Mira stood in the room in a straight line next to all the other girls as they all gazed at themselves in the mirrors lining the walls. She wore a baby pink dress with lace sleeves, and the bottom brushed at her knees, lace frills hanging at the bottom and stitched into the fabric in swirly patterns. She wore pink flats to match, but they were half a size too big. Her soft brown hair laid over her shoulders and down half the length of her chest in loose, open curls. She studied herself, comparing her outfit to the other girls. Most of them wore bright red or hot pink, some, like Shay, chose black. But her dress was more subtle. It didn't make her stand out as much, and could be something she wore casually to a barbecue in the summer.

"In a few moments, the doors will open up and you will be entering a ball room," Tuku started. "There are twenty-two of you, and thirty men, so it is possible you may have more than one suitor." Over four hundred women boarded the ship on earth, but they were all separated into different sections on the ship depending on where they were getting dropped off. Lola couldn't help but find it interesting that only twenty-two of that four hundred were brought here. How did they even decide who goes where, or how many? A thousand other questions raced through her mind as her heart picked up speed. She didn't know why she was so nervous. At least, that's what she thought to herself. But deep down she knew it was because she was terrified about what was going to happen.

"You will have two hours to spend with the suitors, and then they will put in their selection requests and you will put in yours, if you have any. Once the sections are processed and pairs are chosen, you will be greeted by your new partner and brought back to a home. But be aware that your selection is not final. Your first partner will show you around and be your guide. You will decide at the end of the week if you will continue seeing that suitor or if you would like a different one." Mira knew that they said in the paperwork and the interviews that the selection was up to both parties involved, but she didn't realize that she had so much power. What happened if she just kept changing her partner?

"My advice for all of you is to be yourself, and try to have some fun." Tuku smiled at the young women, and Mira wondered if he had a girl of his own.

"Is everyone ready?"

No, Mira thought silently. The majority of the girls nodded, or said yes. And so Tuku pressed his hand against some kind of button built into the wall, and the mirrored doors slid open, revealing a large open room with extravagant decorations.

Mira took a deep, shaky breath, and stepped out alongside the other girls, taking in the room. It was bright, like a greenhouse in the middle of a summer day, and it looked like one too. Green and blue leafed vines dangled from the ceiling and along the walls. Clear, blue, pink and purple crystals hung on strings from the ceiling and collected the light and made it dance all around the room. Oversized, plush couches were fit into little booths built into the walls, and flowers hung from the walls like paintings in intricate patterns. The floors were a light brown wood that reminded Mira of a dancing patio. The entire scene reminded her of a wedding her parents once dragged her to.

In one corner of the room was a long table draped with a brown table cloth filled with all kinds of food, earth food and foreign. It was symbolic for the mixing of cultures, and the mixing of species. To Mira, it felt wrong and beautiful at the same time. I guess she felt like that about a lot of things.

Suddenly, the men began to emerge from a door on the other end of the room right next to the buffet table. They wore familiar clothes—button up and khakis. Some of them even wore vests or suspenders. Most of them were so tall they towered above the girls, but others were about the same height as a tall man on earth. All of them were undeniably handsome, even Shay couldn't deny it. She leaned over to Mira.

"This might not be so bad after all," she huffed, letting out a laugh.

The men approached, and so did the women. They began to introduce themselves, began to talk, and a few even headed over to the buffet bar together.

But Mira was frozen, not in fear, but in awe. She made her way around the room, taking in the beauty and grandness of it all. The domed ceiling had a chandelier made out of a million pieces of crystals intertwined with vines, but the leaves weren't green. They were blue.

She made her way behind a pillar that reminded her of ancient Rome, and reached her fingers out to one of the blue leaves hanging from the vine that draped itself around the white pillar.

"Not big on parties?" One of the men snuck up on Mira and asked, startling her. She jumped and gasped, holding her heart as if it was about to leap out of her chest. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"You didn't," Mira said a little too defensively. "I mean, it's fine." She tried to laugh, but the sound that came out sounded more like a sigh mixed with a cough. "I'm fine with parties, I was just taking it all in." Her eyebrows rose and she finally turned to look at the man.

He was beautiful. He had a deep tanned complexion with a blue hue to it, and bright blue eyes that reminded her of the ocean on earth. When he smiled at her, she felt like running away. But for his sake, not hers. He didn't want someone like her, someone who didn't even want to be here.

"These things are a bit awkward if you ask me," he said, and it was strange to Mira how he knew and spoke English so well. It was like he was human himself.

"Oh, so this isn't how you used to pick your wives?" Mira said, mostly joking. "And I thought it seemed so natural."

The Jayku man laughed then, and shook his head. "No, actually we used to be paired at birth. Raised like siblings until one day we were ordered to breed."

Mira suddenly felt like she was going to be sick again.

"I'm kidding," he laughed.

Mira let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in and let herself let out a small laugh as well. "Oh, thank the stars."

"Thank the stars, is that lingo on your planet?" The Jayku man asked.

"Um," Mira mumbled. "Yeah. Sorta. It's what people in my part of the world say, anyway."

"I was told you were all from North America. Right?"

Mira shrugged, and cleared her throat. "Yeah, I heard they like to keep girls from the same country together. Probably so you guys know what language to speak." Mira laughed awkwardly. She didn't know if this was going well.

Suddenly, violin music began to play on speakers that, yet again, Mira couldn't find.

A few couples began to dance, and Mira saw Beth with one of the very tall men, and Shay with a man with markings covering half his face.

Mira looked at the man she was talking to. He looked young, but they all did. His markings didn't reach his face. They were narrow and small like lines, traveling horizontally across his forearms. One extended around his neck and broke apart just at the front. There was only one marking that reached his face, and it was a small slit on either side of his temples.

