Ｔｈｅ Ｓｅｌｅｃｔｉｏｎᵃᶰ ᵃᵈᵛᵃᶰᶜᵉᵈ ʳᵒˡᵉᵖˡᵃʸ discussion

A large, sweeping staircase, used mainly for display purposes. It makes the perfect spot for a grand entrance.

Emilie-Rose walked into the room shyly, crowded by other Selected girls and making her feel a little uncomfortable. Generally she didn't spend this much time with such a loud crowd. The room itself was grand and reminded her a little of where she worked. Only the best for the royal family, she thought idly as she looked up the stairs and at the small balcony area between them, seeing if anyone was up there that would address them.

Audra walked into the grand staircase with her small bag and looked around in awe. "Wow…" she whispered. The palace-or she assumed by the looks of the exterior and this one room-were absolutely incredible. She couldn't believe she would be staying here. And meeting the royals of Illéa, and meeting other girls and hopefully making friends. Audra grinned and sat down against the wall and pulled out an almost-full and worn notebook, and began sketching the room.

Maisie walked in gingerly, gazing in awe at the grand staircases. She'd been here before, of course, her mother having worked in the castle. But she'd been here as a servant before, cleaning the floors, polishing the windows, and even then she rarely was in this room, she was almost always out of sight. Now she was a three, and not only that, but she was a Selected. It was pretty amazing, and part of her couldn't believe it yet. Not until she met the prince. She wore black skinny jeans and black flats with a loose white cloth shirt. Her brown hair was in two braids on either side, falling in front of her shoulders, much like how she wore it as a child. She wore barely any makeup, her province flower in her hair, but otherwise was a plain girl, and she knew there would be prettier girls, but she didn't mind. She didn't need to be picked or be the one, she just liked having the chance to meet Will, a boy she'd admired for many years. As for her outfit, most girls would wear what they wanted, but in the past in the time of America and Maxon, this was standard for new Selected, and she wasn't rich, so this was what she wore. (view spoiler)[ Like this but with flats and her hair different. (hide spoiler)] She tugged a worn black suitcase behind her, looking around almost nervously at the other Selected. She hadn't talked much on the ride over, so she didn't know any of them yet.

Sandra, however, opted for a more modern look of a black faux-leather dress and black heels. Her blonde hair was in a tasteful but plain bun, except for her province flower stuck in it. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] She tugged a blue suitcase behind her, small but brand new, her heels clattering on the beautiful floors. She had to admit, the palace was breathtaking, and she couldn't wait to see more of it. But she was here not for the palace, but for the prince. The Palace was just a benefit.

Andromeda walked in, the girl glancing around. She, like many others, considered the other girls competition and was avoiding talking to them, for now. Not that she really wanted to win the crown, but she wasn't sure she wanted to make friends with the kind of shallow girls that she guessed were other selected. She wore black jeans and white heels with a loose white midriff, her frizzy hair thrown into a messy updo, lacking her province flower. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] So far, she'd read the entire way to the palace, and was anxious to check out the library, though she knew she wouldn't get to right yet. For luggage, all she had was a brown messenger bag slung across her body, resting on her hip. She traveled light.

((Hey Red, want Nova and Maisie to be friends? XD Just an idea, Maisie is kind of tomboyish.))

((Btw, its Xavier in this rp, but i might change it to Xander to be less confusing XD))

Audra glanced up at the girl a minute later after finishing her sketch and setting it down next to her. "Hey," was all she said at first. Neither of them seemed to be entirely excited about being here, that was already obvious. "I'm Audra, from Whites." She gave her a small smile, but didn't shake her hand or anything. They would have to be formal soon enough, they didn't have to quite yet and Audra was going to take advantage of that while she still could.

Maisie saw the crowd of other girls coming in and began to move out of the way, but she tripped and let out a short gasp as she fell forward onto her knees on the tile floors, not far from Nova. She frowned, though she knew she was naturally clumsy and it was bound to happen at some point that she would fall. Her suitcase had fallen with a clatter beside her, but she'd worry about that in a moment. Was anything broken? Nope. Except maybe her mind, from all the questions she had. Did she have a maid? Where was her room? Would they have a makeover tonight? Where did they go from here? Would they be addressed? Where was the prince? So many things filling her mind, enough for a headache. She wasn't even upset about falling, sitting there on her knees.

