Blind Belief (Discontinued)

3. Mali: Badass or Flirt

"Fresh air," she said with content.

A man walked by her and gasped once recognizing her face, "It's the she-demon! She's returned!"

"It's not me! You've got the wrong person!" Koa wailed desperately.

A crowd began to form around her.

"This is bad. I need to get out of here," she muttered under her breath.

She saw a lady in the crowd holding her child close to her chest. Koa lunged in her direction. Fearing for her own safety, the woman dropped her child. Koa grabbed the child before he hit the ground and ran out of the crowd. She found the closest building to the crowd and left the little boy there. She quickly moved to the opposite building and slipped into an alley.

Koa hated using others as her means to escape, but it worked the best. She hadn't even expected the child to be dropped. At least there was enough distraction for her to get out unnoticed.
Koa leaned against a wall.

"Well that could've gone better," a girl walked out from the shadows.

"Hey Mali. The crowd was pretty big so it's not like I had much of a choice to begin with."

Mali walked over to Koa and leaned against the opposite wall. Unlike Koa, Mali was tall and had a great build. She wore a ripped and faded purple t-shirt, but wore it better than a model. She had long, red hair that highlighted her tanned face.

"I would've kept the child. Could've gotten money off of him."

"Too young. Too useless. Wouldn't have taken him anyway. Not worth it."

Mali shrugged, "Just an idea, that's all."

"Well ideas hurt," Koa glared at her, "So when'd you arrive? Aren't you solo?"

"Mm. Sometimes if I feel like it. Otherwise I tend to use guys who think I'm into them. It makes things interesting."

"So where've you been?"

"Just hanging around the beach. Well, I came into town today, but nothing interesting has been going on. What's up with that?"

"Then leave."

"Yikes! Harsh as usual Coco..."

Mali choked as Koa wrapped her hands around her throat, "Don't. Don't even think about it. That name died years ago. When I found out what my family had been hiding from me."

Mali looks at Koa sympathetically, "Hey, I'm sorry. Didn't know you still cared that much."

"There's a lot you don't know. I go by Koa and that's all anyone needs to remember. Got it?"

Mali smiled, "Yeah, got it. Well, I'd better go spoil the guys' fun! There probably on their fifth card game without me. And then it's time for drinks!"

Koa sighed as she dragged her hand down her face. Mali was cool and composed when she wanted to be, but she was a party animal. She was also the one who helped her learn how street life worked when she first left home.

Koa slid down onto her butt and buried her head into her knees.

"It's been a heck of a long day," she said slowly drifting off to sleep.