The dark man raised the baby above his head, blue fire swirled around it and its eyes glowed silver. "Yes! I've done it!" He wrapped the baby snugly in a blanket and started to walk out of the room.

"Sir?" A doctor stopped him. The man turned cruelly and sneered.

"What?"

"Sir, what should we do with the mother?" The man looked at the doctor like he was the stupidest man in the world.

"Well she's dead, isn't she?"

"Yes…"

"Then bury her." He said disconcertedly and turned away to leave, cradling the baby in his arms.

"But sir, shouldn't we tell—"

"No!" He whirled back on the doctor and addressed everyone in the room. "What happened here today can never be known—that's why all of you are bound by legal gags—get it? Sign for divorce—that way he will never know—and get rid of the body! Destroy any evidence that she was here; if this ever gets out I don't want the trail to lead here and blow the whole operation. After the disaster of Subject Zero we must be careful—we can never have a mess up like that again—there is too much at stake. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear sir." The man holding the baby nodded, satisfied, and left the room. On the way out the baby peeked over the rim of its blanket, and its large blue eyes stared solemnly at Mali's face, as if looking deep into her soul.

Mali awoke being rocked back and forth. "Wha-? Earthquake? Fire?!" Mali blearily rocked upward, ready to spring to action. Liara's laugh startled her.

"No, calm down! I woke you because you were crying in your sleep." Mali looked at her confused.

"Crying?"

"Yes, do you remember your dream?" Mali tried to recall it but it was too hazy and slipped from her whenever she tried to grasp it.

"No, not really. There are a few hazy images but nothing I can make out—but crying though? What's that about?" Liara looked thoughtful; sunshine that was streaming in through the windows almost gave her blue skin almost a glowing, unearthly appearance.

"I don't know—but sometimes dreams can affect you in your sleep and so you do things—like sleep walk, or laugh, or cry in your case. Don't worry though, it was only a dream. It can't hurt you." Mali lay back down, very thoughtful.

"I wonder what it was that would have made me cry…" She wondered aloud. She groaned and pushed her head under her pillow, pushing that thought from her mind. "Why does it have to be so bright in the morning?" She complained. Liara chuckled and then got to her feet.

"I should go, I have to get ready before classes start—and I should leave before anyone else in your house wakes up." Mali peeked out from under her pillow.

"What time is it anyway?"

"Seven." Mali groaned again, and rolled back under her pillows. "Oh quit your moaning, it isn't that early."

"It is when you are a student and actually have to learn things during the day instead of just teaching them." Her voice came out severely muffled by the pillow.

"I'm going to take a shower, is that ok?"

"Knock yourself out." Mali replied, still grumpy. Liara only chuckled and entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Mali sighed and stretched out on the bed underneath her blankets—her body was extremely sore from her run last night. Her thoughts wondered to Alexandra and Niles, who were somewhere in the galaxy right now. Thinking about them made Mali feel sad and angry but also determined. She would not let them be on that ship longer than she had to; they were there because of her and she was determined to get them out. Suddenly Mali heard a clear and pleasant tune being sung coming from the bathroom. She smiled and listened to Liara's voice which was melodious and strong—abet being a little off-key. The song was in a language she didn't understand, but it was pretty none the less. Mali grew sleepy again, just lying and listening.

She was just drifting off to sleep again, drowsy from the warm sunlight streaming in, when Liara came out of the bathroom and hit her with a pillow to wake her up again. "Hey, wake up!"

"Whyyyyyy?" Mali drew it out complainingly. She stuffed her face in the pillow, loathe to get up.

"Well for one thing you are behind on homework…you could do that."

"I told you already—the only homework I have I can't do yet." Mali sighed. Liara came and sat on the bed.

"What's so difficult about reading a couple chapters in a history book?" Mali sighed again.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Confound me."

"I can't read." Mali answered bluntly. "I don't do the homework because I can't read—I never learned." There was a shocked silence in which Liara absorbed this information.

"Well, at least you're not being lazy." She finally said. Mali smiled into the pillow.

"Is that what you thought?" She asked teasingly.

"I was tempted to." Liara said slyly. "Ok, I really have to go now."

"K, bye." Mali said, still snuggling her precious pillow.

