The SelecTXTion

Chapter 7

"Lesson One: A princess is always prompt."

Maddie

written by: j

In order for Maddie to get to Angeles on time, her flight had to leave at 7:00AM, which meant she had to wake up at 5:00AM to get ready. As much as her mom had urged her to pack the night before, Maddie ended up procrastinating and packing ten minutes before she had to leave. Now that she was standing in the Angeles airport, looking at the other fabulously dressed girls in white, she realized none of the clothes she had packed were going to cut it in the palace. Maddie looked down at her current outfit, her favorite white button-down blouse and a knee-length white skirt she made just for this occasion. Jos's old sneakers were the only white shoes in the house and therefore were the only option for footwear for Maddie today. She didn't have a lot of white articles of clothing as they were hard to hand-wash back home. 

Andrea was from Waverly and had taken the same flight as Maddie. She was wearing an expensive midi-length white dress with a cool white jean jacket. Her and Andrea, as well as about twenty-five other girls, were waiting for the last flight of girls to arrive. All of the girls in their white coordinating outfits were waiting in a small room in the airport. No one was really talking to one another and Maddie was too shy and too socially anxious to start a conversation with a stranger. She had kind of gotten to know Andrea, but they had run out of small talk topics one hour into the flight. Finally, a group of six girls walked into the room, followed by a tall woman in a tight, professional cobalt blue dress. 

"Good afternoon ladies! My name is Sylvia Wolfe and I will be aiding you girls throughout your journeys in the Selection. Now, Lesson One: A princess is always prompt. We have ten minutes to get you all into the vans parked out front so that we can get to the castle in time. There are a lot of people here to see you but please keep it moving. Thank you!" 

The girls shuffled around, grabbing their backpacks. They then followed Miss Wolfe out the door and into the main atrium of the airport. On both sides of the door were red ropes holding people back in order to create a pathway for the girls. People holding signs with names on them stood there cheering. Cameras flashed and the girls walking around Maddie began smiling and greeting the people behind the ropes. Completely disoriented from the surprise crowd, Maddie tried to pull herself together and smile, but she was sure there were going to be many ugly pictures of her from this moment.

After about a minute, Maddie noticed there were people with her name on their signs too. They were some of her old classmates from middle school!

"Oh my goodness! What are you guys doing here, it's been so long?!?" said Maddie excitedly. 

"We had to come say hi, you're famous now! We missed you!" replied Gwen, Maddie's sixth grade biology lab partner. Maddie did not expect people to support her. She wasn't from a high-up family and didn't wear fancy clothes. She was wearing 5-year old sneakers for god's sake. But this new discovery filled Maddie with warmth. All of the sudden, she felt less alone. A real smile crept onto her face.

"Thank you for coming. It was really nice to see you!" responded Maddie as she hugged Gwen and continued walking with the other girls. As they continued towards the front of the airport, Maddie saw a few other signs with her name on them, except the people holding them were strangers. These strangers were rooting for her. They were supporting her. Maybe the Selection wouldn't be that bad!

......

After an uneventful ride to the palace and a prickly interaction with the other 34 girls, Maddie found herself in her very own room in the castle. Everything around her was beautiful. The walls, the art, the furniture, even the sheets on her bed were beautiful. They were made of the softest fabric Maddie had ever touched. While Maddie was busy touching everything in her room, three young ladies walked in and stood silently in the doorway. When Maddie turned around to inspect her desk, she was startled by their presence and let out a little scream.

"Woah, sorry! You scared me!" said Maddie, instinctively putting her hand on her heart as if that would calm its racing rate.

"We're so sorry Miss, we were just hoping to introduce ourselves before your makeover," replied one of the ladies. "My name is Rhetta and this is Annmarie and Elaine. We are your seamstresses and maids. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. Would you like help unpacking?"

"No, that's okay. I only brought a few things. It's very nice to meet you, my name is Maddie! I'm actually a seamstress too and I'm very excited to work with you, if you would let me help?" Maddie asked hopefully. Even though sewing was her job, she found it quite therapeutic, and with the stress of the Selection already getting to her, she knew she was going to need an escape sooner rather than later.

"Of course Miss, whatever would make you happy" responded Rhetta. "If you're finished up here, why don't you head down to the parlor with your guard for your makeover."

"Good idea. First lesson: promptness. I'm on it," Maddie found her shoes and laced them up, preparing herself mentally for what was about to happen with this makeover. "Oh...and please call me Maddie," she said with a smile as she left the room.

......

Maddie's guard, Lieutenant Barrett, opened the door to the parlor and Maddie's senses were overloaded with smells of hairspray and hair dye and the sounds of loud chatter and hairdryers. After a second of processing, Maddie stepped into the room. Looking completely confused and helpless, Maddie stood just inside the doorway, hoping someone would tell her where to go. As expected, a tall, slim man came over and escorted Maddie towards a chair in the corner. Out of nowhere Maddie heard her name screamed.

"MADDIE?!?!"

Standing on the opposite side of the room with her hair half in curlers stood Amy. Even after seven years, Maddie would recognize Amy's deep green eyes anywhere. All of her life, Amy held herself with a distinguishable poise, making it undoubtedly her standing across the room. With all the excitement of flying to Angeles and getting to the palace, Maddie had forgotten the best part of this situation, her reunion with Amy. Without saying anything the two girls ran at each other, meeting in the middle of the room in a tight hug. Unexpected tears streamed down both girls' faces as they held each other for the first time in seven years. After thirty seconds or so, they released their hug.

"I can't believe you're here!" said Amy.

"Me neither. I'm so glad you're here too!" responded Maddie.

"Let's spend every second together!" Amy said half jokingly, half genuinely. After seven years, they had a lot to catch up on. Amy turned towards her stylist. "We can move over there right? Perfect" Amy said, pointing towards the empty station next to Maddie's assigned stylist. Without waiting for Amy's stylist to respond, she grabbed Maddie's arm and pulled her towards their stations. Amy was always the more confident and outgoing one in their friend group, pulling Maddie and Taehyun along on wild adventures when they probably would have chosen to just stay home. She was good for them. She was good for Maddie, and Maddie was excited she was back in her life.