The Gymnast

Part 13

"Today, I want three full bar routines from each of you," Jill says. By the time we got ready for bars, Sophie's meeting was over. I don't know where she is, but I do know that Hazel is still not back, so she's probably still discussing level 9 with her. Hazel always did like Sophie.

There's a meet this weekend, so I know I have to focus, but I can't seem to keep my mind on my bar routine. I do a low bar set and a high bar set to warm up, but I keep missing my handstands and I even fell over the wrong way on a giant.

"Are you okay?" Sharon asks.

"Yeah, just a little preoccupied and distracted," I explain with a small smile.

"I get it, don't worry," Sharon says.

"My bars has been really bad today and I really don't want Jill to watch my bar routine and see how much I suck," I say and laugh.

Sharon laughs too. "You don't suck!"

"I kind of do. On bars, at least."

"Well, regardless of how good you are at bars, I can distract Jill for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure," Sharon says and smiles at me.

"Well, thanks."

I walk up to the bar farthest away from the bar that Jill is spotting on. I stand in front of the low bar and wait for Sharon to distract Jill.

"Jill, could you spot some pirouettes?" Sharon asks.

"Sure," Jill answers and turns her back to me to help Sharon. I make eye contact with Sharon and smile gratefully before starting my bar routine.

My low bar goes pretty smoothly. I make a nearly flawless pirouette and my freehip almost hits handstand. However, when I get to the high bar, I start thinking about everything again.

I realize that my 'stress' is nothing compared with what some people have to deal with. Everyone fights with their friends, and who says that my fight was worse than any other fight. I decide that I will talk to Sophie again as soon as I get the chance because we have been friends since before we got onto team, and one fight can't break us up.

All of these thoughts fly through my head as I cast up to handstand on the high bar. As I go for the giant, I suddenly feel so guilty for everything I said to Sophie, and I feel hurt all over again because of the things she said to me.

On the giant, I tap my toes over too early, causing me to fall over the wrong way. I start to panic. I have fallen like this before, but this time I am distracted and I notice tears blurring my vision, but I don't remember when they got there.

Instead of turning like I am supposed to, I fall over like a front handspring, which is the incorrect way to fall out of a giant. Because I fall over the wrong way, I don't know where the floor is to land on it. When I land, my right knee hyperextends and my right ankle is twisted to the outside.

Pain shoots through my whole leg and I fall to the floor.