"What?" Liara asked, playing shocked. "That's the goodbye I get after everything that happened last night—after all the baring of the souls and the heart-to-heart and the 'I missed you's?"

"Well, don't expect me to kiss you goodbye if that's what you mean." Mali said sarcastically; however she willed her limbs to move and she struggled into a sitting position.

"The bear finally emerges from her cave," Liara commented wryly as Mali sat up, "was that so hard?"

"Ha ha, very funny. If you must know—it's the hardest thing I've had to do all day." Liara let out an incredulous snort and then pulled Mali into a hug, which Mali returned tightly. Liara was at the door when she turned around again. "Hey do you want to meet up later tonight and hang out?"

"I'm sorry but I can't, I'm having a 'girl's night'—whatever that is." Liara looked interested.

"Cool, glad to see your branching out. With whom?"

"Why?" Mali asked, "ya want me home by a certain time?" She asked jokingly. Liara sighed exasperatedly.

"Mali…"

"Okay, okay—just don't go asserting your motherliness all over me now just because we made up." Liara raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't, I'm only interested. Goddess! The battles I have to wage to get a straight and simple answer from you!" Mali smiled, but complied.

"It's with Ara and Cadence—two girls in my bunk." Liara nodded.

"Well, that's nice. So how 'bought Saturday then?"

"Cant—I have the detention that you gave me."

"Well that won't take all day, will it?"

"No, but I'm doing something else with my bunk and then I have biotics practice."

"Then Sunday?"

"Sure." Liara looked at Mali wryly.

"You could have just said that outright."

"I know." Mali said mischievously.

"Well then, Sunday it is. I'll pick you up here at noon?"

"Sure."

"Well, ok, bye then." Liara headed through the door, but while she was passing through she added—"and Mali,"

"Yes?"

"Don't stay out to late." Mali half-laughed half-groaned and flopped back down on the bed. Later that day she came into the kitchen smiling and humming.

"Someone's happy." Cadence commented as Mali sat down with some oatmeal at the table.

"Sure—it's sunny, its Friday, we're having our girl's night…what's not to be happy about?"

"I thought you said you hated the sun—you said it was too hot." Alex commented.

"Well, don't always believe what people say," Mali retorted, "Besides, perspectives can change."

"Does it have anything to do with the teacher I saw walking away from our bunkhouse this morning?" Cadence asked slyly. Mali gave her a withering stare across the table but Cade just smiled back. "You made up, I'm guessing?" She pressed.

"If you have to know," said Mali wearily, "we did. She was just over late talking so I let her sleep over."

"A teacher slept here?" Audin said, incredulous. "Does anyone else find this bit of information awkward?" Mali rolled her eyes.

"She's doesn't really count as a teacher after hours—besides, I owe her a lot, she's saved my life before. She can sleep over whenever she wants or asks." Mali avoided voicing the fact that she was the one who had done the asking.

"She's saved your life?" Ara asked as she joined them.

"Yah, the first time I was being attacked by the reaper…" Over the rest of breakfast Mali entertained her friends with the stories of her near-death experiences until it was time to leave. Friday flew by at the speed of sound. The days where she had survival and weapons training usually did. In weapons, Sadna had graduated Mali from the basics of her double swords and spear and was now teaching her a few complicated maneuvers. In survival, they were out through a maze to train their sense of direction, and then later they finished with flying more with the mantises. At the end, Officer Joggerston had cheerful beckoned Mali over.

"Glad to see you, I'm looking forward to having you for detention tomorrow—you're going to be cleaning the paintball paint off of these babies." He said, patting a nearby mantis fondly. Mali gave him a sour look.

"I'm so excited." She grimaced. Joggerston just chuckled and bounced away. Suddenly a hand clamped on her shoulder and steered her away from the rest of the group to a secluded alcove. The hand was big and meaty and held her shoulder like a vice. Mali let herself be led away, curious. When they were far enough away she was released, and Mali whirled around to see who it was. The sneering blonde boy from her history class leered down at her, obviously believing that he had overpowered her. Mali knew that he was big, but up close he was hulking—even bigger than Audin. Mali crossed her arms. "What do you want?" She asked calmly, looking him in the eye. This show of defiance clearly started the boy, for he paused for a second, but then he composed his features and sneered.

"So you are the new biotic for five? You don't look like much." He insulted.

