upright: exploration, excitement, freedom

reversed: lack of direction, procrastination, creating conflict

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          ADDIE WAS THINKING. Of course, she was coming up with practically nothing, but she was thinking nonetheless. She rolled over to check the time—it was about four in the morning. She'd slept a little, but the ominous conversation they'd overheard was twisting knots into her stomach.

          The soft glow of the numbers on her alarm clock didn't illuminate much. She could just barely make out Lia's sleeping form pressed against the opposite wall, but the faint snores were enough to assure her that her sister was still there. As far as she could tell, Lia was sleeping just fine. The prospect of being spied on was apparently not enough to keep her awake at night.

          Addie was jealous. She would be tired tomorrow, no doubt. Lia considerably less so. She wondered how they would manage to avoid Katie and Pollux. Their science class was pretty small, and seeing them outside of class was pretty much inevitable. Didn't Pollux say that the two of them were armed? With what, exactly? Why would they need to be armed if they were just at school? And why would they be telling an old guy about it, of all people? About them?

          It didn't make sense. They were just teenagers. Addie foolishly thought that maybe Pollux was just keeping an eye out for the new students, but she threw that out almost immediately. No way that was it. If the whole thing was about them—and apparently it was—he had to have a reason.

          Did he think they were a threat of some sort? To who? Why? They were fifteen. Lia had taken jiu-jitsu lessons in the past, but how would he know that? And besides, being familiar with mixed martial arts didn't exactly qualify Lia as a threat. It just made her a badass.

          Okay, the kids were armed, and it wasn't because she and Lia were threatening. Why then? Did they think they would be attacked? Addie supposed that might be it, but a science-focused boarding school didn't seem like a place anyone was likely to get mugged. Addie sighed in frustration. She didn't want to think about it anymore, but she couldn't exactly help it. The odd whispering noise coming from the vents wasn't helping either.

          She pulled her blankets up to her chin and shut her eyes, trying to be as still as possible, but sleep didn't come.

Addie swore and ripped the covers off. She wouldn't be able to sleep until she figured out what was going on. She crossed the room and shook Lia gently. "Hey. Wake up."

          Lia mumbled and rolled over. "What? What's happening? What're you—" She stopped, her eyes darting to the window. "Addison," she whined. "It's still dark out! What time is it? What do you want?"

"Oh, relax," Addie huffed. "I can't sleep. I'm worried about tomorrow. Can we do a reading?" She bit her lip. She knew Lia wouldn't say no, but she'd prefer a little more enthusiasm.

Lia blinked a few times, her face scrunched up in annoyance. "Ugh. Fine," she groaned. "But you have to buy me a brownie tomorrow."

Addie rolled her eyes. "Fine. Just get up, will you?"

She rummaged through Lia's backpack, looking for her tarot deck—her own was still only halfway painted. Her fingers closed around the small rectangular box, and she turned back to the center of the room.

Lia sat cross-legged on their rug. She'd lit two candles, one on each side of her. Organic light was better for readings. It helped with the flow of energy. "Situation, action, outcome?" she asked.

Addie nodded. She sat down across from her sister and began shuffling the cards. She focused on the problem at hand: the new friends that might not be friends, the suspicion, what it might all mean. She kept her eyes closed as the cards passed from one hand to the other, waiting to feel the connection.

After a minute, she opened her eyes and set the cards in Lia's open palms. Lia started shuffling them herself. Addie watched as the cards almost floated between Lia's hands. The candlelight flickered across her face, creating dramatic shapes and lines that Addie wished she was capable of capturing on paper. Lia's chest rose and fell ever so slowly, and her eyes darted underneath closed lids.

She was good. Way better at it than Addie could ever be. Was she jealous? Maybe a little. But she was more grateful than anything else. Very few sisters would get up at four in the morning for a card trick, albeit an important one.

Lia's eyes opened. She sandwiched the deck between her hands and held it in front of her. Addie placed her hands over Lia's—one on top, one on the bottom. She closed her eyes again and focused on Katie and Pollux, on the voices, on weapons.

