If Only Being Switched at Birth Was Easy

/12/ Friend or Foe?

"Do you think about marriage?" my grandmother asked me and Nikko at an unexpected dinner.

"I'm sixteen," I reminded before taking a bite of my meat. She sighed and then dismissed my obvious and sarcastic comment by turning to Nikko.

"Nikko?" she asked. He looked around. "You're a handsome gentleman. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Well no," he muttered. "And plus, I'm seventeen. I think that's a bit too young to even think about settling down."

"What does age have to do with anything?" She asked. "I was only nineteen when I married and it stayed that way for nearly fifty years."

"Well I think AJ and I aren't really looking for anyone—"

"Really?" she asked. She looked to me. "With all the guys you hang around, I would assume—"

"Well you assumed wrong," I interrupted. I threw my fork down onto the glass plate. "So I'm out of here..."

"To go where?" she asked.

"I have a competition tomorrow so I need to rest up," I said while standing.

"Competition for what?"

"Skateboarding," I answered.

"Can't you do anything that ladies do?" she asked.

"Like what? Shop till I drop? Paint my nails? Hmm?" I asked while sarcastically batting my eye lashes.

"Ladies play sports too—"

"AJ used to be in gymnastics," Nikko announced.

"Nikko!" I scolded.

"—but her foster family couldn't afford it so she wasn't enrolled there for long," Nikko told.

"Nikko, you are so dead!" I threatened.

"You'll be enrolled at the end of the month or else," grandma said.

"Or else, what?" I doubted, crossing my arms.

"Your little friend will be evicted," she said with narrowed eyes. I swallowed.

"One competition. That's it," I settled. "But I'm not gonna be some anorexic, workaholic girl that practices 24/7 as if I don't have anything else going on in my life."

"Fine by me," she allowed. I had obviously wanted to get back into gymnastics, but at this circumstance, what did I get myself into?

***

"Where the hell are you?" King asked over the phone.

"At home," I lied, turning up my nose. I was looking through a sports uniform store for those stupid leotards.

"Do you realize that the competition is in an hour and you're not here?" he asked.

"So?" I asked. "Do you realize that Connor's probably there and so is Adam?"

"So what?" he growled.

"I don't need to be there," I figured.

"AJ?" a voice called. I looked over to see Skylar. Shit. "Well Skylar's here, so I guess this is bye."

"AJ. You better get your ass over here or I'll—" I hung up on him.

"What are you doing here?" Skylar asked with more kindness in her voice that the last week. Her dark makeup was missing and her hair was pulled back so I guessed maybe she was done hiding and sulking from me.

"I'm being forced back into gymnastics."

"Oh right. I heard that you had a somewhat controlling grandmother," she said.