"I'm assuming you're the biotic for one?" Mali asked, noting his black stripes.

"Yes, and you're going to bet that we are going to beat your asses in the next match." Mali scoffed.

"Please, no need for crude language here buddy, you intimidation is not going to work on me." He leered higher still, practically towering over her, flexing his muscles threateningly. Mali rolled her eyes.

"Don't play with me, you little stick. I could crush you with one fist."

"You're going to have to catch me first." Mali smiled wickedly. "Is this it? The point you dragged me over here for?" Now she stood tall, and even though the top of her head only skimmed his shoulder it was like she was the one towering over him. "Well listen buddy, I've got a newsflash for you. You may be tall, and have lots of muscle, but you're going to need more than that to beat me because I have dealt with hundreds of guys like you and you know what happened to all of them? They all ended up with their face being squashed underneath my boot, so if you're going to make a threat think wisely before you say it—because I have better things to do than teach another brute like you a lesson. Don't mess with me unless you're prepared to lose." The boy was obviously impressed with her speech, but his eyes were still filled with fire.

"All those are are words, Somali Avon. I can't wait for the day that you are going to eat them." He haughtily turned his back on her and walked away, joining his friends and leaving Mali steaming in the corner. Ara came up beside her and watched him go.

"What a piece of meat! He looks like a guerrilla—except not as smart. What did he want?" Mali snickered at her joke.

"Just the usual death threats and the like. What's his name?"

"Groose. He's the leader of the black's, and although his looks don't show it he does have a cunning streak when he wants to so you better watch out."

"It's ok, I have you guys. When he wants to come after me he's going to deal with all of us."

"Spoken like a true team member." Ara praised, "I knew you'd warm up to us. Now, let's go get some dinner before our girl's night." However, the night wasn't as cheery as they hoped. As they entered the mess hall the room was clouded with worried glances and frowns and many of the tables were filled with low murmurs. They dished up and took their usual table along with the other members of bunk five.

"What's going on?" Mali asked.

"You haven't heard?" Alex leaned over across the table, "The reaper has hit another space station! This one was orbiting a mining moon."

"Why would they do that?" Ara asked.

"Maybe it's a rock collector?" Cadence joked. All the team gave her stern glances.

"This is a reaper we're talking about!" Alex cringed, "It could be up to anything!"

"Like collecting rocks…" Cadence snickered into her plate so quietly Mali barely caught it. Despite herself she smiled.

"Well, let's forget it for now. The girls and I are going out tonight." Mali looked up with a start.

"You mean out out? Like, outside of the campus out?" She asked worriedly.

"Yah, why?" Ara asked.

"I'll be right back." Mali pushed herself up from the table and quickly walked across the hall to the faculty table. Liara looked up from a conversation she was having, clearly expecting Mali was coming to talk to her, but Mali only waved and walked by. Liara went back to her conversation, but Mali could see her watching her out of the corner of her eye. She approached the admiral and cleared her throat. "Sir, may I speak with you?" the admiral sighed but got up from his plate and they found an empty side hallway to talk in. "Sir, I was wondering if I could have permission to leave campus tonight. I know that I'm on shaky ground—but this is a necessary team building exercise." Mali said.

"What are you doing?" Dickens asked.

"I and the girls of my squad are having a—uh—girls night. They want to go out of the campus. I didn't know till now or I would have asked earlier." Dickens thought silently for a minute, in which Mali cringed in the silence. She hated waiting.

"Personally Mali, I would let you. I trust you—to me you do not seem like the psychopath type—but it isn't just me that's over this Mali. Others in the council do see you that way and they would not look kindly on this. You don't know what I had to do to get them to have Clint stop tailing you." He rubbed his forehead, stressed. "I'm sorry Mali, but I don't think so." Mali's spirits fell.

"Please sir, I'll do anything, this is important to me." He sighed.

"Alright, but I'll have to put a tracker on you. Come with me." He led her out and toward building three, which Mali had never been in. In was apparently the offices of the professors, and Mali saw that it was true. When they entered the two story building the doors that were on both sides of her all had nameplates to the left of them, bearing the name of the professor who owned used it. Mali realized that is was here that Liara probably intercepted her S.O.S call—in her office. Dickens led her up to the second floor; Mali kept her eyes peeled for Liara's office. Dickens's office wasn't what Mali predicted. She took in the messy and slightly cramped room with a baleful eye.

