Chapter 4 - The Matching

"Good God, you look awful sis," Ren scrunched her face as I plopped down on her vanity chair. She volunteered to do my makeup and hair today. I asked her why, and she said I had to at least give my future husband a good impression. I can't argue about that, and so I let her do her magic.

I feel even more awful than I probably look, but at least everything will end today.

The Matching is in a couple of hours. I just let Ren do whatever she wanted and even let her pick what I should wear.

She curled my dark brown hair to give it some volume and settled with a half updo. For my makeup, she went as light as possible but added a little shimmer of gold in my eyelids for some color.

For the dress, she picked a classic black sleeved dress and gave me a pair of heeled Mary Janes.

I said it was a little too much, but she just brushed it off and told me to get dressed, so I did.

I felt a little too dolled up, but I can't help but feel better when I looked in the mirror.

"Oh, honey. You look stunning," my mom said, peeking from the doorway. I smiled and thanked her.

She closed the gap between us and held out her hands. She held out a gold necklace I have never seen before. The pendant was a pear-cut zircon, my birthstone, with two small diamonds on both sides.

"That's you–" mom said, pointing at the stunning light blue gem, "–and these are us." She pointed at the little diamonds, each one representing my parents, Millie, and Serenity.

I looked at her and I almost cried. "Thank you, mom! You didn't have to, but thank you!" I hugged her tightly, bending my legs a little because I am now taller than her with my heels on. She felt so fragile and small in my arms, but she squeezed me so tightly.

"No matter what happens today and who you Match with, remember: you are my daughter," she told me firmly, tears welling in her eyes as she held my face.

"Let me put this on you," she turned me around and I let her put the necklace on.

We stood in front of the mirror for what seemed like hours. As the eldest child, I'm the first one my mom and dad will be sending to the Matching. I've been preoccupied by my own thoughts this whole time that I have never really given much thought about how they would have felt.

My mom ushered me downstairs where my dad and my sisters were waiting. Dad gasped when he saw me and teared up. Between mom and dad, he has always been the biggest softie.

I hugged him as soon as I landed on the bottom stairs, thanking him for the necklace he and mom got me. He kissed my forehead and said the exact same thing my mom said: I am their daughter.

Millie ran up to me and hugged me tight. "Don't leave so soon, Viv," she sobbed. I laughed.

"Mills! This is just the Matching ceremony, I won't be leaving stat," I hugged her.

"Okay," she said, wiping her eyes. "But you do look pretty." She smiled at me and I pinched her chubby cheeks.

"Ready to go?" Ren asked me, holding out her elbows.

"No," I said, but hooked my arms to hers anyway. We bid goodbye to mom and dad and Millie, and we headed to my car.

The Matching's policy only allows a plus one. Since we were kids, Ren and I promised each other we would be each other's company for the ceremony, and now we're fulfilling one half of the promise.

I let Ren drive to the HarmonyCenter, so I can focus on my breathing. It was usually just a 30-minute drive from our home, but the ceremony will be bringing in all 25-year-olds (and some older Unmatched), so the road is bound to be a little crowded with more cars going to the center.

"Still feeling nervous?" Ren asked me. I just nodded and continued on my breathing exercises.

She reached out a hand and squeezed mine.

"You know, I'm trying my best not to make fun of you being a nervous wreck. I might be in your very situation in seven years."

I laughed at that. "Yeah, better keep the remarks for yourself. You might end up worse."

"But really, what's the worst that could happen? We all know HarmonyMatch won't ever Match anyone with a psychopath or a sociopath," she genuinely asks.

"I don't know…probably Matching with someone much older?" I answered.

Although every 25-year-old across the country and other nations that mandate HarmonyMatch, not everyone gets Matched. Most of the time, it's because there's never an equal number of men and women. So, there are still some that are Unmatched.

"Yeah, marrying someone who's old to be your dad might not be the best thing in the world," she said, scrunching her face in visible disgust.

"Hey. Some people actually like age gaps. Don't be judging," I said and laughed. She still had that look of disgust.

It took an extra 15 minutes for us to arrive at the HarmonyCenter more than usual, and it's jam packed. The ceremony will take place in just half an hour.

I stumbled a few times in my heeled Mary Janes as I felt incredibly out of balance due to the sheer anxiety I was feeling. I looked around, finding familiar faces and found quite a few people.

One of them could be my future husband. I thought. I then found myself looking around for Finn, thinking that there's a chance I might Match with him. Then, surprisingly, I was looking for that mysterious man from the planetarium yesterday. The thought of him caught me off guard, and I visibly shook the thought of him, asking myself why I was even looking for him in the first place.

