Hovering my mouse over an unread message in my e-mail inbox, I gnawed on my inner cheek as I worked up the courage to open the message. Anxiety thrummed in my veins, gorging my legs to propel my knees up and down underneath my desk. My heart thudded hard against my ribs, and blood roared in my ears.

Licking my lips, I clicked open the e-mail with a stiff finger, and the action rippled through the rest of my body. The screen filled with text, and my gaze narrowed on the biggest, elegant script that headed the e-mail.

Congratulations! You’ve been accepted!

A twitch of disbelief upturned my lips, and I held my breath as I scanned the rest of the letter.

Congratulations, Lilly Mansfield, on completing the prerequisites to start the journey to benefit your life. Attached to this e-mail are two forms. The first is a nondisclosure agreement, and the second is…

“Yada yada… the website link to your auction has already been created. To maximize profits, we suggest you personalize your profile before the stamped date in the ‘Auction Start’ timeslot. Blah, blah- bullet points…” Muttering to myself, I clicked the link offered in the e-mail before sucking in a sharp breath. My hand shook slightly, and I leaned in closer to the screen. Squinting at the empty, editable page that opened in a new tab, I exhaled slowly as I dragged the mouse to where a profile picture would go.

Navigating my way to the pictures on my phone, I glanced over at the cord adapter absently before pursing my lips together. There was only one object on the list, and I dragged it to my desktop slowly. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as the profile box turned green, and I rubbed my knees together in apprehension.

“My name is Lilly, and I want to become a pediatric physician-“ Typing into the ‘Description’ box, I frowned before deleting it with a slight huff. “I’m Lilly, and I put myself out on here to- no- no, that’s stupid.”

Leaning back in my chair with a slight clatter, I let my head fall back to stare at the ceiling. Slowly twirling myself around, my legs tingled as if they’d fallen asleep from how tense they were. Kicking out my feet, I turned back to my laptop to swipe my phone and make my way to my texts.

Lilly: Kayla, I need your help describing myself.

My friend started replying almost instantly, and I nibbled furiously on my bottom lip. Anxiety nestled deep in my gut, and my eyes stung for relief when I refused to blink.

Kayla: Is your mom home? I can come over. Or you can come over to my house?

Craning my neck to look over my shoulder, I pursed my lips into a thin line as I stared at my bedroom door. A deep frown painted my expression, and I furrowed my brows before turning back to my phone.

Lilly: She’s always home… >.< I’ll come over yours.

Pushing myself to my feet with a grunt, I closed my laptop and grabbed my bag from its spot on the floor next to my desk. Blood rushed in my ears, and I hurried to secure my laptop before shoving my feet haphazardly in my sandals. My bedroom was a blur of gray and white as I whirled around, sucking in a sharp breath on my way to the door.

Yanking my bag strap over my head, I thudded heavily down the stairs. The only other sound permeating my small house was my mother in the kitchen, and I hopped the last step to stick my head beyond the archway.

“Mom, I’m going to Kayla’s house.” Thick, graying, brown hair bounced when my mom turned, and she frowned with a hard sigh. My heart skipped a beat at how unhappy she was, and I couldn’t help but grin goofily. “I’ll be back for dinner.”

“You better not be a minute beyond curfew, Lilly.” Waving her spoon at me, my mom turned on her heel to grumble over whatever she was making. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes, and I headed for the front door with a skip in my step. Her animosity towards my decision to stay friends with Kayla followed me all the way out the door, but I didn’t let it catch up to me. Straddling my bike, I glanced down the driveway with excitement pooling in my gut before I kicked off.

The humid air caressed my face as I cruised along a freshly laid bike path, and I smiled into the sunlight that was bearing down from above. Flexing my fingers against the handle grips, I took in the cookie cutter houses that lined either side of the street through squinted eyes. Each home was small, two stories, and essentially a glorified apartment with a yard.

That was exactly why we moved to the coast from Tennessee; smaller meant cheaper.

Pedaling my way down the street, I nibbled my bottom lip as I compared there to here. My old town had a population of less than 2,000 people, and I was positive there were more in this single neighborhood. The high school I attended alone had 1,400 students.