"I thought it 'be bigger." She said, criticism evident in her voice.

"It's the military." Dickens growled as he rummaged through a drawer. "Ah, here it is." He pulled out a black and silver bracelet that he locked and then synched onto Mali's wrist. It was pulled tight but it till hung slightly loosely around her arm; Mali looked at it doubtfully.

"Is it supposed to be that small?" She asked, holding up her wrist to inspect it better. Dickens looked at it.

"Well, it was designed for burly criminals—not a sixteen year old girl the size of a toothpick—"

"Hey!"

"—but it should still work. Try to take it off your arm." Mali grasped the rubbery circlet by the outside and started to pry her hand through, only to gasp in pain as it shrank in size and constricted her hand.

"Ow! Jeeze! How do I make it stop?" Mali yelled as she bent over her hand in pain, trying to pry it off—but the harder she tried the tighter it squeezed.

"Tilt your hand upwards and let go of it." Mali did and watched as it quickly expanded again and slid back to rest on her forearm. She sighed with relief as she watched her hand turn back to its normal color.

"Jeeze, was that all necessary?" Mali scowled at Dickens.

"Now you know the consequences of miss-behavior which, in your case, is very necessary Somali Avon." Dickens gave her a wry look. "Now, let's be off." As they walked down the hall Mali caught sight of the plaque she had been looking for. Peeking through the window, she saw a desk, but not much more. "Come on," Dickens said from the end of the hall. "No one likes a peeping-tom." Mali smiled and hurried after him.

"I'm about the farthest thing from a peeping-tom." She defended herself.

"On the contrary, you fit the criteria perfectly: a loner, weird, and 'misunderstood'."

"Whatever," Mali scoffed, "take a look in the mirror at yourself. If you weren't an admiral I would've pinned you down as the hobo type—all scruffy and mean."

"Watch yourself—I just might be." Dickens laughed, opening the door for her as they walked in to the lobby. Ara and Cadence were waiting for her just inside the cafeteria. "I'll leave you to your friends then. Goodnight Mali."

"Goodnight Admiral." Mali waved bye. "All set?" She turned to the girls.

"What was that about?" Cadence lifted an eyebrow.

"Nothing. I just had to clear something up before we left." Mali answered.

"Whatevs'. Let's just go!" Ara and Cadence started walking excitedly though the doors.

"So…what exactly are we doing?" Mali asked curiously.

"There is going to be an old movie playing at a theatre around here tonight—an old dancing classic! I'm so excited!"

"What's a movie?" Mali asked, confused.

"You don't know—what?! Why am I even surprised anymore?!" Ara exclaimed exasperatedly. "You know what? Have Cadence explain that one to you. This just depresses me." Cadence snickered and moved to walk beside Mali as Ara trundled ahead.

"Wow, she must think you're a hill-billie or something."

"A hill-billie?"

"A person who lives secluded in the mountains and doesn't know anything."

"Yep, that about sums me up. So what is a movie?"

"You'll see." Cadence said.

"Well thanks, that was enlightening." Mali scoffed. "Any more info I should know?" Cadence rolled her eyes. They were approaching the campus border; ahead, Mali could see the boundary lights being turned on. They passed through without a hitch, although the guards watched Mali with a suspicious gaze the entire time. Soon they were out and headed toward a part of the city Mali had never been too. It was a wide walk, paved smoothly and had small shops and restaurants on both sides of it. Small orange lights were strung up above their heads. Many asari and a few humans meandered around enjoying the sights; some were couples that Mali saw were holding hands. Ara led them to two big glass doors that were reflecting the setting sun; they opened smoothly as they walked in. Ara strode confidently up to a bored looking asari at a counter. As she haggled for the tickets Mali and Cadence looked at the movie posters, which moved with scenes from the movie that it was exhibiting.

"So, their moving stories?" Mali asked.

"Yah, kind of—but they're stories that you get to actually be in; right alongside the actors."

"Really?" Mali asked, interested.

"Most the time, but the ones like tonight aren't—they're old. You just watch them."

"You don't sound very excited." Mali examined.

"Yah, these types aren't my favorite, but they're something different from the usual, so still fun." Ara came over with the tickets.

