When Will I Ever Let Go?
Beta'd by the amazing Foreverme98
The Selected in this chapter are:
Naya Jennifer Edmunds Submitted by: xxKeepyourenemiesclosexx
Carolina Joy Bennett Submitted by: Jenhen48
Thea Aileen Marshall Submitted by: morethanjustastory
Thank you guys for your amazing characters!
Now on to the chapter!
Naya Jennifer Edmunds
"We Love you Jenny!"
"Please Jennifer one more song!"
"Sing True Colors, Jen, Please!"
All that and other numerous shouts echoed throughout the crowd, and all Naya could do was give them a smile. The thrill of being on stage hadn't changed one bit and it still left her feeling exhilarated. She waved and the crowd went wild. She heard plenty of other exclamations from multiple people urging her to stay and perform other songs.
One glance at her manager/brother, Caleb, however, told her that she had exceeded her time, which had ended about an hour and a half ago. She also felt a tad bit guilty because Fae Valentine was supposed to take her place on stage ages ago.
"I'm so sorry, guys! I love you all, and I wish I could stay, but my time is up! Be sure to come to my next concert. And remember my tour starts in two months!"
Naya waved at the cheering crowd and left the stage for the presenter to take over.
"Girl, I can never get over how much the crowd loves you. If only they knew that under that fiery, popstar persona lies a girl who became a popstar by mere chance…" Daisy started smiling and winking at Naya who just grinned and rolled her eyes, already used to having to deal with Daisy's little speech.
Daisy and Cecilia were both kind enough to remind her of that little fact after each and every successful concert.
"Oh, I've been meaning to tell you, Monster Mom is wreaking havoc with the organizers because you took an extra hour with the crowd. Last time I checked she was ripping the stage manager a new one," Cecilia said, rolling her eyes.
Naya bit her lip; she knew that messing with Fae Valentine's schedule could get her in serious trouble with her manager and her mom. She had taken that chance, though. "Well, where is Fae? I would like to apologize for the whole thing."
Daisy and Cecilia exchanged glances, "While I know that Fae would appreciate the sentiment, I don't think that's a good idea, sweetie…"
Naya cocked her head to the side and frowned as Cecilia continued, "If her mom found you anywhere near her, she'll probably accuse you of conspiring to bomb the place. Heaven knows, that woman is bat-shit crazy."
"…Yeah, I once heard that she got a make-up team fired because she saw the head make-up artist's twin sister with that crazy model, Cece, or whatever-her-name-was."
Cecilia laughed. "Apparently, mommy dearest thought that both make-up artists were in the league with Cece and wanted to make her daughter look bad. Trust me; that woman is not in her right mind."
Naya rolled her eyes at the big deal her friends' were making. She couldn't be that bad, could she? "You guys are blowing this way out of proportion. I just want to apologize; I'm not a suicide bomber, and besides you said her mom was already busy yelling her head off. I'll make it quick."
Naya left both girls and walked down the hallway that led to the dressing rooms. Finding the one labeled 'Fae', she was just about to knock when she heard a rough voice on the other side that stopped her in her tracks.
"If you can't stop being the soft-hearted individual you are, then I'll make you! No weak person makes it in show business. To have some low-life up and take your time isn't something that should be taken lying down, do you understand me? I won't tolerate losers in this family, Fae. We're winners, winners! Do you hear me? Take a look at your father when you want to see what happens when a loser approaches what's mine. Now get ready and stop being sloppy!"
Naya found herself unconsciously backing away from the door, and when she heard footsteps approaching the door from the other side, she swiftly hid behind a border. Less than three seconds later, the door was roughly pushed open, and Fae's mom stalked outside stomping her foot like a spoiled child.
Naya stared at her retreating figure, horrified by what she'd just heard. How could that woman call herself a mom? How could anyone be that cruel to their child?
"Don't worry; she won't come near the dressing room until I finish my show. I got her a little paranoid a couple of years back when I told her that I needed to be on my own at least 10 minutes before being up on stage, or else I might forget the lyrics. It's a stupid lie, but it does give me a little more peace of mind."
Naya abruptly turned around to see a smiling Fae. It made Naya really uneasy to be caught eavesdropping, but if Fae actually knew of that little fact, it didn't show on her face. Her smile was as big as they come, and while her eyes had a hard look to them, her smile seemed genuine.
"I'm sorry about that; I didn't mean to take your time…It's just-"
Fae waved away her apology, still smiling, "Hey, you can't help that the crowd loves you. Honestly, I think you're much better than me. My mom is freaking out because she knows that too. She didn't neglect to tell me that a couple of times either. It's no biggie, though; I'm a fan of yours as well."
Naya smiled at Fae's kindness and her strength. If Naya she were in the same position, she'd have crumbled under such a cruel, controlling person like Fae's mother. It didn't escape her notice that Fae had to deal with her mother every minute of every day. Naya couldn't stand to be in her presence for more than two minutes... Such thoughts made Naya's respect for Fae grow even more.
"I just wanted to apologize, though. I really didn't mean to take your time."
Fae smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I loved your new album by the way. I wanted to contact the writers who wrote it, but I was told that you wrote it yourself. I loved all the songs, it's like you're speaking from your heart."
Naya smiled a little sadly and nodded her head. In truth, her lyrics really were from her heart. Every sad song spoke directly of her own heartbreak. That's why most people who heard the songs were entranced by them. Naya felt the songs more than she actually sang them. The album was mostly appraised because of the way she sang it, not because of the lyrics themselves.
"If you wanted, I could help you write your new album. I'm always up for a challenge."
