Tina Chan - imperfect

But then again, what would happen if I judged everyone by his or her worst actions? Troop openly admitted I had caught him acting inappropriately and claimed he was normally a lot nicer—he just had to maintain his reputation. Also, what would become of Chelsa if I defined her character by her worst act? Hadn’t Chelsa informed me she killed Alex? Murder is a serious crime, and if I was to judge Chelsa by her worst deed, then Chelsa ought to have repulsed me…but she doesn’t.

Shaking her head at the jumble of thoughts in her brain, Kristi massaged her temples to release some of the tension. Flurry sensed her frustration and offered a nicker of support.

“Thanks, pal.” Kristi patted the droid-horse’s fur.

Little slivers of metal where the devil-dog’s acid had burned through glinted through Flurry’s otherwise silky fur. Overall, it gave her hide a silvery, shimmery effect.

“Let’s head back. I don’t want the others to think I’m in trouble if I don’t show up for lunch soon,” Kristi said, talking to herself.

She was unenthusiastic to leave the trails. The trail provided her a sense of comfort and privacy. The gentle sunlight seeped through the canopy, dappling the ground. It was a nice break to be riding at a slow pace after days of traveling in all types of weather at a rushed speed. They still had two hundred miles to cover before reaching Oppidum.

Flurry gently jerked on the reins, letting Kristi know they had reached the trailhead. Kristi patted her a thank you and directed Flurry to The Last Supper.

“We ordered your lunch,” Troop said, spotting Kristi walk through the doors of The Last Supper. “Hope you like chicken potpie.”

“That works.”

Kristi had barely sat down when the waitress brought over four plates of piping hot chicken potpie and a pot of tea. Everyone was silent for a few minutes, occupied with the food.

Troop finished his pie in record time; dehydrated food gets boring after a while. He moved onto his buttered rolls next.

A stout woman came over to check on them. She had a dogged look, light brown hair pulled into a tight bun and a stance that suggested she took no nonsense. Her name was Syra and she was the owner of The Last Supper.

“Everything to your satisfaction?” she inquired.

“Yes, thank you,” Troop said.

“Have I met you before?” Kristi asked. “You seem very familiar.”

“I don’t believe I have had the pleasure of meeting you yet.”

“Never mind,” said Kristi. “There was someone I met who looked like you; she owned a bookstore with a very nice fireplace .”

Troop wondered why Kristi had emphasized the word.

A knowing grin split onto the Syra’s face. “Ah, I have a sister who does though.”

Then he remembered that Syra’s sister ran a safe house for members of the Company.

“Tell her I said thanks,” said Kristi.

The woman nodded then left to attend a cluster of customers that just entered The Last Supper.

“The whole family is part of the Revealers,” Troop told Kristi in a low voice to avoid being overheard.

“Why are you sharing this information with me?” she asked. “Bad things can happen if this information gets into the wrong hands.”

“I trust you not to give the information out freely.”

“That’s a lot of trust to put on someone who you have barely known for a couple of weeks.”

“I trust my instincts.”

For some reason, Troop had expected Chelsa to be the most talkative and vivacious member of the group. However, he was soon proved wrong. Jaiden seemed to be the only person who could coax the ghost of a smile out of her.

Ghost, the leopard, seemed to share his owner’s sudden mood change and would often disappear for long stretches of time. Not that I mind if Ghost leaves for a while. Troop found the creature’s intelligence to be unnerving.

“Aren’t you happy we’re getting closer to finding Finn?” Troop asked Chelsa. “Less than fifty miles left—and we haven’t seen any bandits or met any other trouble along the way.”

“Yeah, I guess,” she replied. She sounded a bit gloomy, if not downright depressed. “I’ve just been thinking a lot.”

“How does thinking make you morose?”

Chelsa shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

He knew she was lying, thanks to Darrel’s advice. If a girl says something doesn’t matter, then it probably does.

“Well, here’s some good news that might cheer you up: we should reach Oppidum in two days at most,” said Kristi.

Chelsa didn’t react with joy to that bit of news; instead, she appeared even more somber.

“Want to go for a walk before we bed down for the night?” Chelsa asked.

Kristi wasn’t expecting this offer; Chelsa usually spent her free time with Jaiden.

“Sure, if that’s what you want to do,” Kristi said.

“Yes it is.”

“Alright then.” Kristi called to the two boys, “Jaiden, Troop, we’re going for a quick walk. Be back soon.”

“Okay, don’t get eaten by a bear,” Jaiden called back.

Kristi let Chelsa choose the path of their walk. They walked the first ten minutes in silence; Kristi absorbed the soothing sounds of nature all around her. The further south they journeyed, the warmer the temperature got. Back in the North Region, the ground would be covered by snow during this time of the year.

The girls reached a flat slab of rock poking out from the ground and Chelsa scaled it rapidly. Kristi scrambled after her, sitting cross-legged besides Chelsa at the top.

“Troop really likes you,” Chelsa said, breaking the quietness.

“Oh?”

“I don’t think you should keep on pushing him away. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he has been following you around like a lost puppy.”

“Is this what you wanted to talk about?” Kristi asked dubiously.

“Partly. Why do you keep on rejecting Troop?”

Kristi sighed. “First of all, he’s a jerk. Second of all…” She couldn’t think of another reason why she kept on distancing herself from Troop aside from him being a bully at school.

Chelsa acknowledged her lack of reasons and continued on speaking, “I understand that you didn’t get the best impression of him, but I truly believe that he has changed his character. Well, in the first place, I don’t think he had a nasty nature to begin with. I think you’ve been a good influence on Troop. He’s a different person from when you first met him. I guess all I am saying is that you should give him a chance to at least befriend you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Chelsa said. After a brief moment of hesitation, she asked, “Have I ever told you how Alex died?”

Once again, Kristi was unprepared for Chelsa’s erratic behavior tonight.

“Well, you told me you killed Alex,” she mumbled.

Chelsa looked off into the distance, “It all started when Alex started dating me. The other students couldn’t believe anyone could see any beauty in me—who would want to befriend a girl with no genetic tweaks when there are several other literally perfect girls to date? I was already used to getting hassled, but once Alex and I started going out, the bullying got a lot worse. I wouldn’t have minded except Alex was getting his fair share of harassment as well.”

Chelsa bit her lower lip, then continued on, “One day, some of the kids at the school decided to throw my backpack into a nearby river behind the school. It was during spring, and the snowmelt had caused the river to swell and increase its current. Nevertheless, I tried to retrieve my backpack because it contained my electro-slate and most important, a baby leopard. Alex had just given me Ghost a few days before and I had kept Ghost in my backpack. I used a fallen branch to snag my backpack and somebody decided to push me into the river.”