"Ready?" She squealed excitedly, brandishing small plastic chips under their noses. Cadence just scowled, so Mali felt pressured to answer.

"Yah! I'm ready!" She tried to sound enthusiastic, for Ara's sake.

"Great! Let's go!" She headed toward the ticket taking booth.

"What, no popcorn and soda?" Cadence complained. Ara gave her a derisive look over her shoulder.

'We're training, Cadence. But maybe after we can get some ice cream—if you lighten up a little bit and enjoy yourself." Cadence's complexion brightened up considerable. Mali snorted. The booth sucked their chips in and they were allowed to pass through. They turned right around a corner and Mali was amazed to see a long, dim hallway stretched in front to them. Ara led them past scores of doors. "This way." She ushered them through one of them.

"How did you know which one?" Mali asked.

"The signs." Ara said deftly.

"Oh." Mali felt embarrassed.

"It's ok Mali, soon you'll be able to read too." Cadence patted her shoulder sympathetically. Mali gave her a questioning look and Cadence wiggled her eyebrows. "I'm goin' for a double scoop." She smirked. They entered through yet another hallway—shorter this time—and Mali had to squint from the darkness. They emerged into a tall vaulted room were rows among rows of seats were tiered in a waning crescent shape. A huge white screen almost seventy feet in length and sixty feet tall took up the entire wall opposite the chairs. Many were filled, and the girls were hard-pressed to find three seats side by side. They finally found them near the back and off to the right side and they settled in to wait. Bored, Mali slouched down into her seat, and was surprised to find a headset, much like the ones the boys had been wearing, attached to the side of her chair.

She held it up to examine, curious. It was an attractive glossy silver but it was scratched from use. A wide silver band stretched over the face of the headset effectively covering the eyes, while the helmet part was molded down to cover the ears and the back of the head as well. "You won't need that for the movies we'll be watching." Ara glanced over. Mali put the helmet back on its hook and sighed.

"What are we watching anyway?" She asked.

"It's called Singing in the Rain."

"What a weird name." Mali commented. Soon the lights dimmed and the screen flickered to life along with the sound. Initially it hurt Mali's ears and she winced as the jazzy 1950's music played out, but she soon got used to it and actually started enjoying it. In front of her people, actors, came to life on the screen and danced and sang for the audience. Mali was amazed at the sight. Despite herself her foot started tapping along with the music, and by the end, she had been swept up into the comedy.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Mali exclaimed as they were walking out. She did a little dance move she had learned from the film as they strolled out of the theatre.

"Stop that! You're embarrassing!" Cadence giggled.

"Their clothes—so weird! And their hair! I've never seen something like that! I love movies!"

"Can you believe that people make a living off that sort of thing?" Ara asked.

"Oh acting? I would love it!" Mali said wistfully. "All that make-believe and dancing and singing? Awesome!"

"I'm glad you liked it so much." Ara smiled as they wove through the throng of people toward the ice cream shop across the street.

"I loved it! When can we see it again?" Mali asked excitedly.

"I don't know." Ara said.

"Wait till you watch a real movie." Cadence said, wiggling her eyebrows. "They are way cooler." They entered and they stepped up to the counter. "So do we have to explain what ice cream is?" Cadence glanced at Mali as she surveyed the choices.

"Ha, ha, but no. I've had it once before, a long time ago, when I was like ten I think."

"Ten?" Ara said.

"Yah, it was all cold and creamy and sweet—vanilla I think. It was like taking a bite off of a cloud, or at least that's what I thought back then."

"A cloud?! Ha, ha! What an imagination." Cadence chuckled, "no, this comes from a cow, you know what a cow is, right? Plus, there are way better flavors than just vanilla." Silver cylinders stood next to each other behind some glass, filled to the brim with ice cream, each a different flavor. Mali watched with amazement as the bins automatically filled back up every time a server took a scoop.

"Pick any flavor you want, I'm buyin'." Ara said. Mali's eyes gleamed as she looked at all her delicious choices. "We all get one scoop…oh, well fine Cadence, you get two—but you'll regret it during drill." Cadence only cackled maleficently. In the end, Mali chose sherbet, while Ara got something with caramel, and Cadence got one scoop of chocolate and one of mint chocolate chip. They sat in a booth and licked their cones as their ice cream dripped down their chins, laughing and wiping each other with the store's cheap napkins. The sun had been long set when they exited the little shop and started back toward the campus.