Naya smiled at Fae who nodded her head. Naya's phone beeped, distracting her from the other girl. She found a text message from Daisy urging her to hurry up, and she sighed. "Well, good luck, in the concert; I know that the crowd loves you and can't wait to hear from you."
Fae smiled, "Yeah, thanks. You know, we should hang out sometime."
"I'd love that," Naya replied sincerely. "Bye, Fae. Good luck!"
"Thanks, Jennifer. I'll see you later."
Naya nodded her head and left. She made her way towards the back door, knowing that her brother's car was probably already parked back there. As soon as she made it into the car, she finally reached out and plucked the wig off her head.
"Oh my god, I was close to suffocating; that thing is really uncomfortable," she grumbled, sighing.
Her brother Caleb exchanged a look with his twin brother and Naya's other manager, Calvin, and shook his head. "You're the one who's putting yourself in this position, Naya. I told you ages ago that the whole double life thing is becoming really stressful. Why not reveal to the crowd once and for all that Naya Edmunds is also the one and only Jennifer Grace? Don't you think that it's time? Come on, it's been two years!"
Naya sighed. They'd had this conversation too often lately. It was starting to become a tradition. Calvin, Caleb, Daisy, and Cecelia liked to urge her to 'come out' to the crowd as Naya, and it always ended with Naya telling them that she couldn't.
"When are you going to finally tell people? Or are you actually going to keep this act up till the day you die? I support you whole-heartedly, Naya, but this whole thing is seriously taking a toll on you," Calvin continued.
"I mean, who knew that one little lie at a masquerade ball in high school, would somehow expand to become the biggest lie of your life…" Cecilia said, rolling her eyes as Daisy nodded beside her.
"Can't you at least tell us when you're planning on telling people the truth?"
Naya's thoughts settled on the one person she hated thinking about- the boy's image shone brightly in her mind's eye. She lifted her head to find four faces looking back at her, all of them waiting for her response. "When I'm ready," she replied. "I'll say it's me when I'm ready."
"Ready for what, Naya? Heaven knows, you say that every time. And somehow, that time never comes…" Calvin mumbled the last part under his breath.
Naya closed her eyes, too tired to deal with the burden she knew she placed on the people closest to her. She was adamant, though; she knew what the consequences of 'revealing' her true self would be. And she wasn't ready to face the music just yet.
'When I'm ready to let go…' Naya thought to herself as they finally reached their mansion.
"I'm not sure if cream goes well with maroon. I'm partially color-blind. At least, that's what my mom tells me. What do you think?"
"I think they mesh well. I really believe Naya could be the tie-breaker..."
"Yeah. you're right. Hey, Yaya, can you come here for a second?"
The three girls were busy forming new designs for the upcoming fall line. Having a double life forced Naya to have another job as her true self. She, Cecilia, and Daisy came up with Astrid, which was a brand name for their preppy clothing style, a year after they graduated from high school. It was a major success and more people starting buying it every day. Just a couple of weeks ago, they had shipped a brand new line made specifically for the Princesses' tastes. Business had been booming since then.
Naya found it quite ironic that she managed to excel at both fields- fashion designing and singing. Her friends, however, found her cynical behavior towards both of her successes quite irritating.
"Yaya? Naya, where are you?"
Naya was barely listening; she was standing there, staring at her phone as she reread the words on the screen over and over again.
'Jan is dating Nydia, or so Angelique just told us. You really need to get over this, Naya; he's not worth it.'
Naya had tears forming in her eyes as she reread the text again, her mind still barely registering it to be true.
"Naya?"
She heard Daisy and Cecilia's footsteps as they approached her, and she vaguely felt them crowd her as she continued to stare at the screen.
"What's wrong?" they asked.
Wordlessly, Naya gave Cecilia her phone and left them to head for the bathroom, where a few moments later, they heard a sob.
"This Jan thing is getting way out of hand; I mean, come on, it's been two years! What? Did she expect him to remain celibate until he uncovered her secret?" Cecilia whispered to Daisy who just shook her head.
"I know Cece, but still...He was her first love, and technically the real reason behind all of her success. I mean, without Jan, Naya would have never become Jennifer in the first place," Daisy replied.
"I know but still…"
Daisy glanced at the bathroom door, worried, "No matter what, we should tread carefully with her. This whole thing is going to take a huge toll on her and you know it."
"Yeah, I know…"
Moments later the bathroom door opened and both girls stopped talking- they were taking in Naya's puffy red eyes and her blotchy tear-stained face. The quickly went over to her and engulfed her in a hug, causing Naya to start sobbing again.
"It's going to be okay, honey. Give it time. The pain will go away eventually. Everything's going to be okay…"
Naya cried harder than before and Cecilia started rubbing circles on her back, her eyes slowly becoming moist; knowing how much her best friend was in pain, left her in pain as well. "We're here for you sweetie, we'll always be here for you."
A few minutes later she excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Daisy and Cecilia alone to think.
"You know what? That Jan is 6 feet of insidious snark with a damn ponytail, and I just wanna grab it and I wanna yank it really, really hard."
Cecilia chuckled darkly at Daisy's threat and shook her head. She knew that hurting Jan wouldn't make Naya feel better. The only thing that would probably make Naya feel better is Jan falling in love with her. Even if she didn't want to admit it out loud, Cecilia knew that her friend never stopped loving the guy she almost got together with in high school.
"Anger management, much? Trust me, if hurting Jan would be the answer to all our prayers then I would've definitely cut off his damn ponytail a long time ago- I wouldn't just yank it hard. Naya needs to get over him, though. That's the only thing that's going to help her. Well, that and the other impossible thing…"
Daisy looked at Cecilia, confused. "What other thing?"
