The Six

May 26, 2328

Aleah was not going to let Peyton get ahead of her.

Never in her life had she been this competitive, but seeing Penny take credit for her dress, her hours of hard work, made her so mad.

So she decided to get even.

She had spent the majority of her week working on not only her outfit for the next Report but something for Penny to wear too, leaving it in the laundry room downstairs and hoping that she would take the bait.

Sure enough, when her maids when you go "take it back to the room" the dress and the dress bag were gone. Perfect.

Now, all Aleah had to do was get ready for Friday.

That evening, she took dinner in her room (not like it mattered since she heard chatter from outside that Elliot wasn't in attendance), and quickly ate, needing very second possible to get ready. She needed to make a fashionable entrance, which meant not leaving when she was summoned, even if it meant her being the last to arrive. She needed that edge over the rest of them.

And boy did she get it.

Walking in with two minutes to spare, was Penny, which Aleah expected and had already planned for.

To be honest, she looked trashy, wearing a bright red dress with two large slits by each leg. Little peonies were stitched all over the dress, which didn't really make sense was Penny had mentioned a few times that her favorite flowers were sunflowers.

Many of the girls were shocked to see her dressed in such a... revealing way, but Peyton tried to act like she wasn't pissed off at the design of the gown.

With that distraction already over and done with, Aleah could finally get the attention she hated from tonight. She was also wearing red, but it was very different than any of the girls dressed. Really, it wasn't a dress at all.

She walked in wearing a jumpsuit. It hugged her curves perfectly as the tied waist gave her great definition. Sleeveless with a high neck, it had a slit in the back, showing even more skin that wasn't expected of her. Aleah paired with black heels, her hair laced with fresh red peonies from the garden as diamond dripped from her ears, a red lip tying everything together.

Catching Elliot's eye, she smiled and waved at him before taking her seat.

Elliot was shocked. Actually, that one word wasn't even enough to describe what he saw. The truth was, Aleah was stunning, absolutely stunning. The most beautiful she had ever looked, and the best part was that it was herself that had made her like that. Not her maids, or a stylist. It was. all her.

Her simple smile and wave stirred him from his stupor, and he realized his eyes had been open wide, so wide that Lexi, his twin sister, poked him with her elbow with a little laugh.

"Better not look like that when we go live, little brother," she whispered into his ear with a smile. "Looks like you've got you've got your eye on someone special."

Elliot shoved her away with his own elbow, but he couldn't hide his smile. She was right. he did have his eyes on someone special. As the cameras started rolling, he sat up straighter. Today he would be interviewing the Selected on their lives before the selection. He was excited to hear about some of their interests, especially Aleah and Penny's.