Chapter 4

The next morning Denise drove Michelle to school. Denise sometimes drove Michelle to school for mother daughter time.

Denise parked the car in the school parking lot. Students were in the yard walking and talking. People were getting off the buses and some were arriving in cars. "I'll pick you up after school Michelle" she said.

"Thanks mom" said Michelle quickly then she got out. Michelle knew why her mother really wanted to drive her to school today. As she walked across the yard, she had a feeling she was watching her, to look out for Emily and the rest of the quartet.

Denise watched until Michelle went inside the school. Denise saw no sign of the quartet so seeing that her daughter made it in safely she drove home.

All morning Michelle thought about what she heard Suzanne saying about how the crown prince might have a selection. She also thought about what her parents said that she could get any prince or any boy's heart.

In art class, students were drawing and painting. Emily and Tiffany sat at the table across from Michelle.

Michelle was daydreaming while she drew. Michelle was a great artist; her drawings were perfect and flawless. Mrs. Andrews joked that anyone could mistake Michelle for a five instead of a seven if the whole world saw her art.

Michelle had drawn a picture of herself in her sketchbook. She was wearing a periwinkle colored gown and wore a flowered tiara.

She set down her colored pencil and then leaving her sketchbook open, she asked Mrs. Andrews if she could go to the bathroom and when she said yes, Michelle left the classroom.

While Michelle left, Emily noticed that Michelle had been drawing something, so after she left, Emily got up and looked to see the picture of Michelle as a princess.

When Michelle got back from the bathroom, she looked at her sketchbook and noticed that her drawing was gone. She stared in surprise wondering how her drawing just disappeared.

She didn't get to think long when she heard the bell ring. Michelle grabbed her things quickly, she watched Emily and Tiffany go by, Emily looked at Michelle with a smirk. After Michelle packed up, she went to get ready for lunch.

Michelle sat at her usual place in the cafeteria, she looked over to the quartet, gossiping as usual.

"Guess what I heard on the news!" said Suzanne excitedly.

"What?" asked Harper.

"The royal family has announced that prince James will be having a selection!" cried Suzanne excitedly. "So that means one of us will be picked to represent Belcourt in the selection."

"They'll chose me," boasted Emily. "Once he sees me he'll be head over heels. Just image I Emily Veruca Mcshayne becoming queen of Illea!"

"They might chose me if they don't chose you Emily," said Tiffany. "I know all about governing and regulations believe it or not, considering my dad's a real estate agent and my mom used to be a police officer."

"Well one thing's for sure," said Emily snobbishly. "They won't chose a dirty seven like Michelle White."

Michelle looked crossly at Emily, but at the same time to cowardly to walk over there and stand up to her.

"Just look at this" Emily announced her friends. She held up the drawing Michelle had made of herself as a one.

"Is that Michelle in a tiara and princess dress?" asked Harper gawking a bit at the sight.

"Yeah," laughed Emily. "She thinks she's going to be a one!"

"Not gonna happen" retorted Suzanne.

The quartet giggled, Michelle crossly got up and stormed over to Emily.

"Give it back!" she said with clenched teeth.

The quartet looked at Michelle with dumbstruck looks.

"I don't know what you mean" said Emily acting like she didn't know what Michelle was talking about.

"I want my drawing back!" snapped Michelle.

"This?" asked Emily. She then laughed, "This is trash, just like you!" Suzanne laughed with Emily, but Tiffany and Harper just looked away guiltily.

Emily then noticed something sticking out from under her arm.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Nothing" muttered Michelle.

"Let us see that nothing. Now." ordered Suzanne.

Harper made a grab revealing a book.

"To be only yours by Jackson Sinclair?" said Harper reading the title of the book.

"You read romance books?!" laughed Emily. "You'll never marry anyone Michelle, because you're just an ugly servant girl!"

"Yeah, that's ridiculous" said Tiffany in an unsure voice like she was trying to agree with Emily but uncomfortable with the teasing.

"Any boy would have to be crazy to love you," went on Emily. "Even an eight wouldn't marry you. The prince will chose one of us, not some dirty servant like you."

Emily then stood up on her chair.

"Can I get everyone's attention!" she called. Everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at her.

