The Elite (Selection)

unnecessary bow.
    “Jar,” he whispered, and rose again, continuing on his path.
    I stood there for a split second, confused, and then realized what he meant. Fighting the urge to run, I moved down the hall eagerly.
    I opened the door and was both surprised and relieved to find that all three of my maids were out.
    I went over to the jar on my bedside table and found that the one little penny in there had company. I opened the lid and pulled out the folded sheet of paper. How clever of him. My maids probably wouldn’t have noticed it; and if they had, they never would have intruded on my privacy.
    I unfolded the note and read a very clear list of instructions. It seemed Aspen and I had a date tonight.
    The directions Aspen gave me were complicated. I took a roundabout way to get to the first floor, where I was to look for the door next to the five-foot-high vase. I remembered that vase from walking around the palace before. What flower in the world needed a container that big?
    I found the door and looked around to double-check that no one saw me. I’d never managed to find myself so free from the eyes of the guards. Not a one in sight. I opened the door slowly and crept inside. The moon shone through the window, giving the room sparse light and making me feel a little nervous.
    “Aspen?” I whispered into the darkness, feeling silly and scared all at once.
    “Just like old times, eh?” his voice called, though I couldn’t see him.
    “Where are you?” I squinted, trying to find his form. Then the shadow of the heavy drape by the window shifted in the moonlight, and Aspen appeared from behind it.
    “You startled me,” I complained jokingly.
    “Wouldn’t be the first time, won’t be the last.” I heard the smile in his voice.
    I walked over to him, knocking into every obstacle along the way it seemed.
    “Shhh!” he complained. “The entire palace is going to know we’re in here if you keep pushing things over.” But I could tell he was playing.
    “Sorry,” I said, laughing quietly. “Can’t we turn on a light?”
    “No. If someone sees it shining under the door, we might get caught. This corridor isn’t checked a lot, but I want to be smart.”
    “How did you even know about this room?” I reached out, making contact with Aspen’s arms at last. He pulled me in for a hug and then started walking me toward the back corner.
    “I’m a guard,” he said simply. “And I’m very good at what I do. I know the entire grounds of the palace, inside and out. Every last pathway, all the hiding spots, and even most of the secret rooms. I also happen to know the rotations of the guards, which areas are usually the least checked, and the points in the day when the guards are at their fewest. If you ever want to sneak around the palace, I’m the guy to do it with.”
    “Unbelievable,” I mumbled. We sat behind the broad back of a couch, the floor blanketed in a patch of moonlight. Finally I could make out Aspen’s face.
    I questioned him seriously. “Are you sure this is safe?” If he hesitated at all, I was planning to bolt that very second. For both our sakes.
    “Trust me, Mer. An extraordinary number of things would have to happen for someone to find us here. We’re safe.”
    I was still worried, but I needed to be comforted so badly, I went along.
    He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me in close. “How are you doing?”
    I sighed. “Okay, I guess. I’ve been sad a lot, and angry. Mostly I wish I could undo the last two days and get Marlee back. Carter, too, and I didn’t even know him.”
    “I did.” He sighed. “He’s a great guy. I heard he was telling Marlee he loved her the whole time and trying to help her get through it.”
    “He was,” I confirmed. “At least in the beginning anyway. I got hauled off before it was over.”
    Aspen kissed my head. “Yeah, I heard about that, too. I’m proud you went out with a fight. That’s my girl.”
    “My dad was proud, too. The queen said I shouldn’t act that way, but she was glad I did. It’s been confusing. Like it was almost a good idea but not really, and then it didn’t fix anything anyway.”
    Aspen held me closer. “It was good. It meant a lot to me.”
    “To you?”
    “Yeah,” he whispered, seeming reluctant to share. “Every once in a while I wonder if the Selection has changed you. You’ve been so taken care of, and everything is so fancy. I keep wondering if you’re the same America. That let me know that