Exiled (AmBw)

Chapter 43

 Crystal POV

Getting to the qualifiers with fifteen minutes to spare, I began doing some stretching. Noticing the same pairs of eyes staring at me as I loosened up, I started to grow suspicious. When I entered the room this morning, one of the pairs of eyes pushed pass me. I had written it off as a simple accident but seeing as their eyes hadn't moved off of me, I began to question whether that was the case. As I did a few standing stretches, the flock of women passed, and one intentionally hit into me, making me off-balance.

Crystal: "Excuse me." I exclaim, surprised at her audacity.

Looking back at me before scoffing, she kept walking to the other side of the room with four other girls who giggled at her little act of passive aggression.

Crystal: "Oh, I see what's going on here." I spitefully chuckled, to myself shaking my head. "Huh, well, here goes nothing," I said before walking over to the group.

Plastering the fakest smile I owned on my face, I straightened up my posture and walked into their circle.

Crystal: "Hey, girls," I said, smiling ear to ear. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" I said, singling out their ring leader. " It's only going to be a few seconds," I said, taking her hand. "We'll be right back," I said 'cheerfully' to the other girls as I walked away from them.

After getting out of earshot but still staying in view of the other girls, I turned to face the leader.

Crystal: "Hey, um, I think we may have gotten off to a bad start. How about we start over?" I asked, smiling. "I think we should be friends," I said, hoping she agreed.

Mika: "Why would I ever want to be friends with you?" She said, looking at me up and down.

Crystal: "Well, because we have things in common. For instance, we both love dancing. I bet you've been dancing from young." I said, smiling, assessing her. "You must have dance companies lining up to get you to sign with them, huh?" I said, still smiling. "But you know the funniest thing about dancing, most of the time you need a fully functioning body to do it. I paused, letting my words sink in. "Imagine with me for a bit, you're taking passive-aggressive jabs at me, all day and when you're leaving to go home, you misstep going down the stairs," I said no longer smiling. "Mishaps happen all the time, especially in crowded places like this." I paused, giving her time to imagine it. "Gosh, wouldn't it be a shame if one of us was laying at the bottom of the stairs, paralyzed from the waist down? Wouldn't it be tragic?" I said, losing all the amicability from my voice. "All that talent, gone in seconds," I said, pushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear.

Mika: "Are you threatening me?" She said, looking a bit shaken.

Crystal: "Oh, no, I wouldn't do that, but I would make you a promise." I said, smiling again. "If this high school grade, mean girl act continues, I promise you I'll be the first to sign your cast, 'Yours truly'," I said, watching all the blood drain from her face. "Oh, and I'd invest in a wheelchair if I were you. Physical therapy costs a lot of money," I said, dropping my diplomacy. "That's just some friendly advice." I smiled, taking her hands in mine. "So, since we are best friends now, you're going to laugh like we had a lovely conversation and hug me so that the little clowns in your circus over there can see." Following what I said, we laughed loud enough for her friends to hear and hugged. "Oh, I'm just so happy we talk," I said aloud, hugging her. "Remember, this conversation stays between us," I whispered, squeezing her just enough to bring my point across. After releasing her, I smiled and waved as she walked away.

Crystal: "Bitch." I said, dropping my smile after turning away from them. 'That should do the trick.' I thought getting in place to start group warm-ups.