Triple Point

Chapter 17: Mysterious Metas

April 20, 33 AE

After Elsie's initial shock of seeing Camilla outside her condo, the second thing she noticed was the woman's peculiar facial expression—or, more accurately, the lack thereof.

Camilla wasn't wearing the friendly face that she normally showed the public, nor was she looking at Elsie with complete disdain. Instead, she wore a face that exposed nothing but neutral professionalism. Perhaps she had decided to take the same approach that Elsie resolved on doing where their relationship was nothing more than professional acquaintances. Whatever the cause, there was no reason for Elsie to refute it. It was, after all, what she had wanted.

"Are you Amira and Quentin's replacement?" Elsie asked as casually as she could.

Camilla replied with a slight nod and a short "yes." Her expression went unchanged.

Elsie returned the nod with one of her own. "I'm running late, so I'm going to have to hurry," she said as she locked the door behind her.

Again, Camilla nodded once in reply.

The traffic was only slightly better than normal, but it was good enough for Elsie to make her appointment with two minutes to spare. The legality of her driving may have been questionable though, but Camilla didn't comment on it from the passenger's seat, aside from her nonverbal and restrained grimace. In fact, she didn't say a word until after Elsie's PT appointment when Elsie said she was going to pick up groceries, and all Camilla said was a brief "that's fine."

It was weird and the silence was uncomfortable in the confines of Elsie's car with its broken stereo, but what made it worse was the sensation of Camilla watching her every move. But every time Elsie sneaked a look back, Camilla's gaze was elsewhere, scanning their surroundings and not making any indication that she was watching Elsie.

In any other strictly professional setting, Elsie would do what she did best: talk. And while this wasn't exactly a normal situation, her normal methods were still worth trying.

"Do you know Mack?" Elsie asked. "Mackenzie Olomana. He's a Class 3 guardian."

"Yes," Camilla simply replied.

"Well, we'll probably meet up for lunch sometime this week," Elsie said, then quickly added, "if that's alright."

From Elsie's peripherals, she saw Camilla nod once.

"That's fine. Just let me know the time and place the day before."

"Sure." Elsie waited a few beats before continuing. "Also, I'm planning on visiting my family over the weekend. In Arizona."

This time, Camilla paused and turned to look at Elsie before responding. "I wasn't notified of this."

Elsie shrugged, consciously making sure that she raised her right shoulder evenly with her left to prove it was fully healed. "It's a last minute thing. I haven't booked a flight yet though. I was going to do that today."

"Is this trip essential? I'll have to get it approved by the Org."

Elsie stifled a groan. "Yes, it is very essential. It's my family. Ever since that fiasco in Japan, they've been calling me twice a day to make sure I'm still alive. I need to see them in person to reassure them I'm okay before filming starts and I get too busy."

Elsie stopped at a traffic light and she looked towards Camilla. "Your family must've been worried too, right? After what happened."

Camilla's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, but for a while, that was her only response to Elsie's question. It took a few more seconds before she turned her gaze back forward.