notoquesnada:

She smiled her thanks, but frowned slightly when he spoke again. Audrey didn’t like that sort of thinking at all. She needed to let this go though. As endearing as she found Ping, she needed to get back to her own time and to forget about him. What was it and her weakness for guys like this? Following Milo had almost got her killed. 

But it had been right. 

She shook her head. “You shouldn’t think like that, Ping,” Audrey decided, slightly bossy, not wanting to show too much weakness too soon. 

For a moment he said nothing as they continued towards the boundaries of the camp.  And then Ping looked sideways at her, completely serious.  "Why not?  Let’s see.“  His voice low and calm as if they were discussing the weather, Ping counted on his fingers.  "I’ve failed at every training exercise so far.  I keep getting into trouble.  I can’t shoot a bow and arrow or hit with a staff and I’m no use with even my fists.  The captain and the Consul don’t even like me.  Neither does anybody else in camp, and they just go out of their way to make me slip up more.”  

A sigh escaped from the recruit, his shoulders slumping.  He knew that he was easily disheartened about some things and unfair about others, and he knew that he had just unburdened himself to almost a stranger, but the recruit was tired of unrelenting pep talks from Mushu and the indifference of everybody else around him.  He would never regret saving his father’s life, but he hadn’t expected to enjoy being in the army either, and so far he’d been proven right.