Audra grinned. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she thought, with girls high-fiving as an introduction instead of shaking hands. Audra high-fived her before moving her bag from her lap to the floor. "I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I don't really know anything about you other than that you like to high-five people instead of shaking hands. But that's good, at least for me, so…yeah. I like your name, though."

Maisie blinked, hearing someone speak to her. Looking up she found another selection girl had been the speaker, and she'd even picked up her suitcase. Smiling, she took her hand and let the girl help her up. "Yeah, sorry. I'm just a bit clutzy. It figures I would be, first day of the Selection." She mentioned, shaking her head at herself. "I'm Maisie Amarette." She greeted the girl.

"Thanks," Audra replied. She wasn't sure how to continue the conversation. She didn't want to gossip about the prince or any of the other members of the royal family like the other girls. Or talk about the dresses and makeovers and heels-ugh, the heels. Or the fame they'll have or whatever. She didn't even really want to be here at that moment, so talking about anything involved with the selection would pretty much bore her to death. "So, what's Honduruga {totally spelled that wrong, sorry XD} like?"

(view spoiler)[


(hide spoiler)]
Emilie looked around at the other girls shyly, picking up on all the different outfits of choice that they were wearing. Already some of them had begun to converse amongst themselves. She herself didn't want to intrude on them and was standing off to the side, the chiffon bottom of her white lace dress just reaching the floor around her feet. If she had of had her way she would have worn a pair of old jeans and a sweater. Unfortunately, her mother was having none of that. So now she was out of her comfort zone double time; in a large group of people, and wearing a dress. At least her mother had good taste and selected a dress for her that was both modest and stylish. One thing about it that bothered her though was the color. It was the color of a wedding dress, so she hoped the Prince wouldn't get it into his head she had purposely dressed in that color to make him imagine what it would be like to stand opposite to her at an altar on his wedding day. Also, her hair wasn't too different from the dress, her style of choice a loose bun that made a few pieces of hair fall and frame the sides of her face.

Audra nodded. "Yeah, that's like Whites. It's mostly Fives and Sixes, or at least in the part I live in, so it isn't the prettiest. But it can be, sometimes." She shrugged and stared around the room at the other selected. Aria obviously had something on her mind, either very good or very bad, and of course Audra was interested. But she wasn't rude, she had just met her, so she wasn't going to come right out and ask her what she was thinking about. "Are you okay?" She asked instead.

Audra raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Instead, the just gave a doubtful, "mhm," and looked down at her picture. This struck a new idea for conversation in her mind and she immediately said it. "So, what did you do before the selection? Like, what caste-not that I care, I'm only a Five anyway-what were you talented at. That kind of thing."

((Sorry my posts are going to be sort of short cause I'm tired but can't fall asleep (ughhhh) XD))

Leilah took a deep breath and approached the small cluster of girls chatting at the foot of the grand staircase. She noticed how beautiful all the girls looked, far more beautiful than her. But Leilah quickly overlooked them and cast her eyes on the staircase, which was just as magnificent. Oh, how she'd love to spend a life in a home like this.

As she neared the girls, she scanned her outfit just to make sure she looked okay. She really hoped she hadn't overdressed, but then she started worrying she had underdressed. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

A heavy lump was dragging down Leilah's stomach by the time she made to the group of girls. She was sure she had underdressed, she was terrified of what the others would think of her, and most of all, she was half-dreading meeting the prince.

Leilah glanced around at the few girls; most were in conversation (she didn't want to interrupt them), but there was one girl sitting on a step of the staircase. Leilah didn't know why, but she felt she'd rather talk to her than to any others; the rest seemed way more confident than herself. "Um, hey," she said quietly to Belle. "Mind if I sit down?"

Maisie smiled at Nova, "Well, at least I know one person here." She commented, laughing in relief and a little bit of nervousness. Were they supposed to be gathered here? What about their rooms, or the makeovers, or meeting the royals?