Cecilia rolled her eyes. "Jan actually falling in love with her."
Daisy was about to respond when she suddenly shut her mouth and cocked her head to the side before sighing and agreeing. "Yeah, it is impossible."
Cecilia opened her mouth to say something when the bathroom door opened and they found Naya hurrying towards the storage room. Both girls shared a questioning look with each other before following her to the room at the back of the store, only to find her holding up a piece of paper with a strange look on her face. Her eyes were still puffy, but her face was clear of any sign of tears.
"Um…Naya? Are you okay?"
Slowly, Naya nodded her head and lifted up her eyes to stare at both of her friends "Yeah…and I'm entering The Selection."
Cecilia gave her a look of confusion while Daisy just shook her head. "Seriously, Naya, are you sure you're okay?"
Again, Naya nodded her head and glanced at the paper in her hands before looking back up at her friends. "I decided to join The Selection."
That time Cecilia raised her eyebrows and gave Naya a look. "Wait, so I actually heard that right? You're joining the royal breeding contest?"
Naya gave her a look and shook her head. "Yeah, you heard right."
"Wait, what?" Daisy exclaimed.
Naya approached them. "It's not too crazy is it?"
"Crazy? Naya, you were just sobbing your heart out because you found out that the guy you- might I remind you- love, has a new girlfriend. You then leave us, enter the bathroom, cry your eyes out, and then heaven forbid, you get an epiphany while staring at your teary eyes in the mirror. You rush out of the bathroom, fly into the storage room and clutch The Selection form as if your life depended on it, and suddenly claim that you want to enter a damn contest that chooses the future wife of the future king. Am I leaving anything out?"
Both girls stared at Cecilia who was too busy glaring at Naya. She waited for Naya to shake her head before continuing her rant, "Let's see if I'm catching what you're throwing at us… You want, to enter that bloody breeding contest while you're still in love with a loser, just to prove to yourself that you're trying to get over him. Am I getting the gist of it here?"
Naya rolled her eyes, and said, "It sounded much better in my head but, yeah, pretty much."
Daisy finally caught on to the whole thing and just shook her head. "I have just one thing to say to you…Are you out of your mind?"
"Well, my mother claims she dropped me once on my head as a baby…" she teased, trying to make light of the situation. Her friends, however, weren't having any of it.
"Are you sure it was only once?" Cecilia asked.
Naya stared at the application, not saying a word.
"Naya, please, take a moment and think about this. You're being too rash!"
Naya smiled a little and just shrugged, "I thought about it, and it's perfect!"
Cecilia finally blew up, " Dude, are you crazy?"
Naya closed her eyes and sighed. "Cece…"
Cecilia wasn't ready to hear what Naya had to say, and continued, "Don't you 'Cece' me! You're going to risk your entire career because of a boy? You have a tour that starts in two months, two months, Naya! What, is he, like, I don't know, a GQ model in disguise and we're failing to take notice?"
For a moment Naya stared at Cecilia, and then violently she shook her head., "He's not a GQ model!"
Cecilia mumbled something under her breath, her anger clearly not subsiding. "I realize that, chica. He's not even…ugh, he's not even worth it, not to mention, he's not even hot!
The last comment finally made Daisy take notice of their conversation, "Don't say that to her!"
Cecilia's face became horrified. "Please don't tell me you're infected by his so called charmness, and I'm the only who's not a mutant here…"
Daisy just sighed. "Ah, no, but if you tell her he isn't attractive, she's gonna launch into another story about how hot he is to her, and I really don't need the migraine."
"You guys are great, mood-lifting friends- has anybody ever told you guys that before?" Naya asked, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
Cecilia let out a breath and approached her. "Naya, you can't do this. I mean, you have a tour in two months, you just confirmed it yesterday in that concert. I mean, what happened to 'my career is everything to me' and 'I would die if someone found out my secret', because let me tell you, this crazy stunt will definitely reveal who you are."
Naya just stared at her two best friends. "I need this guys. I need a break. Honestly, if I stay here knowing that…that…Jan and her are together, I'll lose my mind."
Both girls shared a look. Daisy nodded at Cecilia who frowned and closed her eyes. "Okay, look, Naya, we're going to support you in whatever you do. We just, we think that joining The Selection right now might be a little extreme."
Naya didn't say anything.
"But…" Daisy stopped when Cecilia gave her a look. She ignored it, and continued, "But, if you think that joining is the best thing for you right now, then we'll support you 100%. We love you, Naya, and we want what's best for you and if The Selection is what you think is best for you right now, then we'll be there for you."
Naya looked at both girls- Cecilia, albeit grudgingly, nodded her head, "We love you, chica, and yeah, Dede here is right, we've got your back, even if we happen to think that this decision is whacked up and completely crazy…ouch!"
Naya whipped her head up to find Cecilia massaging her arms. "I swear your damn elbow feels like sharp knives, you little…pixie!" Cecilia grumbled at Daisy who rolled her eyes in response.
"Now, what are we waiting for, shouldn't you be filling out this form?"
Naya smiled gratefully at Daisy and hurried to find a pen. While she was gone, Cecilia finally made eye-contact with Daisy, "Are you really on board with the whole 'I want to join The Selection' plan? Doesn't it sound crazy?"
Daisy shrugged and looked away. "Yeah, look, I know what you're thinking, and yeah, it is crazy but you've seen how fragile she looked. She needs something to take her mind off Loser 101, and besides, who said she'll be chosen anyway? Do you know how many girls apply for that shit contest?"
