The Life of a Gymnast

Chapter 10: Hurt

I was in trouble.

BIG trouble.

This Alex girl was really good. Like...really good. On vault, she can already flip piked yurchenkos! All I had was a dumb tsuk. I was in for some serious training...

I look at my number at the starting line.  I knew what I had to do, but did I know how to do it? 

I take a deep breath and step forwards.  My toes are right on my number.  I’ve done yurchenko’s before, and the mat was still set from Alex.  I could do this. 

I take off, sprinting.  It all happened so fast.  My hands were on the mat, then the vault, then the air.  I stuck it!  Alex claps, same with the rest of the girls.  Except for Lizzy, who stalks over.

“What was that?”, she asks. 

“A tuck yurchenko”, I spit back.

“I thought you did tsuks”.

“Well, you thought wrong.”

I turn on my heels and walk back, and slap Alex’s hand in a high five.

A few turns later, and I’m up again.  I had more confidence this time, and perhaps that played a role in what happened next. 

Everything was in slow motion.  I was sprinting, and I hurdled.  My hands barely touched the mat and me legs bent on the springboard.  My arms were loose on the horse, and I hit the mat with a crack that was audible across the gym. 

I didn’t cry.  I held my knee and sat down on the mat. 

“Uh guys?  I just cracked something”.  Everybody’s faces were horror stricken.

Catt runs from across the gym with Sam and Emma.  Even Halli runs over to see if I’m okay. 

Lizzy rolls her eyes and starts to walk away. 

“Lizzy?  What do you think you’re doing?  We need your help over here!  Get the crutches from the closet”, Mike says.  I smile, but grimace as the pain increases. 

Kristy runs over to beam and tells all the girls to get off the beams.  GG was still coaching but when the girls jumped down she came over to help me. 

“Where does it hurt, Mia?”

“Everywhere”, I managed before I blacked out from the pain.