The SelecTXTion

Chapter 1

"The Selection, an ancient tradition in which 35 girls compete for marriage of a boring, stuffy prince, thought Maddie, I want no part of this."

Maddie

written by: j

Maddie laid in bed, wishing she could sleep just a little longer, but her clock said otherwise. It was 5:00 AM, and if she didn't hurry, her brother would take all the hot water in the shower. Maddie slowly pulled her blankets off her bed, trying not to wake her sleeping sister, Angeline, with whom she shared a bed. It was mid-March which meant it was still chilly outside, making the wood floors of her family's home especially cold on her bare feet this morning. Luckily, she snuck into the bathroom before anyone could stop her and enjoyed a "hot" shower. Living in West Hansport, it was quite unlikely that anyone truly had hot water, it was more like lukewarm. Either way, Maddie was grateful to not have to take a freezing cold shower, those days were the worst. 

After getting dressed in her midi-length black wool skirt, white button down blouse, maroon cardigan, and black laced boots, she eyed herself in the mirror. Maddie was immediately distracted by the movement behind her. Finally, Angeline was awake.

"You look really nice today," she said in her raspy morning voice. Maddie could barely pay attention to the words her sister spoke as she was so distracted by Angeline's mess of hair. While she had inherited her mom's light brown, straight hair, Angeline had gotten the tight black curls of their dad's side. Maddie truly believed that in ten or so years, Angeline would be the spitting image of their aunt.

"Thank you. We have an appointment in Arbington today, a Two."

"A TWO!!" Angeline blurted out, forgetting it was still only 5:30 in the morning.

"Yeah, it's our first time meeting her. Mom says I should look my best." And she did. This was Maddie's best outfit, at least her best outfit that could endure five miles of walking in the 30 degree cold. This simple skirt, blouse, and cardigan were really her best outfit, she thought. It was only a mere seven years ago when she would have laughed at someone claiming this was their best outfit, but here she was, staring at herself in the mirror, wondering what life would have been like if she had never left Angeles. No, she couldn't let herself go down this rabbit hole, not this morning. She needed to bring her A-game.

"Good luck!" Angeline said as Maddie walked out their room, making her way down to the kitchen. Her family lived in a small one story house. The kitchen and living room were right near the front door, and from the window in the living room, you could see their front porch. Past the kitchen and down the hallway were the bedrooms. Angeline and Maddie shared the smallest room, her brothers Jos, Martin, and Caleb shared the largest room, and her parents shared the middle room. The girls' and boys' rooms were on the left side of the hallway while their parents' room and the only bathroom was on the right.

Looking for her mom, Maddie walked outside onto the front porch. Her parents sat in the two wooden rocking chairs her aunt had given them when they moved. Her aunt was planning on just throwing them away, but luckily she had given them a second life with her brother's family. Her parents sipped their coffee and admired the fog of the morning. Unfortunately, their house was located in a low-caste neighborhood where the houses almost touched they were so close, which meant there wasn't much natural beauty her parents could look out to. But, at least her mother found it equally relaxing to spy on their neighbors in the morning. Her mom tried to tell her that it was called "people watching" but Maddie knew full well that this was just a nice way of saying "stalking." That was one thing Maddie didn't miss about her old life, all the drama.