Cecilia saw Daisy's point but was held back from retorting when Naya came back with a pen in her hand. "You guys ready?" She looked at them with a small smile on her face and both girls smiled back and nodded.
"Okay, let's get this over with…"
Full Name: Naya Jennifer Edmunds
Age: 19 1/2
Province: Denbeigh
Caste: 2
Occupation: Fashion Designer
Height: 5'2"
Weight: 112 Lbs.
Eyes: Sky Blue
Hair: Bright Blonde
Ethnicity: Multi-Racial
Skin Tone: Pale
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish, Arabic, Persian and a little French
"All done!" Naya said, looking up from her Selection form.
Both girls gave it a look and nodded. "Now we just need to go to the office to take your picture and mail it to the palace."
"Okay, let's do that right now!" Naya said, already pulling out her shoes and putting them on.
"Excited, aren't we?" Daisy observed, smiling a little.
Naya just shrugged, not saying anything.
"Don't worry, Naya, Prince Kendrick won't know what hit him. You're a double threat. I mean, you managed to make it in both major industries that define Two's…"
Naya smiled a little "Yeah…"
She gazed at the ceiling, lost in thought. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did, her thoughts kept drifting back to the dark-haired, dark-eyed boy who relentlessly invaded her dreams. She may be applying for The Selection to forget him, but she wasn't sure if she was going to succeed or not. Luck hadn't exactly been in her favor.
"When will I ever let go…"
Carolina Joy Bennett
"All right, almost finished!"
"You heard her people, Last Shot. Check the lighting Conrad!"
Caroline adjusted her lens one last time and took notice of the lighting falling on the model in front of her before slowly sliding her ring finger (One of her weird perks) slowly taking the last picture of the day. It was a regular day today so thankfully she won't be arriving late and so would hopefully be able to catch the bus back home.
She carefully readjusted her Camera and quickly but efficiently took a couple of snaps without quivering once. She then smiled satisfied before yelling "Nat!"
And the model immediately relaxed her posture and smiled serenely, her previous mechanical pose fading away. Carolina took advantage of that and smiled to herself as she immediately snapped her fingers quickly to capture as much photos as possible. She knows that while orderly poses were more professional, it's the natural poses that are mostly sought after from magazines. She opted to do both when her neighbour and Part-time model Cynthia Wrena asked specifically for her help. She can't for the life of her figure out how Cynthia managed to find out about her photographing skills.
Carolina never brags about it, but she does know that she's has impressive photographing skills. If she takes her father's and most of her father's clients word for it.
She smiled one last smile before finally taking the last shot and waving her hand in a "Stop!" Motion at Cynthia's crew. Cynthia was immediately surrounded by her makeup artist and her assistant and Carolina let out a breath in relief that the day was over. As much as she likes photographing in general, Carolina specialises in Nature photography. They also prove to be popular with her father's clients at the gallery which is a bonus.
"Alright People, that's a wrap. I want the place spotless in 15!"
Carolina quickly went over to her "dressing" room and changed from her jeans into more comfortable sweats and picked up another T-shirt because the one she's wearing was getting too sweaty before quickly gathering up all her stuff, ensuring that she hasn't missed anything and carrying her two bags and closing the lights.
The moment she was outside, she found herself in front Cynthia who was obviously waiting for her.
"Thank you so very much for doing this! And out of schedule too, you're a life-saver!"
Carolina smiled at the beautiful and Slender model in front of her, not quite sure what to say. It was always a challenge for her to speak to people she doesn't know well. Being introverted all her life proved to be quiet disconcerting when it came to getting to know people or even...replying to people.
"It was okay, I didn't mind. I hope you like the shots. I'll send them over as soon as they come in."
"Aw you're such a sweetheart!"
Cynthia's shrill overly girly voice distracted her for a second before the other girl grabbed her in a spontaneous hug and Carolina being the 'Not-so-Touchy-Feely person, awkwardly patted her on the back, obviously not sure what else to do.
"Here, I added even more than you charged cause you're actually one of the easiest photographers to work with. I'll tell all my friends about you. Gawd, you didn't make me feel unsettled for one second."
Carolina couldn't help noticing though, that the girl didn't add Extra, she added more than extra. The Envelope actually felt heavy in her hands.
"Oh my, that's too much, I don't deser-"
Cynthia waved her hand dismissing what Carolina was saying and smiled.
"No honey, you really deserve this, with any luck your photos of me will be featured in Miss IIlea Next issue. I'm actually confident that will happen so I should be grateful for you."
Carolina gave her a huge smile and thanked her again and Cynthia took it as a reason to hug her again. Cynthia felt a little uncomfortable but smiled at the girl after she released her. She was getting to leave again before Cynthia stopped her asking her if she needs a ride. Carolina was ready to start protesting when Cynthia's assistant, with a signal from her, took Carolina's stuff and Cynthia told her she's going to put them in the car for her. Carolina didn't have a choice but to follow Cynthia to her private car. It was better, Carolina though, much better than taking the bus and arriving in two hours because of the jammed route the bus always takes. She relaxed in her seat as Cynthia chatted to her about her upcoming modelling gigs and Carolina tried her best to look interested. She always had a certain "I-Have-No-idea-what-you're-talking-about" attitude when she meets models and actors. She can't seem to get the dynamic of their jobs and almost all celebrities of that sort turn out to be incredibly snobby. Cynthia was not snobby by all means so Carolina tried her hardest to look interested. She wished her "interested" face doesn't come of as constipated.
When they came to Carolina's stop, Carolina was both relieved and thankful. Heaven knows if she had followed through with taking the bus, she wouldn't have arrived for at least two more hours.
