The Tent

Thursday, 5 March 2099

Bruno and Rina walked back into ESH just as the bell rang signifying the end to Class Six; Sketch Art was next.

"You saved my life...again," Rina whispered to Bruno down the hallway.

The entire automobile ride was Bruno explaining to Cradock and Julius exactly what had happened in the Mine.

"You should not have gone down there!" Sir Espington had shouted in the passenger seat.

"He was showing me the different types of rocks, Father!" Rina had retorted in her childlike voice.

"If we stayed in the locker room, we would not have known what was going on," Bruno had added. "We could have been too late."

"He's right, Sir," Cradock had said. "They're lucky they noticed the flame before it grew."

The President hadn't answered and the rest of the auto ride was in complete silence.

. . .

Rina walked into the art room first; Bruno entered a few moments later so it looked as if they hadn't been together the entire time.

Heather Mueger sat at her usual spot, but stood when she noticed her friends' arrival.

"You guys weren't in Literature or Lunch," she said. "Lots of people went to the office to fill out the form but it only took one class-time."

"My father needed me for something," Rina lied.

"And, um, my form took longer to fill out since I came from Adlington," Bruno fibbed just as Valinoti entered the classroom.

"Dude," he started. "That form had to have been like fifty pages! I was sent to the office at the beginning of Class Three and just finished!"

"Hm, I guess the Miners did have it longer," Heather said, and then turned to talk to Ria and Claris.

"How long did yours take?" Valinoti asked Bruno.

"I got back with, like, ten minutes left of Lunch," he lied. Rina really did make it work so Valinoti wouldn't find out they had left the school. Lucky, Heather didn't figure anything out.

Teacher Lindstrom entered the classroom with a jar full of colored papers. She wore the same clouded uniform under her multicolor-stained smock and it looked as if a smudge of dried black paint had made its way on the side of Lindstrom's spectacles.

"Afternoon, class," she smiled. "I'll be walking around with this jar and you will choose a color. Your project will be due next week."

"What's the project?" Anzalone asked, Bruno always forgetting he was even in the same class as him.

"You will sketch anything you want only using that color and the shades that correspond," Teacher Lindstrom answered. "For example, if you get grey, you may sketch with slategray, pewter, flint, even silver."

One by one, students picked out pieces of paper from the clear jar. Bruno. Green. Rina. Blue. Valinoti. Grey ("What am I supposed to sketch with grey?" he had blurted right after.). Anzalone. Red. (Typical, Bruno thought). Claris. Orange. Penni. Brown. Ria. Pink. Heather. Yellow. Klaudine. Purple.

"It will be due on Wednesday," Teacher Lindstrom informed. "so you have the weekend plus Monday and Tuesday to work on it. Don't leave it until the last day!"

She went on by showing past year's A+ projects and the sketching prompt. Once again, the students did not hesitate to leave when the bells rang.

Bruno put all his school supplies into his locker; Valinoti did the same. Rina passed by with a textbook between her arms and chest.

"Goin' to the Tent tomorrow?" she asked, not waiting for an answer.

"The what?" Bruno muttered, but the girl had already exited the front doors just as all the mobiles in that hallway started to buzz.

Bruno and Valinoti looked down at their wrists, noticing that they both had gotten the same email (it looked as if everyone in Hallway One had gotten an email). Bruno read it to himself, even though many of the students were reading it aloud.

"ATTENTION, ALL ESPINGTON TEENS/YOUNG ADULTS! IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR: THE TENT!

WHAT IS THE TENT? IT'S A CLUB HELD IN THE HEART OF ESPINGTON FOR ANYONE AGES 15-19! DJ WATE WILL BE THERE, ALONG WITH FOOD, PHOTO BOOTHS, GAMES, AND DRINKS FOR THE ADULTS! COME TO THE TENT AT 9 PM TOMORROW NIGHT IN THE HEART! IT ONLY COMES ONCE A YEAR!

━ Leta Frantz, Espington Event Coordinator"

"That seems stupid," Valinoti admitted.

"It'll be a chance to meet residents our age," Bruno said.

