Perfect Balance Gymnastics

Chapter Three - Paige

I run down the mat, shooting into a roundoff back handspring layout. I bend my knees and land perfectly. Savannah stands at the corner of the mat, preparing for a tumbling pass. I step out of her way, pursing my lips. She does the same pass as me but rebounds. "Nice one." I call out. She grins at me and walks towards another mat. I work on some dance passes for a few minutes and tumble a bit more. Just as I land another pass, I hear Alexis squeal in pain. 

I look over and see her cradling her ankle and tearing up. "I landed funny on my yurchenko." She says, biting her lip. "Grab some ice!" James yells, turning to Marissa. Marissa dashes off and returns a second later with a boy around my age. "Mom is going to kill you." He says, smirking. Alexis's snarls. 'Shouldn't Drew come?" Trista says worriedly. "Why don't you ask him." I say slyly, elbowing her. She blushes and shakes her head. Drew walks up to us just as we finish speaking. "Alexis, aw man what happened!?" He asks. Alexis tells him, her voice wobbling. I kneel down and pat her shoulder. Marissa turns to walk away and I begin to speak to her brother Ethan but he turns and talks to Marissa. "Hey, thanks." I hear him say. I narrow my eyes. I helped too! She shrugs and replies, "Sure." I scoff, then stop myself. Returning my focus to Alexis I ask, "How many fingers am I holding up. "Three you silly, I hurt my foot, not my head." 

I turn red and checked to see if Ethan noticed. I thought I'd be embarrassed if he noticed but it annoyed me more that he didn't. It's 6:07 and we've only been in class for around three hours. Class starts at three o'clock and ends at seven five times a day. From Tuesday to Friday. I offered Alexis more ice then leave her to talk to her parents on the phone. I strap on my grips and hang from the bar. After practicing some skills, I take them off and head to the beam. I was used to being the oldest, but this season, I want to be the best. I did my split jumps and handstands (Yes James, I counted "One gymnastics'') then I move to the harder skills. I do a back handspring back tuck and squeezed my legs together. I stick the landing with minimal wobbling and then do an aerial. I do my full turn then run into a roundoff back handspring back layout ½ twist. I rebound and take a step but overall, a good routine. I sulk at my landing and think about going to the vault. A surge of determination hits me. I need to get nines in every apparatus. 

That meant nailing this landing. I try the routine a few more times and succeed in a nicer landing. "Let's move to the next event Red, you're hogging the high beam." James says. "But I want to work on my dismount." I whine. "Move it Red." James replies. I grumble at him and walk off. After practice is over I slip on a sweatshirt and shorts, then stop to think. I'm no math genius like Marissa but I need to know what scores I need. A 30.00 in the invitational won't be a problem. At the State you don't need a specific score you just need to be at the top percentage for your age group. My age group is 13-15 like my fellow gymnasts. But Savannah is in 10-12. I need to score in the nines for every event. A score like 36.00 AA will definitely impress. In beam I'm sure I could manage a 9.00 with more practice. I'm confident that floor and vault shouldn't be too hard. 

I'm heavier than the other girls so it's easier to smash down on the springboard. Bars isn't a real problem but last practice my legs hit the bars when I did my overshoot. I make a mental note to work on my overshoot and beam. I walk up to the kip cubbies and see Marissa and Savannah talking well they snack on string cheese. "Oh, hey Paige." Marissa says. "Hey." I say, sliding down next to them. "I'm really nervous about beam." Savannah says, twirling her blond hair around her finger. "At least you didn't fall during practice." Carmen says, wincing. "My bars routine is a wreck too." She says. I laugh, "My legs hit the low bar on Saturday. I still have bruises." We all join in laughing until we hear the shrill call of parents who've been stuck in traffic for twenty minutes. "I gotta go." I tell them. "You think I'm not going?" Carmen says, sending us into fits of laughter. "Mija!" Carmen's mom yells, sending us rocketing down the stairs. "See you tomorrow!" Savannah says as she enters her mom's car. "Bye!" We all yell. 36.00 AA score here I come!