I looked ahead. I've done enough sightseeing. The ceremony will start soon and I need it to be done for my own sanity.

I linked my arm to Ren's once again and headed towards the center.

– @ –

After the initial processes, we were all led into a giant glass door. Unfortunately, we can't bring our plus ones anymore, which means Ren will have to wait outside.

She hugged me tightly and I tried to hold on to her for as long as I could.

"Good luck, sis. For the record, you do look beautiful today," she smiled warmly.

"All thanks to you," I said, letting her go.

I went inside the glass doors and into a big hallway leading to the massive stadium. I've only been here once with my Madi and the rest of our friend group for a concert. But this definitely feels different.

Before heading into the stadium, we were ushered into conference rooms by batches for little orientations.

There was a lanky middle-aged balding man waiting for us when we entered the room. We all sat down, me beside Bianca di Laurentis and Amy Fitzgerald, my classmates back in high school. We fidgeted around and made small talk. I can sense almost everyone is nervous, except for a select few who seem to be pretty confident…about what, I'm quite unsure.

The man, who introduced himself as Hank, started the orientation. Of course, he had to play the HarmonyMatch ad, something everyone around the world has probably at least once.

Then, he went on to discuss the history of the app, why it was made, who made it, and other things we have all known throughout our lives.

Finally, he discussed what to expect during the ceremony.

"It's really simple and fast. Everyone will gather in the stadium and when the time comes, everyone receives a notification from the app at the same time. It will contain the information of your Match. It will include sensitive data, so we urge you to not share any of those, except for your Match's basic details," Hank said in his deep, booming voice.

"I can't imagine feeling so nervous for one simple ceremony and notification," I heard Amy say beside me. I agree with her.

"Once Matched, we will also share the location of your partner so you may get to know them personally. You will also be able to contact them through the app if they are not within your vicinity. What you do next will depend on you and your partner," Hank continued. Many people reacted positively at this. Some giggled, losing some of their anxiety over the thought of finally meeting their future wife or husband.

I still can't bring myself to laugh. But I did smile a bit with thoughts of Finn…which then turned to thoughts of the mystery planetarium guy.

What the heck. Why are you thinking about him, Skye! Get a grip! I thought to myself, surprising myself yet again.

"Finally," Hank said even louder than before to hush the rising conversations around us. "The government will allow time for you and your partner to further get to know each other. But the marriage must take place within a year of the Matching to avoid the consequences. With that, here's a message from our Madame Prime Minister."

Hank then played a pre-recorded video of Prime Minister Miranda Johnson basically talking about the same thing Hank talked about and how we are the future of the nation and of humankind. Yada yada yada. I tuned out the rest and let my mind empty to help ease the anxiety.

After what seemed an eternity, we were all finally escorted to the stadium. It was as massive as I remembered, with a giant screen floating above us, showing a countdown.

I looked around one final time, looking at the possible face of the one I'm destined with.

"10, 9, 8…" I heard people around me joining the countdown, Amy and Bianca still beside me, giggling and practically jumping.

"7, 6, 5..." I was still looking around.

"4, 3…" By miracle, I found Finn and he was also looking at me, smiling warmly and waving his hand.

"2…" I did the same.

"One!" Everyone shouted, and right on cue, the HarmonyMatch notification came. I checked my phone, hands trembling and sweating as I opened the app, half expecting to see Finn Yamada as my future husband.

I stared at my screen for what seemed an eternity. I read the details again and again as chaos broke around me. I can see people running into each other's arms around me in my peripheral view, knowing they are shouting and laughing and crying. But they were all muffled.

I'm still looking at the screen, re-reading the details again and again, the information not sinking in.

"Vivienne, who did you Match with?" I heard Bianca ask me, but I don't answer.

I looked at the photo accompanying the information. It was definitely not Finn.

Instead, he was ridiculously handsome, like a statue of a Greek god or something. He had a rectangular face with a defined jawline, complimenting his prominent long-bridged nose. His brown eyes have this downturned shape, and even through the photo, you can see wisdom in his eyes, as if he's been through a lot. His lashes were annoyingly long, unlike mine. His wavy black hair looks like he is perpetually kissed by the breeze, and his lips were thick and full.

I will be kissing those lips, an intrusive thought suddenly appeared, and I internally screamed at myself for thinking that because this is most likely an error–a glitch in the system–something that has never happened before.

"Vivienne?" I still hear Amy and Bianca talking to me and I still don't answer them. My eyes are still on the picture, still on the screen that read:

"Congratulations! You have been Matched with:

Christopher Caelum Asher Renault-Lee III

His Royal Highness, the Prince

Third in line for the Throne"