I'm Not a Princess

"Avery!"

"OMG! You're coming, too?!"

"OOOh, look at her face!"

Avery slouches, wrapping her arms around her waist as she rolls her eyes. "Ha ha. Start warming up, okay? Swarez will be coming in to talk to y'all soon, all right now?"

"Yes ma'am!" They sing, giggling, mocking her slight southern accent. Avery pouts and goes over to turn on some music to begin, stripping off her jacket. Even after all this time, she still had a tinge of the Tennessee accent she'd been born with.

"Five, six, five, six, seven, eight!" She calls. "And down, side, turn and curve, at it, girls!" She calls sharply, moving on with their early morning warm ups. She grins to herself, ignoring every one else as she gets into the music, feeling it, loving it.

"And now, any questions?" Mrs. Swarez asks, eyeing her girls carefully. She watches them, waiting for anyone to speak aloud. Instead, however, they all whisper excitedly together, practically jumping up and down.

Avery steps up, clapping her hands. "Okay, come on! We have one week before we leave for San Francisco for another three weeks of training. Come Saturday, you're ready or you don't come. As is, every afternoon, we are here, working our butts off to be in top condition to show everyone what we can do. You ready?"

"Whoooo!" The girls cheer together and start dancing around excitedly.

"Thank you," Swarez tells Avery in a clipped tone. "I'll give you the last of my details tomorrow, understand?"

"Aye, captain," Avery chuckles with a nod. "And I've got a dinner to make for my lovesick roommate. Good day, y'all!" She grabs her bag, jacket and tennis shoes, fumbling for everything as she starts out the door. "Oh turd blocks," she mutters, losing a shoe. She tries picking it up, but drops something else, and-

Collides.

"Oh, my apologies," comes a deep chuckle, brushing the hair from her face that appeared when she fell down. "Avery, si?"

"Uh...si?" She squints up, awkwardly avoiding his hand and stumbles back onto her feet, before bending over again to grab her things, including the books that fell out of her bag. "Oh, thanks." She takes what he's grabbed back into her hands, shuffling them in her arms.

"Hello again, querida."

"Querida?" She wrinkles her name. "I uh, I don't know Spanish. I took Italian in high school." She bites her lip immediately, wondering why she said even that. But there's something about that smile he's wearing... it just makes her want to stick around, be around him. Even though she doesn't know him at all.

"It's Spanish for darling," Gabe smiles. "Or, if you're Philippino, for mistress."

Avery's almost smile turns immediately to tart thin-lined lips. "I don't know who you are, or what you do, but I'm most definitely not like that. I'm nothing like that. So don't..." she shakes her head. "I don't need someone like you around." She starts walking away.

"Avery?"

Something makes her pause and hesitantly turn around, watching him take off those colored sunglasses, the sun glinting on them. His eyes pierce hers and it takes her breath away momentarily, her heart pounding in her chest. Gabe's smirk turns into something more of a smile and he gives a polite nod. "I didn't mean it like that, I quite assure. Not yet, anyways." He winks, and turns around without a second glance.

She stands there but for a minute, right at the door, watching him go, completely confused with him and herself. Bipolar like, she can't decide on who he is, on his character. Her throat constricts and she suddenly shakes her head. Not again, she promises herself. Yet she can't help but bite her lip as she walks away.