**Just saying guys, New Barcelona is what used to be Spain :D****

                She brought the Craft down to a steady stop. I sat upright on the bench, looking around confused. Sofia had flicked the cover onto the window so that I couldn’t see outside, nor could anyone see in.

                An overhead light flickered on, the only reason I could see her. It was dim, her features not as prominent as before.

                She stood up, her hands on her hips. “Alright, Clay, we’re just outside of London.”
                “Is that where John is?” I asked

                She rolled her eyes “No, this is where Zee should be. Duh.”

                “Sorry” I muttered sarcastically. She shot me a look, but ignored my comment.

                “We have a problem.”

                “Continue…” I prompted, though I already knew the problem: me.

                “Well, you can’t very well walk out on the streets looking like…that” She made a face, motioning to my figure. I looked down, confused. What was wrong with me? “And I can’t risk you staying in the Craft by yourself.”

                “Wait, hold up.” I interrupted “What’s wrong with how I look?”

                “You’re… well… you’re a boy!” She said “You can’t go out into one of the most heavily populated cities in the world when you’re hated by every single girl out there!”

                “Oh…” I said.

                I hadn’t thought of that.

                “Why can’t I stay in the Craft while you look?” I asked. It would be my best bet.

                “Because what if someone notices that something’s moving in the Craft? They’ll come to inspect. And then what if she finds you? We’ll both be killed!”

                “Why would you?”

                “Because this is treason!”

                I blinked, “Oh.”

                “I swear, you’re such a stupid species.”

                I clenched my fists, trying to hold back my comments. She was getting on my nerves. Who did she think she was to call boys stupid?

                “Alright so, Clay, this is what’s going to happen.”

                I watched as she thought for a moment, trying to sort out her idea.

                “We’re going to have to pretend you’re a DQ.”

                “DQ?” I asked.

                “You know, Drag Queen, when a girl is trapped in a guy’s body?” She explained “DQ’s are fairly common on the Girl’s Side, but they’re not exactly… accepted.”

                “Dammit.” I muttered “You mean I have to dress up like a girl now?”

                “And pretend you’re one.”
                “How do I do that?”

                “Hate guys, pretty much.”

                “What happens if someone finds out I’m not really a DQ?”

                “If you act like you are, then they won’t.” She snipped, giving me a stern look.

                Even on the Boy’s Side, DQ’s were discriminated against. They were treated the same as a boy who had given a girl codes to one of our nuclear weapons. No boy liked them. I had heard of stories of ‘Queens going to the Girl’s Side and living peacefully.

                It appeared that the girl’s weren’t welcoming either.

                I felt pity in my heart for them. If they really were girls trapped in a boy’s body, it had to be horrible knowing your own species would reject you.

                I was not looking forward to dressing up as one though. Especially since I had no idea of how to act or look like one.

                My eyes widened when Sofia pulled her shirt over her head. She tossed her jacket towards me, along with her navy blue shirt she had just been wearing. I caught them, giving her a look of surprise.

                “Put them on. The shirt will be tight, but that’s its intention.” She instructed.

                I didn’t hesitate to follow her orders, “Why am I wearing your clothes?”

                “Because you need to look like a DQ. They wear girl clothing.” She explained, searching around near the control panel for something. Sofia remained in a white undershirt thankfully.

                Ellie was the only girl I wanted to see naked.

                I pulled the jacket on, the ends of the sleeves falling midway up my forearm. The fabric was incredibly tight around my body. I feared it would tear if I moved at all.

                Sofia must have found what she was looking for because she had turned back to me, her hard eyes on my body.

                I suddenly felt ashamed to be wearing this. I could feel my face heating up as I bit my lip, ducking back slightly. Under her judging eyes, I felt small. I wanted to disappear. This was such a horrible feeling.

                “Take your pants off.”

                My eyes widened, “What?!”

                “Take your pants off.”

                “Wh—what the hell?”

                “Look, we don’t have much time. We need to hurry or someone will get suspicious as to why a Craft is parked with its cover on. Take your pants off; I need to cut them.”

                “Are you kidding me? You can’t cut my pants.”

                She gave me a hard look, crossing her arms. I noticed the end of a laser-cutter poking out. My eyes widened. She couldn’t cut my pants!

