Pinnipeds are a clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semi aquatic marine mammals. There are currently 33 species and 50 extinct species that have been described from fossils. Most species prefer the colder waters of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. They spend most of their lives in the water, but come ashore to mate, give birth, molt or escape from predat-

I’m interrupted by a knock on the door. My cousin, Imogen, strides in and takes a seat on my bed, next to my hedgehogs.

“How’s your essay going?”

I drop my pencil and bang my head on the table in frustration. I continue to slide onto the floor, faced down and groan.

“Does this answer your question?” I ask with a muffled voice, still lying on the cold, bare ground.

“Let’s give a round of applause for that dramatic performance to Nina Ivanenko! You should drop out of marine biology and go into acting school” Imogen said sarcastically as she attempted to pull me up.

This is my cousin, Gen. You may know her as Imogen Bezrukova. She’s a well known model in Illéa, who happens to be my best friend, cousin, and roommate all in one.

“Hilarious,” I said, rolling my eyes. “How was your trip?”

She just came back from a modelling shoot in Angeles. I usually went with her to these things but unfortunately, I had to spend the day writing an essay for school. One thing that you should know about me; My life revolves around animals. I’m currently studying at the University of Columbia for my Masters degree in Marine Biology, while I have a part time job at the aquarium.

FISHY FISHY SNORKLE SNORKLY BLUB BLUB.

“Same old, same old…. Did you hear that Prince Dom is finally of age for his selection? We should sign up!”

Living in a palace with 35 girls, hundreds of maids, butlers, and the royal family? No thanks

“I don’t know if you know this, but I don’t like being in places with lots of people. A palace is the least preferable place I’d like to be.”

“Come on, Nine! It’s not like either of us will actually get chosen. And plus, you have to face your fears,“ she protested. “You have to learn how to make more friends, because I’m not always going to be there for you… You can’t stay at home all day with your animals forever.”

“I will have you know that I am perfectly fine with that. Now if you don’t mind, I have to get to work,” I said, slamming the door.

I walked down the street as slowly as I possibly could. My shift wouldn’t start for another hour, but I didn’t want to stay at home with Imogen bothering me more, or else she would probably end up persuading me to sign up. It’s part of her charm. That is partly how I got into some modelling gigs. While Imogen was born into a family of twos, I was a three, so it was a miracle that she could even get me into modelling.

She’s been there for me through thick and thin ever since my family fell apart. Fun fact about me; I’m a triplet. Or at least I was. Long story short, Lilia and Callum Ivanenko died in a car crash while the I suffered from a coma. As you can all tell, I did eventually wake up. I woke up to a new life without my best friends by my side for the first time in six years. Though I still had a younger sister, named Ayla, I was still absolutely devastated when I learned that they hadn’t made it.

Time passed by as I finally starting coping with the fact that I was now the eldest. Three years later, a miracle happened. Ayla and I had a new baby sister named Roza. We thought that our family was finally healing from the loss. We thought wrong… The following year, my mother, Nadiya, was diagnosed with PPD (Postpartum Depression).

I’ll save you from the gory details. Let’s just say I lost my mother a few months later out of nowhere. Losing so many close family members took a toll on me. I isolated myself from everyone and everything for the longest time. Later that year, Imogen’s family moved over to Columbia from the Ukraine to help us heal. My father ended up marrying another woman and starting a new family, while my two sisters moved in with my aunt and uncle. As for Imogen and I, we moved out when she turned 17.

“Nina!”

I turned around to see my friend, Kyomi, running towards me.

“Hey!” She took a breath of air. “You going to work?”

“Yep, just like usual.”

“Are you signing up for the selection by any chance?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Why not, Nina? It would be so fun!”

“I just don’t feel like it.”.

She babbled on and on about the book she was writing, while I was too busy lost in my thoughts. “-ave to go now, but let’s catch up next time!”

We parted ways and I headed went to work.

I unlocked the front door and walked inside, surprised to see papers scattered everywhere. Imogen was sitting in the center of the mess, scrounging through boxes. Maisie, my border collie, made his way over to greet me.

“Oh how are you doing, Maisie?” I scratched her head and turned my attention to the mess. “What’s all this?”

“I FOUND IT!” She screamed, jumping in the air. “HA TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, NINA!”

I took one look at the orange construction paper and groaned. “No. I am not signing up for the Selection because of this… this bet we made when we were five.”

“Read what it says out loud,” Gen responded with a smirk.

I sighed. “I swear that if I don’t get married by the time I am 17, I will do whatever Imogen and Lilia tell me to do.”

“So I guess we’re signing up for the selection!”

“We were five! And this is expired already.”

“There is no expiry date! A bet is a bet, Nina.”

“No.”

“Come on.”

“I said no.”

“… Do it for Lilia. Remember? She always wanted to sign up.”

She knew this was a touchy subject for me. Bringing up your dead siblings always are.

“Fine. Only signing up. I cannot promise that I’ll get chosen, alright? Are you happy now?”

“I’m absolutely ecstatic!”

Don’t worry. The chance is one in a million, so there is no way you’ll get chosen. It’ll be alright.

I filled in the application form and handed it to Imogen so I wouldn’t throw it away. Truth be told, I had social anxiety, if you couldn’t already tell. I spent the whole night twisting and turning, panicking about what could happen if they picked me.