She thanked Cynthia Profusely and climbed put of the car, promising Cynthia to keep in touch. She ran up her front porch and without knocking she opened the door and yelled "I'm home" then she ran straight to her room.
Moments later she was joined by her mother who looked happy and relieved to see her.
"Oh Carrie, you came just in time"
Carolina took one look at her mother and sighed, she knew that there's was definitely no resting time for her after this.
"What is it mom?"
Her mother sighed, "It's your father dear, he has to run a few errands and deliver paintings to clients but all of his assistants are not available to look after the gallery when he's gone. Flynn is away doing god knows what, and your sisters are out. Can you drop by the gallery for an hour or two? I'll send Flynn over when he comes back"
Carolina sighed but nodded. She knew how much the Gallery meant to her father and she doesn't want to disappoint him, and after that incident, she doesn't want to take any chances.
She's been avoiding going there for a while ever since that day with him.
"Him" refers to Ryan Leland. A guy who, for a while was at the gallery almost every day that he eventually sparked up a friendship with Flynn. It didn't exactly involve Carolina at first but as his visits became more frequent, she found herself falling slowly for him, even though he literally didn't know she existed. By mere chance, his family hosted a party and wanted to a professional photographer and Flynn nominated her to Ryan, who agreed. Ever since that party, Ryan would pass by their gallery every day to start some conversation with her. For a few weeks, Carolina was over the moon for the attention. Being shy and introverted didn't exactly make her noticeable in the eyes of the opposite sex. She was always the type to blend in. Her sisters however were the exact opposite and that made her invisible sometimes, even at her house.
Ryan found her interesting for a while, and they actually went on a coffee date once or twice. That was until two weeks ago.
She was closing up the shop and Ryan came in, the slur in his voice didn't escape Caroline and she cautiously asked him if he was drunk. He didn't reply and instead he grabbed her and kissed her. In other circumstances, Caroline would have been thrilled, but Ryan's sloppy intoxicated kiss was far from thrilling. In fact, it made her want to puke. She tried pushing him away a couple of times but he was much larger and stronger than her. It would have been much worse if Flynn hadn't come in at the right moment to see Carolina struggling. He decked Ryan and warned him about coming back. In turn, Ryan promised that the gallery is going to come down if his family has anything to say about it.
Carolina was horrified because she knew that Ryan comes from an influential family of twos. If he had something to say, the gallery would close down and her father would lose all his clients. She has been cautious ever since that day, knowing that, at any given time, that asshole would come back and take his revenge. So she didn't argue with her mother. Her mother in turn, kissed her forehead and smiled.
Carolina managed to make it to the gallery in five minutes to see her sister there. She rolled her eyes, now she knew why her mother decided against calling her older sister. Waverley had the attention span of a five year old. Now, for instance, instead of watching the gallery, she was using the home-phone to call her friends, and she was also texting with one hand, and putting on lipgloss with her other one.
"Oh you're soooo kidding me!"
Carolina rolled her eyes again but smiles and waved. Waverley in turn waved enthusiastically and quickly finished the call and then bounced up to her.
"Oh my god Callie! You won't believe what happened!"
Carolina knew better than to roll her eyes and tell her what she expected so she just smiled at her and looked at questioningly.
"So, Janine was just with me on the phone and believe it or not! Bethany just broke up with Stefan to join the selection! Can you believe that?"
Carolina could certainly believe that because she knows for a fact that Waverley's friends were all equally shallow. For her sister's sake though, she appeared shocked at the news.
"Wasn't Stefan planning on proposing? Wow...that's just bad!"
Waverley giggled, "I know, right! Janine's furious with Bethany. Cause you know, Janine was planning on entering herself and you know Bethany.. She's a two while Janine's a four. So Bethany has much better chances."
Carolina nodded not really caring. She was tempted to enter the selection herself but every time she grabs the form and starts filling it, she backs out five minutes later.
"You know, I was actually planning on entering myself... It won't be a bad experience and my age is just below the cutoff so it would be nice since if another selection came along, I won't be able to apply.."
"Actually Vivi that's a great idea, why don't you?"
Carolina smiled at her sister who appeared thoughtful.
"Actually, you applying might take Dakota off my back. She's been pestering me for days about applying."
Carolina added. It was then when a smile appeared on Waverley's face and she smiled dubiously at Carolina who in turn looked weary.
"What? Just what's going on in that psycho mind of yours?"
Waverley just smiled before saying, "okay, I'll do it. But you're doing it with me!"
Caroline looked at her like she's crazy and scoffed.
"Oh no, I don't think so."
"Come on Carrie! Please do it for me! I don't want to go and take that picture alone!"
Carolina rolled her eyes, "I'll go with you to the post office, but I won't enter myself."
Waverley looked at her from beneath her eyelashes and Carolina groaned.
"Pleaaase pretty please Callie! do it for me!"
Carolina huffed in impatience, "ughh Fine! Okay, I'll do it with you. But don't expect me to be madly happy about it!
Wavered squealed, "yay, okay, I have the forms right here." She took out the forms from the drawer and Carolina raised her eyebrows.
"Were you actually planning on forcing me to enter?"
Waverley smirked, "well you gotta admit, I do nail down the talent of persuasion." Carolina rolled her eyes but smiled. She took the form from her sister and began filling it.
Full Name: Carolina Joy Bennett
Age: 19
Province: Kent
Caste: 5
Occupation: photographer
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 115 Lbs
Eyes: Bright Ocean Blue
Hair: Blonde
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Skin Tone: Pale
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish and Italian
She looked at down at the form and smiled to herself.