Cruising through a right turn, I spotted Kayla’s house down the road and sped up. The only way I could tell her home from all the others was the very light orange paint job, and even from the four-way, I could see her sitting on her porch. Her choppy, bright purple hair was a dead give away in an ocean of neutral colors. Within seconds I was cycling up her driveway, and she hopped down the three porch steps to meet me with a huge smile on her heart-shaped face.

“I’m so ready for you to finally become a woman, Lilly!” Sniffling dramatically, Kayla flung herself on me before I even managed to get off my bike. “You’re growing up! I don’t know if my heart can take this!”

“I’d feel better if your heart wasn’t digging into my shoulder blade, Kayla.” Climbing off my bike haphazardly, I heaved an excited sigh; Kayla’s mood was always contagious, even if it was negative, and she backed up as I propped my favorite mode of transportation against the side of her house. “I can’t wait to start college for real…”

“Don’t be like that.” Following Kayla through the back door, I wiggled out of my messenger bag strap with a grunt. “You need your prerequisites, and there’s nothing wrong with deferring a semester or two.”

“You only say that because your parents are paying for college. My dad basically took it as I was dropping out.” Misery seeped into my tone, and Kayla grabbed my hand to lead me up the stairs to her bedroom. Her house was a copy of mine- or mine was a copy of hers.

I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t really want to get into it when there was so much else to complain about.

“No- Lilly, I say that because it’s true. A lot of people defer to get their lives in order before making radical changes. Your dad is just an uneducated factory worker that was never told he didn’t have to settle. Don’t be like your dad, Lilly- at all.” Biting down on my lips, I nodded silently even as a sigh built in my chest. Kayla hated my dad, and I didn’t blame her.

She was right, after all; he was an uneducated factory worker that did what his parents wanted. My father married my mom because someone told him to. My father works in a factory because someone told him to. My parents even only had me because everyone in our old church told them to. It really was pathetic.

“Anyway- I got accepted to the auction site.” Changing the subject easily, I entered Kayla’s bedroom and shut the door behind us. The walls were splattered in a calming, dark purple that instantly made me feel at ease, and I let my shoulders slump with a sigh. “That’s why I need your help. I’m no good at describing myself. I need as much money as I can since Med school is expensive.”

“I’ll gladly help you, you know. Even if it’s not true, I like to think you’re doing this to stick it to your parents. I just hope they don’t find out you auctioned off your virginity and do something crazy like disown you or call up the prayer tree or whatever.” Giggling even though Kayla was very serious, I shook my head as I moved to set my laptop bag on her bed. Excitement and nervousness flared in my gut once again, and I made myself comfortable against the wall. The bed dipped when she climbed up next to me, and our shoulders brushed together heavily to send heat billowing up into my cheeks.

“Uh- so...” Navigating my e-mail, I brought up the page that had been set up for me only to hear Kayla gasp.

“Oh, sweetheart, no… you can’t use that picture. It sucks- it doesn’t show anything, and your face is in it. No- no- no…” Tearing my eyes off the screen, they widened slightly as Kayla scooted off her bed to head to her dresser. “That just won’t do. Here- put… this on. And these.”

“What? Why? It’s not a bad picture?” Alarm rattled through me when Kayla threw a pair of dark wash jeans and a tight bustier top at me, and she scoffed as she whirled around.

“It is for this, Lilly. Jesus- what would you do without me, huh? Firstly, you shouldn’t show your face. What if someone goes crazy stalker on you? Second, you need to show off your killer figure- even if there’s no boobies involved. You’re shapely, and creepy, old men like that. Thirdly, you’re wearing your church clothes in that picture, and that is unacceptable.” Frowning, I glanced from under furrowed brows at the photo I’d transferred from my phone. Anxiety joined the mix in my belly, and I set my laptop next to me to throw my legs over the side of the bed.

“Do you think this is dangerous?” Even as I shirked off my top, I posed my question, and Kayla leaned against the dresser to cross her arms over her generous bust.

“There’s always going to be a degree of danger of some kind in anything you do, Lilly. You have to accept it, and try to minimize it- right? This website screens the crap out of the buyers, so there’s nothing to worry about, okay?” Kayla and I wore the same sized clothes, and I worked my way into the top she’d chosen for me as she spoke. Everything she said made sense; there was no reason to worry because the website took precautions. If they didn’t, they’d be liable for anything bad that happened.

A renewed sense of confidence surged through my veins, and I kicked off my jeans to slip into the ones offered.