I DO NOT OWN THE SELECTED SERIES. SHOUTOUT TO NIKT WANZY, ABIZEAU, AND AVA NAVA.
Schreave Palace. Sacramento. Province of Angeles. 10 days into the selection.
Noah Addington was struggling to keep up with all of the crazy etiquette lessons that the 31 remaining selected had to endure; courtesy of the palace. He wasn't some nobleman that had been brought up with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was just a mechanic from a small town in Midston. Despite that somber fact, Noah was still trying to do his best.
The personal secretary to the King had announced that all of the selected would be graded on how well they learned their lessons of etiquette and the three lowest scores would be eliminated and promptly sent home. Therefore, the pressure was Noah to be somewhat skilled in the basics of proper manners. As he was learning proper tea conversation, he was trying to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Mind if I join you?" Princess Melody Schreave asked a very surprised Noah Addington.
"Of course, your highness." Noah replied as she sat next to the man.
"Please call me Melody, I would tell you that the etiquette lessons get easier overtime...but they don't." she replied as she sat at the small tea table across from him.
"I've never had to take tea with royals before so i'm just trying to get through it." Noah admitted.
"Well, the highlight of tea time is conversation, usually packed with humor." Melody offered as she sipped a glass of tea. Noah thought for a few moments before turning to the princess.
"OK, here's a joke: Why is Peter Pan always flying?"
"I don't know, why?"
"Because he never lands." Noah replied. Melody was quiet for a minute before bursting out in laughter.
"That was so awful." She chuckled as Noah could not help but laugh at himself.
"You didn't say it had to be good humor." he pointed out as the two were resolved to enjoy each other's company.
Ranamaya Bhattachan was not having as much fun however. It had been encouraged that the selected dressed up for the lessons, but Rana was having none of that. She wore a simple tank top, a skirt, and her worn boots. It wasn't the kind of fancy type dress that the etiquette instructors were hoping for, but she didn't really care. As she was practicing sipping her tea, she saw a young man come up and sit across from her.
"This seat taken?" he asked.
"I assume you want it?" Rana replied as he sat down.
"Not really, but I need somewhere to sit." the young man said as he offered his hand. "Theodore Madden, trust fund kid from Dakota."
"Ranamaya Bhattachan, Mountain guide from Belcourt."
"I'm gonna need you to spell that for me."
"It's U-P-Y-O-U-R-S, or Rana for short." Rana replied as Teddy gave her a smirk.
"Let me guess, your parents made you sign up for the selection too, huh?" he asked as Rana scoffed.
"I wish, my mom signed me up without even telling me." Rana clarified as Teddy let out a long whistle.
"That is ice cold." Teddy remarked as he shook his head.
"Why did your parents make you do this?" she asked as he groaned.
"My dad runs a business and we're kind of on hard times. My dad hopes that if I become prince, I can persuade the King to help us out." he answered.
"My condolences." Rana said as she sipped her tea.
"Look on the bright side, maybe the instructor will think we have no manners and give us low enough scores so that Benvolio Jackson will send us home?" Teddy offered as Rana rolled her eyes.
"As much as I wish that were the case, with my luck, there'll probably be another selected that is worse than I am and I'll be stuck here for another week."
"The weekly payment is a good way to ensnare people into this farce." Teddy spat.
"Of course, people living on the poverty line will try to get selected, just so they can get the weekly fee to send home to their families." Rana muttered as she found herself enjoy Theodore's company for some strange reason. Maybe not all of the selected were love struck fools?
To the relief of Theodore Madden, the etiquette lessons eventually came to an end. Unfortunately for him, he didn't score low enough to be eliminated. After the lesson ended, Benvolio Jackson had announced that the boy from Dominica, the non binary person from Hansport, and the transgender boy from Honduragua had scored the lowest and were sent to pack their bags and catch flights back home. However, he took solace in the fact that he had made a friend in Rana Bhattachan; and if he was honest, she was rather good looking. The young man knew that that if anything were to happen with her or any other selected, it would literally mean his head. However, Benvolio had not said that he could let his mind wander at the thought of the other female selected, so he contented himself to stay another day in the royal snake pit.
NEXT TIME, THE CORRUPTION OF THE SELECTION IS PUT INTO PRACTICE. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.