Sandra was sticking to herself, unsure how to talk to anyone, until she spotted Azalea. Walking over, she smiled and held out a hand. "Hi. I'm Sandra Leannan. I love your dress." She greeted her, trying to be polite.

Anastasia sat on one of the steps of the grand stairs, pulling a book from her bag and reading it, not bothered with introducing herself to anyone.

((Red?))

"Oh, that's cool. I'm an artist, and I love drawing buildings. Other things, too, but mainly architecture and nature." Audra showed her the quick sketch of the room that she had done, though it wasn't that good. "So, why did you sign up for the selection? I mean, everyone comes because of something. Money, family, fame, love?"

Maisie perked up a little bit at that. She loved nothing more than talking about what she enjoyed doing. "Well, I'm a six, so I'm a maid. So was my mom so I kind of inherited it. But I'm really interested in dancing, so I always thought if I were to marry a five, I'd be a dancer. And I also really love gardening, though I'd have to marry down and be a seven to be a gardener and my mom always said to keep it as a hobby, not a career, because she wanted the best for me." She explained, "You?"

Sandra always got a little sad hearing about other people's mothers, having lost her own. But she smiled at Azalea anyway. "That's nice, to have something from home. I didn't bring too much from home, wanted to pack light. So, what brings you to being a selected?" She asked, knowing many people had many different reasons for applying for the Selection.

Anna wrote: "Belle smiled at the girl, while she was thinking of something to say to the girl there was a little awkward silence. Belle wondered what she could ask... "How do you feel about meeting the prince" ..."

((SoRrY))

Leilah smiled politely at Anastasia. She had avoided answering Belle's first question, but there was no way she could avoid another one-even though she wanted to more than anything. The prince? she thought quickly. How do I feel about him?

Leilah drew a deep breath and glanced around at the other girls, making sure no one else was listening. "Well, I don't really know...obviously I'm really nervous about it-I've got this weird churning feeling in my stomach that's making me sort of sick-but I'm also excited, I mean, it's the prince after all. I just hope he's kind." The words raced out of Leilah's mouth in a surprisingly comfortable way, like she was talking to a close friend. "Um, I'm Leilah, by the way."

Maiya walked in as one of the last Selected girls with a happy bounce to her step, or maybe it was just her training, who would know when it came to her. All around her were people either talking or distancing themselves form the main crowd. One girl in a white dress was looking particularly lonely, but since she had willingly separated from the other girls, Maiya decided to leave her alone. Not knowing who to talk too though she just joined the group and remained silent, listening to the low buzz of constant chatter as she check to make sure her dress was sitting flat. The dress was stylish yet simple, her high heeled blue shoes going with the flowing material perfectly.
(view spoiler)[

(hide spoiler)]

Xavier stood at the top of the stairs, though more towards the side on the second floor for a lesser chance of the selected seeing him. He knew he was a bit early-seeing as none of his family was there-but technically, he was the one right on time, as usual. Xavier sighed and rested his arms on the balcony then leaned forward a bit, looking down at all of the girls that were here competing for the marraige of his brother. He was about to leave to go find one of his family members, but something-or rather, someone caught his eye. He stared down at the girl, who looked exactly like Clara. Could it be...? "No...that's impossible," he whispered to himself.

((Sorry, couldn't wait any longer :D))

((No, cause he's technically not supposed to be there. And he's like, over to the side of the balcony so not a lot of people would be able to see him))

Xavier wasn't sure whether to smile or scream about this. It couldn't be her, but…it had to be. No one looks that similar. Xavier looked down at her again. She had noticed him…right? I mean, she had looked right at him. Maybe it really was her! Yeah, except it can't be. Because Mother killed her. She killed her, and no matter what you think or who looks like her, she isn't coming back to you. Xavier went to leave, but couldn't move. He was frozen, staring at whoever that girl was.

((Ugh, sorry this sucks XD))

Audra nodded. "That sounds like a pretty good reason. I just came because my mother made me and my sister sign up." She shrugged. "The thing I'm dreading most is the heels, though. Dresses, eh. But heels? No way."

Xavier jumped back at the sound of one of the girls. "Oh my god. First tip for around here, don't sneak up on people. It'll surprise you to find that people get scared. And yeah, I kind of know that." Xavier ran a hand through his black hair and sighed, composing himself to act like the prince he was supposed to be. "What are you doing up here?"