"So that was a girl's night." Mali said.

"Yep." Ara answered.

"Well, I liked it." Mali smiled. "I haven't had that much fun in a long time." As they walked, Ara got a contemplative look in her eyes.

"Mali? Tell us something about yourself. You're my friend and I trust you, but sometimes I feel like I don't know anything about you." Mali frowned, thinking.

"What do you want to know?" Mali asked.

"What did you normally do on Friday nights?" Cadence asked.

"Well, most the time I would work on my math with my math book—I was quite good."

"Wait. I thought you couldn't read?"

"Well, I couldn't, but math doesn't really need words, once you know enough symbols, and also my roommate Yane knew enough of his letters to squeeze me by when I really needed it. Anyway, most nights I would work on them, because I would come home so late from fighting at the Green Dragon and really wouldn't have much energy to do anything else but cook dinner and sleep. But on some nights, when the smog wasn't so thick and I wasn't that tired we would climb up onto a rooftop somewhere and lay on our backs and look at the upper city lights—the smog was never thin enough to see the stars, but to me, the upper level lights were just as good. They were always twinkling in oranges and yellows like little bits of fire. New Chicago can be a surprisingly pretty place sometimes. Those moments were some of the most peaceful moments I've felt—unless we were interrupted by a gang fight or a stray gunman or something—which sometimes happened."

"Wow, your life sounds so adventurous." Ara sighed.

"What about you guys?" Mali asked, curious.

"I just had two boring parents and nothing to do." She sighed, something in her voice told Mali that her parents was a touchy subject. "What about you Cade?" She had a far off look in her eyes and was walking beside them, oblivious to her surroundings.

"Cade?" Mali placed a hand on her shoulder. Startled, Cadence came out of her reverie.

"Huh? Wha-?"

"What did you used to do?" Mali asked. Cadence looked at the ground.

"On the weekends my brother used to take me out to the woods and teach me combat skills—it's where I learned how to throw my knives. The forest was always my favorite place because it was the one place my Dad didn't go—except to cover up his drug deals of course. " Cadence said softly. "I would wait the entire week just for that Friday night I got to spend with my bro."

"Your brother sounds cool." Mali offered.

"He's dead now—about seven years after he served in the reaper wars; I didn't hear about it till six months later, my Dad kept it from me."

"Oh Cadence, I'm sorry." Ara pulled her into a hug, "I'm so sorry." Cadence sniffed into her shoulder.

"I know how hard it is too loose family." Mali patted her back awkwardly a few times.

"It's ok, he died in the line of duty, honorable, right? Defending Commander Shepard from enemy fire."

"Your brother served with Shepard?" Mali asked curiously. Cade pushed herself out of Ara's arms, pride evident in her voice.

"Yea, his name was James, James Vega. He started serving with Shepard through the last years of the reaper war and continued after. He was like his right hand man towards the end—and a close friend. That's how I got here. James told Shepard about me and our Dad, and when James died Shepard had me brought to the campus to protect me. I've been here for about a year and a half now, and when I turned twelve Dickens finally gave me his assent to join the N7 program." The campus guards were at hearing distance now, so the trio passed by without comment, but once they were far enough away Ara practically collapsed upon the girl, her eyes watering with unshed tears.

"Oh Cadence! You've been through so much, how could you not tell us? We care about you, don't we Mali?"

"Uh…yah."

"We're like a little family now, all of us. From now on Cadence you aren't alone! You won't have to bare your pain alone! None of us will! Right Mali?"

"…sure." Ara glared at her. "Yep! Family; we're a family. Just tell me who to punch and they'll wake up with a butt for a face in the mornin'." Cadence chuckled at the imagery and wiped her eyes.

"What a girl's night." She sighed. Before long they had made it to the bunk house and tiredly kicked off their shoes. Mali collapsed on the couch, exhausted, and Cadence plopped down next to her.

"I'm going to go take a shower." Ara said, and walked down the hall towards her room.

"Mmhmm," Mali agreed, her eyes already closed. Suddenly Mali felt a heavy pressure on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see, to her surprise, Cadence's head there.

"Do you mind?" Cadence asked a bit self-consciously. Mali draped her arm around the little girl's shoulders.

"Not one bit."