paige's dream

prolouge

may fourth, 2001
lincoln, nebraska

"Mommy, what if they don't like me? What if I can't do a cartwheel!" a young blonde haited, brown eyed girl asked from the backseat of a green pickup. At the young girls words, the lady, presumably her mother, in the front seat turned, smiling. She had already parked so it was safe to turn.

"Paige. You are the smartest, prettiest, and most athletic four year old I know. And yet, here you are, worried! Get up, go in and show them who is boss. Come on, then!" the lady said, making the four year old smile wide in her purple and green long-sleeved leotard. Of course, she had sweat pants on over and flipflops, and she looked absolutely perfect for her first day.

"Ok, mommy, let's go." Paige said, unbuckling her own seatbelt, which she had learned to do only three weeks before this. After all, it was a new carseat.

Paige's mother, Jennifer, shut the car off, unbuckled her own seat and got out, pulling open the other door, the backseat to be precise, open. "Come on, Paige, let's go, are you excited?" the question had been asked too many times for Paige to count, and had been answered just as many times. "Yes!" She squealed as her mother picked her up, carrying her inside after shutting (and locking) the truck's doors.

In the gym, were brightly colored mats, laying everywhere. There were cubbies for the kids to put their shoes and sweatpants and such, each with a name nicely printed. Two trampelines, each long and slender, sat on one side, connecting, and on the other side there balance beams of all heights, a rope hanging from the wall and bars going up, also at dofferent heights.

Of course, there were more things, but Paige could not identify them.

The clock on the west wall read 4:56, and the lesson started at 5. Already, there were many young girls, and even a select few boys! Paige giggled at the thought of boys doing the sport she had become interested in, since her mother coached it.

"Hello, kids, I'm assuming you are all here for class three through five, am I right?" A plump man asked, he had gray hair and his voice came out wheezy. "Yes!" mothers, fathers and children all alike screamed out, excited.

"Okay, parents you can sit here, or go out the cars and pick them up at 6, kids, come on, do you see the blue mat?" he paused, pointing to a bright blue mat by the trampolines. "I want you all to get in a circle there, let's go!" He said, and a pretty young red-haired lady followed him, obviously the assistant coach.

It was from then on that Paige knew she was going to love this sport, with all her heart.