"So, what do you think of this place, Kitten?" My dad asked me as we walked, arm-in-arm, around the opulent building.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Dad?" I laughed, not wanting to burden him with my silly drama. I was lucky. It was really fortunate that I'd been picked.
"Well, from what we've seen on TV, the competition seems like it could be a little rough. You've never really been a cutthroat kind of girl, so I just want to make sure you're doing alright." Dad was always so comforting.
"Well, it is a little hard, and I'm mostly over being homesick. Maxon's really nice; he was kind to me on the first night even though I kind of broke the rules."
"Wait, I thought you weren't supposed to meet him until the second day?" He frowned.
"Yeah, but I felt a little homesick, so he got security to let me out of the building. The gardens here are so nice dad, I hope you have the chance to see them," I gushed.
"Always breaking the rules, aren't you America?" He said, laughing. We stopped in front of his room. "This is me."
"See you later, Dad."
Nothing could have spoiled my happiness.
:::
We were now in my room - well, May and I, my mom had been assigned a different room but May wanted to sleep with me - and the other girls' fathers and brothers were having cigars with Clarkson Schreave, Maxon's father and founder of Schreave Cosmetics. In a while, May, Mom, and I as well as the other girls would be having tea with Amberly Schreave. May could hardly wait.
Right now, she was dragging the pile of dresses that had originally been in the room she was supposed to be sharing with Mom into my closet. I didn't think I'd ever seen her look happier in my life.
"Ames! Ames, come look at this!" She waved me over excitedly. Begrudgingly, I obliged. "Isn't it the most beautiful dress you've ever seen?"
It came very close to one I'd wore on the catwalk, with its silky, vintage-style fabric. The dress was a day dress, a touch formal for tea with Amberly Schreave - once nicknamed the queen of Monarchy Modeling - but very pretty. It was a honey-gold colour that would suit May's red curls very well, and make her skin look less pale. The slightly full skirt was tea-length, and I guessed that the hem would end at her ankles.
"Put it on," I suggested.
She did, and exited the bathroom five minutes later looking like a princess. The full skirt belled out at her waist, and the sweetheart neckline wasn't so low that she would look immodest. "What do you think?"
"It's perfect for you," I said, wishing, with a pang, that May was the one in this competition instead of me. Maybe then, I wouldn't have such confusing boy drama to sort out. But telling May that would make me sound ungrateful, so all I told her was, "Let's go. Don't want to be late for tea with - "
"The queen!" She gasped. "I think Amberly wore a dress like this when she was on Illea's top Model!"
I sighed. May was a handful, but I'd missed her all the same.
:::