The Alpha Selection (Original)

Chapter 32

Eventually she responded with a huge yes, and I thanked her. Oh I definitely had some plans for her when she visits.

I went to breakfast and sat with the girls in the dining hall. It was rare that I made appearance and there was a reason why. The hall was filled with high pitched giggles, screams, and squeals. There were cliques even here, where I could see a lot of girls had already had made tight friendship pacts. 

There were the Barbies, the head Barbie of course was Aubrey, followed by one of the girls that insulted me my first night here along with other somewhat dim bimbos who where probably in this for the money and status rather than love. 

Then there were the jocks, which were the girls who I thought were Olympians from the beginning. They were a lot more sporty, and somewhat boyish since I would rarely see them wear anything besides loose workout clothes and jeans. 

Across from them were the Einsteinettes, the girls who lived and breathed math and were fascinated by the latest scientific discoveries. I talked to one of them once, in fact she was one of the girls who shared her notes with me the days I was really sick, her name was Stephanie. 

Then there were the small group of artsy hipsters, who didn't eat anything made from animals and their byproducts and spent time wondering the meaning of life. I wouldn't be surprised if I caught them smoking pot while dancing naked under the moon; a thought that nearly made me cringe.

Then there was my group, I didn't know exactly what we were. Marilyn was a more than a triple threat; she knew about the lastest fashions and new the difference between the brands of Mascara and eyeshadow, as well as the philosophy of Socrates and Plato, and made throwing a football across the field look like child's play. She also played the piano, and volunteered at an animal shelter back at home; I don't know how I could possibly compete against that. 

Then there was Caitlyn, who lived and breathed sports but managed to stay in tune with her girly side, her weakness would probably be the fact that she always had trouble with school. Meanwhile, there was Brooklyn who was a little less in both areas but was a lot more clever than anyone ever gave her credit for. I could clearly see how strategic and calculating she could be throughout these past two week. I made sure not to ever cross her since I think she'd make a terrible enemy.

Looking at myself, I couldn't say I was much compared to the others. I wasn't stupid, but I wasn't smart either. I wasn't what people would consider ugly, but I wasn't a supermodel. I wasn't an awkward nerd that hated gym class with a passion, but I wasn't a Gaby Douglas or Vanessa Williams either. I was getting a headache thinking about it so I decided to stop profiling these girls.

"So how do you think it's gonna go down? You think we get to choose teams and partners?" Caitlyn asks and she bites down on an apple slice.

"I don't know. I really hope so." Brooklyn says as she tugs on her ear nervously.

"Me too, I hate the idea of having to be paired up with any of the Barbies." I made a mock cringing face that made the girls laugh.

"If we can help it let's try sticking together. If we have to choose partners it can be me and Caitylin and you and Marilyn," Brooklyn says as she wags her finger between Marilyn and I. I didn't comment on the fact that she had chosen to pair up with probably the strongest, most athletic girl in our group. She did it so casually no one probably ever pick up on the fact that she had totally planned that out; well except for Marilyn.

"Oh yasss honey! That's a good plan and if we get teams we need to make sure we're together and no hard feelings if one of us has to be excluded for any reason," Marilyn says brightly. I replayed her words in my mind and I could see she chose them carefully, but I knew what she was really saying: don't get mad if I don't choose you because you aren't the best or I don't trust working with you on a team.

"Yes, that's a definite. I'm in it to win, but I know we all have weaknesses. I don't think it'll hurt to work with people that would help us advance, and we should leave personal feelings aside. It's about coming out in the top 12 and moving on to Stage 2." Caitlyn agrees. Brooklyn covered up her temporarily look of dissatisfaction, and smiled.

"Totally, I agree." She says finally.

They all look to me and I nod coolly. "Sounds good to me. I love you all no matter how gruesome it may get these next few days, I just want us to all agree to be fair with each other. No intentionally sabotaging each other to come out on top, because if we work hard enough we should all make it to the next stage."

"Oh that's good. We need to make a pact, like right now." Marilyn nodded wholeheartedly, and she could see what I was saying: no playing dirty, even if you are the ruthless backstabbing type.

"Okay, everyone put their right hand over hearts," Caitlyn says. It seemed a little silly, but we made a pact promising to stick together if we can help it, vowing not to have hurt feelings if something separated us or we were excluded for any good reason, and to not stoop as low as to sabotage each other in order to advance. If we deserved to be here it would be because we were clever and had the skills to win these challenges.

When I first got notified that I had been Selected I figured this part would be easy. I didn't take into consideration that being an Omega would bring me back to square one in terms of physical condition and there was no way that the competition would be so close since Adrian played close attention to detail when choosing us and not just scratching the surface. I wouldn't have guessed that I would have to deal with the negative effects of an improper Separation.

I just hoped I had what it takes to advance to the next round. I didn't even care if I made it in last place.

I just had to make it.