Free God Save the Queen by Amanda Dacyczyn Page A

tap on my shoulder. I turned around one last time ready to pounce on Kevin, until I realized that it was LaGard behind me.
                  “There you are!” he smiled, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from my hopeful getaway. “Now you must come with me because the representative of France would like to talk with you. He has many ideas about how we can structure a healthy bond with France and--”
                  I cut him off after hearing the word representatives. I wasn’t in the mood to talk economy this evening.
                  “Sir, I was actually headed to bed right now, and I really am just about to pass out. Maybe we can set up a time that I can speak to them in the morning. Just please not now.” I was almost ready to beg.
                  He looked at me for a minute or two and then nodded.
                  “Fine, we will set up a time in the morning. Besides,” he leaned in close, “he has had too many drinks tonight. He wouldn’t remember… a thing.”
                  Judging from the smell of his breath, LaGard was not the far behind the French representative.
                  “ Bien . I will send Kevin to your room in the morning to discuss what we will have you do. You just sleep tight.” And with that, LaGard staggered his way back into the crowd.
                  Great, Mr. Happy Sunshine, I thought as I sprinted to my room and quickly fell asleep.

 
     
     
    Chapter 10
    The Call
     
                  The week following the Halloween Ball was anything but pleasant. As I had promised, I spoke to each representative separately, which was the most boring experience of my life. All I did was listen over and over about how we should have a strong economic bond with said country and blah blah… trade… blah blah… building better blah blah. I even think that the Spain rep was trying to hit on me.
                  Although all of it was dull, I did learn a lot that would help me in the long run. For example, you really have to negotiate in order to get what you want. Terrence told me that before we walked into our first meeting. I was glad to have him there for most of the meetings. He would actually let me participate and ask for my opinion on certain matters, unlike LaGard, who would seize the reins and never let go.
                  I would rather have put up with one hundred of those meetings than have to face Kevin ever again.
                  The morning after the ball I was so tired I stupidly went to open my bedroom door when I heard Kevin’s voice asking to come in. Before I knew it, the wrath of Kevin was swirling around my room as he screamed, taunted and baited me. Going on and on about how I should never try to make a fool of him again and how I should maybe not try to be such a flirt because it was too pathetic and desperate for words. I stood there at took it before I sent my own storm back at the fool. I told him that he sounded like an idiot, and that he was the one who started the ordeal. It went back and forth for a good twenty minutes before Barnes and Antonio showed up with Mari and Avery by their side. Apparently Avery had thought that I was about to murder Kevin, or vice versa. I don’t know about Kevin, but I was close to it.
                  Ever since then, Kevin and I hadn’t said more than a half-hearted grunt to each other. We even went out of our way to avoid each other in the palace. If I spotted him coming my way, I quickly looked for an escape route in order to miss the hurricane of angst that was Kevin.
                  So that’s the way the next couple of days went on. Nothing really changed... or so I had thought.
                  I was sound asleep in my warm little bed when I heard the sudden sound of my cell phone going off on the nightstand next to me. I had never used it since I