Mission 11: Bad Fairies 3/5

I meet Genni in the solar park. It’s clear she’d been crying, but she gives me a weak smile. Her fingers stitch together repeatedly.

I sit down next to her and just keep my mouth shut for awhile. Finally I say, “Genni, can you tell me what happened?”

“Sure,” she says. “I’m not scared or anything.”

“Good.”

She sighs. “I was diving for things with Oreilli and Billie. Billie went off elsewhere after awhile. I was just talking with Oreilli, and we got a little close.”

“Kissing?”

“No, we just had hands on each other’s waist. Then he pulled me in pretty tight and started kissing me. That kind of surprised me.”

“You told him to hands off?”

“Yes. I started pushing him away. Wrestling, after a bit. I got free and he pushed me.”

“Pushed you?”

She nods hesitantly.

“Let me see your shoulder.”

She pulls aside her blouse at the left shoulder. There’s a nasty bruised area around the collar bone. “It didn’t break or anything. Doctor says no lasting harm done.”

“Well, Genni, you know he didn’t do that by pushing you. That had to be a strong punch.”

“Sure.”

“All right. If Oreilli stays on the team, how distracting would that be for you?”

Her voice gets stronger. “It wouldn’t. He just needs to stay away from me and things will be fine. You aren’t thinking about ruining the team, are you?”

Genni sounds sincere, but she’s a very good liar.

...