OCC: Time for next part. Expect things to get tricky from here.
A. Let her join...
"You do what you want," Sam said with a strained smile. Clover nodded and took one of the badges from the table. The badge was bright gold and shimmered, almost glowed, in the sunlight as Clover watched it enthusiastically. She looked up at the boy and began asking questions.
"So when is the base going to be done?" she asked.
"Another week or so." the boy replied cheerfully. Sam and Alex could tell this was going to be a bit, considering all the questions Clover could ask, and they decided it was best to leave her to her devices.
Sam and Alex sat at the cafeteria table with a simple passive stare. Alex was eating her packed lunch but Sam, who didn't have a lunch, was mostly looking concerned at the table.
"What is it Sammie?" Alex asked, calling Sam by her pet name.
"I dunno," Sam said "I just feel like maybe we did something wrong."
"Wrong about what?" Alex asked.
"Well, the Hive seemed a bit-" before Sam could get her thoughts out Clover came up to the table with her chest puffed out and her badge glowing brightly. Her typical expression was on her face.
"You're looking at the newest member of the Hive!" she announced giddily.
"So when are you going to do anything with this Hive?" Alex asked.
"Well, the first official meeting of the Beverly Hills branch isn't until tomorrow. And I'm expected to be there! The guy also said to invite all your friends so what do you say?" Clover asked.
"Sorry Clover but I got Soccer Practice tomorrow." Alex said empathetically.
"Oh. What about you Sam?" Clover asked as she looked to the red head.
"Me? Uh no thanks Clover I'm busy tomorrow as well..." Sam wasn't really all that busy but she didn't like it. Being a Spy, Student AND a member of this club? It just didn't sit well with her when she felt that she could put her time and attention to better things.
"What?" Clover asked apparently a bit disappointed both of her friends weren't interested in her newfound membership.
"Don't worry Clover," Alex reassured.
"Yea! It just means you get spa privileges to yourself," Sam said.
"Hmph," was all Clover gave as she nodded and sat down with them.
The next day Clover had heard that the Hive's official first meeting was in the presentation hall next to the science lab. The actual Hive base wasn't made yet so they had set up a temporary headquarters after school. From what she had garnered the leader of the Hive herself would be there to welcome them each in. Clover thought that was nice of her and from the looks of it so did everyone else.
The room was packed with twenty people. Most of them students from Bev high like herself and many of them discussing the reasons they were there. Some genuinely liked the idea of helping the community but the privileges seemed more than enough to attract the large amount of people there. When the door opened to the Presentation hall Clover saw perhaps the most unusual people she had ever seen. The people who walked in seemed to come in three different styles, silver, gold and bronze. What was meant by that were that each man and woman who walked in there was dressed in a corresponding and similar uniform that only seemed to differentiate gender and class.
The first ones she noticed were dressed completely in a silver/chrome bodysuit that covered them from the neck down. They had some gold trimming around the shoulders and neck as well as a gold belt across their waist along with some stylized gold shoes and boots , women wearing high heels while men wore boots, and the familiar gold badges displayed on their chest. Other than that, completely silver, down to the antennae sticking out of their ears. The next ones seemed to have a similar silver body suit but carried more gold on them. Golden breast plates, gloves, and neck guards. Were stylized by yellow monocular glasses that covered their eyes as well as bronze colored shoulder guards and lower neck pieces. Their boots were also gold with a bit of bronze color added to them, with ladies also having a high heel at the back of theirs while men had more traditional boots. Finally the last ones had silver body suits striped with gold around the legs and arms, given bronze waistcoats and wrist guards their most distinguishing feature was the headset like device attached to their ear and connecting to their lower jaw. Some might have thought them to look a bit funky, techno or post-modern but Clover couldn't help but feel they were 50's Sci-fi movie fashion rejects.
That was when she came into view among all of them. A woman dressed in a complete gold bodysuit from her head down. Wearing royal purple around her neck, shoulder pads, wrist guards, the skirt that wrapped around her upper legs, her pair of high heel shoes and the small cape she wore on her back. She had a crown on her head with a purple gem embedded in the center and her chest was covered by a keenly polished and perfect gold colored breastplate. Clover couldn't tell if she was more of a fashion reject or less of one in comparison to the others.
"Welcome!" she said cheerfully in her bright voice "welcome all who wish to become apart of something bigger, better, more unified. I am, The Queen. You may address me as such or you may simply call me your highness."
Somebody is having an ego trip, Clover Thought.
"I know I may sound arrogant," she said "but I assure you that you are all equal in my eyes. And you will all have your use as well! In the hive you do not need to worry about things like popularity or discrimination. You may all have whatever you desire."
That sounded better, Clover thought.
"So... what do we do?" one person there asked and the Queen, as she called herself, smiled at the notion.
"There is only one requirement. The official uniforms for the Hive, as you can see before you, must be worn by official members whenever preforming official Hive work. Your designation will be determined once your initiated."
Clover stopped smiling. What? Wear this 50's sci-fi reject of clothing? Was she insane or something? Clover was a fashion officiant and she knew full well that she wouldn't be caught dead in any of this clothing... still there was the free spa. And the she'd only wear it while doing official Hive work... plus if it was in a group she might be able to pull it off with a few accessories of her own.
If you Refuse, go to A. I
If you Accept, go to A. II