The Second Choice: A Selection Story

Chapter One

An abrupt crash from the other side of my room causes me to bolt out of my bed, heart racing. My eyes scan the room for someone hurt, or a broken lamp, or anything out of place. My breathing slows when I see my younger half-sister, Cecilia, on the floor next to her bed, snoring.

"Oh, Cece," I sigh, climbing silently out of bed and nimbly walking over to her. Untangling her blankets from under her, I shiver. Every night, we face the same problem. Even during the summer months, nights are cold and leave me trembling in bed, trying to push the uncomfort out of my mind. 

Cece wakes up and blinks a few times, yawning in my arms. 

 "Hi, Emmi," she murmurs, stretching. "Is it time to wake up?"

 I shake my head, smiling down at her and then placing her on the bed. "No, sweetie. You fell out of your bed. Again." I laugh quietly. She's woken me up the whole week by falling out of her bed, at least an hour before we usually wake up. 

 "I'm sorry," she says, laying back down in her bed tiredly. "Goodnight."

I kiss her forehead, sighing. I won't go back to bed- there's no use trying. It's not like I'm able to sleep well anyway. Ever since the day my father died, my thoughts have been filled with dark memories of him and how good my life used to be. Of course, this happened seven years ago. Since then, my mom has married three men. Now I have six siblings, an abusive mom... and still no father.

"Emmi?" someone calls from the end of the hallway. We couldn't afford a big house, so we only have three bedrooms for eight people. And one floor.

"Yeah?" I mutter, rubbing my arms. Turning the corner, I come face to face with my older sister, Emilia. She's the oldest child in my family, but technically, she's only my half-sister.

"I want to talk to you." She gestures for me to sit next to her, so I nod and calmly sit down in the chair across from her. Since I'm the second oldest, she's found me somewhat easy to talk to. I'm more of a listener, anyway. Maybe she's just using me.

"Is everything okay?" I ask quietly, furrowing my eyebrows. "You seem upset."

She sighs sadly. "Emmi, I'm twenty-five years old and I need to find a place of my own because... well, you know. Mom can't provide for all of us anymore. So I've decided to find a place of my own... maybe some of the younger kids here can come live with me until Mom is more stable."

I give her a quizzical look. "Emilia, I'm sorry. But Mom is never going to change. You're the only reason this house hasn't fallen apart." I can't help but turn my attention to the tiny leak in the corner of the room. I clear my throat and look back at her. "You can't leave."

She smiles sadly at me and rubs my arm. "You're old enough now. You can take care of everyone, can't you? And they're strong kids. They can take care of themselves."

"What about Cece? She's only six... that would ruin her childhood."

"It would ruin what little she has left of it..." She shakes her head silently. Then suddenly, she jumps up. "Emmi!"

"Yeah...?"

"The Selection papers. I'm too old, but you're almost the same age as Prince whatever his name is! We'll be getting the papers today, I believe. You have to enter. You have to."

While the Selection is all girl's dreams, I restrain from thinking about it. Leaving my family, leaving everything I know is real? Just to have my heart broken by some shallow prince?

"Em, I can't. You know how I feel about it..." I look down, avoiding her death stare. If looks could kill, eh?

"Do you want your whole family to die of hunger? Even if you stay for just a day, you still get twice the amount of money we already have. You don't even have to love the prince. Just... get along with him and you'll be fine."