Troop ran his fingers through his dark hair the way he did when he was trying to think of something to say. “Does that mean you’re willing to befriend me?”
“I guess. I judged you harshly because you didn’t exactly make a good first-impression.”
“I’m actually a nice person once you get to know me, believe it or not,” Troop said.
Kristi flashed him a half-convinced look.
“Is there anything I can do to convince you I’m not a jerk?”
Kristi thought for a moment than cracked a smile. “As a matter of fact, yes. There is something you could do.”
“What is it? I’ll do it right now.”
“I want you to send an instafication to every person you have harassed and apologize to them.”
Troop faltered for a split second, and then pasted a determined expression on his face. “If that’s what it takes to gain your trust, so be it.”
Kristi expected him to have a huge list of kids to apologize to, but a little part of her hoped Troop wasn’t the jerk she thought he was. She looked over Troop’s shoulder and onto his electro-slate where he was typing the names of the people he was going to call. In total, there were eight names.
Troop activated the instafication app on his electro-slate and walked away from the camp for some privacy. Kristi followed him.
“I’m coming with you to make sure you’re not instaficating your friends,” she said.
“You don’t trust me? I always keep my words.”
“Tough luck.”
“Fine. Don’t interrupt me though.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be like I’m not even here.”
She sat cross-legged on the grass. Troop dropped down beside her and connected to Lilly Trusk, the first name on his list.
“Hello?” asked a girl’s voice.
“This is Troop.”
Lilly’s voice immediately took on a defensive tone when she replied, “What do you want? Is this a prank call?”
“No, it’s not. I just wanted to apologize for hiding your electro-slate on the school roof a few months ago.”
There was an awkward stretch of silence, and then Lilly said, “Are you serious? Is this some sort of sick joke?”
“No, I really regret throwing your slate onto the school roof.”
“You do realize I had to get a new slate after you threw my old electro-slate, right? The screen got cracked when it landed on the roof.”
“I didn’t know that,” Troop said. He sounded distraught. “You should’ve let me know that I broke your slate—I could’ve bought you a replacement.”
Lilly let out a nervous laugh. “No, you would’ve laughed in my face and told me to suck it up. At least that’s what the old Troop would’ve done. I don’t recognize the Troop who is talking to me right now.”
Troop caught Kristi’s eye and shot her a quick smile.
“I’ve changed a lot, Lilly. I really want to offer my sincerest apology for my immature actions. Do accept my apology?”
“If you really mean it, then yes.”
“So are we cool?”
“We’re cool. Where are you anyways? Your mom said you were away on some family business.”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“Alright, I have to go. Bye.”
“Bye.” Troop ended the instafication.
“See, that didn’t go so bad,” Kristi said.
Troop rolled his shoulders and replied, “One down, seven more to go.”
“Go get ’em.”
Troop finished all of his calls before Jaiden and Chelsa joined them outside. Some of his instafications went smoothly, like with Lilly. Others didn’t go so well. Some students heard Troop out and left on good terms. Some students disconnected as soon as they heard his voice; at least he tried.
With all his instafications completed, there was really nothing Kristi could hold against Troop. In a way, she felt like she’d grown closer to Troop just by listening to him make all those calls.
“That took a lot more effort than I anticipated,” Troop said.
“Not many people have the courage to do what you just did,” she replied.
“Thanks. A compliment from you means a lot to me.”
“Did I just hear Kristi say something nice about you?” Jaiden asked.
Chelsa gave Kristi a look that read: Did you take my advice?
Kristi nodded.
“One more day until we reach Oppidum,” Jaiden announced.
Chelsa frowned a bit, but brightened up when Jaiden gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
“What do you think Finn looks like?” Kristi wondered out loud.
“I think he’ll be tall,” Chelsa said. “Finn sounds like a tall-person name.”
“Really? You’re judging a person by his name?” Jaiden shook his head slowly.
“And Jaiden sounds like a short and ugly-person name,” Chelsa joked.
“Hey!” Jaiden protested and put on a scowl.
Kristi rolled her eyes at their affection for each other. Troop mimicked her when he saw her doing so, earning himself a punch to the shoulders.
“I’m worried about Chelsa,” Kristi told Troop later that day.
They only had a few hours left of riding until reaching Oppidum.
“She seems fine to me.”
As usual, Chelsa and Jaiden were riding side by side ahead of them and out of earshot.
“She’s way too quiet,” Kristi said. “She hasn’t been talking a lot lately and Ghost seems to be frustrated with Chelsa as well.”
As she spoke, Kristi realized Ghost was no longer hitching a ride on Chelsa’s horse; he had mysteriously disappeared again.
“Maybe Chelsa isn’t a talkative person. Granted, I haven’t known her as long as you have though,” Troop said.
“I guess I might be over reacting,” she admitted. “But I still feel like something’s nagging Chelsa more than she lets on. Hopefully she’ll be back to normal by the time we find Finn.”
“Have you been to Oppidum before?”
“I’ve never left the that city where I grew up in until a month and half ago.”
“I wonder what unlocking your electro-slate will reveal.” Troop changed the subject.
“No clue. Whatever my parents left me on the slate better be good.”
They tossed ideas back and forth about what could possibly be so important that the fingerprints of all four Naturals were required to unlock it. Their ideas ranged from a hidden vault of gold, to the secret elixir of immortality, to a cache of dinosaur DNA. The more they hypothesized, the more ridiculous their ideas got. Both of them eventually concluded that it was highly unlikely the electro-slate contained directions to the cave of a troll, after half an hour of debating.
“That’s Oppidum?” Jaiden’s exclamation brought Troop and Kristi out of their discussion. “How are we supposed to find Finn in that architectural jungle?”
Oppidum sprawled before their sights, a pulsing mass of fiberglass, steel and bricks. A lazy river plowed its way through the city. The center of Oppidum could be seen a mile away. A huge dome nestled in the heart of Oppidum, casting off a glow under the sun’s rays.
The city was arranged in a circular pattern, much like a bull’s eyes. On the outskirts were the less wealthy parts of the city; the houses were smaller and crammed together. Moving inwards, the houses started to space out and there was the occasional patch of green from a garden to be seen; last but not least, a mixture of mansions and skyscrapers dominated the center of Oppidum. Arches graced the skylines and spires reached towards the heavens.
“This might take a while,” Troop said.
“Agreed.” Chelsa said the word forcibly.
They approached the fringes of Oppidum. Kristi drank in the sights all around her; the hustle of people doing their errands, the hawkers calling out their wares and the constant babble of news being updated on the public news-screens.