The SelecTXTion

Chapter 25

"Jessica had always heard in interviews with celebrities that the stage lights are bright, but she had always imagined that that was an exaggeration. However, as she walked out onto the set, she realized that they were right."

jessica

written by: h

Jessica watched as Rose Torres laughed with Gavril Fadaye. Tonight all of the Selected girls were being interviewed by Gavril for The Report, the main news show covering The Selection. It would be aired all throughout the country, including Jessica's house. Being interviewed for all of Illéa was nerve racking enough; the fact that her dad would be watching was a whole other level of anxiety. However, Jessica knew that she wasn't alone in her anxiety; Cat was sitting next to her in the sitting area, her leg bouncing up and down.

"How does Rose look so calm? I don't get it, I'm about to have a panic attack." Cat quietly rambled as she stared at Rose. Suddenly she looked away from Rose to look at Jessica. "Wait, how do you look so calm?"

"I'm not calm, I'm practically screaming in my head. I've just had a lot of practice keeping a calm exterior." Jessica sighed. She has had a lot of practice of hiding her emotions in her life, something that she resented when she was younger, but is now grateful for.

"You've got to teach me how to do that before the next public event." Cat said, eyes trained back on the main stage as Rose continued to charm Gavril.

"Sounds like a plan. Oh my god, Rose is waving goodbye to Gavril, I'm next, I'm so not ready for this." Jessica said, panic starting to break into her voice as Rose started to walk off the main stage towards the sitting area. The sitting area was on the far left side of the set; they could watch the interviews but were set far enough to the side so that they wouldn't be on camera until they walked over to the main stage area.

"Jessica Hart, time for your interview!" Sylvia exclaimed as she almost magically appeared next to Jessica, which ended up startling Cat so bad she jumped off the couch a bit. Jessica put what she hoped was a calming hand on Cat's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile as she stood up to walk over to the main stage. As she got to the entrance, Rose walked by, giving Jessica a slight smirk and leaned in close so that the camera couldn't pick it up.

"Good luck, you're gonna need it. I don't know how you are going to top my interview, I had Gavril and the royal family practically eating out of the palm of my hand." Rose said confidently and continued walking back to the couches. Jessica glared at Rose's back as she walked away, not appreciative of the threat. Jessica quickly schooled her face to something less threatening and hopefully charming as she got to the edge of where the cameras, along with the royal family, could start to see her.

She watched as Gavril did a quick quirky exchange with the crown prince, asking him which girl's shoes he's liked the best so far. Yeonjun looked and sounded very caught off guard when he replied, clearly not expecting such a random question from Gavril, and that brought a true smile to Jessica's face. She kept that smile on her face as she heard Gavril announce her and walked on the main stage.

Jessica had always heard in interviews with celebrities that the stage lights are bright, but she had always imagined that that was an exaggeration. However, as she walked out onto the set, she realized that they were right. The lights felt blinding and hot on her face, and she feared that her face would heat up. Once she got used to the lights a second later, she observed the set. There was a dark purple loveseat where the Selected girls were supposed to sit, and Gavril sat in the matching armchair across from it. Behind the chairs was the royal family, all sat in smaller thrones.

Damn, Yeonjun looks even better close up. Jessica thought as she sat down, having stolen a glance back at him while she walked over. Stay focused, don't get distracted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Hart!" Gavril exclaimed with a big smile. Jessica returned the smile as she smoothed out her dress. As her mom had always told her, clothes are a first line of defense, whether it's bulletproof or a ball gown. Jessica had always interpreted this as having outer confidence, and it stuck with her. For the interview, she chose to go with the ball gown route, wearing an off the shoulder black dress that was short in length but had long sleeves.

"Thank you! I'm excited to be here!" Jessica responded, trying to bring up her energy to match his. She knew that he was an overall enthusiastic person, he had to be on tv, but it was almost overwhelming in person.

"So you're from Sonage, right? Not too far from home." Gavril asked.

"Yes, it was only a 45 minute drive from my house to the palace! I was one of the lucky ones that didn't have to get up early to take a plane, my dad drove me up here." Jessica answered, making sure to keep the energy up.

"Lovely! Though you don't need any extra beauty sleep, you look stunning in that dress." Gavril gushed.

Jessica felt her face heat up at the direct complement. In an attempt to turn the conversation elsewhere and keep her face from turning into a tomato, she decided to pull out the big guns.

"Thank you! But in all honesty, I didn't sleep in too much. I spent most of my extra time packing and playing with my dog, Luna!" She said with a big smile, knowing no one could resist Luna stories.

"You have a dog?! I love dogs so much! How old is she? What breed is she? Can I meet her?" Gavril exclaimed, doing exactly what Jessica had hoped he would. With a smile, Jessica easily answered his questions except one.

"Unfortunately, meeting her is not up to me, but Prince Yeonjun." Jessica turned to face Yeonjun. "What do you think of your majesty? Can my dog come visit the palace?" She asked with her sweetest smile, hoping he would say yes. This would make her interview more memorable than other girls and she desperately wanted to see Luna again. Two birds, one stone.

"After the stories I've heard about her, I would love to meet her as well. I would be honored to arrange for her to be able to visit sometime soon." Yeonjun said, barely able to be heard over Gavril's shriek of excitement. Jessica herself beamed brightly after hearing the verdict, and thanked the prince.

"You're welcome! I'm excited to meet her!" Yeonjun exclaimed with a smile. Jessica's eyes landed on Yeonjun's bright smile, and felt her own smile grow too. She almost couldn't make her eyes look away, only tearing her eyes off him when she heard Gavril start to talk again.

Calm down Jessica. His smile isn't that amazing. She thought as Gavril began to wrap up the interview. She snuck one more glance at the prince and was caught in his blinding smile again. Ok, maybe his smile is incredible.

Jessica was so focused on finishing the interview without any blunders that she didn't notice how Yeonjun's eyes had lingered on her smile the rest of the interview as well.

......