Chapter 3 (Sophie's POV)
"Thanks." I tell Jolie, who drove me to the Receiving. "No problem." She replies, beaming. I give her a small smile and then walk away to get into line. I swear I can hear her mumble 'Good luck.' under her breath. Weird.
I run inside, handing the man by the door a copy of my birth certificate. I walk up to line, seeing who is at the end of it. "Bi!" I yell, running to go hug my best friend, Biana. Her dress is a glittering purple, fading to a pink in a beautiful ombre. "Hey!" Biana replies, hugging me back. "How are you feeling?" "Good." I reply fidgeting with my dress.
"Nice dress!" Biana says, obviously trying to distract me. "Thanks!" I smile, feeling a little better. "Aunt Juline made it for me." I twirl for extra effect. The red and gold sequins hidden throughout the scarlet dress sparkle in the light.
Someone ahead of Biana clears their throat and I realize that I haven't said hi to everyone else. "Hi Dex." I say, starting up the line. "Hi Fitz. Hi…Person I don't know."
Dex is wearing a periwinkle suit, with hints of green all throughout it. Fitz is wearing a teal suit with a deep turquoise scattered throughout it. He makes my stomach flutter, as always. I kind of hope he is my soulmate, even though Biana is his sister and that would be kind of awkward. Mystery man is wearing a navy blue suit with dark green swirls.
"I'm Keefe Sencen." He replies, as if he is reading my mind. "Sophie Foster." I say, sticking my hand out. "Nice to meet you." He shakes my hand, and I feel a strange heat shiver up my arm. Weird.
I can tell he feels it too, but before I can say something, I see Linh, Tam, Wylie, and Marella in the corner of my eye. "Hey guys!" I say, turning to go see them. Linh is wearing a gorgeous blue dress that has a wave effect to it. Tam is wearing your normal black tuxedo. Typical Tam. Wylie is wearing a tye-dye suit with swirls of rainbow on it. Marella is wearing a dress that has blue fire painted along the bottom to make it look like she is walking on fire. They all look wonderful.
"You guys look great!" I say. "Thanks!" Linh responds, twirling in a similar way to what I did earlier. Marella smiles and does the same. Tam just nods at me, while Wylie smiles and drapes his arm over Linh. Linh madly blushes, but doesn't pull away. Cute. I think they are Hopefuls. Me and Fitz used to be Hopefuls, but we broke up. I still want to be with him, and I think he might feel the same way.
Biana asks me, "Who are they?" And I remember that I haven't introduced them to Biana, Dex, Fitz, and Keefe. "This is Linh." I say, gesturing towards her. "This is Tam, her brother, this is Wylie, and this is Marella."
Fitz is about to say something when he is interrupted by a loud blaring noise. It's time. "Hello ladies and gentlemen." The Passer exclaims. "Wait quietly in line until it is your turn to Receive." I can see everyone in our group hold their breath as the line starts to move and the whole room becomes silent.