She removed her hands, and Lia spread the deck facedown on the rug. Her fingers hovered over the cards for a few moments—back and forth, back and forth, each pass slower than the last. She plucked a card out of the line. "Situation," she whispered, and placed it down.

          The moon. Reversed. "Confusion. Misinterpretation."

          Addie let out a breath. That made her feel better. Whatever was going on, it was something they hadn't considered. Which meant Pollux wasn't out to get them.

          She stretched her hand over the deck,  wandering. As her fingertips brushed the cards, one of them stuck for a moment. "Action," she said, and flipped it over.

          The two of cups. Unity. "A partnership," she announced, searching her sister's face. Lia looked pensive. She could just be cranky. Either way, it looked like Katie and Pollux would be sticking around.

            They each hovered a hand over the cards. Addie felt a pull to the left, and Lia's fingers moved with hers. Wordlessly, they decided on the farthest card, and Lia placed it between them. "Outcome."

The ace of swords stared up at them. Addie relaxed. "Clarity."

          Of course, clarity could be either positive or negative . Or anywhere in between. Addie was a positive person, but she wasn't stupid.

Lia heaved a sigh. "Okay, so. Clearly we're misinterpreting this. We team up, we get answers. Boom. Can I go back to bed?"

          Addie raised an eyebrow at her sister. "It appalls me that you aren't the least bit concerned about this."

          "I was!" Lia defended, throwing her hands up. "But I'm also sure it's not a big deal. I'm not making a mountain out of a molehill," she added, quoting one of their mother's favorite sayings.

          "Fine, Mom," Addie retorted. "I just think—"

          "Addison, I love you," Lia began, "but I trust the cards and I'm so goddamn tired it's not even funny. Can we continue this after I've gotten another three hours?"

          Addie huffed, grumbling under her breath. "I guess," she said finally, and she blew the candles out.

☼

"Lia, shut up," Addie snapped, annoyed. "It looks fine."

Lia pouted, looking at her project like she'd just found it in the trash. "It looks like I sat on it is what it looks like." She slumped back in her chair. "I've never been good at clay."

          "You've never tried clay for more than ten  minutes at a time." Addie turned back to her own clay. They were working on vases. Technically. The art teacher had assigned "a vessel that contains you", which was supposed to be some sort of introductory piece so he could get to know his students better. Their classmates chatted away, rolling clay between their hands and carving pictures into rudimentary bowls and jars. Grady, the other kid at their table, was making a mug. Nothing special, but well crafted. Addie was going for an impressionism-inspired look, incorporating sunflowers with the ocean and maybe some constellations. At least, that was the idea. She hadn't gotten very far along yet.

Lia, however, had gotten very frustrated, very quickly. As was her usual temperament. She'd scrapped idea after idea, mashed the clay between her fingers too many times, and the lump before her was too difficult to work with now. That was Lia's problem.

Addie had spent her entire life observing Lia's psyche. Not on purpose, of course. It was just something that happened when you spent most of your childhood with the same person. Lia's mind was constantly moving, churning out new ideas, each one brighter and shinier and completely different than the last. In theory, it was perfect. In reality, it resulted in hundreds of unfinished projects and hundreds of lumps of dry, cracked clay.

Addie didn't need to be looking at her to know that Lia was flipping her off.

          But she didn't care. She was utterly desensitized to Lia's middle finger, and utterly invested in sunflowers and the ocean and space, and all was right in the world.

          For about five seconds.

          The door opened swiftly, and in walked Sloane Delaney.

          At the risk of sounding misogynistic, Sloane Delaney was a bitch. Just sweet enough that the teachers liked her, and just mean enough that the majority of the student body despised her. It may have only been day five, but Addie had heard plenty from the students around her. It also was not a difficult conclusion to come to.

          "Sloane," Mr Green greeted her, his voice as thin as his patience. "Nice to see you. Did you get lost again?"

