Clandestine

seventy six

-julia-

I'm close to hyperventilating. In an hour, my mother is going to come. I'm going to have to face her. She's going to be livid.

I can only imagine all the things she is going to say to me. How I abandoned her. How I've ruined the family.

Will I be kicked out of the Assembly for this?

My mother wouldn't want to have our family removed and replaced.

I wonder how my mother would feel about that.

I'm sure she has a long rant about the family legacy or something. I can't wait to hear it.

Diane says, "What should we do while we wait?"

As if on cue, her phone rings. She glances at it and hands it to me. "It's one of your friends."

Carlotta. I answer, "Yes?"

"I'm in the woods behind her house. Meet me there. Quick."

I hang up and say, "We are going to head to the woods."

Diane doesn't question. She just follows me.

We step into the woods, ignoring the stares of the landscaping crew. They probably don't know who we are anyway. Maybe they know who Diane is, but not me. It's strange to be in a place where people are more likely to recognize the person beside me than me. I'm used to being the famous one. I'm the one the paparozzi focuses on while my friends are just the backdrop. I can't keep the smile off my face, enjoying the anonymity.

We find Carlotta hunched behind a tree. She carries a black bag with her.

I narrow my eyes, "Carlotta, what's in that bag?"

"It might be your lifesaver."

She unzips it. Four guns glint inside.

I hiss, "You brought guns."

"Look, I'm sorry to break it to you Julia, but your mother killed someone. With a gun just like this one. I don't know what you can expect tonight, but you need to be prepared. I'm not ready to lose my best friend, so I insist that you take this. Hopefully, you never have to use it. I hope it never comes out of your pocket. But you need to be prepared. I got one for each of us."

I glance at Diane. She's staring at the black piece of metal. It's funny how something so small can cause something so horrible. Carlotta grabs a handgun and tosses it to me.

I curse, "Are you insane?"

"Yes. But don't worry. The safety is on."

"That doesn't mean you throw it at me."

She just shrugs and hands one to Diane.

Diane stares at him her hand, holding it as far away from her body as possible."I don't know how to use this. I'm only going to shoot myself."

Carlotta raises an eyebrow, "You don't know how to use a gun?"

I remember the time that Carlotta, Rosalina and I went to learn how to use a gun. We were at a shoot range and each had a separate instructor. The instructors were trying to teach us, but we were too busy giggling and making silly commentary to listen. We had to be escorted out for our own safety. Looking back, I know how unsafe that was.

Later, we went to a different range and actually learned. While I'm not much of a hunter, we always thought it would be good to learn. Apparently, it all came to good use.

Carlotta says, "I would have thought that you..."

I sigh, "Diane is not a criminal. Her father is not a criminal. Her grandfather, well, he was criminal. But crime is not heritable. So stop making ridiculous suggestions like that."

Diane beams at me and Carlotta's cheeks turn red. She says to Diane, "I'm sorry. Julia is right. I won't do it again."

Diane says, "It's okay. But what do I do with the gun? I can't keep it with me? I'm just going to shoot myself."

Carlotta says, "Give it to Julia."

Diane hands it to me and I stick into the waistband of my tights after double checking that the safety was still on.

I glance at my waist. The bulge of the guns couldn't be more obvious.

Something breaks in the woods. A stick. Someone is here.

Diane stiffens but then Rosalina stumbles into our group. She grins at all of us and reaches into the bag to pull out a gun for herself.

She turns to me and whispers, "What's the plan?"

"One of you should be outside. The other should be inside. Don't talk to each other unless it's necessary. Don't stand out. Be the average. Dance, but not to much. Hold a drink in your hand, but not too many. Laugh, but not to much. Average, average, average."

Carlotta says, "Where will you be? Just in case we need to find you..."

I turn to Diane. She just stares at me and shrugs.

Carlotta says, "You don't have a plan, do you?"

"We have a basis of a plan."

"No you don't. Don't lie to me. Do you know how insane this is? You don't have a plan against a murderer. Do you have anything?"

I pat my waistband, "I have a gun, now."

Rosalina stares at my waistband and then tears the white scarf off her neck. She wraps it loosely around my waist. "This isn't the best solution and certainly not the best fashion statement, but it's going to have to do."

I thank her and start to talk about her fashion line, but Carlotta refuses to let me leave the conversation.

Carlotta says, "Have you thought this through at all?"

I laugh, "Do you realize how ridiculous that question is? I have thought about this again and again. I haven't stopped thinking about it. But there's no way out, Carlotta. There's no solution. We are just going to have to think and react. And.. I don't know. Survive. Follow Plan A."

"What's Plan A?" She asks, folding her arms over her chest.

"To stay alive."

"That's your best plan?"

"Frankly, yes."

Diane speaks for nearly the first time, "We have to get back to the house. It's five minutes to seven. We don't know where anyone is."

I nod, "Everyone to your places. If you need to find us, you'll go to..." I look to Diane.

Diane says, "The kitchens. It will have a lot of people in there. A lot of witnesses. Your mother won't try anything there. Even if we go missing, hopefully the staff will notice that there was suspicious behavior."

I nod, "The kitchen it is."

Rosalina and Carlotta disappear, taking their guns with them. Carlotta leaves the black bag there, saying that we will return here after the party is over. I just hope that everyone is here to return.

Once Rosalina and Carlotta are gone, Diane and I wait a minute before sneaking out of the woods. I don't know where my mother is, but we need the best advantage. If my mother doesn't know that Rosalina and Carlotta are here, we have two more people on our side.

But she probably will know.

My mother has proven over the last few days just how much she knows. She knows because she has cameras and spies.

She isn't going to let anyone second her.

My mother always plans to win.