((Oh, no, that's fine!))

((Ugh, sorry guys, my posts suck right now :/ ))

"Um, no, actually, you shouldn't be. I live here, I'm allowed to go where I please. And I'm here because my family is coming to meet all of the selected. I just happened to be early for once." Xavier looked over at Clara-or whoever that was-quickly before back to the selected in front of him. "I'm not positive, but I believe the selected are required to stay here until my brother or my parents come. I assume you're just supposed to talk and get to know the other girls while you wait." Xavier looked once more, and realized that she had been looking at him. She had been looking at him! Stop it, Xavier. You're just torturing yourself. It isn't her, okay?!?!

"Eh. They're heels. Maybe I'll be able to wear ballet flats or sandals or something." Audra shrugged. "I love your hair, by the way. It's really pretty. Anyway, I don't know. Haven't met him, obviously, but of what I do know, yeah. He just seems so…I don't know. Stuck up, obnoxious, dull. That kind of thing." Audra pulled out her notebook and handed it to her. "Yeah, here. It's the last page that had a drawing on it."

((What should happen? Should he leave, or maybe go chat with some of the other selected? Idk XD))

Audra smiled at the compliment. "Thank you. It's nothing much, just a quick sketch. And yeah, I think you definitely should!" Audra leaned back against the wall. "One day, if we don't have to be locked in our rooms or anything, we should just go around and draw a bunch of the rooms of the palace." While Aria began drawing, Audra grew quiet for a moment before speaking again. "So, what do you think of the prince, then?"

((Haha, okay, awesome))

Audra nodded. "Yeah, definitely. We have to do the makeovers, the interviews, the one-on-one meetings, all of that. I'm tired just thinking of it all," Audra said with small laugh. "I agree with that, too. But I don't know. It's hard to imagine him not being…I don't know, boring."

Xavier laughed when his sister covered his eyes. He crossed his arms in a thoughtful way, a grin on his face. "Hmm…well, I know it can't be Juli…I give up." Xavier laughed and turned around after she dropped her hands. "So, how have you been lately? Anything new happening?"

"I hope so. I really hope so. I'd rather just go outside and swim or sketch than be stuck in here all the time, too. Hopefully we won't be forced to stay in here the whole time. Audra sat up next to her. "That's really…amazing! You're going to be a great architect."

Xavier nodded. "That's wonderful to hear, Juli." He smiled at his younger sister. "And I'm doing great, thank you." He turned towards the selected once more, standing next to Juliette. "Yeah. I can't believe Will isn't here yet. He's never late, I thought he couldn't wait to meet the girls!"

((By the way guys, rp in here is stopping, the Selected are supposed to go to the great room to meet the prince which is [in the roleplay] the next day))

((Should we just move the siblings to the great room and they can chat with the selected? Or maybe Xavier goes somewhere else and she follows him or something? Idk XD))

((Yeah! The royals can be in the great room too and just chat with the Selected while they wait to talk to Will. Of course, it wouldn't be all of them, since I can't send out another group message, but feel free to do it!))

((Okay, awesome!! Red, what do you want to do?))

((Hey guys, sorry I haven't been totally active here, things have been so busy. But I'll have Maisie keep up. ^_^ And Sandra and Andromeda, of course.)) Maisie beamed at Nova, "Oh, gardens are lovely. My mom and I plant mostly vegetables and fruit, it's practical, but she lets me keep one flower in the garden and it's my favorite. The palace gardens are amazing, I could sit in them all day." She explained, then realized the girls wouldn't know her mother had worked at the palace so she'd been here before, "I mean, on tv." She added hastily, smiling nervously. Hearing the girl was a two was even more nerve wracking, even though she seemed nice. On the caste scale, they were at opposite ends. In a normal situation Maisie would never speak to a girl like this. I guess I'm a Three now, though. She thought with surprise. When called to go to the Great room, she smiled at Nova, "Guess that's our cue." She commented, grabbing her bag and walking with her. Although she was a little panicked, she definitely wasn't dressed to meet the prince, she was wearing black pants, flats, and a white shirt, and her hair was in braids! Wasn't there supposed to be a makeover? What would Will think of her casual outfit?

