The guards, perhaps sensing the tension with as much intensity as she is, are out the door before she can even turn to them again. It shuts loudly again, and in the following silence, she finds herself alone against the throng of stares, feeling them pick apart and scrutinize every part of her. She manages to release the death grip on her bag to push back her hood before habitually fixing the hair covering the left side of her face. When a girl with shock blue hair near the front of the group narrows her eyes, though, she drops her hand.
"Uh...hey." She gives a short wave. "Is this where I go to volunteer?"
Silence. After a pause, gazes begin to turn and the group disperses, until two people merely stare her down. The girl who has yet to look away narrows her gaze more than Paige thought possible, until the latter finally averts her gaze as she mutters: "Right."
She feels the gaze between her shoulderblades, but ignores it as she nears the corner, setting her bag between that and the window, and she relaxes when the gaze finally relents. She doesn't dare sit, not here, nor does she look back. Rather, she casts her gaze to the window.
At the corner of the view through the window pane, a jeep rumbles in park next to the curb. Three rebel soldiers sit in the back, seemingly holding an enjoyable conversation. The driver, it seems, is standing on the sidewalk. Unlike the dark of the rebels' uniform, he wears a crisp white, and a dark scars cuts across his face and melds into the neck of the suit. His buzzed hair and intense gaze complete the look of the intimidating soldier, but only one of the two people he's speaking with seems daunted. The older man seems to bend at a slight cower, holding a notepad close and a reverent gaze upward. Meanwhile, the youngest of the three meets the soldier's gaze evenly, with a smirk playing on his lips that makes him almost match the others in uniform that sit in the jeep. His features are sharp at a profile, like the soldier's. However, he alters from the other two's fading or buzzed hair with the messy mop of brown of his own.
The frown on the soldier deepens, and so the smirk fades into a more solemn expression, and he seems to age as he nods. The soldier places a hand on the boy's shoulder before speaking softly. It's a pause before the boy nods, but when he does, the soldier repeats the action before withdrawing himself and climbing into the jeep. The two share one last look, one containing goodbyes and hidden meanings before they break and the soldier drives off. It's only when the jeep passes the window does Paige realize she's seen that face before. Not personally, but in the videos in her history classes in her younger age, when Gallium had still been home, and he had been a hero.
"So Tron really is here…"
"You didn't know that?"
She turns to the voice to see the blue haired girl leaning against the wall a short distance behind Paige, and a man stand back with hesitance.
"No." Paige finally manages. "I only heard rumors…"
"They're not rumors." She pushes as she states what is now obvious, before closing in on Paige. "Where are you from?"
"Xenon."
"Xenon?" Her eyebrows raise, but she doesn't seem impressed.
"Yeah." Then Paige dares. "There a problem with that?"
The girl says nothing, her gaze flicking up and down Paige, as if seeing her in a new light.
"Let's be honest here." She says finally. "You won't make it."
"What do you mean I won't?" Her fist clenches at her side.
"You heard me. We've been working towards this moment since the revolution began, and the people in the capital...let's just say you aren't accustomed to physical work."
"That's not true!"
The door opens before the girl can say another word, and the argument ends abruptly as the room falls into a hush. The boy from the window adjusts the buttoned sleeve on his uniform as he enters, the man with the notepad in tow. When he finishes, he looks up to the room, and takes a deep breathing before speaking.
"I will take this time to congratulate you for volunteering to this cause. Freedom is an ideal that cannot be fought for alone, but with many who hold to that same belief…"
He breaks off as he glances to the corner, and he and Paige meet gaze. His brow furrows, and Paige steps back as he nears, until her shoulders hit both walls that make the corner.
"Who are you?"
"W-What?" She shrinks at his glare, causing his eyes to narrow.
"I said...who are you? I know I've never seen you before."
"U-um...I…" What do I say? Dyson never told me what name to use!
"Well?" He crosses his arms.
"Paige!" She blurts, and inwardly chastises herself for using her real name.
"Paige." He seems to barely accept it. "Got a last name?"
"Myers." She catches up quickly, able to at least roll off a fake surname easily. "I came from Xenon as a volunteer."
He says nothing to that, merely watching her with a similar look that the girl had earlier when she had mentioned Xenon, but tinged even just slightly differently….
"Very well." He says finally, before turning to the girl. "Looks like you have yourself a roommate, Mara."
"What!?" The soldier ignores her sputter as he has already turned his back and started towards the center again.
"For those who don't know me, I am Beck Johnson. To those who do know me, I am no longer your co-worker, but your teacher and superior. For the next several months, you will be under my watch and training to go into the field, and do not think_" his gaze roves over all of them_ "that I will take it easy on you just because I know you." He turns a piercing gaze away. "Any questions?"
"Yeah!" A guy near the back calls. "Why isn't the Renegade teaching us? Isn't he supposed to do that?"
Mutters and whispers spread through the crowd, and Paige frowns at the prospect. The Renegade is seen by all, but apparently met by almost none…
"That is not his job." Johnson answers with a glare. "He has to plan every step you take in this war."
When the guy quells, Johnson returns his full address to the crowd. "He will, however, be monitoring everyone's progress closely. Should he feel that you are not meeting expectations_" He straight at Paige before looking away again_ "he will see that you set your sights outside of the army. Any other questions?"
When no one answers, he continues. "Right. Training starts tomorrow. Rest and be prepared, because I won't be stopping for you."
And with that, he exits again.