Breaks are always the worst part of gymnastics. I mean, I spend the entire season waiting for a much-needed break, but when that anticipated break comes, I spend all my time doing gymnastics.
I search for the remote under the couch cushions. I pause Kyla Ross’ bar routine in the middle of her Pak, analyzing her form. Perfection. I click play again to watch the rest of her routine at P&G Champs. This pretty much sums up my week off of practice; watching old youtube videos on my smart tv while making up floor routines to the radio. Because god knows when I get a break, I don’t use it.
“Mia? It’s time for dinner. I expect you to eat with the family tonight; it’s the last day until your evening practice schedule starts up again”, my mom shouts down the stairs.
I groan and roll out of my right leg split, pausing the tv once again. This time, Simone is sky high on her full in dismount off beam.
I walk upstairs to sit down with my parents, who have glasses of white wine sitting in front of them. I pour myself a glass of water and take my place at the table. I’m quiet, running through my routines in my head. By doing this, I totally missed the question my mom asked me.
“Mia, snap out of it”. She sounds pissed.
My head shoots up, suddenly alert. “Sorry, what was that?”.
“I asked you if you had homework to do this weekend. I hope you did it, because todays the last night of your long weekend.”
“Yea, I finished it”, I lie through my teeth. She takes my word for it and nods her head in approval, resuming conversation with my father. The dinner takes a while, and by the time I’m finally excused it’s 7:30. Ugh.
I end up doing my homework until midnight, and I knew the next morning will be hard. Only the second week of school and I’m already screwed.
The next morning, as I predicted, sucks ass. I wake up feeling as though I got 2 minutes of sleep, and the bags under my eyes show it. No amount of concealer can cover that up.
I go through my makeup routine quickly, straightening my long hair as well. I slip on patterned jeans and a white sweater, and add a necklace last minute. I tie my sperry’s and grab my back pack and a pop tart, grab the key, and head out to the bus stop. My backpack feels as though somebody filled it with bricks, even though I only have 2 text books in it.
“Mia!”
I whip my head around to see a girl with long blonde hair, so light that it’s almost white. She’s wearing light blue jeans and a pink tank with a cardigan, but I’ve never seen her before.
“Hi”, I say awkwardly. “I don’t think I know you…”
“Oh, you don’t”, she giggles. “But I know you!”
This is kinda freaky.
“Umm…that’s cool”, I turn back around.
“You go to that gym, DEGA’s, right?”. This catches my attention.
“Yes…how’d you know that?”
“I’ve watched you train,” she says matter-of-factly. When she sees the look on her face, she adds “because I’m in the lower training group. I go to DEGA’s too.” She giggles again.
“Haha…”, I try to laugh but it’s just an awkward situation to be honest. The bus pulls up and I walk on, grabbing a seat near the front. I’m a freshman, after all.
Of course, the girl sits next to me. “My names Juliet, by the way. You can just call me Jules though!”, she says with a giggle. Damn, this girl is perky.
“Okay, Jules. What level are you?”; my best attempt at small talk.
“Oh, I’m new to the sport”. Another giggle. “But, I’m almost level 7!”. Wait…what?
“How new are you?”
“Oh, I started in January. I loved watching it on TV, so I thought it would be better to actually compete! It’s so much fun, don’t you think?”, she gushes. My heads spinning; 9 months of gymnastics and she’s already a level 7?
“Yea, yea it’s fun. How old are you, Juliet?
“14!”, she grins.
“Wow. That’s really good.”
“Thanks!” God this girl giggles a lot.
We pull up to school and get off the bus. I walk to my locker and grab my books for my first three periods. We start swimming today, and I am not looking forward to it. Second period gym is awful.
A/N: sorry I haven't updated! Things are crazy right now, with school starting and evening practices starting up. I'm going to aim for once a week, but it might be once every two weeks because high school is really busy! Thanks for all the patience and positive feedback on my book! ILY sm guyss :)
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The Life of a Gymnast
Teen Fiction13 year old Mia Taleria faces fear, injuries, and scary new skills in a true story retold. She battles with mental blocks and new coaches to reach her goal of level 10, with her best friends Catt, Emma, and Sam by her side from day one...
