The trick is to be nice

One Shot

            "Hey, wanna know what we were talking before you got here?" Gil says, a grin not just on his face but in his voice.

            "You," Uma corrected, a dry smile on her face as she stared at the boy she couldn't help having a certain fondness for, despite his characteristic habit of always being slow on the uptake. "What you were talking about before Audrey got here."

            Gil chuckles, nodding. "You get me there, captain." The boy with a hair color befitting of his intellect turned his eyes back on Audrey. "So what I was talking about before you got here was coming up with a cool couple name for Uma and Carlos now that they're dating."

            Audrey giggled at the sound of Uma groaning, seeing the girl rub her temples from out the corner of her eye.

            Harry scowled, the mention of the younger boy that had won Uma over souring his mood.

            Gil leaned forward, eyeing Audrey closely as he says, "I thought 'Carma' really rolled off the tongue but Uma said it was stupid."

            Audrey smiled, staring right at a disgruntled Uma as she says, "Really? Huh, she said the exact same thing to me." Uma turning her head to glare at her only made Audrey smile harder. The amused princess looked back at Gil. "Gil, I think 'Carma' is a great name."

            Gil lit up. "Thanks, Audrey." The dim boy cleared his throat. "Okay, all in favor of 'Carma', raise your hand."

            Uma sighed when the entire table, except for her and Harry aka the only two with some sense raised their hands. "All of you, except for Harry are fools."

            Harry smirked, suddenly feeling significantly better now that Uma hadn't lumped him in with Audrey and his crewmates.

            "'Carma' it is then!" Gil grinned.

            Audrey giggled. She hadn't had this much fun spending time with others in a long time.

            Audrey joining her and her crew for lunch wasn't just a one-time thing like Uma had incorrectly assumed, Audrey even spending time with her and her crew after lunch hours. Her presence had now become a familiar and welcome one, Uma observing how her crew went from feeling awkward and on edge when she'd come around to greeting her with friendly smiles and arguing amongst each other about who she should sit next to. Gil was Gil so it only took Audrey eating with them for the first time for him to accept her but Harry's stubbornness and suspicion is what had him taking the longest to warm up to the princess. Her crew were absolutely enamored with Audrey and she couldn't blame them because Audrey was a cool chick.

            "We'll have to study together later," was Uma's reply to Harry, her first mate leaning against the lockers while she went through her locker. "Clingy wants to take me shopping."

            Harry looked up from staring at his hook, raising an eyebrow at Uma. "Clingy?"

            "Audrey," Uma clarifies, a smile on her face. "She said she wants to help me update my wardrobe and while I don't really give a shit about updating my wardrobe, there was no other way to get her to stop whining other than caving."

            Harry chuckles. Trying not to like Audrey had been a really difficult task. In the end, it took too much energy out of him and he just simply accepted that she was a likable person, which is why Uma and the rest of Lost Revenge took so strongly to her.