Triple Point

Chapter 31: Wild Card

Thanks to Camilla, Elsie's kitchen table soon held a breakfast that her parents would never believe was made in her own kitchen. Just as they were about to eat, Camilla dug into her pocket and pulled out the small orange pill bottle that Elsie returned to her the day before. She found a marker lying in the clutter on the kitchen counter and scrawled something on the bottle, then blew on the writing a few times to help it dry.

"Here," she said, holding it out to Elsie. "I want you to hold onto it."

"Is that... are you sure?" Elsie asked. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but it seemed like a big deal. Or maybe she was just too tired and hungry to process anything coherently.

Camilla nodded confidently. "I don't usually like taking them; they actually make me feel a little nauseous sometimes. But... I admit, there are times when they make dealing with people easier. And if I'm going to do this, then I'm going to go all the way. No shortcuts."

Elsie returned Camilla's nod and took the bottle. It still had the happy face on the white lid, but Camilla had also written her name on the transparent orange plastic in small, neat letters.

"So no one thinks it's yours if they happen to see it," Camilla explained. "If you're willing to cover for me, then it's only right if I do the same."

"You didn't have to," Elsie said.

"I know," Camilla replied simply. "I wanted to."

Elsie didn't have any pockets, but she was wearing a fitted tank top, so she tucked the bottle safely in her cleavage. She looked up to find Camilla grimacing at her.

"What?" Elsie asked innocently. "I need to make sure you won't try to go for it, right?"

Camilla rolled her eyes and began spreading some jelly on her toast. "Like that would stop me if I was determined enough."

"It wouldn't? Then what was that look for?"

"That look was at you in general," Camilla pointed at Elsie with her toast, "for even thinking of doing that in the first place. You didn't have to literally hold onto it. Leaving it on the table would be good enough for now."

Elsie shrugged and dug into her bacon.

"How are you feeling today?" Elsie asked after a minute of silence. And because her question was a bit vague, she clarified, "After everything that happened yesterday."

Camilla finished chewing a bite of toast before answering. "Not the greatest," she replied, surprising Elsie with her honesty. "I got checked out by the Org doctors after I left here yesterday, just like you asked. Seems like that gorilla hit me harder than I thought. They were able to heal the worst of it, but they had to save most of their energy to help out at the lab."

Just before the attack on the film set, there was a minor fire and less-minor explosion at a medical research lab about half an hour outside of downtown LA. Most of the guardians in the vicinity had gone to combat the casualty, leaving Camilla and Elsie to fend for themselves.

"Those jerks," Elsie muttered through her bacon. She was still bitter about how little the Org seemed to care about Camilla's wellbeing, especially after what she learned the day before.

"They're just doing their jobs," Camilla replied. "There were a lot of civilians hurt at the lab. It's the obvious choice."

"I guess," Elsie conceded, stabbing the yolk of her egg a little petulantly. And, before her tired mind realized what she was saying, Elsie added, "besides, you could probably just heal yourself, right?"

Her words almost made Camilla choke on her coffee, and Camilla had to cough a few times before she could speak again.

"What..." she began, then cleared her throat and tried again. "What are you talking about?"