"Hey, Ur! How you been, dear?"

Asked my mom politely as she approached her friend. Anna smiled gently and replied.

"I've been good, dear. Thanks for asking. I just came to bring Levy to sign up for the selection."

After saying those words, Miss Ur returned the gesture my mom had made a few seconds ago and also greeted her. After my mom greeted her friend, she decided to do the same with the other people around Mrs. Ur.

"And how are you, Soldier Macao and Miss Levy?"

Asked my mom in the most courteous way possible.

After my mom called Levy's name, she, who was still in a trance, somewhat upset about not wanting to be there, abruptly snapped out of it and forced a small smile for my mom. I knew it wasn't sincere, but for others, it seemed convincing.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking, Mrs. Layla."

Said Levy still with that fake smile, then pulling me to a more secluded corner where no one could hear our conversation.

As we moved away, Soldier Macao wasted no time and started a somewhat pleasant conversation with my mom.

"Lu-chan, please save me. They're forcing me into this"

Said Levy dramatically while looking at me, almost crying. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Why are you laughing? This is not funny. My uncle Silver forced me into this, telling me that if I refused, he would send me to the Foxglove kingdom"

Continued Levy, now intensifying the drama.

"But don't you like Foxglove?"

Asked Lucy, staring at Levy without understanding.

"I do like it, but I can't take the risk, especially now that Gajeel is coming back"

Said Levy, looking at me with a serious expression.

Faced with Levy's serious expression, I made an effort to contain the laughter and instead let out a small sigh followed by a sincere smile to calm her.

"I understand"

Said Lucy, now understanding her friend's reluctance. Levy knew very well that Gajeel always came back home; the only difference now was that it had been two years since he last returned to see the family.

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Before I could say anything else, we were interrupted by my mom, who approached us and began praising Yuna, and I could feel a bit of irony in her voice directed at me.

"You look magnificent, Levy. Like a true lady should dress, unlike some people here

Praised my mom, looking at me somewhat sideways.

I had to be pretty dumb not to catch that irony, but I couldn't do anything compared to Levy, who wore that stunning dress. I looked more like a pauper with those loose pants and that all crumpled blue shirt. I could feel my mom's penetrating gaze condemning me for not wearing the clothes she had arranged for me.

"Thank you, Mrs. Layla. I wanted to beautify myself a bit, 'lie' for the photos, 'they're forcing me'"

Said Levy with a forced smile on her face and fake enthusiasm while whispering some things that only I could hear.

"You look absolutely gorgeous too, Miss Lucy"

Blurted out Soldier Macao, a bit flushed, as he approached us. I knew her kind of had a crush on me. To express gratitude for the compliment and to avoid seeming presumptuous, I just gave him a small smile.

"Photo? What photo are you talking about?"

My mom asked, almost trembling, with her eyes widened.

Already aware of the photo, I decided to turn and face the line, pretending not to understand.

As I stared at that enormous and never-ending line in front of me, I could distinguish between those who knew about the photo and those who were just there for the selection. Not far from where we were, there was a medium-height girl with long, straight hair delicately falling over her shoulders in a soft shade of brown. Her eyes, in a bright green hue, expressed fatigue, most likely a 'seven' still in work clothes. Those muddy leather boots and the apron dusty with dirt, she definitely wouldn't be in the photo.

And not far from there, to be more specific, on the other side of that crowd, there was another 'seven' with long black hair cascading in gentle waves over her shoulders, and a bright purple streak that enhanced her beautiful hair even more. On her face, her violet eyes lost all prominence due to deep dark circles, also caused by the effort of work she probably just finished, as she was painted from head to toe in grease.

A little further ahead of us, there was another girl and, considering how much she had dyed her beautiful light brown curly hair to shoulder length, she was most likely a 'three' or a doctor. As for the girl next to her, I was pretty sure she was a 'two', after all, as well as being one of Erza's friends, I had also seen her in one of those modeling magazines. The other girl next to her, on the other hand, had exaggerated her make-up so much that she looked like a clown. But I don't blame them, after all, they were trying; for them, this could be a chance to change their lives. I, who knew about the photo, didn't tell my mother, just to try to sabotage it and not pass.

I didn't want it; to be honest, I didn't even want to be there. So not beautifying myself and maybe not even having the chance to take part in the competition wasn't a bad thing in my eyes. So, for my mother, it would be like being knifed in the back by her own daughter. But there was nothing I could do; I'd already done everything I could for them.

Because I hadn't dressed appropriately, I already knew that I would be at least ten points behind Levy and the other girls. I couldn't compete against Levy, especially her natural beauty: those beautiful green eyes that blended harmoniously with her long blue hair. It was like the expression 'kicking a dead dog'. From the start, I never stood a chance.

RECOGNITION TO MEMBERS:

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