Bye Gymnastics, Hello Boarding School

Chapter 9

2 months later...

            All that training, it comes down to this. All the time I endured spending with Jeremy as he tutored me even after it became awkward after we kissed that one night.

            I stared at the uneven bars. The one event Coach Jr allowed me to keep my degree of difficulty. If I were to make an impactful comeback, it would be on this event right here. I could feel all the eyes on me. Everyone was at the side cheering. Coach organized this as a showcase which was open to the general public. If I could do my routines flawlessly here, the chances of making a comeback would definitely increase.

            Coach Jr and his father, Coach Senior were judging. Their expressions were unreadable, as usual.

            My routine was much better than the routine I did for Coach Jr when I started training two months ago, but it wasn’t as clean as I had wanted it to be. I stuck my double layout dismount, but the errors in between were very obvious.

            I sighed, going on to the other apparatuses. I hopped on my Amanar vault again, had a reasonably clean beam routine with minor balance checks and a consistent but boring floor routine.

            I could hear Jeremy, Max, Rayna, Mia and Alexa cheering from the stands. I could also hear Princess cheering, which didn’t leave a warm feeling like the rest did. Embarrassingly enough, a couple of my friends from the gymnastics world flew out just to see this showcase, my boyfriend, Wesley Tucker included.

            He applauded like a supportive boyfriend he was, but I knew he expected my routines to be as difficult as before. Coach Jr insisted I tone down on my beam and floor. He looked as dashing as he ever did. He travelled with a few buddies of his as well as a few members of the women’s national gymnastics team. I had to admit, it was really embarrassing doing those toned down routines in front of them. I was known to bring it, and I didn’t even come close today.

            Coach Jr’s voice boomed through the speakers, “Thank you all for attending. I regret to inform you that, Anna Parker, or some of you may know her as Savannah Greene, will not be making a full comeback. Thank you for your interest.”

            Flashbacks to the day Coach Jr agreed to train me.

            “If I tell you to move on from gymnastics in two months, will you trust me?”

            I nodded.

            “Will you get angry at me and throw a fit like you did to Coach Macintyre?”

            I shook my head reluctantly.

            “Then we have a deal,” he said shaking my hand.

 

            I rushed to the judges’ table, feeling desperate. The crowd chattering amongst themselves were blurred in the background. I was focused on Coach Jr.

            “Coach,” I said approaching him.

            “Remember what we agreed on, Anna?”

            I nodded, “I’m not here to fight, Coach. I just want to know. Could I have worked harder?”

            He shook his head, “I believe with 100% of my heart, that you, Anna Parker, are destined for greatness, I really do.”

            He continued, “I believe that every gymnast has a limited span and capability of gymnastics career. You can’t be junior world champion three times in a row, and expect to be senior world champion three times in a row too. I know you’ve worked your ass off, but once you’re worn out, there’s not enough time in the world that can undo the damage to your body. Your gymnastics career is exceptional and you shouldn’t feel underachieved, because you’ve achieved a lot. I know you’ve always dreamt of going to the Olympics, but 3 times World All Around Champion is pretty close to it, maybe even better.”