"That's true. Plus you and Rina will have a good time...especially if there's alcohol involved."

Bruno punched Valinoti in the arm jokingly. They left ESH after Schmidt caught up to them in the frontyard.

"How do you like your classes, Schmidt?" Bruno asked.

"They're great! Though O'Neill and Benson are in all of my classes."

"Aren't they still on dorm arrest?" Valinoti asked.

"Yeah, but the Teachers still read out the names on the attendance sheets. They're in all six of my classes."

"Damn," both Bruno and Valinoti said.

"Hey, at least I don't live with 'em!"

. . .

Katrina stood in the Inns Two lobby with Diggs the Guard. Bruno remembered seeing him at the Elmray Mountains, still sad because of Melvin's death.

"Val, do we need more milk for the fridge?" Bruno asked.

"Oh, yeah, Cariddi used the last of it!" he answered.

"I'll meet you upstairs," Bruno said. "I'm gonna buy some snacks. Maybe we can all watch a movie together."

"Word," Valinoti smiled with two thumbs up. He and Schmidt entered the elevator and rested on the back wall as the doors closed.

Bruno quickly bought a carton of milk and a package of popcorn from Inns Two Convenience. The cashier, young and probably Bruno's age, rang up the items and placed them into a plastic baggie. He walked back to Diggs and Katrina, who stood by the lobby fireplace.

"Did they say what happened?" Bruno asked Diggs, the real reason why he wanted to stay in the lobby.

"Bruno, it hasn't even been two hours yet," the Guard answered without his usual smile. "But it was Piner-related."

"Because of the arrow, right?" Bruno asked.

"Yes," Diggs nodded. "Piners make their own weapons: arrows, axes, knives, traps."

"What did they do inside the Mine?"

"How are we supposed to know that?" Diggs asked. "Only you and Rina were inside. We only saw the Piners on the second level of the Mountain."

"How many?" Bruno questioned.

"Too many too count," Diggs answered. "That's why we retreated. No casualties, though. Just some scrapes here and there."

Bruno couldn't believe that a bunch of Piners with wooden arrows could make a whole squadron of Obsidian-armed Guard retreat. And that was when he remembered Mickey and Amaury. They left way before the ambush. What if the Piners attacked them on the way back to Adlington? Bruno didn't want to know, couldn't if he tried.

. . .

Valinoti was in the dining room working on Teacher Howell's math problems. He didn't react when Bruno entered R9.

"Got popcorn for the movie," Bruno said as he placed the carton into the fridge and the package in the cabinet.

"What movie should we watch?" Valinoti asked. "Comedy or horror?"

At that moment, Jojo the Great Dane came bolting from Room A, Lee appearing soon after.

"Did I just hear the word 'movie'?" he asked, his torso bandage noticeable under his t-shirt.

"Yeah, comedy or horror?" Val asked.

"Thriller!" Cariddi shouted as he entered R9.

Jojo darted to the Guard and stood on her hind legs, licking Cariddi's face like a popsicle. Lee couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you doing back so early?" Bruno wondered.

"Cradock gave a few people half-shifts today," Cariddi answered. his bruised eye barely noticeable now. "He said you have a nice story to tell."

Immediately, Bruno turned his head to Valinoti. His friend had a look of confusion, but more of interest.

"What story?" Val asked.

"Something about the Elmray Mountains, right?" Cariddi persisted.

Bruno didn't respond.

"What are you talking about?" Valinoti asked. "Bruno and I were in ESH the entire day."

Schmidt had appeared now from Room C; he looked different because he had taken off his glasses.

"Cradock said something happened at the Mountains," Cariddi said, "and Bruno was there with that Rina chick."

At that point, Valinoti, Lee, and Schmidt turned their attention to Bruno, who was gripping his backpack string tightly.

"What is he talking about, Bruno?" Val asked.

"Rina and I didn't fill out an information sheet at ESH," Bruno confessed. "We went to the Elmray Mountains with Cradock and Sir Espington."

"Why?" Valinoti questioned right away, sounding annoyed.

"I guess you can say it was a date with Rina," Bruno answered. "But━"

"But what?" Valinoti stood.

