Saints Before Sixth

FIFTH

'It's been years since they miscounted the Residents, an inconvenience to say the least - none of these seem to fit you.'

Andy wasn't sure if she should reply to the woman, she seemed annoyed and hadn't spoken a word directly to her face. She'd pulled her red hair into a low bun, so tight it couldn't be anything but absolutely headache-inducing. By now she had tried on four different dresses, of which none looked flattering on her. She was skinny. When she'd lie down she was sometimes able to see her lower ribs. Her chest was pretty much flat, not that she'd ever given it much thought until this woman silently cursed about it earlier.

'Are you okay with pants instead?', the woman asked, her voice sounded older than Andy would've estimated her to be. This time she did look into her eyes.

'Pants are fine.' She briefly pressed her lips into an awkward smile. 'I don't mind.'

She left Andy behind in the dressing room; standing in her underwear and never having felt so self-conscious before. The room was truly breathtaking; it was almost like the castle interiors she read about in fairytales. Tall pillars in the shade of eggshells reached for the tall ceiling. Long, dark blue satin curtains draped over the dark wooden flooring of which the planks were meticulously arranged into diamond-like patterns. The ceiling reminded her of a Catholic church when she noticed the curvature - the surface graced with paintings of angels and other human figures.

A few minutes passed before the lady came marching back in, holding a bunch of black leather in her hands. 'Boys were meant to wear this, but it'll do for you just as well.'

Oh great, right when Andy thought she could for once wear the same as everyone else and fit in.

She chose to smile and carefully nod at the lady instead.

Without further issues she changed into the leather; tight pants and a vest slightly too wide for her, but still better fitted than her other options. Small belts worked as accessories, two crossed over her chest accompanied by a few sporadically wound around her legs and arms. Big shiny buttons in polished silver were used to keep everything in one piece.

Dainty evening dresses were everything but similar compared to this. Andy did admit she felt a lot more confident when clothes covered her arms instead.

The lady continued to complete the look by smudging black eyeshadow on her face. It covered most of her lids and faded out into an undefined wing, going all the way underneath her lower lash line as well. A couple of jewellery pieces later, Andy was escorted out of the room by a man in costume; probably belonging with the rest of the fancy people in this expensive building, being a Keeper wouldn't have suited him.

The wide hallway felt similar to the dressing room, though now she passed a new door every few meters instead of huge curved windows. A golden handle on every single one. Above them, was the head of a different golden animal each time.

She wasn't cuffed. Instead, she was expected to follow the man closely as he walked her to whatever direction they decided was right for her this time.

She wanted to ask where they were going but didn't bother as answers were hard to find from people associated with the Institute. Christiano and Atlas had been separated from her after they left the garage; boys to the left and girls right. Ironic how they deemed themselves to be the most progressive when something as outdated as gender conformity still dictated their system as heavily as it did.

They passed another corner and stopped before a door on the left; a golden sheep.

'Enter here and follow the instructions given.' The man spoke for the first time, without waiting for an answer he took another path through a door with a golden rhino.