Queen of Diamonds

One Day After The Sorting (Part Two)

Felix curses and leaps to his feet, knocking over his chair. The rest of the kids are just as quick to stand up. 
"That's the border alarm," Sonya says, taking a second to gather the pans before flipping a switch near the oven, causing an old cracked screen over the stove to flicker on. Felix and the other boy, Hugo, lean over her shoulder. Felix curses again. 
"What?" Hugo asks. "It's the Shamrocks. We can deal with them."
"Not towing a greenie we can't," Felix says. I have a vague sense he's talking about me. I want to speak up, say that I don't need protecting, but Hugo does it for me. 
"We don't need to be towing her around. Leave her here," he scoffs, pulling the pink scarf off his shoulders and tying it around his waist. 
"No, the security is still down and she doesn't know how to deal with herself," Felix says. I want to protest, but he might be right. This is a whole new, terrible world for me. I don't know what I'm doing at all. Not that I would admit that. 
"Alright," Felix says, and his voice carries a heavy sense of authority. "Greenie, stay here. Everyone else, get changed and get strapped, meet here in five." Everyone else scatters, hurting up the stairs, and Felix follows. I slump down into a seat at the table, trying to calm my beating heart. I don't know who or what the Shamrocks are, but if Felix is worried, I'm worried. As much as I hate this place, I don't want to die on my first day. Before I can think twice, Felix is back, in his thick cargo pants and leather jacket, now with a heavy handgun strapped to either hip. I try not to stare at them. I don't think I've seen a gun before in my life, not in person and certainly not this close. I feel an odd sense of gravity, like I'm at a funeral. If Felix feels the same, he doesn't acknowledge it, instead tossing me something small and black. I flinch, but I'm able to catch it, years of tennis and volleyball heightening my reflexes. I recoil when I realize what it is. A knife. I look up to protest, but Felix has already turned around to help little Remy adjust the straps of a bulky white backpack he has wrapped and buckled to his back. I don't know when Remy got here, but the girl with the book, Alice, is here too, lingering in the shadows of the doorway. She changed out of her simple white shirt and black shorts, and into a deep red suit jacket, the color of blood, with a black tie, and a red knee-length skirt to match. She's standing up straight, despite a heavy piece of machinery that I don't want to think too hard about hanging by a strap across her body. 

The other two show up quickly. I don't have a clock, but I can't imagine they took more than the five minutes Felix allotted for them. I don't know why, but they've all changed into different clothes some way or another, and - this is the part I try to ignore - they're all carrying weapons. Felix has grabbed his heavy leather jacket, covering some of his chest, although his tan skin is still exposed. Alice stands in the doorway in her suit jacket and skirt. Remy is next to her, with his  white backpack, and stiff white pants to match. Hugo doesn't look to have changed much at all, throwing a pale pink bandolier over his bare chest, to match his leggings and scarf. Sonya is the last to appear, in a sleeveless knee length dress, similar to the one I saw in my closet, or the one Alice is wearing. It's bright red and orange, and some kind of nylon that reflects the dim light of the kitchen back. She, like Felix, has guns at her hips. I clutch the knife Felix gave me closer to my chest, feeling my heartrate rise dramatically, my breath becoming labored. Felix opens his mouth to talk, but Sonya shoves him in the gut with her elbow. 
"Look, Greenie. Uh," she trails off. 
"Nova," I say.
"Alright, Nova. I know this can be a lot to deal with. I was from the Heart sector. But you belong here. I promise. You'll figure it out. For now, stay quiet, stay safe, and if you have to talk to us, use our Crew names," she says. I nod mutely. 
"See if she remembers," Hugo says. I grimace at him, but he doesn't notice. I don't know why that boy hates me so much, but he does. Sonya nods in my direction, prompting me.
"Okay, um," I start, my voice softer than I want it to me. I clear my throat and start again. "Felix is Smoke. Sonya is Fire. Hugo is Fury. Alice is, uhm, the Red Queen, and Remy is the White Rabbit." Sonya smiles at me, then stands up. 
"Let's go, boys," she says with a laugh, heading out the door, the colorful group fo kids in tow.