          "As a matter of fact, yes," Sloane confirmed, tucking her half-dyed hair behind her ear and flashing a winning smile. "This place is literally a maze."

"Right," Mr Green said, raising his eyebrows as if he didn't quite believe her. "I'm still marking you tardy. Take your seat, please."

          A look of resentment crossed Sloane's face before it was swiftly replaced with a tight smile. She wasn't too upset, though, because after a few steps she stopped to chat with a friend at the nearest table. Her footsteps were oddly heavy, but Addie didn't give it much thought.

          Lia nudged her. "Who is that?"

          Addie glanced over her shoulder at Lia and then back down at her clay. "Sloane Delaney."

          Lia inched closer. "Who the fuck is Sloane Delaney?"

          Addie looked up. "Seriously? She made fun of your lump yesterday."

          Lia looked offended. "First of all, it's not a lump, it's a work in progress. And second, no the fuck she didn't because I've never seen her before in my life."

          "You have got to be kidding me," Addie said, not even sure what facial expression she was making. "She's been here since the first day. And she's a royal pain in the ass, so there's no way you don't remember."

          Lia blinked and shook her head, like she thought she was going crazy, or she was giving up on explaining. "And what's up with her hair?"

          Addie looked from Lia to Sloane's two-toned dye job. "It's a trend right now to dye half your hair one color and half a different color," she explained, raising an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you don't know that."

          "No, not that, it just looked like—ugh, never mind. Red and black. Nice color choice," Lia said forlornly. "Very checkers-y."

          Sloane, as if on cue, tossed her hair over her shoulder and left her friends to their clay.  She continued walking through the room towards her seat at the back, but her eye caught on Addie's project. She changed course, making a beeline for the empty seat at their table. Grady, who had been wearing headphones, turned around upon seeing the annoyed twins looking over his shoulder, then turned back around wearing a similar expression.

          Sloane pulled the chair out and sat down, her bracelets jingling. She nodded towards Addie. "What's that?"

          Addie didn't give her the satisfaction. "Clay."

          Sloane rolled her eyes. "And what is it gonna turn into?"

          "A cookie jar. Probably."

"Cuz you like cookies?"

Lia scoffed. "No, because it's a thinkpiece on how the cookie jar is symbolic of both childhood innocence and disobedience."

Addie finally looked up. "Yes, I like cookies."

Sloane looked between the two as if she couldn't decide what she thought of them. She leaned forward, pointing lazily towards Addie's flowers. "Are those supposed to be sunflowers? They look...interesting."

"Trial and error," Addie replied. Her fingers rolled and flattened another piece of clay into the shape of a petal.

Sloane's fingers waved around a bit more, her long nails uncomfortably close to the wet clay. "And that's the ocean?"

"Mmhm."

She pursued her lips. "Looks like clouds, kinda. You should fix that." Her eyes wandered towards Lia, who was squinting at her. "What, you need glasses or something?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to figure out who the fuck you think you are," Lia said bluntly.

          Grady took out his headphones as if the conversation was suddenly more interesting than Machine Gun Kelly. Sloane pursed her lips. "I'm trying to help a fellow artist," she said innocently, looking Lia up and down. "Not that you would understand it."

          Lia bristled. "I think I understand perfectly well, thanks. Why don't you get yours? We can have a proper critique."

          Addie wished she'd thought to bring headphones to class. Instead of asking Grady to borrow his, she said, "Sounds like fun. Where is it, the dumpster?"

          The chatter died down a little, as more students realized what was going on and started paying attention.

Sloane gave a sarcastic smile. "Ha ha. Very funny. No need to get all worked up over a little constructive criticism."

          "I actually don't think you know what constructive criticism is," Lia shot back.

Addie winced, pausing her work. Lia was about to start a fight. She had a tendency to run her mouth until somebody snapped. Addie didn't know what Lia would say next, but it wasn't going to be good.

"Here's an example. Let's say I thought your hair looked stupid."

          Sloane recoiled, her face pinching like she was smelling something gross.

