Triple Point

Chapter 30: Bending the Rules

Present day

May 17, 33 AE

Elsie couldn't sleep. Which was ridiculous because after the day she had, her body was exhausted. But her mind was wide awake, buzzing after what Camilla had admitted to her. It definitely hadn't been what Elsie expected to hear, and for more than one reason.

First, Elsie hadn't realized how underhanded the Academy, and probably the entire Org, could be. In retrospect, she probably should have expected that considering how high-profile and powerful the Org was, both physically and politically. Like most outsiders though, Elsie probably chose to only see guardians as noble heroes since nothing could prove otherwise.

Second, it turned out Elsie didn't really know Camilla at all. For most of the time Elsie had spent with Camilla, Camilla had been under the influence of whatever ridiculous concoction the Org came up with to make her closer to their image of the ideal guardian. The only time Elsie might have seen Camilla's true self was when they were trapped underground at the Games and at Elsie's family home, and possibly even the first few days that Camilla was guarding Elsie, since Elsie remembered how stoic Camilla had been at the time. They were supposed to be friends now, and Elsie was sure that Camilla had a good idea of who Elsie was, but how well did Elsie actually know Camilla?

And that led to the third thing, which was that maybe Camilla was different than what Elsie had initially imagined. When they first met, Elsie saw Camilla as energetic and carefree with a mind of her own. After their falling out, Elsie was completely certain Camilla was a lying asshole. And once the Games happened, Elsie didn't know what to think of her anymore.

But now, from what Elsie could piece together, she understood that Camilla was cynical, snarky, and a little on the grumpy side, but she was also stubborn, sharp, and a hell of a fighter. Camilla may have thought of herself as weak for playing along with the Org so docilely, but Elsie disagreed. She was braver than she thought, and Elsie felt a bit honored that Camilla was willing to trust Elsie after the shit she had been through.

It was these things that kept Elsie up late into the evening and early morning, and by the time Camilla showed up to relieve the night shift, Elsie was there to greet her at her door.

"You look disgusting," Camilla said candidly, her eyes narrowed at Elsie's disheveled appearance.

"Thanks," Elsie said. "Get in here."

Camilla complied immediately, which made Elsie curious. "Are you...?"

"High?" Camilla finished Elsie's question, almost sounding bored. As if the bombshell that she told Elsie the day before didn't detail the obvious violation of probably dozens of laws and ethics codes. "No. But I got the Org's approval this time. They, the drugs, I mean, tend to slow down my recovery."

Elsie nodded as she tried to process that information in her sleep-deprived mind. She finally caught the implication after a lengthy delay. "Wait, what do you mean 'this time'?"

Camilla shrugged slightly with one shoulder. "Sometimes... I don't want them to know I'm going off their meds. I like going about my business with a clear head and on my own free will, even if that means I have to put more of an effort into acting friendly when I'm in public. It's like a pathetic form of rebellion, I guess."

"I don't think you're pathetic," Elsie blurted out immediately.

"Thanks..." Camilla said suspiciously before glancing around Elsie's messy condo. "Um... I don't mean to be rude, but do you have coffee?"

"That's like the only thing I consistently have," Elsie said, and she led the way to the kitchen.

The coffee left in the pot was still fresh, but it probably also contained the essence of the past dozen batches of coffee before it. It was fine with Elsie, but she was thoughtful enough to not subject that nastiness on anyone else, so she poured the remnants in her own empty mug, washed the pot with actual soap and water, and brewed another batch.