                “Take them off, or I’ll take them off for you.”

                I surrendered, slipping my pants off my legs. I stepped out of them, picking them up. Sofia stepped forward, taking them from me.

                I felt like an idiot. A grown man standing in not only his underwear, but a shirt and jacket that belonged to a girl whose size was well smaller than his own.

                A complete fool.

                I pushed past the feeling, watching Sofia in action.

                She stretched my pants out over the bench, pulling the laser-cutter out. She clicked off the cap of the pen-like machine, a red light shining out. Sofia twisted the instrument one click, and a faint buzzing noise sounded. She slid the red light over top of the legs of my pants, a little above mid thigh. It sizzled as it sliced through the fabric.

                Sofia capped the cutter, picking up what remained of my pants. She tossed them to me with a stern look.

                I looked at them solemnly before stepping into them nonetheless.

                Sofia came over to me, messing her hands around in my hair. I knelt down slightly to give her a better angle. Even then, she had to stand on the tops of her toes to reach.

                She stepped back, examining her masterpiece.

                “Well… it’s not as convincing as I would like it to be…” She frowned, “But it’ll have to do on such short notice.”

                I grimaced “I feel like an idiot.” 

                “You look like one too.” She smirked.

                I narrowed my eyes.

                Sofia ignored my stare, “Look, your name is now Clarisse, ok?”

                “Why?”

                “You need a girl name if you’re a DQ. That’s the point.”

                I sighed, nodding, “Alright. I’m Clarisse.”

                “Try to talk like a girl.”

                I raised the pitch of my voice an octave higher “I’m Clarisse.”

                Sofia grimaced “Forget that, just sound stuck up.”

                I tilted my chin up, looking at her in disgust “Like this?”

                “Good enough.” She sighed, looking at me doubtfully. I reached up to run a hand through my hair when she grabbed my wrist. She quickly shook her head no, pulling my hand back to my side.

                Sofia pressed a button and the shield that blocked the window retreated. Sunlight flooded the Craft, causing me to squint my eyes. Sofia led the way out of the Craft, locking it behind her.

                A breeze picked up as soon as we walked out, the wind feeling nice against my skin. I stood awkwardly behind Sofia as we walked. She seemed to know where we were going, for I had no idea.

                We had entered a strange environment. It reminded me slightly of where I had grown up as a young child.

                The buildings were run down, a few burnt from fires. A couple of girls sat at the curb, messing around with something. The clothing they were wearing, or lack thereof, captured my attention. I felt my heart speed up as we walked past. Sofia didn’t dare give them a glance.

                I noticed though, how they gave me dirty looks as their eyes traveled up and down my body in disgust. I didn’t know if they knew I was a boy, or just didn’t like DQ’s.

                “Don’t look at them.” Sofia whispered to me, turning down an alley.

                I nodded, keeping my eyes focused on the back of her head. She led us down another back alley before coming to a stop in front of a door.

                She knocked three times.

                I waited nervously behind her, biting my lip. I tried to mimic her position by leaning on a cocked hip, arms crossed tightly over my chest. Sofia held back a smirk when she saw my stance.

                The door opened to reveal a grungy looking old woman. She scowled at us, dirt covering her face.

                “Whaddyuh wan’?” she asked with an accent foreign to my ears.

                Sofia cleared her throat, “We need to speak with Ezra.”

                “Who?”

                “Ezra?” Sofia said louder.

                The old woman turned her head, spitting to her left. “Wha’bout her?”

                “We need to speak with her.” Sofia said, still polite, but stern.

                “Ah, she ain’ here.” The old woman said, turning to close the door.

                “Do you know where she is?” Sofia braced her hand against the door, holding it open.

                “Ain’ seen her in years.” The old woman snapped “Who you be? Pigs?”

                “No, no!” Sofia shook her head. “Can we…er… talk for a moment?”

                The old woman ran her eyes over Sofia’s figure before nodding. She stepped aside, letting us walk through. Sofia stepped in first.

                The old woman put a hand when I got there, “Your kind ain’ welcome here.”

                My eyes widened. I glanced at Sofia, unsure what to do. No way was I staying out here all by myself.

                “She goes where I go.”

                “Ain’ no ‘she’.” The old woman growled.