"It was to see if I'd make a good Boss Gatherer..."

"And?"

"And I got the job."

"You're a Boss now?" Valinoti asked.

"Yeah."

"Way to go, Dude!" Cariddi clapped. "They triple your payroll just for the title!"

"Congrats!" Lee and Schmidt cheered; Jojo barked.

"Yeah, congrats," Val said flatly, walking to his room and slamming the door.

Cariddi turned to the remaining boys, "Wait, so movie or no movie?"

. . .

Anzalone darted out of ESH right after the last bell rang. He ran directly to the Armory, noticed Blake snoozing in his office, snatched a handgun from one of the display cases (making sure his coworker Steph Gallo wouldn't notice), and walked right back out of the building.

I need to do this and I need to do this now! Anzalone thought.

It was getting closer and closer to Sunday. Closer to his death. And closer to his parent's deaths, too.

I need to do this now.

Anzalone walked right into the Inns Two lobby, ignored Katrina completely. He entered the elevator and clicked the button with the letter P engraved in sky blue.

Penthouse. Sir Espington's suite.

Anzalone's gun rested in his back pocket, hidden by his shirt.

"Relax, Tyler, relax," he whispered in the elevator. "If I don't do this, my family and I are dead."

The elevator door opened and Anzalone immediately saw Sir Espington at the end of the hallway. He was walking to the window with his son, Colton. The little boy had a messy head of blonde hair and a pinkish complexion. Sir Espington picked his son up and pointed out the window. Colton pointed too, laughing and shouting "Eagle! Eagle! Daddy that's our City Animal!"

Sir Espington was laughing just the same. "That's right, Colton!"

Anzalone stood still in between the elevator doors. He could not move let alone take out his handgun. All Anzalone could think about were his parents when he watched the President and his son.

"Can I help you, Sir?" a Guard asked Anzalone.

Anzalone didn't answer right away. "I-I'm sorry. I-I clicked the wrong button."

"Please get back in the elevator, Sir," the Guard said. "I should arrest you for coming up here, but you're Tyler Anzalone. I know you wouldn't do anything wrong."

"Again, sorry, my mistake," Anzalone walked backwards into the elevator, making sure the bulge of the handgun would not make an appearance. He pressed the button for the fourth floor.

As the elevator descended to floor four, Anzalone wiped a tear that rolled down his cheek.

Because he knew he couldn't kill Julius.

And because he knew he had just killed his parents.

Friday, 6 March 2099, 4:00PM

The third day of ESH was Bruno's worst. Valinoti completely ignored him in every single class; he refused to walk with him in the halls. On top of all that, Bruno had gotten a D on Teacher Rudolph's Brethren war quiz.

Bruno explained everything to Rina, who didn't see what the problem was (Valinoti had shouted in R9 last night: "You lied to me, Bruno! Over something so stupid!"). Bruno knew he should have told his friend the truth, but he thought Valinoti would get jealous again━especially because Bruno was a Boss now and not a Factory Worker anymore (a Deliveryman had come to R9 at five AM that morning with Gatherer uniforms for Bruno).

Now Bruno was in the Fabrics Market again, standing next to the counter with Klaudine and Ria. He was holding five violet Adlington sweatshirts.

"Why are you buying all these?" Ria asked.

"I'm gonna give them to some of my Miner friends," Bruno said.

"That's so sweet," Klaudine smiled.

"Mr. Honey would've loved that," Ria added.

Bruno grinned. "How was the funeral?"

"Nice," Klaudine said. "The Espington City Laws allow residents to have their own, private, funeral outside of the Gates in a place called the Meadow if they want."

"Never heard of that place," Bruno said, "but it sounds pretty."

"It is," someone said. "Not like you would care."

Bruno turned around and saw the female Marketer with dirty-blonde hair, the one who was there the day Mr. Honey died.

"Brittany, what's wrong?" Ria asked, totally caught off guard.

"If he really wanted to show Elden that he was going to stay true to his promise, he would have attended the funeral!"

"I-I was at the Elmray Mountains with the President," Bruno explained. "I'm sorry!"

