Soulmate's First Words

I swear I wasn't stealing. Those were the words Tenzin and Pema saw on their first-born daughter's wrist, and that worried them. What would he be stealing? A pencil? An apple? A bank? Maybe they were overreacting, but this was Tenzin's little girl. Well...his first little girl.

Years later, he realized how he really overreacted to Jinora's wrist. His second born, Ikki, had You're a hyperactive talker, aren't you?Tenzin felt sorry for her soulmate, his tattoo must cover his entire arm. Meelo, his third born's, said That looked like a hard hit to the headand Rohan's, his youngest, said This stupid vending machine ate my fucking dollar!Pema always made sure to black out the curse word with a sharpie until he was old enough.

Jinora had just left the house and went to the nearest bookstore, where all the clerks quite literally knew her by name. It was almost time for back to school and she needed books for her Junior AP English Language class. Light in August, Catch-22, and The Invisible Man, they all seemed interesting.

This would be perfect to read with just some coffee, she thought. She put her purse, with her car keys, money, cellphone, and most importantly, her books, on a nearby table and went in line for the cafe.

She turned around with a vanilla latte in her hand to see a guy her age with dark skin and black hair with the sides shaved off digging through her purse. She didn't think about the money, or her car keys like any other normal person, but the words that came out of her mouth were, "My books are in there!" She rushed over to the table, where he dropped the purse and put his hands up.

"I swear I wasn't stealing," he said quickly, then put his hands down. "Okay, sort of...I was hungry and I don't really have any money." Jinora ignored the last part of what he said and looked at her wrist.

"What did you say? Before the money thing."

"I swear I wasn't stealing…" the boy looked at his own wrist. "And you said my books are in there." He held out his wrist for her to see. "Maybe not the best first impression."

"I'll say." she laughed. "My name is Jinora. Jinora Feng."

"Kai Xin," he shook her hand.

"So Kai, why was my soulmate stealing money from my purse?"

He sighed. "It's my foster parents. They kind of neglect me...don't give me money, and barely enough food. That's one of the reasons I look forward to back to school, education, books, and free lunch."

"Wow, I'm really sorry about that. Tell you what, I'll buy you a coffee and a muffin and you come have dinner at my place."

"Really, but you just met me."

"You're my soulmate. How bad could you be?" Jinora laughed.