Sandra's eyes filled with understanding when she heard Azalea. "I'm here for my father, too." She admitted, relieved. "You know, I think we're going to be good friends." She told the girl, before grabbing her bag and walking to the great room with her.

Hearing the announcement that they were moving, Andromeda slid her book back into her bag and stood, following the crowd. She wondered if this meant they would meet the royal family now.

Xavier had just left lunch with his family, all of them talking while he sat and ate quietly. It wasn't like this was something new though, so Xavier normally wouldn't care much. But today was one of his bad days, as you could call it. He was feeling absolutely terrible about everything-about himself, about his family, about Clara, about just being a prince in general. Sometimes he just wished everything would go back to the way it was before he had even met Clara, honestly. That way he was just ignored by his family, rather than ignored andheartbroken. Xavier's hair was a complete mess and he was wearing only jeans, a t-shirt, and his favorite leather jacket. Completely opposite of what he should've been wearing with all of the cameramen around taping the beginning events of the selection, and 35 selected running around the palace -his home- as well. But they were usually in the more active rooms, or their own rooms. No one would bother him if he was just sitting on the steps. Sometimes he even thought hiding in plain sight was better than hiding locked away in a room. Xavier had brought his guitar along with him, but set it down and left it in it's case instead of playing it, like he had originally planned.

Teddy had seen his older brother, Xavier, leave lunch early. He was able to slip away without a sound and no one noticed. Teddy frowned at that and didn't waste any time with slipping out himself, though he climbed under the table and crawled his way out instead of what Xavier did. It was not nearly as unnoticeable as Xavier's exit, and likely caused some laughter among his family. But he was determined, as he always was, to not let Xavier feel left out or alone. He loved his family, all of his family, and was determined to show that he loved them dearly, even if it was rather obvious how much he cared, he still felt like he needed to prove it.

He looked around as he left the dining area, trying to think of where he would be. He ended up heading towards the grand staircase. The Selected girls weren't there anymore, so the camera's and things weren't there, it would be a perfect place to go to be on his own for a little while. Except he wasn't going to leave him alone, he never did if he could manage it. He grinned widely when he saw Xavier sitting on the stairs and wriggled in excitement, tripping and falling the minute he got excited. "Xavier!!!!" He chirped out happily, scrambling towards him as fast as his legs could carry him until he could launch himself at his brother and wrap his arms around him in a hug.

Xavier had leaned his elbows back on the step above him, hands clasped in front of him. He heard laughter coming from the dining room and sighed, knowing his family was carrying on just fine without him. What's new? But at least he used to have Clara to cheer him up after he was ignored by them, or his guitar. But even now he didn't enjoy playing that much since she had been one of the only two people who had ever listened to him play in the first place. He sat up straight when he heard someone waking down the hallway to where he was, ready to jump up and leave if it was a selected girl, or cameraman. But no, it was much better. Xavier knew who it was immediately once he yelled his name, and before Xavier knew it, Teddy had completely tackled him, arms wrapped tightly around him. "Teddy!" Xavier laughed at his little brother. Of course he had followed him; it's why Teddy's always been Xavier's favorite. "Why'd you leave so early? You didn't seem even close to done with your lunch."

((lol Teddy tackled him in a hug, not sat next to him and hugged him XD))

((Oh okay XD))

((lol yeah XD sorry I might have worded it a bit weird))

((There!!))

Teddy giggled as he hugged Xavier, happy to hear his brother laugh. It was a sound that wasn't heard often enough in his opinion. "I wasn't, but I didn't want you to be lonely." Teddy said seriously, looking up at his brother with big eyes. "So I came down here instead! We can play! I can get the cooks to make me a snack if I get hungry anyways." he said, giggling as he hugged his brother again. He noticed the guitar case nearby and started to wriggle excitedly. "OHOH!!! YOU BROUGHT YOUR GUITAR!!!" he squealed out, a huge grin on his face. "Are ya gonna play it today? Will you? Pleeeeaaaase?" he gave him his very best puppy dog eyes.

