“Why’s that?” asks his friend.
He flicks a napkin to the ground. “To clean up the mess afterward. Not like anyone else is lining up to do it.”
I press my palms harder against my legs. I wish I was allowed to wear my gloves. The two guys break into laughter and shoulder through the crowd. I hate this.
“I think I’m gonna go catch my breath for a moment,” I say.
Ma’s brow creases. “Are you all right?”
No. “Yeah. I’ll be by my bike.”
Before she can respond, I’m plowing away from Center Square, back to the edges where the crowd thins.
I reach the outskirts of the festival, all the way back by the apothecary. The orange clay building boasts a sign in the window: Shop closed for Waterday Festival, visit our booth instead! My silver airbike is parked in the rack by the door. I’m tempted to hop on it and speed away.
I check my comm; thirty-two minutes remaining, and no response from Landon.
I tiptoe behind the building, out of sight from the festival. The moment I’m away from the crowd, I relax. It’s only for a minute. I just need to catch my breath. Then I’ll go back to the party and wait for the Leader’s address.
I scrub a hand down my face and lean against the side of the building.
“Ducking out of the festival early?”
The familiar voice sends a gust of frost through my veins.
Nina, the guard walking with Chantry earlier, saunters out from behind the next building in her silver uniform. My sister follows, a notepad clenched menacingly in her grip. Chantry’s blonde hair is twisted into a tight knot on top of her head. While Nina’s uniform is bare, my sister’s uniform collar parades a gold Guard Captain pin. Of course the Leader appointed her the captain. He probably did it just to mess with me.
My heart pounds faster. “I was just checking on my bike.” I keep my head down. “I swear.”
“That’s interesting.” Poison taints Nina’s words. “Because it looks like you were skipping out before the Leader’s address.” Nina’s a Two; she can change her appearance at will and also use telekinesis. They’re pretty useless Skills, but jealousy still revs to life inside me anyway, because I wish I had telekinesis, or the ability to morph, or something.
Chantry raises her brows and jots something in her notepad.
Nina continues. “And unless I am mistaken—which I’m not—that’s illegal. Show me your ID.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. She knows exactly who I am—she’s just doing this to humiliate me. I fish around in my pocket and pull out my Trinnean identification. There’s an incriminating black mark across the top, signifying that I’m a Blank who bought a pass to live here. She snatches it from my hand. Her eyes narrow as she reads, as if she’s seeing my name for the first time.
I glance at my sister, hoping she’ll stop Nina’s wrath, but she stays focused on her clipboard, nothing but indifference in her eyes. The perfect guard’s captain.
“I really didn’t mean to leave early.” I face my sister, desperation dripping from my words. “Please, Chantry—”
Nina’s color-changing eyes blaze red, bright and dangerous against her pale skin. “She’s the guard captain. You will address her as Guard or Sir.” She thrusts the card back into my waiting hands. “Or you will suffer the consequences, Blank trash—”
“Hey!” Chantry whirls on Nina, emotion suddenly burning in her gaze. “Cut that name-calling shit. She broke a rule, she’ll deal with the consequences. That’s it.”
I stiffen, darting my eyes to the ground.
Nina’s face flushes. She bows her head. “Sorry, Captain.”
Chantry nods, her face fading back into indifference.
Hells. Now Nina will be pissed at me for getting her in trouble, and I’ll get it worse. I swallow hard, tapping my right fist to my left shoulder—the sign of respect. “I apologize for my lack of decorum, Sir.” I just want them to leave. “Let me go back to the festival. I swear I’ll stay and watch the address.”
Chantry shoves her pen back into her pocket. “Wrap this up, Nina. I’m going to go see why the address is four minutes late.” There’s no sparkle of affection in her eyes when they coast over me. I’ve grown used to my sister’s coldness over the past three years, but it still stings.
Nina salutes as my sister strides back into the crowd without giving me a second glance.
“May I return to the festival as well, Sir?” I ask.
Nina paces around me in a circle as if she didn’t even hear me, so I take it as a no. “Living in Trinnea is a privilege for you, Blank tra—Zadie. You’ve been given the chance most Blanks dream of—a ticket out of the wastes—and you have the gall to be ungrateful and dodge our sacred festival?”
“I wasn’t dodging.”
Her eyes flash to mine. “Did I give you permission to speak?”
My ears burn. I never thought I’d say it, but I wish Chantry would come back. At least my sister won’t deride me for my lack of Skills. “No.”
“I could lock you in the stocks for this,” Nina says. “Or sentence you to lashes in the Square at dusk.”
My heart races. I don’t dare avert my eyes from the red sand beneath my feet. I shouldn’t have come over here. I should’ve stayed with Ma.
The air crackles around us. “If everyone would gather around the stage,” Chantry’s booming voice calls into a microphone, “we’ll have the Leader’s address shortly.” Applause and cheers follow.
“But I have a better idea.” Nina’s face lights up. “You’ll be the Leader’s Waterday Representative.”
My eyes grow wide. The water jug hat kid? That’s the most humiliating, degrading role in the entire festival. “No, please, ask Chantry, she’ll—”
“Would you prefer I revoke your Trinnean ID altogether? I could have you back in the wastes by nightfall.”
“No, Sir.” I cringe. The words ache as they come out. “I’ll be the Waterday Representative.”
“Of course you will.” She smirks. “Let’s go.”
Before I can protest, Nina latches onto my wrist and yanks me back through the crowd. “Blank coming through!” she shouts. Laughter echoes around me. I stumble over some guy’s foot I’m certain he stuck out just to trip me. “Waterday Rep, move aside! I’ve got a Blank volunteer for the water jug!”
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