Max and the Universe - Book I

During recess, kids naturally divided into groups based on their favorite parts of the playground. There were the field kids, the swing kids, the slide kids, the seesaw kids—you get the picture. Ava and her friends gravitated toward the gravity ball court. Sometimes, they played on the court or climbed the play structure, but more often than not, they just ran around, chatting and goofing off.

Today, they had claimed the swinging bars. Ava loved them, particularly because she could hang upside down like a bat. One by one, they took turns climbing and showing off their best tricks.

"Okay, Ava, you're up!" Ricky called.

"Watch this!" The princess leaped up, gripping the bar with practiced ease before pulling herself up and over. Once perched on the top bar, a mischievous idea struck her. "Do you think I could do a handstand up here?"

"That's a terrible idea. You'll fall and break your neck," Ricky deadpanned.

"I wanna see her try!" Oppa said with far too much enthusiasm.

Encouraged, Ava carefully stood up on the bar, eyeing the one in front of her for her daring stunt. But as she fully registered how high up she was, doubt crept in.

"I... I don't know, guys. Maybe this isn't such a—WHAA!!" She wobbled dangerously, her arms flailing as she fought to regain her balance.

"Be careful, Ava!!" Heidi cried.

"I'm trying!!" Ava finally managed to lower herself back down, sitting on the bar instead. "Okay, I'm good now." With that, she hopped off, landing safely on the ground with a triumphant grin.

"That could've ended really badly," Ricky pointed out.

"But it didn't!!" Ava countered, beaming.

Anj, meanwhile, had spotted a group of boys playing gravity ball on the field. His eyes lit up. "Hey, do you guys wanna go to the field? They're playing gravity ball!"

"They're already in the middle of a game. I don't think they'll let us join," Heidi said.

"We can ask," Ava declared confidently. "I'm the princess. They can't say no to me."

"Yes, they can. You don't get an exception," Heidi shot back.

"Ooooh, look at Heidi with those big words!" Oppa teased.

"I pay attention in class. Unlike you," Heidi retorted.

"Well, I'm actually fun to be around!" Oppa snapped.

"Enough, you guys!! You're acting like five-year-olds!!" Ricky cut in. "We're eight! We're big kids now! We're better than this."

"Okay, sorry," Heidi muttered.

"Me too," Oppa grumbled.

"I actually learned a new word recently," Ricky continued. "Entitlement. And that applies to all of you, especially Ava."

"What?! Why me?" Ava pouted, genuinely taken aback.

Ricky crossed his arms. "'I'm the princess, they can't say no to me,'" he mimicked. "Yes, they can. Like, earlier at lunch, you asked me for a piece of my sandwich. I said no. Does that mean I'm getting locked in the dungeons of Carsley Palace?"

Ava stared at him, momentarily stunned, before breaking into a laugh. "You're too funny sometimes, Ricky."

"I'm serious, Ava. It's not cool," he insisted.

"Oh... sorry." Ava's grin faded slightly as she processed it. "Guess that is kinda... 'entitlement' was the word?"

"Yeah," Ricky confirmed with a nod.