Triple Point

Chapter 32: Second Takes

Per the recommendation from the Org, filming had been placed on a short hold so the necessary investigations and security planning could take place. Elsie was also confined to her condo as an additional safety precaution, leaving her with some unexpected free time and not many ways to spend it.

She had only one appointment on her schedule, and that was to answer questions for the Org about the latest attack on her life, but there was nothing for her to do once that was done with. Jordan was stressed out trying to prepare for his new album, while Minyoung was busy fielding the media storm that resulted from the attack. Aside from them, all of Elsie's other connections were busy, or they just didn't want to get too close to someone who seemed to be a target of rogue metas.

Then there were the few guardians Elsie knew, but, aside from Camilla, they had all been tasked to follow-up on leads surrounding the second attack. Even Mack had been reassigned from his acting duties temporarily, which meant filming would get even more delayed even if they could start up again.

Basically, Elsie was bored, and she didn't handle being bored all too well.

Luckily, Camilla was still required to be with her at all times. And while it was apparently Org protocol for her to remain outside of Elsie's "personal dwelling," it became a habit of Elsie's to invite Camilla inside first thing in the morning. Or rather, first thing in the afternoon, since Elsie tended to wake up later than what was socially acceptable. Their routine consisted of them making and eating breakfast or lunch together, then moving to the living room for Camilla to practice using her latent powers.

Since their first day of practice, Camilla hadn't been able to do much other than heal a few of her own small cuts, so the practice would usually be more frustrating for her than anything. After about two weeks of this, Camilla had mostly healed anyway, so she canceled her own training in favor of teaching Elsie how to better defend herself, much to Elsie's disappointment.

Elsie knew self-defense was an important life skill and would definitely come in handy for some of her action roles, but that didn't keep her from filing verbal complaints once a minute.

"When can we take a snack break?" Elsie whined from the floor where she had fallen. This was their fifth day of training and she was exhausted. "Or, better yet, a nap break?"

"You woke up about two hours ago," Camilla replied unsympathetically. "And we had lunch an hour ago."

"Yeah, but I'm tired again. Or hungry. I haven't decided."

Camilla rolled her eyes. "You're the one who said you were bored. I'm just offering a helpful solution."

"And this is what you normally do in your free time?" Elsie said in disbelief. When Camilla nodded in reply, Elsie huffed irately. "There must be something else that you like doing."

"I'll tell you if you're able to get out of my hold," Camilla offered. She extended a hand down to Elsie. "You ready?"

She wasn't, but Elsie was curious to find out more about Camilla. So with only a minimal amount of grumbling, Elsie accepted her hand and struggled to her feet.

It took almost another hour, but Elsie was finally able to break out of Camilla's hold on her. She was exhausted, but even as she lay on the floor, her limbs splayed on in all directions, Elsie felt a great sense of accomplishment.

The hold that Camilla taught her to break out of was the same one that Elsie faced a few years ago, high above the streets of downtown LA, with a strong arm wrapped around her neck and a knife poised against her back. While Camilla was nothing like that asshole stalker from then, Elsie still felt like she had finally been able to beat him herself.