The Gymnast

Part 18

"Ana! It's so great that you're back!" Sharon exclaims as soon as I enter the locker room. Sharon, Gabby, Jessica, Sabrina, and Olivia run over to me and hug me. I laugh and hug them all, excited to see them again after 2 months. Although I did come to the gym to do stretching and conditioning starting two weeks ago, I came at a later time so that I could work one-on-one with a coach, so I didn't see my friends much since my injury. Since I came and trained for two weeks, I'm pretty much ready to return to practice like before my injury.

"What's going on in there?!" Hazel yells from outside.

Everyone freezes, and our smiles immediately disappear. After no one responds for a few awkward, silent moments, Hazel enters the locker room. She looks us all over, probably noticing that most of us are still wearing t-shirts and shorts over our leotards.

"What were you all doing?" Hazel asks a moment later."

"We were just, um, welcoming Ana," Sabrina says. I bite my lip as all eyes turn to me, then back to Hazel.

"Well, let me join in!" Hazel exclaims and does the last thing I expected her to do: Hazel hugs me.

At first, I just stand there. I look over Hazel's shoulder and see Sophie standing there, eyes wide. When she sees me looking at her, she shrugs, as if to say 'I have no idea what's going on, just go with it,' so I hug Hazel back. It's probably the most awkward hug in the history of mankind, but it's something.

As soon as Hazel releases me, she looks around the room again and scowls. "Get changed and come stretch! And hurry, you're already late!" she yells and stomps out of the locker room.

The moment she leaves, everyone bursts into laughter. We try to keep it quiet so that Hazel can't hear us as we discuss what just happened and laugh while we change.

A minute later, we all exit the locker room and line up for running. Then, we start our usual running routine. After running we all sit in our assigned spots for stretching. While I was gone, new spots were assigned, so Jill shows me my new spot. I'm next to Layla, a level 9 who's a few years older than me, and Mae, a level 7 who's around my age. While we stretch, I notice a girl going into Brody's office with Brody and a woman who I assume is her mom.

"Hey, Layla?" I whisper. We're not supposed to talk during stretching, but I just have to know who that girl is.

Layla looks around for a moment to make sure Briana, Jill, and Hazel aren't looking at us. "That's Sadie. She might be joining the gym. She's been coming to practice for about a week," Layla whispers back.

"What level is she?" I ask.

"I think she's level 8 or 9. She's around your age," Layla replies.

"Less talking, more stretching!" Jill yells and we immediately quiet down.

If this new girl, Sadie, is a level 8 or 9, she'll probably be in my group. I'm kind of nervous to meet her. Everyone else already knows her, but I don't. Plus, my 'group' of friends at the gym is a great group, we don't need some new girl intruding. I push those thoughts out of my head. As I already know from my injury, friendships are a distraction that can have serious consequences. I have to focus on what I'm doing right now.

When we finish stretching, we split into groups.

"Levels 7 and 8, you start on beam! Levels 9 and 10, you start vault! Everyone, start warming up. Beam girls, be ready for routines in 10 minutes!" Hazel yells. We disperse and get on our events.