Classic

Nicknames

"You got a nickname yet, girly?" the man asks in a rough voice. His palms are dirty. Beads of sweat drips, mixing with the dirt accumulating on his forehead.

"No sir," The shy girl says. She doesn't want to be here. She loves what she does, but she doesn't want to be here, with these people.

"Wrangler!" the rough man yells at a tall, skinny teenage boy who looks up quickly at the use of his nickname.

"Yessir!" Wrangler yells.

"Why didn't you give this girl a nickname yet?" the rough man asks.

"We couldn't figure one out sir," Wrangler says timidly.

"Why not, boy? How damn hard is it to find a nickname for her? Yours was damn easy, I just looked atcha pants," the rough man shakes his head at the stupidity of the boy. "Girl, what's your name?"

"Name's Laila, sir," the girl replies.

"Laila, do you know why we use nicknames round 'ere?" the rough man asks. He spits on the ground after this statement and the girl automatically thinks of tuberculosis.

"No sir," she replied.

"It's 'cause it's easier for me to remember. Lola is a tough name to 'member."

"It's Laila," the girl replies.

"See! 'S what I mean. Now, girly, go ride around the 'rena a couple o' times. Lemme see whatcha got," the rough man replies.

"Okay." The girl struggles to get on her horse. She has to jump multiple times, just to reach the saddle. On the 8th or 9th attempt, she sees the rough man shaking his head at her in her peripheral vision. She grabs the saddle horn and finally jumps into the saddle, but her horse takes this sudden movement as a signal to start running. She holds onto the horse's mane for dear life, runs her horse at full speed twice around the arena. She finally gets her horse to slow down. She rides to a stop in front of the rough man. She gets off, and notices Wrangler slapping his knee and laughing.

"Why'd ya gun it?" He says through his laughter.

The rough man snaps his fingers and says that he's got a nickname for her. "Gunner," he said.

"Gunner?" Wrangler asks, "ain't that a guy name?"

The rough man slaps the boy across the back of his head. "She's proven that she can control a gunnin' horse, she's a gunner."

I'm a gunner.