CHASING GOLD: The Olympics

Chapter 7

Andy walked with her moms to the bus. Theo walked behind her with Hope and Kelley. On the bus, Tobin and Alex sat down next to each other but Andy sat right in front of them. Theo sat down next to her. The two grabbed hands and just enjoyed each other's presence as the bus loaded up and started towards the stadium.

When they arrived, Andy and Theo walked with their moms.

"Hey, kiddo." Tobin said to Andy, putting an arm around her shoulders. "How ya feelin'?" Tobin smiled brightly. Andy nodded.

"I'm good. Nervous. But good." Andy said. "What about you?"

"I'm always nervous. I just try not to show it." Tobin said winking. Andy chuckled and looked down. "Hey. We've got this, kid. Remember, win or lose, we are going to the Olympics but-"

"But let's win it anyways." Andy finished her mom's sentence. Tobin smiled.

"That's right," Tobin said. She put her fist out for Andy. Andy bumped her fist with her moms. "We've got this." They walked towards the locker room.

*****

Andy walked side by side with her moms as they entered the locker room. Tobin and Alex walked toward their cubbies and Andy walked toward hers. She set her bag down and stared at the jersey. Today was different. She'd played before. She's got her first cap. And second, and third. But this...this is her first start. She put her shorts on, got her warm-up on, and waited for her moms. She and Theo agreed they would go out onto the pitch with their moms for their first games and first starts whenever those would be. Neither thought they would be within a week. So, once Tobin and Alex were ready, the three headed out to the pitch.

"Hey, mom?" Andy asked Tobin.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we could do the new kids' jump together today?" Andy asked. "All three of us?" She turned towards Alex. Her moms smiled.

"I think that's a great idea kid," Tobin said. Alex nodded. "Don't you do it with Theo though?" Andy nodded.

"Yeah but she and her moms have started a new ritual they all do together," Andy explained. "So I thought maybe we could start one together."

"I love it." Alex said. Tobin nodded and Andy smiled. The three got to the sidelines and linked arms. Andy was in the middle, Tobin to her right, and Alex to her left. "Count us down kid." Alex said.

"On three." Andy said.

"Wait on three or after three?" Tobin asked.

"After three/on three." Andy and Alex said at the same time. They gave each other fake annoyed looks. Andy put her hand up.

"On three." Andy said. "Like, one, two, three." Tobin and Alex nodded in understanding. "Ok. One...two...three..." The three jumped at the same time and landed and ran forward. The stadium was already pretty full and they heard cheers and screams of excitement as they did the jump.

They did drills and stretched out and before they all knew it, it was time to head back to the locker rooms to get ready to walk out of the tunnel.

Andy put her jersey on, studying it before she did. She loved that the name on the back said 'Morgan-Heath'. After all, that was her last name. The three got her last name changed a little while ago. She wanted 'Heath' but also wanted 'Morgan' so they decided to just make it officially 'Morgan-Heath' so she could always rep both her moms even before they got married and changed their names officially. And, when the three talked, they all said that at some point, once Tobin and Alex get married, they would have the names on all three of their backs say 'Morgan-Heath'. Though it would be a little hard with Andy and Alex since both of their names start with 'A' but they would cross that bridge when they got there. Right now, all Andy was thinking about was walking down that tunnel. She would be at the back of the line with Theo directly in front of her. She was a little sad she couldn't be in front or behind one of her moms, but she'd rather have Theo there than no one at all. She trusts the other girls and already considers them family, but they didn't know Andy like Theo and her moms do.