"Maybe this won't be bad after all..."
Thea Aileen Marshall
"You need to calm down, that bastard is not even worth it"
Thea looked up when she managed to distinguish the voice of one of her best friends at the doorway. When that was followed by crying, Thea knew for sure that both girls were her friends. Looking up, she found Jensen trying to console a hysterical looking Laurel. "Trying" being the key word because all Laurel did in return for the so-called consolation was to sob harder.
"What's going on here?" Thea wasn't a stranger when it came to Laurel crying. She did it on an almost daily basis. The last month was actually one of the hardest on Laurel, ever since she started seeing that dickhead of a boyfriend.
"It's…its Jet; she caught him and Cece Maxwell in a rather…compromising position"
Thea raised her eyebrows and looked at them thoughtfully, "on a scale from one to a brothel complete with three naked women, how in flagrante delicto are we talking?"
Jensen tried not to smirk at Thea's choice of words, "I think we could skip the scale part and just say that her screams of his name could be heard two buildings away."
Thea rolled her eyes and looked at Laurel who was still sobbing her heart out. On her part, she felt really upset because her friend was passing through that, but since her tongue has a mind of its own, she muttered the one thing that wasn't supposed to be said.
"I told you from the very start that the-stupidly-named Jet Dickhead was not even worth it."
Laurel cried even harder and Jensen threw Thea a small glare and Thea went back and checked her words and sighed. She knew she had to install a filter someday.
"I say we skip this little I-told-you-so conversation that's bubbling up and focus on the girl crying her eyes out." Jensen said, gesturing towards Laurel who was still holding Jensen's shirt as a lifeline, her eyes still shining with tears of betrayal.
Thea didn't say anything, instead, Jensen noticed her eyes gleaming that mischivious gleam that spoke for itself and the sinister smile that was starting to creep on her face.
"Oh Mr. Hyde, what exactly is brewing in that crazy mind of yours?" Jensen said, almost regretting that she actually opened her mouth. Thea didn't reply she just threw another sinister smile and replied with a single sentence.
"Hell hath no fury like a lover scorned"
"It's women not lover…" Jensen said, but Thea was barely listening; her finger, ears and eyes were already too busy. Her eyes never left the screen as she furiously typed away. Jensen noticed that with each minute, her smile started getting bigger. Jensen threw a cautioned look on the deserted office and heaved a sigh of relief. She knew that, without a doubt, Thea was brewing something as illegal as they come, heaven knows, she turns absolutely mental when she plots revenge plans.
Jensen remembers vividly when her old boyfriend, Matthew double timed her with another girl. She wasn't as hysterical as Laurel was, but she was still really upset about it. Thea muttered the very same sentence she said a few minutes ago and then, ultimately, all hell broke loose. She managed to somehow hack into his school records, send his parents all his grades; which she actually changed to appear as if he failed everything. She didn't stop at that; hacking even further into the school's computers; changing all the Desktop images into one of his photos with the caption "I'm a two-timing bastard". She also managed to humiliate the girl he was two-timing her with; placing K-Y jelly all over her car, condoms over her antennas then writing "Cheaters got Rhythm" on her window shields with a permanent marker. All that, and she never took the blame for anything, as the school somehow refused to believe that a mere student could possibly hack into their records. Also the little fact that they never actually got any proof. So, in short, it was really scary to feel Thea's wrath.
A few minutes passed with only the sniffling coming from Laurel and the rapid strokes of the keyboard keys Thea was making being heard in the room. After a few minutes Thea smiled triumphantly at the screen and muttered something underneath her breath breaking the silence in the room and making Jensen glance at her haphazardly.
"Should I be afraid to ask what you did this time?"
Thea finally looked up and smiled secretively at Jensen, "Revenge is just so sweet. Hey, Laurie, you might want to check this out…"
Laurel, who was still teary-eyed glanced at Thea and grimaced a little before replying, "What is it?"
Thea just smiled in return, "Oh trust me, you would really love to see this by yourself…words won't be enough to describe…anything."
Laurel approached the desk cautiously as if she's going to be attacked from behind and nervously looked at the screen only to let out an enormous squeal of laughter shortly afterwards.
"What? What did you do?"
Jensen shortly joined them, her curiosity getting the best of her, and upon seeing what her friend did those past 15 minutes, she burst into uncontrollable giggles.
"Oh god…Thea, you're a diabolical, revenge-seeking-fucking genius…"
Jensen managed to say between snorts of laughter and Thea smiled smugly and bowed her head sarcastically.
"Anytime my friend, Proud to have impressed you, now do you want anything else besides her reputation being tarnished? I mean, I would gladly release my inner Bruce lee that easily penetrated me years ago and go ape-shit on her ass…"
The two girls looked at her for a moment and Thea realized what she said moments later and groaned while her two friends laughed.
"Okaaay, I did not mean it that way…Maybe I should really take up thinking before speaking…"
Thea turned around and closed her computer and closed all her stuff while her friends were still busy laughing their heads off.
"Alright alright, I know, I'm freaking hilarious…Can we move on now?"
Both girls nodded and followed her as she closed all the lights and locked the door behind her.
"Just think, Laurel, this time tomorrow, your friend Cece Slut-Well's rather unflattering pictures will be on the front page of every magazine and on all Celebrity gossip channels, thanks to moi!" Thea said smugly and Laurel beamed at her, still really grateful at what he friend did. Jensen merely looked a little uneasily at Thea's direction and Shrugged.
"You know Chica, Sometimes you really scare me...remind me to never get on your bad-side."