Xavier looked down at Teddy with such a fiercely protective smile that showed that anyone who would ever even try to harm his little brother would've killed themselves before Xavier had the chance to do it for them. Not that anyone would even think of hurting Teddy if they knew him, but there were downfalls of being royalty -meaning, high ransom prices. There were rebels everywhere you turned, it isn't incredibly challenging for them to get into the castle. It's happened before, it could happen again. "Well, thanks bud. We'll make sure you get a snack soon, yeah? I wouldn't mind one myself, actually." Xavier laughed, shrugging at Teddy's question. "Um, I don't know. There are selected everywhere…which means cameramen are walking around the castle…"

Teddy pouted for a moment, then brightened again. "Oh! How about I play? I've been practicing lots!" he decided moments later. Ever since he'd first seen Xavier play guitar, he'd been determined to learn the same and whenever he was sitting still for more than a moment, it was usually because he had a guitar in his hands. It was rare to see Teddy not bolting around excitedly before the guitar, it was almost impossible for him to sit still. But after seeing Xavier play, you put a guitar in his hands and he'd immediately just sit down and start trying to play, gradually getting better each time he sat down to play. Now that he knew about chords and things, he wanted to show Xavier what he'd learned because of wanting to be more like his big brother.

Xavier smiled down at his little brother. It was scientifically proven -by professional smilers, let me just say- that Teddy couldn't make you frown. Even when he was fussy as a baby, it just ended in distracting himself by finding a solution to his problem, or something that he could play with until the solution came. So now, when he was sad, he just came up with a new solution, one that could prove himself to his brother (though he never needed to). "I'd love to hear you play, actually. That's a great idea." Xavier leaned down and opened the case, picking up the acoustic guitar he'd had for years. "Hold on, let me tune it quickly." Xavier, who had learned years ago how to tune it just by ear, without a piano, set to work. "Have you been practicing much?" He asked before handing the guitar to Teddy.

Teddy grinned when Xavier said he'd love to hear him play, wriggling off of his lap so he could sit on the staircase next to him. A huge grin flooded his face when he was handed his guitar that he'd had for a long time. He shifted so the body of the guitar was on his thighs as he said, "I've been practicing really hard ever since that one time you played for me. Ever since then, I wanted to play guitar just like you, and whenever I would sit down, I would practice." He moved to warm up, playing a few chords on the guitar a bit hesitantly, glancing down at his hands more than once. In truth, he was nervous about playing for Xavier. He'd picked a song from a band he knew Xavier liked, the song a good reflection of himself as he moved to place his fingers on the opening chords. A slow breathe to calm himself, then he started to play.

"Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love"

Teddy loved to sing. He had been singing since practically the first time he learned how to string words together. His voice filled the air strongly, even though his gaze was affixed to the guitar so that he wouldn't mess up. The minute he started to sing, it was clear what song he had chosen. Though really, was such a song a surprise for someone who was so filled to the brim with love?

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy"

The strumming of the guitar filled the air as he played the acoustic tune that went with the song. It was no surprise that his singing voice was nice, he sung in the hallways all the time, especially during Christmas when he'd yell sing christmas carols at the top of his voice while dashing through the halls dressed like Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. It was his playing that was the real surprise, it took dedication and a lot of practice for him to play and sing at the same time, and to have learned the chords at all for that matter.

"Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy"

Teddy had found the song while trying to find another from the same band that he knew Xavier liked. He had been curious about it and after listening, knew it was the song he had to learn to play for his brother. It was a song that perfectly suited Teddy, as well as how he felt regarding a lot of things. For Teddy,

"All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need"

As Teddy played the song, he started to relax more, feeling less self-conscious about playing and not getting it right in front of Xavier, and focusing instead on the music itself. Above all else, he was hoping to get across that he loved Xavier, and while he often felt alone and ignored, with Teddy, love would be all he needed. Or something. He was only 13 after all, his biggest mission was just to make Xavier happy again.

"Nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy"

He started to sway a little as he sang, feeling the beat mentally and physically. Finally, he reached the end of the song and his voice drifted off again while his gaze remained on the guitar to finish the last few chords. He hadn't done perfect, he'd had to gloss over the more difficult chords and things, but overall it wasn't terrible, or at least he hoped it wasn't.