Nina Sticks The Landing

Part 7: The Academy Showcase

Nina's last name was LaFeye, so she wasn't called up first. The first gymnast on the floor was
Lia-Rose Abington. After that there was Mia Aubrey, and Nora Bates, then Casey Ballot. Gymnast after gymnast stood up in front of the rest of the academy and performed, each one more nervous than the last. Estelle DeGlass was called up. Nina waved as her friend and teammate mounted the beam. Estelle replied with a weak and nerve wracked smile. Her routine went almost perfectly, and Nina grinned as Estelle made a perfect dismount.
"Good job!" She exclaimed.
"Thanks, boo!" Estelle responded.
Next, Natori Deluge (the new girl) was called up. Her legs were shaking, and Nina guessed that she'd never even been to a competition before. Natori clumsily mounted the beam and stood wobbling. Her routine went relatively well despite the minor inconveniences at the start. Natori's dismount, however, was an ultimate flop, and she tumbled to the floor. Nina bit her lip as she saw tears welling up in Natori's eyes.
Name upon name was called, and girls (and even a few boys) found their way to either the bar, beam or floor and began their routines. E, F, G, H, I, J, and K passed fairly quickly, and finally the letter L was up. Nina's last name began with L, and she knew that she'd be one of the first ones up because L and A were the first two letters of her name.
"Lillian Lacoste, you're up!" Coach Blunt called.
Lillian Lacoste stepped up to the bar and did a kip. She paused, then launched into the rest of her routine. Nina watched blindly, and her heart began to beat faster as her time to perform drew near. She was worried that her lack of practice wold lead her straight to disaster.

"Nina Lafeye." Coach announced.

Nina gulped, then walked drudgingly to the beam. She pulled herself onto the narrow surface, her toes pointed elegantly. The routine began. Arms up, smile, skip, aerial. Land, smile, back walkover, straight into handstand, walk on hands -
Suddenly, Nina lost her balance and fell onto the mat beneath the beam. She saw some of the other gymnasts grimace, and a few laughed or smirked. Nina sat on the ground for a grand total of five seconds, but it felt like hours to her. Those nasty, mocking smiles made her blood boil. With injured confidence and a sore wrist, Nina mounted the beam once again and began where she left off, repeating the steps in her head. Walk over into standing position. Turn, run, scissor jump. Land. Run, skip, flip. Land. Glare at the mean people who laughed me when I fell. Aerial back walkover. Back handspring dismount. Stand, smile.
Oh well. Nina would not let a little mistake in her routine get the best of her. She'd just have to practice extra hard.
Two days passed. Two days of hard work, tears, and patience. Regionals were the next day, and Nina had to work her tail off to get her routine just right. She missed school on Friday so that she could prepare for the competition on Saturday. All day Nina practiced, trying to focus on nothing but her gymnastics. Hours passed, and Nina's stomach felt queasy from flipping and cartwheeling and tumbling. After taking a short break, however, she was ready to get back in the saddle and continue her preparation. As 10 am turned to 11, then finally 12, Nina began to get tired.
"Coach, how much longer?" Estelle asked Coach Blunt.
"Not long, sweetie. Hang in there!" Coach Blunt responded cheerfully.
After two more hours of practicing, it was time for Nina to go home. Kestrel appeared, carrying a paper sack lunch.
"Ready to go, Nina girl?" she asked.
Nina threw on her coat and shoes.
"Ready when you are!" she exclaimed.
On the ride home, Nina thought about the gymnastics meet. She was so nervous, even though she'd been to hundreds of meets. She was worried about messing up or forgetting something.
Kestrel and Nina pulled up to their house and walked through the door into their warm, bright living room. Pretty soon, everyone in the family was curled up on the couch enjoying a movie, eating yummy quesodillas, and sipping hot chocolate. Nina was still nervous about the meet, but she tried to push those thoughts out of her mind.