When Kera Hughes, a girl stuck with her life of pressure, meets up with her old friend Pierre Gasly, will she long for her life to be full of freedom and fun?
A certain driver helps her discover the worlds full potential.
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@kerahughes back in the gym! long day of training ahead of me🤸🏼♀️ @angiefosterofficial have fun <3 @user1 love you kera!! @user2 can't wait for Sydney. @user3 this the girl who's dating gasly? >@user4 no that's Rachel. Kera is Gasly's friend.
I chalk up my hands and jump up to the bar. I keep things simple and practice my dismounts. It's comforting being back in the gym, surrounded by the people I grew up with. But at the end of the day, they're all my competitors. We all know that, but in the gym we put that aside. The girls I had sleepovers as little girls, are now going to the national championships. It's crazy to reflect on the journey we've taken together:all the training sessions, competitions, classes etc. Reminiscing the past soon came to an end as the familiar, but unwelcome voice of my coach screeched across the room.
"kera! what was that? I thought you would be Australia's next big thing but with a dismount like that i'm not sure!" Yep. Definitely Coach Deb.
"I was just warming up.." i say sheepishly under my breath, turning around to face the bar.
"a warm up should be as good as the real thing- if you don't train to your best, you won't do your best!" she bellows at me, nose in the air, infront of everybody. I cant be bothered to argue. I nod my head and force through a fake smile as if I valued her 'advice'. I know she's my coach, but warming up is in place to ensure we don't get injured when doing it full out. If you jump straight into it, that puts you at risk of injury. She's a good coach, i just wished she kept her nose out of the air.
Small giggles hum around the room at the interaction between us. I ignore them, of corse. Walking back to the bar my eyes meet Evan's. He passed a small smile. I roll my eyes back at him, focusing back on myself. Everyone goes back to what they were doing. Everyone except Evan. I jump up to the bar and kip up. I readjust my positioning, making it only slightly less painful on my hands and take a moment to think. I hop myself up onto the bar and leap to the other, higher bar, catching myself and swinging underneath it elegantly. I go around the bar once more before dismounting a simple tuck. Let's see what coach Deb has to say about that. Nothing. She was too engulfed with her phone to even notice. Without notice, i'm hugged from behind, cold arms wrapping themselves around like shoulders like a snake. I startle and release myself from the grasp, turn around and see Evan with a disappointed look on his face.
"Oh cmon Kera, I was being friendly" he justifies, holding his hands up in the air.
"Then say well done- no need to grab me like that" I replied, walking away from him before he could say another word. A small ounce of fury begins to burn inside of me. Unsure of where it came from or what to do, I jog back to the changing rooms. I grab some water and sit on the benches. I take a moment to cool down so I can go back out there calm. I lay my head in my hands , catching back my breath when the door creeks open. A young brunette peeps her head around the corner. She couldn't have been over 11.
"oh sorry.. i didn't mean to- wait are you Kera Hughes?" the little girl squeals with excitement.
"yes i am" i giggle back to her. Her face erupts with joy, her brown eyes sparkling. She runs over to me, asking for a photo. I accept and also sign her wrist guards, giving her a small hug before she leaves the changing room. A smile escapes it's way across my face after the heartwarming interaction. A few moments later, I take a deep breath before heading back into the gym.
I spend a few hours more training and head back to my apartment. I unlock the front door and drop my gymnastics bag onto the floor. I wonder my way into the kitchen and get myself a hot chocolate, placing the marshmallows carefully onto the pile of whipped cream. I let it cool for a few seconds and take it into my room and place it on my bedside table. I grab my silk pajamas and change into them finally feeling comfortable after wearing tight shorts and a leotard all day. I slide myself under my covers and put on 'Wild Child'. I'm sorry i just love that film. I finally start to relax. My shoulders no longer ache, my head no longer spinning and my body just feels at peace. I begin to drift away indulged into the movie. *ding* My phone screen lights up.
Monsieur Gasly🐣 Twitter is going crazy about you, you know?
Mademoiselle Hughes🐥 what?? i haven't done anything!
you took a photo with a fan today? her mother posted it and everyone loved that you took time with her!
oh yes, i'll check now.
He wasn't lying. Photos of me and the girl were surfacing on different blogs, articles , tweets and social media platforms . My notifications went crazy. I turned my phone off and returned to watching the film, still confused as to how a photo could spark the internet. I left it a few hours until i turned my phone back on. Hoping it maybe would have died down by now. It hasn't. I leave my phone on the bedside table before making my way to the bathroom. I wipe off my makeup with a cleanser and let my hair down from its messy bun. I look at myself in the mirror , losing myself to my thoughts.
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I wake up to the sun peeking through the curtains. I lay in bed, thinking about the day ahead of me, for a few minutes. Slipping my way out of bed onto the cold wooden floor, I make my way to the bathroom to get changed into my workout clothes. I put my blonde, thick, hair into 2 dutch braids and put in my airpods.
I locked the front door and set out for a short but intense run. I was in my own world. No one to tell me i needed to do better, to tell me that what I was doing was not good enough, no one to confuse my mind. Ever since I was little I had the feeling that I was never doing anything 'right' or that there was always somebody better than me at everything I do. I still feel like that sometimes, especially in gymnastics. I watch the younger classes and those little boys and girls are miles ahead compared to where I was at there age. I know i shouldn't compare myself but that's my competition. I need to win, I can't lose to them. I need to prove myself to everyone who ever told me no.. but mainly I had to prove myself to me.
I feel my lungs and throat finding it harder to get the air in and out. But that means that what I'm doing is working. I know when I need to stop and I wasn't there yet. How can i be allowing myself to do something i say I hate? Maybe I don't hate it as much as I want myself to believe.
My music is abruptly cut off by the sound of a text notification. I pull my phone out of the pocket from my jacket, and play the music again. That's when I saw a message from an unknown number
Unknown Number hey, you in australia?
Kera Hughes who is this?
seriously?
yes i'm serious.
forgotten me already, kera??
okay i'm blocking you.
*user has been blocked*
"I have not got time for games" I mutter to myself before resuming the music and continuing on my run.
1347 words-(filler chapter!) Who do you think the message is from? Let me know what you think so far.
