"May. Wake up."
I felt my shoulder being tugged on, a sense of urgency running through it as I opened my tired eyes to come upon my sister. She was actually smiling, now, turning away from me once she saw me wake up. My hand went to the car door, and my vision out to the immense line of people waiting there to see us drive through. This is what I was woken up for? My stomach turned and I shrunk into my seat, ignoring the ongoers yelling outside of the van.
Mother seemed to notice this and her cheery attitude dissipated as she turned to face me from the front of the car. I knew I was going to get another lecture right then.
"May Alterbot, show some manners will you? You're nineteen years old and are acting as some sort of rebel child! How distasteful."
I didn't care to respond, only sinking into the seat further to avoid contact with everyone. Groups outside of the van ran confused now, seeing me completely ignore them probably wasn't good for my reputation. Perfect. Ellie seemed to be having the time of her life, even lowering the window and waving to every single reporter, signing their things and talking to them. It makes me feel proud of her and how hard she's worked for this. Months of education and time poured into this single role.
"Are you even listening?!" My mother snapped at me, my father putting a hand on her arm.
"Rosalina, we talked about this-"
"No, Vin! She's ruining it for me and the two of you! Stop defending her bad attitude!"
Father fell silent after that, slumping back into his seat as well. I can only imagine that he knows how I feel. Being the king of a kingdom.. it must have not come easily. He must've felt trapped like I myself do. He doesn't talk about it much, maybe one day he will. To silence my mothers unyielding complaints I began to do the same thing as Ellie, only the window was rolled up and I just waved to them. Seemed to do the trick anyways.
As the van rolled to a stop, guards had cleared the area and placed a long and fluffy gold carpet under the doors of the automobile. I, with clear relief, turned away from the windows and reached for my coat I had placed behind me. My sister motioned for me to follow, and she stepped out of the car, her boots landing onto the carpet. I was scared to do so, but she lent me a hand. We both stood out in the cold now, my parents coming out of the upper seats and we began to walk towards the entrance. So many people. They had shot tons of confetti that I only now just noticed, some landing on my hair and some on Ellie's. I held her closely to my side and continued the walk.
That was until I felt a hand placed onto my shoulder. It was an unknown touch, at first, but my head turned to their direction and a bright camera light shone straight into my face as if I were being interrogated. That analogy fits too. One reporter shoved their boom mic into my pale face and began going off about the election. Elizabeth took initiative and swatted the reporter away from me as if they were an insect.
“Sorry, no questions right now. We’re running late, but thank you.”
Lies were processed into the microphone as the grip onto my hand grew tighter. We dashed through the carpets fleece and to the inside, which was warmer due to the crowd filling the room with their body heat and the hot air being pumped inside of the ginormous hall. It seemed never ending if you stood in the doorway for more than you’d need to. The rug never ended either. I couldn’t understand why Ellie was rushing me as we weren’t actually late. But I could feel the sweat forming on her palms as we held hands. Maybe she’s nervous too. She’s better than me at hiding it.
Once we reached the courtroom in astonishing secrecy, my family all sat down in sync. The room was eerily quiet. You could hear the clock ticking and my mother tapping her heel in impatience. The seats weren’t very comfortable, made of marble with a flimsy pillow acting as a cushion. I then heard her heel stop, and a shadow casted over me.
