Tutor (Lab Rats Fanfiction)

Chapter 19 Autographs and Attics

Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats.

Avalon's P.O.V.

It only took a few minutes for Bree to get my head spinning with her questions. She was asking them left and right, barely giving me time to answer one before she moved onto the next. I had to ask her to slow down because she was talking way too fast.

"Why did you and Trent break up? Well, I guess that's obvious because he's Trent after all, but what did you fight over?"

"I realized too late that he was a complete jerk," I simplified for her. I didn't want to go too far into the specifics of the conversation. "And he didn't really respect me. He did something I didn't like, I asked him to stop, and he wouldn't."

"Oh gosh, he didn't kiss you, did he?"

"What?" I yelled, shocked. "Ew no, of course not. I didn't like him calling me 'Ava'. I wouldn't let him kiss me after the way he talked to me or how I saw him treat Leo. He's a complete bully."

Bree sighed. "Good. And you're right. I wish I would've warned you about him."

"Don't worry about it. People learn from their mistakes, right? I learned to make sure the person I go on a date with isn't like Trent."

"Yeah. Speaking of learning . . ." Bree smiled a cheeky grin. "How's tutoring going? Chase says you're making a lot of progress. He practically brags about it whenever he gets the chance."

I scoffed. "Yeah, sure. I'm starting to read a lot better. I find that the more often I read the easier it gets, and less words and letters get jumbled. And my test grades are certainly showing my progress. We had a pop quiz during English today and I got a B-!"

"Awesome!" She paused for a minute and said, "Can I ask you a personal question?"

The mood instantly turned serious. I prepared myself for the worst. "Yeah. Shoot."

"What's it like to have dyslexia?"

I inhaled a deep breath and picked at my food. I'd been expecting this at some point. It was another reason why I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want people to think of me as disabled or challenged, even though everything is a challenge for me with dyslexia.

I explained to Bree that it made everything kinda like a puzzle: you could only see the whole picture when you have all the pieces in the right spot, and if you miss a piece, it's incomplete and wrong. Except, in my case, paragraphs are the puzzles, and letters and words are the pieces. If you leave out a few letters, the word could change to a completely different word with a different meaning. I told her it was a challenge, but it was getting easier every day. And I included that Chase was a huge part of the reason why.

Bree was supportive, nodding along with what I said: understanding every word. After I finished, she changed the subject without saying something like "I'm so sorry" or "that must be terrible for you". I was glad she didn't let her sympathy show.

"Ooh, can I sign your cast now?" She said excitedly. I nodded with a smile and dug the marker out of my pocket.

"How did you really break your wrist?" She asked as she scavenged for a spot to write her name, turning and angling my arm in her search. "Chase said you were messing around, and you fell, but I didn't believe him. I feel there's a bit more to it."

"Well . . . In a way, he was kinda right. I was practicing at that abandoned gym down the street from your house."

"Practicing what . . . ?"

"Gymnastics," I said before drinking a huge gulp of water, hoping she wouldn't want me to go into further detail. When she didn't say anything, I knew she wanted me to continue. "I messed up a back handspring and landed on my hand in a weird way. The doctor said there was a 'questionable fracture' in the growth plate or whatever."