The three girls went down the streets and began walking the short distance back to Thea's house. After a few short blocks, Laurel suddenly burst out laughing and Thea looked at her confused only to find Laurel clutching her sides from laughter while looking at a nearby hardware store that had TVs on displays and one of the channels was, coincidently, showing Cece Maxwell and the major damage Thea has just done.
Thea stood for a few seconds and tilted her head and then shook it slowly.
"Well, I guess I was wrong to assume that it would a full 24 hours. 1 hour 28 minutes would have sufficed…"
Laurel and Jensen continued laughing until they reached the house and Thea was just smirking at the whole thing. She was quiet confident in her field but to know that a small joke would just easily infiltrate every gossip channel on IIlea? Well, that changes everything.
"Kaleb! I'm home!"
Thea shouted as she unlocked the door and let her friends in. They were joined shortly by a guy who looked a lot like Thea but with shorter and brighter hair. From the looks of it, Thea guessed that Kaleb was taking a nap.
"What brought you so early?" Kaleb said, rubbing his eyes.
Thea shrugged, "I got tired today"
Kaleb raised his eyebrows at her. "Doing what? Last I checked, your job description includes you sitting on your butt all day long…"
Thea smiled innocently and glanced at her friends.
"Antagonizing a cheater takes a lot of effort."
The three girls burst into laughter again and Kaleb threw them another confused look. Their joint laughter soon garnered the attention of Thea's other best friend and roommate.
"I know what did you last summer and I'm onto you bitch-face." Rosalee said smirking. Thea chuckles at that and Jensen and Laurel exchange a look and laugh again
"Guilty as charged, Captain" Thea smirked and mock-saluted Rosalee who rolled her eyes.
"Okay, back up now, can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Kaleb exclaimed suddenly frustrated.
"Oh keep your pants on big girl, I did nothing dangerous…per say" Thea added in an afterthought. The others grinned and exchanged a look. Kaleb frowned at them and was about to open his mouth again when he noticed Laurel's tears stained face and his confused eyes suddenly softened.
"Laurel, are you okay?" Kaleb said, as he approached her cautiously as if she could break if he tried getting any closer.
Thea, Jensen and Rosalee rolled their eyes in unison. It's no secret that Kaleb always had the biggest crush on Thea's sweet, shy friend. Thea has only been teasing him and telling him to grow some balls and ask her out ever since she noticed how his eyes glossed over every time she walked into the room. That was about 5 years ago. Five years later, and Kaleb still hasn't plucked the courage to even tell her she was pretty. The last time he tried, he kept stuttering for five minutes until the three other girls' joint laughter made him blush profusely and mutter something about having some assignment to do.
"Um…it's nothing it's just…I caught Jet cheating on me with Cece Maxwell." Laurel's face closed off all over again and Kaleb's face hardened, his eyes getting bigger as he got more and more angry.
"That asshole doesn't even deserve to look at you. You deserve someone who would feel like the luckiest man on earth because he gets to see your smile every time he looks at you."
Kaleb suddenly stopped, realizing that he already said too much and the other girls exchanged another look.
"How about you give her a helping hand Kaleb, like nominate someone, you know to make the whole process a teeny weeny bit easier for her… or you know what…" Thea suddenly looked wide eyed at her other friends before looking at her brother who was looking at her with narrowed eyes as if he could sense what she was about to say,
"Wait…the inner eyes is telling me of a wonderful idea…How about you finally grow the balls and do it yourself?"
The three other girls burst into laughter and Laurel blushed as she inclined her head and looked at the floor with a smile on her face.
Kaleb threw a hard glare at Thea who continued to laugh harder and blushed as he looked at Laurel, "Um, Laurel, would you mind taking a walk with me outside?"
Laurel finally looked up and with a smile nodded her head and took his outstretched hand. On their way outside, Kaleb threw another glare at Thea and the other girls and they responded by mock waving at him.
After they disappeared outside, Rosalee sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Laurel is extremely lucky. I mean, I see the way your brother looks at her and I'm almost Jealous. To have someone who loves you like that…well, it's something…"
Thea rolled her eyes, "Kaleb is an idiot though…I mean he's known Laurel for like 4 years now and he hasn't come close to telling her how he feels. That's stupid. I swear if he doesn't do anything this time, he's probably the biggest idiot on this planet."
Jensen sighed, "Laurel is still lucky though, I mean, even if your brother is stupid enough and he's not doing anything about it."
"Yeah, exactly, I mean I'd do anything to get someone to love me like that. You see how his eyes sparkle every time he looks at her? What would I do to make someone look at me a look like that…?"
At that, Thea snorted, "Come on you guys, now you're being a little bit irrational…the next thing you'll be saying is that you're applying for the selection."
Rosalee rolled her eyes, "If anyone of us is supposed to apply for the selection, it should damn well be you. You're the one who had a weird crush on the prince."
Thea snorted again and became defensive, "That was like three years ago, come on! And you can't honestly believe that I'll ever be picked anyway?"
The other two exchange a look before Rosalee gives her a sly look, "You mean to tell me that you thought about applying?"
Both girls looked expectantly at Thea who looked back for a second before refusing to meet their eyes. Rosalee giggled and Jensen soon joined her.
"Oh my God, you actually thought of it! Rosalee and Jensen continued laughing for a moment or two before Jensen got a slightly serious look on her face and looked at Thea curiously, "Why don't you then?"
At that, Thea looked at Jensen as if she grew another head.
"Well, let's see…oh right! First of all, Kaleb will kill me-"
"If Kaleb is doing what I think he's doing right now, because god forbid, if he isn't then he seriously needs to grow some balls…Just saying. Anyway, if he is, he won't exactly be concentrating or exactly giving a flying fuck about your extra-curricular activities much."
