I'm Not a Princess

"Aaaaavery!"

She rolls her eyes. Dani was eating sugar again, apparently. Sighing, Avery steps out of her bedroom and peaks her head out. "Yeah?"

"Phoooooooony caaaaaaalllleeeee!"

"Coming," Avery says tonelessly and trotting out, she enters the kitchen to find Dani twirling in circles and humming tunelessly. "I'll take that," she says in a clipped tone, much acting like the older girl here. "Hello?" She says into the receiver.

"Avery, good, it's your boss."

"I could tell," she mutters. "Something you need?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Mrs. Swarez says, probably staring at her nails and wearing her heels, as usual. "Some recording studio is in need of some more back up dancers next month, all right? They want our very best and were pleased last time some of us were used."

"Last time?" Avery twirls the cord around her fingers absently. "Who is it?"

"Like I recall? It doesn't matter. All I know is, you'll get a raise if you can get the girls in top shape for tomorrow noon, which is when they'll be coming to make selections, all right?"

"Ooookay, then," Avery says slowly. "Well, what kind of dancing are they looking for? Pop, dirty, or punk?"

"Eh, you just had to refer to them like that," Mrs. Swarez coughs delicately. "I believe they are looking for something along the lines of 'hip-hop emo punk' or something. That's what they said, anyways. So use one of your old routines or something, okay? Don't let me down, or you won't get the raise you've been wanting for the past six months."

"So glad you recalled that," Avery says a little wryly. "I'll do my best, Swarez."

"Good."

Click.

Avery shrugs and returns to her room, ignoring Dani who's jumping on the couch. Avery's mind trails back over the past few years. Avery still worked at the music store Saturday to Tuesday, but Wednesday-Friday were spent dancing and teaching at Swarez Dance Institute, teaching all sorts of people all sorts of dance.

On her free time, Avery had also breezed through to get a bachelor's degree in dance and store management but otherwise she was pretty dedicated to her work. Though of course, Dani now and then pulled her away for some sort of party or rock concert.

Dani had pretty much been her lifeline for the past two years, being there for everything and advising Avery on all of her decisions. The third month had been the hardest because it had been Christmas time and Avery got homesick, but she'd gotten over it and had been kind enough to send a quick postcard to her family who were beginning to put up missing persons posters all around. Since, she'd sent a postcard once a month, to keep them informed.

Other than that, Avery had really grown up and changed.

Well, except for her still broken heart.