"Save it," the girl named Brittany said. "I didn't like you the second you stepped into the Market. You seem like a fake, a liar!"

The girl wiped a tear from her cheek as she stormed into the Market's backroom.

"I'm sorry," Klaudine said. "She's still really distraught over Elden's death."

Bruno just nodded and had Ria ring up the sweatshirts. He left with just a wave goodbye. He had just met Brittany, and the girl already hated him. Those words, liar and fake, made Bruno choke up a bit, swallow a wad of air.

He left the Market quietly, also with watery eyes.

But he wouldn't cry.

It wasn't time for that yet.

6:25PM

Bruno decided to eat with Cariddi at the Inns Two Diner. The Waitress had just served them their meals (Bruno got a salad and Cariddi ordered the VAM).

"Shame we didn't end up watching a movie last night," the Guard said. "Didn't know Val would get angry about the whole field trip. Sorry again, Bruno."

"Don't be," he answered back almost immediately. "It was my fault for being untruthful. Val had a right to know and should not have been lied to. He deserves to be angry at me."

"Well hopefully the Tent will brighten your spirits!" Cariddi said, raising his glass of lemon water. "I'm off work for it!"

"Doubt Val will go," Bruno muttered. "He said it sounded stupid."

"Oh, he'll go once we get the reminder email from Leta Frantz," the Guard assured. "DJ Wate is playing his most popular club hits, plus there's gonna be two chocolate fountains, white and milk."

"And how do you know this?"

"Cradock does set-up with the older Guard," Cariddi answered. "Tells us everything."

Bruno nodded, really not that intrigued. He played with the fries that came along with the sandwich.

"You okay? You barely ate your food, Bro."

"I'm fine," Bruno lied. "This worker at the Fabrics Market upset me today, that's all."

"Well, if you need anything just let me know!" Cariddi said. "My dad once said: 'Don't bottle up your emotions or you'll burst like Mentos and cola!' He was funny, my father."

Bruno remembered how on the first or second day, Cariddi had told him his father was killed when Belington attacked Espington. Mr. Cariddi had died a Guard, a Guard protecting his City.

"Thanks, Dude, I really appreciate," Bruno grinned.

And soon enough, the two men left the Diner and got ready for the Tent.

8:55PM

Bruno, Cariddi, and Schmidt wore matching outfits: gray khaki dress pants, navy blue button-down shirts, and silver ties. Both Bruno and Cariddi had their hair spiked a bit; Schmidt's hair was greased to the side making his glasses look a whole lot bigger.

"Bring me back some chocolate-covered strawberries!" Lee said, laying on the couch with his torso bandage and a can of Coke.

"Will do!" Cariddi said. "Val, ya sure you're not comin'?"

"Positive!" he said from Room B.

"But the chocolate━"

"I already saw the reminder email," Val interrupted. "I'm fine."

The three guys left R9, but not before petting Jojo goodbye. The Great Dane lay on her back as Schmidt rubbed her belly.

"Can't believe you're still scared of her," he said to Bruno.

"You try waking up to a dog that size right in your face!"

Cariddi and Schmidt laughed, and together, they all headed to the Tent.

. . .

The Tent covered the entire Heart of Espington. As Bruno and the guys walked towards the huge, white-fabricked abode, they could see all the other teens heading over with their matching outfits. DJ Wate's music blared from inside the Tent; strobe lights flashed violently; huge bonfires crackled at the edges of the Heart.

"Is your girlfriend coming?" Cariddi asked, Schmidt chuckling.

"Not sure," Bruno said and quickly turned to his friends after he said it.

"Ah-hah! She is your girlfriend! " Schmidt jumped.

Bruno was surprised he said that. I guess she is sort of my girlfriend. "We really didn't make it official. Her dad is Sir Espington, remember?"

"Whatever," Cariddi laughed. "Just have fun tonight!"

The three guys made it to the entrance; Jago and Sayer stood with big, black stamps in their hands.

"Left hand out," Jago ordered.

Bruno put out his hand and the Guard stamped him softly.

Cariddi put his hand out and Jago slammed the stamp down hard. "Ow!"

