Is this a good time to pat your shoulder?

Yeah, Mom, I’ll just keep telling the prince that he has absolutely no shot with me and offend him as often as I can. Great plan.

I sighed and went back to filling out the application. The whole thing made me feel like my family didn’t think I had any right to want something of my own. It bothered me, but I knew I couldn’t hold it against them in the long run. We couldn’t afford the luxury of wants. We had needs.

The Selection was no longer something that was simply happening to me, but something I was actively a part of. I was an Elite.

It wasn’t like I made his world better. It was like I was his world. It wasn’t some explosion; it wasn’t fireworks. It was a fire, burning slowly from the inside out.

You’ve changed me forever. And I’ll never forget you.

So far, I had a solid collection of my honest opinions.