Camilla

fourteen

He laughs, and I know he feels a little better about this whole thing.

I turn back to the door and push it open, glad to see Daniel waiting right next to it. "Flores!"

I laugh. "Hey, Danny. This is Gilligan."

Daniel looks at Gil and nods at him. "What's up, dude?"

Gilligan shrugs. "Just along for the ride, I guess."

I smile. I thought Danny and Gilligan would get along well enough. "Alright," I say, squeezing Gil's hand before letting go. "I'm going to go get changed. I'll meet you two back in the conference room."

Daniel nods and leads Gilligan away. I turn in the other direction and find the locker room, changing into my sports bra and tight spandex.

Next, I braid my hair back into one french braid, making sure it's tight. I don't want any pieces falling into my face while I'm taking on some two hundred and fifty-pound male. Doesn't sound like the brightest plan.

I slide more deodorant on before leaving the locker room, doing my best to hurry over to Danny and Gilligan. They'd just met. I was almost positive it was going to be an awkward, if not a little tense, atmosphere.

Since I don't have someone with me to keep pace with, I jog there.

The door to the room is cracked open slightly, and I make my way in without making too much sound. I don't want some of the people hanging around in the hallways to look my way.

I turn to face everyone. There are seven other people in the room. Five of them were my competition, and the other two were my friends.

"Um," Gilligan furrows his eyebrows, a giveaway that he's confused. "Why are you wearing next to nothing?" He's trying to keep his eyes on my face, but he slips every once in a while and starts blushing when he knows I'd noticed. I'm not bothered, not really. I fight guys here. I've been stared at a few times, which usually leads in me punching them in their gut. But it's Gilligan, and I couldn't do that to him, even if a small part of me wants to. 

"The more clothing you wear, the more that gets in the way," I explained. "If I was wearing a shirt or something, I wouldn't be able to dodge someone as well. Even the littlest item of clothing could be my downfall. It's something for my opponent to grab, too. Besides, you get sweaty out there."

Gilligan looks like he has something else to say but decides against it. I ignore the part of me that wants to ask him what he was going to say and sit down next to him. Danny's at the head of the table, like usual.

"Alright. First, it's Sly and Herrick. Whoever wins fights Camilla," Danny points at them as he reads, and the two of them nod. This is good for me. While they fight, I can analyze their moves, see what they do the most often, get a feel for their weaknesses and strong suits. "After that, it's whoever wins and Destiny, and then the same thing with Ford." Daniel motions to each person as their name is spoken. "Questions? No? Good. Sly and Herrick, put your money down and get out there. The rest of us will head to the Buzzer Box.

"How many people came to see this?" Destiny asks. She's an attention whore who pretends she's shy until it's her time to shine. In other words, a fake bitch. 

Danny glances over at her for a minute before grabbing Sly and Herrick's money off the table and standing "A lot."

[+]

I would be lying if I said I was surprised to see that it was Herrick who won against Sly. Now that I was watching her from a distance, she made a lot of mistakes while she fought. She must have started recently and thought she could handle something as big as a tournament. Being full of yourself was a bad thing when you're a street fighter.

"Alright, Flores. You ready?" Daniel asks as I hand him my stack.

"Of course," I roll my eyes, grinning at him.

Sly enters the box and sits down next to the window, clearly wanting to see who wins this match. "Hey, Sly," I smile at her.

"What's up, Flores?"

"Just ready to win," I wink at her. She know 's I'm teasing. 

"You got this, girl. He's not as good as you."

I thank her before looking over at Gilligan. "Don't be surprised if you see blood or something, okay? It happens all the time. One time, someone broke my nose." I run a finger down it, feeling the shift from where it broke. Of course, I couldn't go to the hospital to get it realigned; I just had to let it heal wrong.

He nods and smiles at me. "Good luck, Flores."

I roll my eyes teasingly. Fighting always puts me in a good mood. "That's Camilla to you."