The Winnowing Gala

Chapter 4

 The days before the gala went by in a haze. Sophie still lingered on what Biana had said. The morning of, she sat on a stool in front of her bathroom mirror, sighing heavily while Edaline curled her hair. Biana had arrived an hour earlier and scattered her makeup bags across Sophie's entire counter, and she was now sorting through them.

"Nervous?" Edaline asked. "You look pale,"

"Yeah," Sophie admitted, her stomach turning. "I'm kind of terrified." Biana looked up from her makeup and smiled warmly.

"Don't be! It'll be amazing!" she assured her. "I'm still planning mine!" Sophie chuckled, unsurprised. Biana would go over every detail for weeks upon weeks. Once she'd picked out the makeup she'd be using, Biana started putting it all on Sophie. When finished, Sophie was sure she had so much makeup on her face wouldn't even be visible, but the makeup was surprisingly natural-looking. She looked pretty.

"You look great!" Edaline hugged her daughter around the neck.

"Thanks, Mom," Sophie felt a blush rising to her cheek. "Think I look good enough to impress any boys?" Sophie had no idea where the question had come from, nor why she felt the sudden need to say it. She turned bright red, and Biana and Edaline exchanged a look, the former giggling uncontrollable.

"Come on," Edaline said through her own laughter. "Put on your dress." Sophie grabbed the red dress from her closet and pulled it over her head, also slipping on the gold heels, necklace, and earrings they'd bought. Biana squealed, hugging her so tightly she could hardly breathe. Sophie smiled nonetheless.

Soon the party guests began to arrive. Biana had helped Edaline and Grady put together a list, as Sophie couldn't think of twenty boys to invite, let alone one-hundred. Obviously, Fitz, Keefe, Dex, and Tam were there. Wylie and Jensi had also come. Sophie meandered around, chatting and trying not to trip in her heels. Suddenly, she spotted the last person she wanted to see, gasping, she dove behind a table. A few of the guests gave her weird looks, but Sophie didn't care, it was anything to stay away from Valin. They invited him?! She thought with horror. The disgusting boy who unfortunately had a gigantic crush on her was wandering around clearly looking for her. He made the other guests uncomfortable.

"Dad," Sophie whispered as Grady passed by the table where she was hidden. "You invited him?!" Grady looked down at her, surprised, then turned his eyes to Valin.

"Um... No," he looked extremely confused. "At least not that I know of, but Edaline and Biana planned most of the list." He walked away, and Sophie groaned, scanning the gala. She finally spotted Biana standing at another table, thankfully nearby, talking with Dex. Sophie crept over, doing her best to be discreet, and tugged at her dress. Biana startled, glancing down.

"Sophie?" her brow furrowed. "What are you doing?"

"You invited Valin?!" Sophie seethed. Biana looked around until she spotted him making a fool of himself with the other boys.

"No," she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "He must've snuck in." Sophie stared at her, incredulous.

"Well can you get him out?" she requested, desperate.

"I'll talk to Sandor."

"Thank you," Sophie breathed a sigh of relief as her bodyguard appeared a moment later and escorted Valin away.

"BUT I LOVE YOU, SOPHIE!" He screamed as he went. Sophie rolled her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. Thank goodness he's gone.

Pretty soon, Edaline informed her she had to dance with the boys who'd signed up. Bewildered, Sophie followed her to the dance floor. She didn't know the boys who'd signed up, and none of them particularly interested her. As soon as she had the chance, she escaped inside. She walked up to her room and lay down on her flowery bed. Being the object of attention at a winnowing gala sure is exhausting, she thought. A knock on her door surprised her, and she answered it. It was Fitz. She'd barely gotten to talk to him all night, and he looked...amazing. His teal tie complemented his eyes, and Sophie couldn't help but blush.

"Hey, Sophie," Fitz greeted her. He flashed his movie star smile.

"Thank you for coming," Sophie told him with a smile, her face still bright red.

"How could I not?" He exclaimed. "Sophie, I...like you a lot." Sophie's heart seemed to stop. Does he mean he likes me?

"Like or like like?" she stumbled over her words, and Fitz laughed. He didn't answer her, to her dismay.

"I'm glad you got your list." He said instead. "And that I'm on it. When you freaked out over showing us, I was worried you were... unmatchable." Fitz said the word like it was something gross, his voice practically dripping with disgust. Sophie's stomach dropped.

"What?" her voice shook.

"You know, because you don't know who either of your biological parents are." Fitz explained. "But I guess you just said Grady and Edaline." Sophie ignored him.

"Is being unmatchable that bad?" Sophie asked, trying to keep the urgency out of her voice. Fitz chuckled.

"Are you kidding? I can't even imagine being a bad match! Especially because I'm a Vacker." I think I'm going to be sick.

"I'm not feeling that well," Sophie tried to escape, turning to her bedroom door. It didn't make sense. He was the one that should be leaving, but she wasn't thinking.

"Wait, Sophie," Fitz placed a hand on her shoulder. "Did I upset you somehow? I— I really like you." Normally, the gesture, as well as his words, would've filled Sophie's stomach with butterflies, but she just wanted to get away.

"I just don't feel well, Fitz," she shoved his hand off her shoulder, but he grabbed her again, this time by both.

"I need to know, Sophie." His eyes were pleading. "Do you like me back?" Sophie froze, slowly turning to face him. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

"Yes, and it hurts." Sophie's voice choked up, and she fled, ignoring Fitz calling after her. She bolted out the back door and around the side of her house, not stopping until she reached the pancakes tree. Then she sat down and sobbed.