"Michelle White thinks she can marry a prince," Emily announced. "But she's a redneck loser who'll never find anyone in her life. She's not special now, and never will be special."

Students burst into laughter at Michelle.

Michelle looked down feeling hurt. She frowned at the quartet and snatched her book back from Harper and walked back to her table. She looked the quartet who were laughing and then Emily crumpled up Michelle's drawing and threw it on the floor.

Before Michelle left at the end of lunch, she watched the quartet leave their table and after they left she got up and looked at the crumpled paper. She quickly grabbed it and put it in her pocket.

That afternoon, Michelle went home with Denise. Michelle was glad her mother didn't ask if Emily had been picking on her again.

When they got home Michelle talked to her mom.

"Mom, do you think I could be a princess?"

"Of course you could be," said Denise. "I mean look at queen Dinette, she was once an eight living out in the streets of Waverly and now she's the queen of Illea."

When they got back to their cottage, they saw Bentley had arrived home from mowing a couple neighbors yards. As Bentley was cleaning his gardening tools, Michelle said hello to her dad and then went upstairs to do her homework.

Half an hour past, Michelle was just finishing her poem for English class, when she heard a knock on the front door.

Michelle went downstairs she saw her Bentley opening the door. She walked down to see an officer standing in the doorway.

"Can I help you officer?" asked Bentley kindly, hiding the surprise in his expression of seeing an officer.

"Well as you know the crown prince James Schreave has come of age," said the officer. "And he's decided to agree to a selection to find his future queen. So I've come to ask if you have any unmarried daughters between the ages of 16 and 20 to give a submission form to the selection."

"My wife and I have only one daughter," said Bentley smiling. "She's sixteen. Michelle, can you come here please?"

Michelle walked up to the officer. The officer handed her a form for the selection. "If you wish to sign up for the selection, have this filled out and be at the photography station by tomorrow to have your picture taken, the selectives will be announced on this Friday's report" instructed the officer.

And then he left.

"What was all that about?" said Denise coming out of the kitchen.

"An officer brought us a form for the selection" said Bentley smiling.

Denise smiled excitedly.

"You really should enter the selection Michelle," she said. "It'd be quite wonderful for you to meet the prince. I know you really want to enter."

"I don't know mom," said Michelle. "There are many unmarried girls in not only Belcourt but all of Illea that'll make the selection." Although she really wanted to enter, she couldn't help but think about what Emily said.

"Oh Michelle," said Bentley hugging his daughter. "Your mother and I don't expect you to be in the selection or even win. But we think it might be an opportunity, we'll still love you no matter what you become."

"You'll always be our princess," said Denise.

"Thanks" chuckled Michelle modestly.

Michelle went back upstairs; she had always thought about if she did marry someday. She always thought that she'd marry at least a five, she had always felt she'd never marry a two, but she had never cared for what caste her in-laws were anyway.

She looked at pictures that hung on the walls and on a table in the hallway. One picture had her and Denise on Michelle's second birthday in front of Michelle was a chocolate cake with a candle in the shape of a number 2 on it. Another had a picture of her and Bentley on her first day of 1st grade.

Michelle just loved the memories she had with her parents.

She sat on her bed and looked at the form for the selection. She wondered if she should enter or not.

Michelle then uncrumpled her drawing. Seeing her dressed as a princess gave Michelle the courage to enter.

Grabbing a pen she filled out the form.

Name: Michelle Rose White

Provence: Belcourt

Caste: 7

Occupation: unemployed (but sometimes I help my mom sell flowers)

Hair color: White/blond

Eye color: Pale Grey

Height: '5'6

Weight: average

Honestly, Michelle thought to herself. Don't they know it's rude to comment girls on their weight.

Languages spoken: English and German

Hobbies: Gardening and reading

Michelle looked at the filled-out form feeling satisfied about what she had written, then she went downstairs for dinner.

"I'm going to enter" she said to her parents.

Bentley and Denise looked at each other. But then they smiled proudly at their daughter.

"Our little Rosebud is about to blossom for all of Illea to see" declared Bentley.

Author's note: Michelle will soon be living like one of her romance books won't she? And Emily is so wrong, Michelle will be special