Chapter 1
Day of The Choosing
Parker
You would think today is a national holiday to celebrate my parents, as they have devoted themselves entirely to the preparations all week. As former Chosen themselves, they are required to attend all the Choosings; although, they wouldn’t miss this year even if they weren’t, given that I’m eligible. I can’t tell if they are nervous or excited. Either way, they have looked like chickens with their heads cut off, running around on the governor's errands the past few days.
We finally leave the house and walk together toward Caral’s main square for the ceremony. Mother, dressed to the nines, continuously fidgets with my clothes as we walk the whole three blocks to Caral's main square for the ceremony.
“Mom, even if I’m somehow Chosen, I’m not arriving at the Mating Grounds in this sweater. Calm down! Everyone will think you rigged it if you keep primping me!”
“You know very well I can’t ‘rig it,’ Parker. That’s not funny in the slightest! You know how important this Choosing is for the zone.”
Right, as the ruling zone this cycle, we are sending double the amount of Chosen. And receiving double the amount of Chosen at the end of the Mating Grounds. Two guaranteed births for the zone. Everyone’s been ecstatic since our gender ratios have been screwy the last few cycles.
Case in point—there are currently seven eligible males for Kedua Zone, but only two females.
That singular fact is my personal nightmare fuel and has been for a while. Reason being, my best friend, Imani, and her twin sister are the two eligible females and will be Chosen by default. Which is the worst-case scenario for me as I’ve been in love with Imani since we were about four. Me, being the idiot that I am, never managed to tell her how I feel and get myself out of the friend zone to pair off with her before the ceremony. So now I’m well and truly fucked, and she’s lost to me forever.