                “She’s a DQ, ma’am. She can’t help that she’s trapped in this body.” Sofia said angrily.

                “Nope. Not comin’ in here”

                “Please, ma’am. She won’t do anything. She’s mute; she won’t bug you.” Sofia pleaded “It’s really important that we speak, though.”

                The woman thought for a moment, looking me up and down. I stared at the ground before me, gritting my teeth.

                “Fine. One word, and she out, alright?” The old woman warned.

                Sofia nodded gratefully. She grabbed my wrist, pulling me inside the house.

                For the time period, this house was clearly not up to date with modern technology. It didn’t matter what Side I was comparing it to; this house had zero modern technology.

                It was dark and dirty. We were breathing in the dust that covered every surface. The old lady pushed past us, leading the way to the living room. I followed Sofia as she stepped into the room, sitting on one of the two pieces of furniture in the room.

                I sat next to her, our legs pressed against each others.

                The old lady glared at me accusingly. I frowned, but looking away, trying not to be bothersome like Sofia had promised.

                “Whaddyuh wan’?” the old lady asked again, making herself comfortable in her chair. Small strands of hair were being pulled towards the chair from static, the rest curled out like Einstein.

                It was as white as his too.

                “You’re Ezra’s mother, aren’t you?” Sofia asked.

                The old woman nodded impatiently, “Wha’bout it?”

                My eyes widened. I was sitting before the maker of the girl that John had killed all those years ago. The guilt overwhelmed me. I wanted to tell her that I had been a part of her child’s death, but I had a feeling the woman wouldn’t have cared.

                She would have been more concerned with the fact that I had spoken when Sofia had said that I was mute.

                “And you have no idea what happened to her?” Sofia asked

                The old woman shrugged “We was never close.”

                “But… you’re her mother; her maker.” Sofia frowned “How could you not have been close with her?”

                “She was a stupid kid.”

                Sofia’s face saddened for a moment. Mothers must have been important to girls on this side. On the Boy’s Side, you were raised by a random man. It didn’t matter if he had been one of the maters or not.

                Once you turned twelve, you were out of the household, never to speak to the man who raised you again. Unless you were forced to, of course.

                It seemed that on the Girl’s Side, the formed a close bond with the woman who raised them. Of course, the woman would have had to give birth and be genetically connected to the girl unlike with boys. But it still seemed strange to me.

                “Do you know what she was going to do the last time you saw her?”

                “You sure you ain’ no pig?” The old woman asked suspiciously.

                Sofia shook her head. “Promise you that I’m not. And neither is Clarisse.”

                “She was sayin’ some tin’ ‘bout goin’ to the other Side.” The old woman shrugged “You ask me, I think she was goin’ to be a mater.”

                “What made you think that?” Sofia asked, confused.

                “She always loved them lil’ girls.” The old woman shrugged.

                “And you think she would have risked the chance of a boy?”

                The old woman nodded. Sofia waited for more, but soon realized the woman was never going to deliver.

                Sofia cleared her throat “So she is either raising her child or on the Boy’s Side?”

                The stranger shrugged “I guess so.”

                “And you don’t care at all?”

                “Why should I?”

                “It’s just… you’re her mother.”

                “So?”

                Sofia bit her lip, hesitating. She stood up slowly, brushing off the back of her pants. “I uh… I think that’s all I needed to know. Thank you for your time ma’am.”

                “I knew it.” The old lady growled “Damn pigs.”

                Sofia’s eyes widened “What? No, ma’am, we’re not—”

                “Get outta my house.” The old woman stood up on shaky legs, pointing a finger to the door “Get out now.”

                “Ma’am, I didn’t mean—”

                “Out!” She yelled at us.                

                Sofia grabbed my arm, pulling me up. Quickly she hurried towards the exit, pulling me along with her. I stumbled over my own feet in surprise.

                The old woman shoved me out of the door, her face disgusted. “Don’t you damn pigs ever come back, hear me? This is my property! My life! Stay away!”

                She slammed the door shut loud enough to rattle it.

                Sofia’s eyebrows were raised in shock. She glanced at me and back to the door in surprise.

                “Well that was interesting.” I said.

                She nodded, “Come on; let’s get back to the Craft. Clearly Zee’s not here.”