"Aw, gonna tell Shad? May have to clock in early to do so!" Jago laughed.

Schmidt put his hand out and Jago stamped his hand hard. "Ouch!"

"What ya gonna do, Kid?" Sayer asked.

Bruno just walked into the Tent without saying anything; he noticed his friends rubbing their hands because Jago really did slam the stamp hard. Why didn't Jago and Sayer hate Bruno? He was the one who turned Mavers in for Schmidt. Are they acting nice because Bruno is a Boss now and their Occupation as Head Guard may be at risk if they try anything stupid? Bruno didn't want to know, didn't care to know.

The inside of the Tent was incredible: crystal chandeliers, discoballs, strobe lights, streamers, round tables with plates of salad and bread, long tables full of appetizers. DJ Wate was at the far-end of the Tent. He had the whole stage to himself and the DJ stand.

"Let's get this party started!" he shouted as the bass dropped.

"Hey, there are my friends!" Schmidt pointed. "I'll catch ya'll later!"

The boy darted to his friends from ESH and they disappeared in the crowd. Cariddi looked around the area, back at Jago and Sayer for a moment.

A girl walked over in a silver-gemmed dress with a pearl necklace. She was thin and had long, brown hair.

"Bruno, this is my girlfriend, Nicole," Cariddi said.

"Nice to finally meet you," she smiled.

"Wait, you have a girlfriend?" Bruno gasped. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Kinda the same way you kept Rina a bit of a secret."

Bruno didn't respond.

"I have a table for us," Nicole said. "With Ria, Heather, Klaudine, and the Nurses."

Bruno remembered the Nurses: Madigan, Caroline, Sam and the other Nicole. They were all so nice and had helped him and his friends out several times since they arrived on Sunday. Bruno didn't know if Nurse Lauren was part of their posse; she had been the one who stitched his arm after Faulkner stabbed him (his arm was healing just fine, by the way).

Bruno took a seat next to Cariddi, who sat next to his girlfriend. All the girls dressed in either silver, blue, or both.

"Hey, Bruno!" Ria and Klaudine waved, both of them wearing matching dresses.

All the Nurses, but Lauren, sat at the table. They waved too, as did Heather. Bruno noticed how all the teens started to take their seats; DJ Wate changed the music from trap to pop.

"Late-night dinner is now served," he rapped. "Go on up for some chicken fingers, mozz sticks, and more!"

Bruno looked at the table of food at the other side of the Tent; Schmidt had gone up with his friends and picked some of the appetizers.

That was when Rina Espington entered and Bruno had to stop his jaw from dropping. The President's daughter wore a satin, silver dress that ombred to a dark, navy blue. Her blonde hair was rolled up into a braided bun with cyan glitter sprinkled around. Rina wore diamond earrings and a crystalline necklace. Her stilettos were hidden from the long dress, but poked out every so often when she walked. They were just as silver as her dress.

"Oh my God, she's gorgeous," Nurse Madigan said.

"Go get her, Bruno," Cariddi smirked. "She's all yours."

"You're together?" Nurse Nicole gasped, the other unaware girls now chattering.

Bruno didn't answer her. Instead, he walked over to Rina and put out a hand. "Were you looking for me?" he asked.

"No," she said flatly.

"Wait, what?" Bruno asked, putting down his hand.

Rina laughed. "I'm just kidding!"

And together they walked back to their table, majority of the teens watching them as they did so.

. . .

As the night continued, everyone was on the dancefloor. DJ Wate played his best hits and the music blasted. Bruno danced with Rina; they held hands alongside Cariddi and Nicole. Bruno noticed other people dancing such as Klaudine, Penni, and Claris. Anzalone was nowhere to be found and Valinoti had yet to show up. As Bruno danced, he noticed how Penni would look over every so often. That was when he remembered how Valinoti had told him that she had a major crush. Bruno snapped out of it when Schmidt appeared with two nerdy-looking friends behind him.

"You won't believe this," he said. "but O'Neill and Benson are here!"

"What?" both Bruno and Cariddi said.

