No Match Found

Just wing it

I felt myself take as deep a breath as I could with a corset on and hold it for as long as I could, until black spots swam at the edge of my vision. My hands started to shake as I realized what this meant.
When I was a child, the matching system was already in place, and it was protocol for everyone to have the timer embedded surgically into their wrists. But, that didn't mean it was a perfect system. Whenever we little kids thought our parents weren't listening, we gossiped about dark rumors, how the king ordered unmatched people to be found and taken away to be studied and experimented on. A law was made so that if anyone knew someone that didn't have a match, they had to be turned in to the king immediately. The unmatched were always promised a compensation and a nice house to come back to after the testing, but none of them came back.

All of the horrible rumors and horror stories flashed through my mind in that instant. But, why would my brother turn me in? He would help me! I smiled in relief, knowing my brother would know what to do. I calmed myself down and walked out of the door, into the kitchen where Darren was preparing a celebratory dinner that I wouldn't eat.
I sniffed, and Darren turned around with a wide smile that quickly melted into a mask of confusion, then his mouth opened in abject horror with realization.
"What happened? Where is he?" I could see him struggling, hoping that he was wrong about what he thought.
"I, uh, I don't have a match..." My voice was quiet in the large kitchen, and sounded brittle, as if it would break.
I watched as my brother's shoulders slumped as he looked at me with so much sadness and pity that I felt tears leak out of my eyes.
"I am so sorry" I whispered into the silence as I watched Darren collapse in on himself. His head snapped up, a fiery look in his eyes.
"No. This is not your fault! Don't blame yourself, and don't expect me to blame you, either. We have to do something." His jaw clenched, and he picked up the phone.
"We have to call mom and dad." My eyes widened at what he was saying. Usually, children left their parents at eighteen and never turned back. It was sort of like an unofficial law that kids broke all contact with their parents after they left. According to studies, it improved the children's health, and lowered their stress levels because they didn't have to worry about their parents and their health or anything else. If a child had to call their parents, the situation had to horrible.
"Are you sure? What if they turn us away?" I clenched my hands together to hide their shaking.
"They wouldn't. They're our parents." Darren's face was dubious, contradicting his words.
I sighed, defeated. "Fine." I said, already picturing the judging looks I was going to get from them. My mother and father were firm believers in the system, and absolutely adored the king. If my mom could marry the king, she would.
"Well," My voice sounded flat. "I guess we should go now."

My vintage corvette rumbled through the quiet little neighborhood that I used to live in. The houses were all painted a dull gray, with black shutters and a white front door. This neighborhood looked like an OCD person designed the entire thing.
I turned into my parent's driveway and shut off the car. Looking around, I noticed nothing had changed since the last time I'd been here. It brought back memories, some good but most of them bad. Like my mother's ever-present disapproving look, or the way my father sat in a stony silence every time I asked him for a favor.
I looked down at my wrist, which was covered in bracelets to keep people from seeing my malfunctioned clock. I took a deep breath and turned to look at Darren. 
"How do you think we should tell them?" I asked with nervousness.
Darren bit his lip.
"I don't know. We can wing it." He got out of the car and slammed the door before I could protest. 'Winging it' was not my thing. If I didn't have something prepared to say, then I'd look mentally retarded, stumbling on my words and saying things at the wrong time. I found this out through many failed presentations at school.
I quickly hopped out and closed the car door. I took long strides to catch up to Darren, who was already at the front door.
We both gave each other a look before I pushed the doorbell. The door opened a crack, as if the person inside was peeking out to see who it was. The door slammed shut, and I looked at Darren, who shrugged and started to walk down the steps to the sidewalk.
I stayed at the doorstep, staring at the door with my best 'lost puppy' look until I heard a series of locks sliding and the door opened up fully.
The familiar faces of my mother and father appeared in the doorway, with looks of confusion and worry on their faces.
I looked over my shoulder at Darren and beckoned him over.
"Darren? Selene? What are you doing here?" My mother queried, looking overwhelmed.
I felt my cheeks flush. Was she not at all happy to see us, at least one bit? My eyes drifted down to my shoes in shame.
Darren saw my uncomfortable stance and took the lead, winging it like he said he would.
"Maybe we should go inside and talk." His voice was serious, enough so that my parents moved out from the doorway and let us in. They led us into the living room, where we sat down on a luxurious grey velvet couch. The room was as perfect as the neighborhood, all of the colors synchronizing beautifully to create an elegant setting.
I crossed my ankles and sat ramrod straight, remembering all of the etiquette lessons my mother had given me since I was six years old. Hours upon hours of her teaching me how to walk the right way, talk the right way, even how to make sure my facial expression looked perfect.
"You're not pregnant, are you?" My father burst out.
The tense expression on his face made me bust out into laughter. The grave expression on my mom's face didn't help me control my giggles either. Me, pregnant? Did they ever know me? I held back another laugh and covered my smiling mouth with my hand.
"No," I smiled. "I am most definitely not pregnant."
Both of their faces visibly relaxed. I could see their relief.
"Ahem." Darren faked a cough. "So, um, Selene has something to tell you guys." His words came out of his mouth quickly.
I slowly turned my face towards his. Thanks for the help, idiot.
He shrugged and mouthed "sorry". What a big help he was. I understood then that when Darren said 'wing it' he actually meant 'I'm going to let Selene do all the work and make her look bad in front of people'. What a good brother.
I took a deep breath. "Well.... I'm not pregnant! That's good, right?" I gave a small smile, trying to get them to at least show some warmth towards me.
"Okay, I'll remember next time not to joke." I muttered under my breath.
I took a deep breath. "So, the reason we came here is because of my match."
My Mother's head immediately perked up, listening to me intently. She thought that the best thing in a girl's life was to find her match. I thought it was to be independent. Most of our arguments started over our different views. 
"What is it? Is he nice? What's wrong?"
Mom fired these questions at me like they were bullets, coming out fast and urgent.
"Oh, um, he's great.... Especially since he doesn't exist..." I whispered the last part of my sentence.
The impact was immediate. My father looked at me with a tight-lipped expression, but my mother's reaction was worse. She gasped and clutched at her chest as she leaned back against the couch.
"Sorry?" I awkwardly apologised.