“It’s probably for the best,” Stel said. “I’m still sed with work. I guess Regutory Cubicle Celebration Days doesn’t t when you work in a busy office.”

  “I’m sorry, Stel,” I said.

  “It’s fine!” Stel said. “I think it’s really nice what you did. You’ll get to see me soon.”

  I said bye to Stel, staring at the red tickets Ovie gave me for my LE ticket.

  “I ’t believe she actually traded with you,” Oka said.

  “Seriously,” I said. “I mean, she called me Zeta Manure like twelve times and said she could have just had her parents buy her a blue ticket and got in some pretty specific digs about my face that will stick with me for a few years at least, but whatever. Here’s hoping Laenie won’t hate us after this.”

  Oka and I went to Laenie and Aira’s room. After a few knocks, the door opened slightly.

  “Hi, Zeta,” Aira whispered. “You should maybe like, go away.”

  I held up the red tickets.

  “Or maybe not!” Aira said. “Laenie!”

  “Who’s there?” Laenie asked. “Is it Mrs. Cyto? Because I’m still writing my apology letter, I’m on my fifth draft, and…”

  “Just e over here,” Aira said.

  Laenie saw the ticket before she saw us, and her eyes sparkled.

  “How did you…?” Laenie asked. She stepped outside with Aira to get a better look at it.

  “Ovie also told us where she hid the rest of the pnt stuff too,” I said. I handed her a note. “It’s all written here. We’re sorry we messed up so bad.”

  Laenie looked over the note, which had dires to the alley Ovie dropped her seeds and pots in which she assured me nobody would look in, so they’d still be there.

  “You just enjoy your day without us,” Oka said. “Seriously, we’re sorry.”

  My ribs were still a bit sore from her Exa i attack.

  “Very, very sorry.” I said.

  “But this ticket has three guests with it,” Laenie said.

  “Yeah, but,” I said. “Would you even want to go with us after what we did?”

  “Well,” Laenie said. “Everything I wao see in Iho Vinai I wao show to all of you, too. And I probably owe you too back for kig your asses.”

  I was a bit stuhat the soft voiced and proper Laenie said a swear, but after she turned into a big monster I guess there was lots about her I wouldn’t be able to guess based on her usual demeanor.

  “Plus, you should probably help us look for the stolen goods!” Aira said.

  I still felt tense orolley. I didn’t feel like I deserved to be going, and I worried that someone would have found the stuff Ovie stole aher took it for themselves or threw it out.

  I ran straight to the alley Ovie wrote about as soon as we got there. I had never sighed in relief as much as I did when I saw Laenie’s seeds there, and even more when I saw the look on Laenie’s face whe them back.

  “I still ’t believe she did that,” Laenie said.

  “That’s Ovie for you,” I said. “Sain, Laenie.”

  “It’s OK, it means a lot that you’d gh all this to try and make me feel better even after I pretty munihited you both in battle,” Laenie said.

  “You don’t have to keep reminding us you beat us up,” Oka said.

  “Now that I have it all back, it’s not really worth being upset about, is it?” Laenie said.

  “I’m still mad at Ovie,” I said.

  I didn’t eve what she was trying to do. Make me mad obviously, but it seemed like she wao test me, too. It was about her and Jeans, right? I still was baffled thinking of what anythiween her and Jeans could be.

  “Maybe you should feel sorry for her instead,” Laenie said.

  “How e?” I asked.

  “She does have to be around Chellsi and Mikei-Kei all the time,” Oka said.

  I burst out ughing at that.

  “I’m serious, though,” Laenie said. “She’s like that all the time, well, except around teachers. But I think they tell too. I feel bad for her that she thinks she has to be like that.”

  “I guess if you put it that way,” I said.

  “Well, if she messes with us again, I’ll tackle her right away,” Aira said.

  “That was amazing, Aira!” Oka said. “Where did you get that weird rope, anyways?”

  “Oh, it's from some arts and crafts capture kit I got for my birthday,” Aira said. “As the ercial said, you never know when you’ll have to make a citizen’s arrest while also stimuting the minds of the youth.”

  Laenie giggled.

  “Where to ?” Laenie asked.

  “You tell us!” Oka said.

  “Well, first up is the library! They have the biggest sele of pnt books, and a rexatioer that…” Laearted.

  I let Laenie show us all around Iho Vinai, seeing all the spots I didn’t know about. I held myself back from suggesting anything Tower reted. Oka and I let Laenie lead the way, and it was o see someone I had barely heard speak befetting more and more excited as the day went oayed until the sun started to set, and I felt so rexed orolley back. I watched Iho Vinai fall into the distance. Seeing the sort of birthpce of Tower of Hate and Love was amazing, but it was almost equally amazing seeing Laenie’s tent expression as she fell asleep irolley, leaning against the shoulder of an also sleeping Aira, having done everything she wao do at the vilge.

  “It’s kind of amazing that someone so precious and tiny could turn into a bloodthirsty mohat almost killed us.” I said.

  “Yeah,” Oka said wistfully.

  “ you believe she swears?” I said.

  “No!” Oka said. “Did that catch you off guard too?”

  “Totally! She has that soft void she’s so shy and—”

  A deep guttural growl came from Laenie’s side of the trolley. After a moment of sheer terror, I finally exhaled when I realized it was just a sleep growl.

  “Hey, Zeta?” Oka asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “I try to not butt into your business, but what’s the deal with you and Ovie?” Oka paused, tapping her pointer fiogether. “Why would she be talking about Jeans?”

  I didn’t know if I was ready to talk about something I didn’t uand much.

  “If you don’t wanna talk about it I uand,” Oka said. “I’m here for you no matter what though, OK?”

  “No, I don’t want to keep secrets from you,” I said. “I know about as much as you, I think. Jeans and Ovie must be close, but I have no idea how close they are, or when they could have eve.”

  “Maybe they’re dating?” Oka said. That sent a shoy spine. Would Jeans move on so quickly? Oka tinued, probably seeing the color drain from my face. “And after a few weeks of css with Ovie, maybe they deserve each other. Although she still traded tickets with you, so she’s not all bad?”

  “She was still incredibly snotty about it,” I said. “But she did still trade, yeah…I don’t get it.”

  I sighed.

  “I just wish I could move on already,” I said. “I froze up so bad when Ovie started talking about Jeans. Like I thought of all the things she’s probably been telling Ovie about me. I guess I thought it was over after the vision thing.”

  “Moving forward is tough,” Oka said. “I wish it was easier. I wish it could just be ht away. But it’s still a journey. I hope the day you’re through it is soon. And I’ll be here with you as you go.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  I felt a deep spiderweb of fear in my stomach. I thought of all the times I told Jeans I’d never leave her.

  “Promise me you won’t let me bee like her,” I said quietly.

  The trolley rattled for a painful few seds. I thought about Oka sidering me as being like Jeans. Her Jeans. Maybe she’d o escape me.

  “I promise,” Oka said. “But I don’t think I’ll ever have to. You’re not like her.”

  “But—”

  “If you did, I would stop you,” Oka said. “But it’d take a lot to make someone kind like you do the kinds of things she did.”

  “But it could happen, and I couldn’t live with myself if I,” I said. “If I did to you what she…”

  “I know,” Oka said. “And I promise.”