"Yeah! I heard them talking to people saying that Cradock allowed them to stay at the party only until eleven, so for another half-hour."

"Just stay away from them, Schmidt," Bruno said. "You'll be fine for another thirty minutes. Let's━"

"Well if it isn't Bitch Bruno and Logan Shit!" O'Neill chuckled, Benson right behind him.

"Leave us alone, O'Neill," Bruno said. "We're just having a good time here."

"We would have, too!" Benson shouted. "You know, if ya didn't kill Faulkner!"

O'Neill shushed his friend; the chubby boy really did not know how to throw a comeback. Teens were still dancing around Bruno and everyone else who stopped (Rina, Cariddi, Nicole, and the rest of their table).

"What do you want?" Rina asked.

"We wanna see how tough Bruno is," O'Neill said. "You killed our friend. It's time for a little revenge."

"I gotta call this in," Cariddi said, grabbing his talkie from his pocket.

Quickly, Benson snatched the phone from the Guard and chucked it in the crowd of dancing teens.

"Who do you━"

That was when Benson performed a (surprisingly impressive) high-jump kick into Cariddi's chest. The Guard fell backwards into Madigan and Sam, knocking them all down to the ground. Bruno went to help his friend, forgetting about O'Neill completely. O'Neill grabbed Bruno by the neck and pulled him back towards the food table. Benson was kicking Cariddi in the side; Nicole and Schmidt trying to stop the chubby kid.

"Let's see what you've got, Hero!" O'Neill shouted under the loud music.

"I don't wanna fight, James, you're not worth it."

"Okay," O'Neill laughed.

He charged Bruno, tackling him to the ground. At that point, the dancers started to notice and dispersed quickly. They all formed a gigantic circle; Bruno, O'Neill, Benson, Schmidt, Cariddi, and Rina were all inside.

"Move away, Shit!" O'Neill yelled. "And take Blondie with you!"

Schmidt hustled to the edge of the circle with Rina, who pushed through the crowd and made her way to the exit.

"Looks like we have a dance battle!" DJ Wate cheered unaware of the ongoing brawl.

Bruno got up, as did Cariddi.

"Can we fight?" he asked the Guard.

"Yeah," he said. "When Benson snatched the talkie, I had already pressed the EMERGENCY button. Diggs is on his way."

"What are you two losers talkin' about?" O'Neill asked.

"Nothing much," Bruno said.

"Now," Cariddi shouted.

Bruno charged O'Neill, Cariddi charged Benson. The bullies got ready, but they were smaller than the adults. Bruno slid and kicked out O'Neill's legs; the boy fell on his butt with a thud that unified with DJ Wate's bass drop. Cariddi had combat training when he became a Guard; Benson's amateur martial arts were no match for the Guard. Cariddi duked the chubby boy and managed to grab him by the neck into a chokehold. Cariddi then pushed Benson forward and the fat boy fell down near O'Neill. The crowd of teens lets out their "oohs." No one noticed the Chefs bringing out the two ginormous chocolate fountains.

"Can we stop this? I literally just showed you what I've got," Bruno said, earning himself another round of oohs from the crowd.

"Fuck you, Bitch Bruno!" O'Neill shot up, grabbing something from his back pocket and chucked it.

Bruno fell to the ground with a thud just like O'Neill. The crowd shouted another round of oohs; however, it was louder and they all sounded as if they were disgusted. Cariddi ran to Bruno, shouting for him to get up, but Bruno heard only murmurs. Whatever hit him, hit him in the head because his vision was fuzzy as was his hearing. The music was just a vibration and the crowd was faint. Benson came up from behind the Guard and elbowed him in the back. Cariddi fell down, and Benson slammed him out of Bruno's vision.

That was when O'Neill appeared. He stared down at Bruno, holding his weapon and grinning with his pearly whites. He said something, although Bruno could not make it out exactly.

Did he just say, "See ya in Hell, Bruno"?

Then someone tall tackled O'Neill to the ground; Bruno felt the shake momentarily. The crowd went wild; Bruno saw them jumping and cheering. Benson ran into view trying to help his friend out, but the tall man slammed the chubster in the face with his fist.

