"Hurry up! They're going to start drawing for the Selection any time soon!" Mother cried, and my sister Veronica scrambled onto the couch.
Leave it to Mother to be excited about the Selection. Of course, I didn't care a single bit. I knew that there would be no chance for me, even if I actually did make it into the Selection. Skinny, black haired me. However, Mother insisted on entering me in the Selection.
On the TV, Gavril came out onto the stage. "Hello there, Illea! Tonight we are here for an exciting event. Our next Selection is starting now." He waved a hand towards a screen, and the picture of the girls flashed along with their name and caste.
Why show the caste when Queen America and King Maxon are going to dissolve them soon? I thought. However, it would be a while before we, the Twos, would actually be affected.
Suddenly, Mother gasped. She flailed her arms at the screen, directing my attention back to the TV. I only had a moment to see the girl's picture before it was replaced, but it was enough for my photographic memory to store it.
My thoughts raced through my mind. I remembered the same nervousness in the picture that I had had when it had been taken, and that exact yellow gown Mother had forced me into for the picture. It couldn't be me though; the chances that I would be selected were too slim. This must have been how the other girls had felt when they realized that they were also in the Selection.
Mother was spazzing out again, and once again, I saw the picture for only a split second. This time, I was really creeped out. I knew that girl on the screen. It was Veronica.
I thought that there was some mistake at first. However, this was Illea, not some undeveloped country. The odds were crazy if both my sister and I were in the Selection, but there was no mistake here.
I was in the Selection, and so was Veronica, who had had a crush on Prince Carter since she was a little toddler. She would be my fiercest competition, I was sure, but I also knew that I didn't even want to be in the contest. I would just drop out the first chance I had, but that would disappoint Mother. Sadly, I was stuck in the Selection with my little sister.