He wasn't the tallest man in the room, but he wasn't the shortest.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

"Mira. Yours?"

He smiled, revealing his bright white teeth. His canine teeth were slightly sharper than someone from earth's would be, like he was part vampire or something.

"Ezrilaki. But you can call me Ezra."

"That's actually a human name," Mira laughed, and Ezra's smile faded slightly.

"That's why it was shortened." He looked at her curiously. "Would you like to dance?"

Mira pressed her lips into a hard line, and didn't know what to do. She was supposed to be herself, but how was she supposed to do that when she didn't want to be here?

"Sure."

Ezra held out his hand, and she took it, noticing the almost diamond shape mark on the back of his hands. The markings there didn't look like the normal markings, they looked like actual tattoos.

Ezra led Mira into a dance, and pressed his hand against her back, holding her close. Her face was in his chest, and she felt awkward about it. He was too tall to dance with. They all were. Why would they even attempt to do this? Was it a Jayku custom or something? This certainly wasn't their kind of music, but some slow, classical version of the current hits from this year.

"You seem nervous," he said, looking mildly amused.

"I'm not a great dancer."

"You are doing perfectly fine." He whisked her around, something slow but warm playing, making the twirl a little out of beat, but that's what made it fun.

They both laughed, and suddenly Mira became focused on the warmth of his hand pressed against the small of her back, the feeling sending ripples of warmth through her body. She allowed herself to look up at him, taking in his handsome features.

Their gazes met, and Mira felt her heart flutter. No, she thought, and she forced herself to look away. She stopped dancing and stepped away from him. "You don't want to select me," she blurted.

He stepped backwards so that he could look down at her. "Why's that?"

She shook her head, running her hand through her hair, surely messing up some of the pins. "Because...I didn't sign up for this because I wanted it. I'm doing this because I have to."

He frowned and narrowed his eyes at her, inspecting her or taking her in, Mira wasn't sure which.

"If you want some girl that's going to want to stay with you forever and popout ten babies, you should probably keep looking." In terms of requirements for numbers or time spent on the planet, the conditions were a little unclear—and on purpose, too. They left it entirely up to the couple, though it does state in the contract that Mira would see her family again if she wished.

Her words made him smile, which puzzled Mira.

"Is that so?" He asked.

"Yes," she said sternly, trying to make him take her seriously.

He leaned in close, dipping down low enough so that his lips were so close to her ear that only she could hear his words. "Did it ever occur to you that I may not want to be here either?"

His words surprised her. He could just be messing with her. But why would he be forced into this? It's not like there wasn't an abundance of men on the planet that could have babies instead of him.

He straightened, the smile on his face never having left his lips.

"So," Mira made a confused look. "You don't want to find a girl?"

His smile faded slightly. "I never said that." The song ended, and the two of them stared at each other for a moment too long in silence. The next song began, and it seemed to snap Ezra out of whatever trance he was in. "It was very nice to meet you, Mira."

Mira didn't know what to say. "You too. I hope you find what you're looking for."

He bowed his head slightly. "And I wish the same for you, Mira," he said, and then he turned away.

She watched him go, noticing that he did not join the few men on the sidelines, waiting for their turn with one of the other girls. Instead, he walked right out of the door he came in, and no one stopped him.

Would someone stop her, if she tried to leave? She never got the chance. The next thing she knew, one of the other men approached her, and she sighed as he did. When he stopped in front of her and asked her for a dance, she put on the best smile she could, and shook her head. "I'm hungry," she said, and then she turned for the buffet table. The man practically raced after her, asking her name and where she was from. She did the same, making small talk with him as the filled plates with food from the buffet table. As they did, they both explained which foods came from their homes and what they were called, how they were made and so on. After thirty minutes, a bell signaled time to switch, allowing each of them to have more than one option and giving the other men a chance with a girl.

Mira was relieved when it was over. The men led the women through double doors and into a hall that was lined with more doors. The men went through each of the doors on the left by themselves, and Tuku instructed the women to do the same on the right. When Mira entered the booth, she shut the door behind her and let out a deep breath, finally escaping the awful small talk and pointless dancing. She sat down on the small white chair and inspected the screen that lit up on the wall in front of her.

The faces of the four men she spoke with were organized in the order they approached her. The instructions were at the top of the screen: select your first choice by tapping the screen.

Mira looked over the faces, over the names of the men. At the end of the list, however, there was an option that said 'no preference.' She reached out to tap it, but her finger froze just before she did. Her eyes flickered to the first man's name.

Ezra.

He walked out after he met her. Did that mean he had given up? Was he insulted? Why didn't he stay?

It occurred to her that if she had to sleep with any of these alien men, she preferred to sleep with someone who knew the truth about her being here. She made the decision quickly, tapping his name, and she told herself not to think twice. But as soon as she tapped, and overwhelming sense of regret flooded through her.

"Please wait," an automated voice said. "Your partner will come to escort you."

Mira began to panic. What if he didn't want her? What if telling him the truth then selecting him was a bad idea? Could he report her? What would they do if they found out she really didn't want to be here and lied in all the interviews?

Would they send her back? Would they take back Ava's medicine?

She decided to ask Tuku if she could change her mind. She jumped to her feet and reached for the knob, opened the door and almost ran into Ezra.

"Sorry, I..." she lost her words as she gazed up at him.

"Were you leaving?"

"No, I..." Think, Mira. She searched her brain for an excuse. "I had to pee."

Ezra suppressed a smile, and then nodded. "We'll stop at a bathroom on our way out."

He began to turn when Mira realized what he just said.

On our way out. He was her partner.

She was going home with him.