Rosalee cut Thea off who shrugged and rolled her eyes.
"Besides that, there's no chance of me being picked anyway…do you guys know how many chicks apply for this shit?"
"Well honey, you'll never know unless you try, I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" Jensen said, trying to reason with her.
Thea looks at both of them and then lets out a breath of air. "Wow, you guys are actually serious…"
Both girls exchange smiles before getting up and approaching Thea.
"We need to do something with this hair" Jensen claims, as she's inspecting a root and Thea gives her an incredulous look. Rosalee nods while giving Thea a once over.
"Yeah, we also need to scrub her clean as well, all these hours infron of that damn computer made her smell…"
Thea swapped both of their hand away and jumps up rolling her eyes in the process, "Okay stop! I never said I'm down with this shit and Jensen stop fingering my hair, its creepy!"
Jensen dropped her hand and rolled her eyes, "Did you seriously just use the word fingering?"
Thea didn't bother replying and sat down again. Rosalee carefully sat next to her.
"Look Thea, you're not exactly getting any younger here, and if Kaleb has his way, you won't be approached by any guy until a priest tries to court you. Which is, literally and religiously impossible! I mean, for heaven's sake, the guy won't even let you wear skirts in the office!"
Thea frowned, "I can't wear skirts around the office- I spend too much time underneath the desks…"
"Doing what?" Jensen asked looking confused, and Thea opened her mouth but after giving it a thought, closed it again.
"Stuff…"
Rose gave Thea a look but didn't comment, she was used to Thea by now, "Just think about it, if you enter the selection, and let me tell you, yes there's a mild chance of you getting picked. Hell anyone has a fair chance of getting picked. You won't have to worry then about anything else. I'm pretty sure that if we phoned your parents, they'll agree. Heck, your mom might even encourage it!"
Thea let out a defeated sigh, and Jensen threw her a pleasing glance,
"Please give it a try, trust me, you won't regret it. If you got chosen, you could leave if you find out that the prince is a douche-bag or if he's incompatible with you. You're not going to a prison you know."
Rosalee nodded, "That's right, and who knows, coming out of the selection, you'll have more suitors than you could possible count. I heard that those chicks who used to be selected got married to people with big names. And heaven knows, Kaleb doesn't own an army to drive them all away, one of them will stick around."
Thea let out another sigh, "That's all rainbow and roses, but what if I don't get picked in the first place? What now?"
"Well then, there's no harm done… You never wanted to be picked anyways and Kaleb will never know."
Thea doesn't say anything for a few seconds before letting out a huge sigh, "Fiiine" she said, extending the syllable.
Rosalee claps her hands in glee and high fives Jensen, the start by dragging off Thea to the bathroom and washing her hair thoroughly, and after that, they sat her down and began doing her over, making sure that each scratch in her looked, and smelled amazing.
"Now where did you put that form?"
"There it is!" Rosalee said, excited.
"You know, you guys sound much more excited than me, maybe you should apply."
Both girls ignore her and start filling it out.
"Name: Thea Aileen Marshall, Age: 19-"
"I could do that you know…I'm not illiterate…" Thea said rolling her eyes and both girls smirked.
Full Name: Thea Aileen Marshall
Age: 19
Province: Ottaro
Caste: 3
Occupation: Computer Science and IT support
Height: 5'4
Weight: 120 Lbs
Eyes: Green-Blue
Hair: Light Brown
Ethnicity: Half-Irish
Skin Tone: Fairly Pale with Freckles
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish and some French.
Thea finished the form an gave it a once over, before being grabbed by Rosalee and Jensen.
"Guys, what the hell?"
"Come on, we need to get you to the post office!"
The three of them went down the flight of stairs in a rush and Thea nearly missed a step ans was going to face-plant. She gave Jensen a glare and Jensen merely shrugged and smiled apologetically.
Upon the reach the landing though they were met by a sight none of them were expecting.
Perched up on a tree was Laurel and Kaleb, their mouths seemed to be glued to each other and they were holding each other like their lives depended on it.
"Gosh finally…" Jensen muttered and both girls agreed.
"See, even if you weren't chosen, big bro over there isn't going to be giving you a hard time now that he's finally gonna get some." At that sentence, Thea got a constipated look on her face.
"Thanks for the image, I really needed to puke my guts out for imagining my brother in that position with one of my best friends"
Jensen smirks at that, "No one asked you to have a dirty mind and imagine them doing anything Thea"
Thea rolled here her eyes, and the three of them carefully make their way away from the couple and head to the post office. The line was pretty long and after about 45 minutes, Thea was finally inside.
"Think happy thoughts, Chica!"
Thea rolled her eyes but smiled, She then vaguely thinks of Kale's face when he finds out what she done and not giving it another thought, she beams at the camera. It snaps!
After finalizing everything with the photographer, Thea gets out to Jensen and Rosalee and with a fleeting look, she finally realizes what she's done.
"Oh god…did I seriously just apply for the selection?"
The three girls share a look before collapsing into a fit of giggles. They then, hand in hand, rush away from the over-crowded post office.
A.N: Soooo Sorry for being so so late in updating. I'm trying to make it up for you guys vt giving you a seriously long chapter. (This is 21 pages long!) My next update won't take that long at all. I'll be having three others intro chapters and then I'll be posting a poll, then the Report followed by plane rides and so on. I'm trying to figure out a part in the plotline that's missing but it's coming together. I'll appreciate your feedback and please tell me how you like these characters!
Don't forget to review!