Kill me now, Addie prayed.

          Lia continued. "I could tell you that you look like Harley Quinn on meth," she said sweetly, "or I could be constructive and suggest you'd look good bald." She rested her elbows on the table, looking bored. "See the difference?"

Sloane stood abruptly, her mouth twisted into a sneer. "Watch your mouth, child," she hissed.

Lia jumped out of her chair, her arms up as if to protect herself. "Holy shit!"

Child? Addie wondered. Weren't they basically the same age? She glanced up at Sloane, and then over to Lia, who looked like she'd just seen a ghost.

"Do you—" Lia sputtered. "Do you see—"

"I'd have half a mind to eat you right now," Sloane grumbled.

What the fuck, thought Addie, her clay forgotten as she looked between her bewildered sister and the girl who was apparently a cannibal. "Excuse me?"

Lia, who always had something to say, gaped. "I—what?"

Sloane seemed to grow taller, her mouth splitting into a grin. "Maybe I will," she said, and lunged at Lia.

The class erupted into chaos. Addie yelled. She wasn't sure what came out of her mouth, but it was probably a lot of swear words. She jumped up, trying to get the deranged girl off of her sister.

"Heads up!" shouted a familiar voice.

Addie ducked without thinking, and an electric pencil sharpener sailed across the room and beaned Sloane between the eyes. The girl fell backwards, stunned.

"Come on!" Katie beckoned to her from the door. Addie didn't hesitate—she grabbed Lia by the arm and yanked her away.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Lia exclaimed, looking over her shoulder as if Sloane was some sort of monster.

"Explain later," Katie insisted, ushering them out. "Pollux!"

The blond guy appeared as if from nowhere, brandishing a second pencil sharpener. "Go!" he shouted. "I'm right behind you!"

Katie grabbed them both and pulled them out of the classroom. Her hands were surprisingly strong. "Wait," Addie protested, not sure what was going on. "What—"

          "Later!" Katie repeated, sounding impatient. She dragged them through the hall and out the front door of the school.

          "Are we supposed to—"

          "Addie, shut up!" Lia shouted. "Did you seriously not see—"

           "We don't have time for this!" Katie interrupted. She pointed out a beat-up Subaru in the middle of the parking lot. "Go, get in!"

          "But we're—"

          "Now!" Katie yelled, brandishing a lacrosse stick.

"Holy—" Lia began, then blinked hard. "Uh, yeah, okay." She grabbed Addie by the arm, and they ran.

            "Lia! What—" Addie started, almost tripping in their hurry.

          "Partnership, Addison!" Lia pushed Addie in front of her, eyes fixed on the car. "Just trust me!"

          They made it to the car, flinging the doors open and cramming into the backseat. Pollux erupted from the building, pencil sharpeners in hand, pursued by a large bird.

          "Is that an eagle?" Addie cried incredulously, buckling herself in.

          "Very much not an eagle," Lia corrected, an edge to her voice. Addie wasn't sure if it was fear or disbelief. It may well have been both.

          They watched as Katie threw a pair of scissors with deadly accuracy. They caught it in the wing, sending it crashing down. Taking the opening, the two older students rushed towards the car.

          "Go, go, go!" Katie shouted. She ran to pick up her scissors, still clutching the lacrosse stick in one hand.

          Pollux understood, sprinting towards the car, dropping his pencil sharpeners into his backpack. He vaulted into the driver's seat, checking the rear view mirror as he buckled. "You okay? Anyone hurt?"

          "Fine," Lia confirmed. "But Katie—"

          "She'll be fine," Pollux said quickly, starting the engine. He rolled down the passenger window and yelled her name.

          Katie yanked open the door and jumped in. "Got it, go!"

          Pollux slammed down the gas pedal, and the car sped off as fast as it could go into the New York City streets.

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hello my friends and happy 100 reads! thank you for the support on this project, i know it isn't my typical fanfic lol. i love you guys and hope to see you soon!
lots of love,
cajoling

12/12/20