The Next Selection

Chapter One: The Entry

My name is Kealee Plothe. I'm 17 years old. Just because of my age, gender, and timing, I am allowed to enter the Selection for Prince Jason, King Maxon's and Queen America's first born child.

If you don't know, the Selection is held whenever a prince or princess in Illéa, which used to be two countries (Canada and the United States of America), is around 18 years old. This is the age when they start looking for a spouse. In this case, Prince Jason is the oldest, so he's in line for the throne. That means he and his wife will be king and queen in about 5-10 years. The contestants are all normal teenagers from ages 16-19, and one is chosen from each province. Once they are chosen, they are immediately Ladies.

But I'm not sure if I would like to be queen of I'm actually chosen, which would be surprising. Plus, I've never had a serious relationship before. I dated my first boyfriend for about 4 months when I was 13, but all we did was hold hands. Then about a year later, I had another boyfriend, but I broke up with him since he called me some not-so-nice names, especially when he was flirting with other girls. He was way worse than a jerk! My feelings never ran deep for either of them.

Then, recently, a Selection form came in the mail. Luckily I was out for my morning jog when that happened. But the form is just basic questions, like height (5'7"), weight (135 lbs), hair and eye color (light brown and gray eyes), talents (music, dancing, some cooking, very social, good with siblings, sporty, can speak 3 other languages), etc. I'm horrible at art, except painting and pottery. And writing, and sometimes science.

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"Kealee!" my youngest sister Kate exclaimed. She's 10, so of course she would freak out, like my mom did. "Have you thought about entering the Selection?"

"Good morning to you too," I muttered sarcastically. To be honest, I have thought about it for awhile. The money the contestants get for every month they're there would help out with our problematic house, but my parents, my older brothers Collin and Zeke, and my younger sisters Amanda, Delilah, and Kate could just get extra gigs. I'll have a chance of a real relationship at the palace, but I don't want to risk of having my heart broken by a prince that I see on TV every Friday on the Report. But, as my life motto says, "Be like a honey badger and don't give a f*ck!!"

"Yeah, I have thought about it," I admitted.

"Well?..." my mom and Kate started in unison.

After a moment, I spoke up. "Where's a pen?"

"Go get cleaned up first!" my mom insisted. "You can fill it out in the car. The line will be too long if we wait any longer then we have to."

'Who would be out at eight in the morning at the Post Office?' I thought as I headed upstairs to jump in the shower and change.

"What have you done, Kealee?" my dad jokes as I passed him in the hall. I roll my eyes jokingly in response.

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The line was HUGE at the post office! There was at least a couple hundred girls in line. Most of them were dumb enough to wear tons of makeup, high heels, and evening gowns on a hot July day. The rest were actually sensible and wore cute day dresses or shorts and not that much makeup. I was one of them since all the makeup I had on was powder foundation, some mascara, and a little lip gloss. I was in a red sundress with white polka dots paired with fancy white sandals.

After what seemed like forever, I finally got up to the front. Once I sat down, I quickly ran a brush through my hair, which made my cloudy-gray eyes pop with an unusual vividness.

"Hi, how are you?" I asked politely while I set my brush down. He seemed a little surprised at my interest. I guess not a lot of people asked him how his day was going.

"Hungry and bored," he chuckled. As I was chuckling with him, he snapped my picture.

"Me too!"

"Isn't everyone?" He glanced at his camera. "Raise your chin a little. And let me see that beautiful smile of yours!" As I did, my tiny and shy smile turned into an all-out grin at his words.

You don't know how much I hate taking pictures with the flash on, but I had to deal with it for now. I wonder if it was going to be worth it or not.