Diggs? Cradock? Julius?

Cariddi crawled over to Bruno, helped him up. Sound was coming back into Bruno's ears and his eyes were finally focused. There was a bump near the scrape on his head; Cariddi had a bruised lip. In front of the two guys was not Diggs, Cradock, nor Sir Espington.

It was Valinoti.

He had knocked both bullies on their backs; Benson was crying like the toddler. Valinoti turned around and walked back to Bruno and Cariddi.

"You okay, guys?" he asked in his matching outfit. Schmidt had made an appearance.

"What made you come?" Bruno asked.

"I was hungry," Val laughed. "And Lee had just finished the last of the Sour-Sweets."

O'Neill had gotten back up with his weapon, a wrench, and charged the guys from behind. Schmidt turned around but did not scream in time.

"Guys, look out!" Rina screamed from the entrance, Diggs, Jago, Sayer, and Cradock by her side.

Valinoti turned around and, with all his might, pushed O'Neill backwards with both his hands. The force was pretty incredible because O'Neill lifted off the ground and flew in the table full of food, drinks...

...and the two fountains full of steaming, hot chocolate.

The liquid chocolate fell all over O'Neill's bare arms and fabrics. Some of the milk chocolate splattered his face. He screamed, louder than the music, louder than DJ Wate━who stopped playing the mixes altogether. The Nurses ran to O'Neill (and the babbling Benson). Nurse Madigan and Nurse Caroline jogged over to Cariddi and Bruno, checked their injuries and concluded them minor.

"Take them to the Clinic and then the Slammer!" Cradock ordered Nurse Nicole and Nurse Sam. "Jago and Sayer, go with them. Not only did they attack these kids but they broke curfew!"

Sam and Nicole escorted the boys out of the Tent; Benson's nose was bloody and O'Neill's face was red and blistery. Jago and Sayer followed the Nurses out. Cradock walked over to Bruno.

"You okay, Boss?" he asked.

"Fine. They're stupid."

"I know," Cradock said. "I was stupid for letting them come. It's just that it's once a year and I didn't wanna be a dick. Well, at least you showed them what you were made of."

"I didn't," Bruno laughed. "Valinoti did!"

"True," Cradock said. "Hey, come by my office at the Guard House and we'll have an interview for Sergeant Guard. Our latest, Sergeant Burns, just retired."

"Wow," Valinoti gasped. "That'd be awesome, Sir!"

"Please, call me Cradock or Shad."

"Way to go, Val!" Cariddi said. "We can be partners!"

Bruno was too busy looking in the crowd of teens. He noticed someone awfully familiar, but did not understand why they would be here. Maybe it was just his imagination. Rina snapped him out of it.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Fine."

Bruno got up and walked through the crowd. The party was pretty much over; the teens were leaving and DJ Wate wasn't really motivated anymore. He started packing up his equipment.

"What's wrong?" Rina asked.

Bruno ignored her for just a second. He nudged through a few people passing by and saw a girl putting on a sweatshirt, hoodie over their hair, and sunglasses over their eyes: a lame disguise.

"I'll meet you at the exit?" Bruno asked Rina.

"O-Okay," she said, kissing him and then heading for the Tent's exit.

"Carth, what the fuck are you doing here?" Bruno whispered.

"Shh," she muttered. "I just wanted to have fun. I made sure the Miners did not see me."

Bruno went to answer, but someone beat him to it.

Penni the ex Miner stood their, heels in hand and jacket in the other. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, hey, Penni," he said. "Just talking to a friend."

"Friend? More like your sister. And was she one of the Miners on the carriage? Um, no! How'd she get here?"

At that point, some people turned around such as Rina, Val, Cariddi, Nicole, and Cradock.

"Penni, please."

"Please what?" she asked. "Please be my date to the Tent, why I would've loved that, but you had to be all kissy-kissy with the President's daughter!"

Bruno wanted to speak, but he knew there was no hope. He looked at his twin sister with worry in his eyes.

He was right.

Penni turned right around and shouted directly at Shad Cradock.

"We have a Trespasser! Caroline Arthur Bruno!"