clean it up, I started taking care of it myself. Naomi, almost instantly, noticed what I was doing and went to pick up a few things too, but was halted by Scarlett. "Let the maid do it, she's obviously used to this sort of thing." Her words stung. As ladies of the Selection, we were technically all Twos and Threes now, so my former caste shouldn't matter so much, but i was constantly reminded of it, here.

Before I could say anything, though, Hazel stomped her heels as she walked up to Scarlett, daggers in her eyes. "Don't you talk to Luna like that! She's above you in every single way, and I'd be willing to bet you're just jealous." A few of the girls nodded in agreement. "You might be a Two, Scarlett, but on a scale of one to ten, your personality is definitely a zero." Scarlett scoffed, and stormed out of the room. "Good riddance." Gwen sighed. As we got everything cleaned up together, I felt a special bond form between me and all of these girls. No matter what happened from here on out, I knew they each had made an impact on me.