Nina Sticks The Landing

Part 8: From Dream To Reality

The next morning, Nina practically jumped out of bed. It was Saturday. It was the day of the meet. Her heart pounded.
"MOM!" She shouted, bounding down the stairs. "GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS!"

After breakfast, Nina frantically packed her gymnastics things in a duffel bag. She threw on a leotard under her clothes and put her team leotard in the bag. After grabbing a water bottle and some extra hair ties, Nina led her family to the car.
"Let's go!" She shouted.
The family made their way to their car, Nina encouraging them to hurry all the while.

After a few tedious hours of driving, the family reached the gymnastics center where the meet was to be held. Nina jumped out of the car while it was still moving and ran into the building, eager to find her team. She darted across the floor, legs moving a million miles an hour as she raced over to her coach and fellow gymnasts.

The meet would begin soon.

After stretching, the girls warmed up. Natori and Estelle were shaking with nervousness. Nina herself was worried as well, but she tried not to let it show. The gymnasts practiced basic handstands, cartwheels, back handsprings, round offs and a bit of beam and bar work. For some reason, Nina couldn't hold her handstand for very long, and couldn't quite keep her leg straight during the cartwheel.

A voice came over the loudspeaker, alerting the gymnasts that the meet would begin soon.
"You ready?" Arden asked Nina nervously.
"I think so." Nina responded quietly.

The girls were lead to the side of the gym, where they sipped water and stretched while they could. The voice on the loudspeaker began calling names, and girls began filing out onto the equipment one by one. The judges critiqued and watched intently, looking out for mistakes in routines. Nina breathed deeply to calm her nerves. Her heart was beating faster than a hummingbird's.

Dozens of girls, including some of the GCGA girls, were called on the loudspeaker and performed their routines. Nina fiddled with the ends of her hair, shifting her weight from foot to foot, attempting to drive away her worries.

Soon enough, the loudspeaker person called her name. "LaFeye, Nina. Please come to floor." Nina gulped and glanced at her coach for reassurance. Coach Blunt saluted her, and Nina couldn't help but grin. She then turned and made her way to the floor, careful not to run into any other meet participants on her way.

She stepped up to the floor, feeling the pressure of a million eyes watching her every move. Nina tightened her ponytail hurriedly, waiting for the music to begin and cue the beginning of her routine. She stood awkwardly, circling her wrists to prepare. At long last, she heard the opening note of the song. She stepped onto the floor and strutted her stuff, making sure to point her toes and keep a graceful posture. She could barely think, every move was done almost robotically; she didn't have to busy herself with thoughts about what would come next; her limbs automatically flowed into the routine, carrying her with the elegance of a swan. Before she had time to comprehend the situation, the routine was over and she was standing still again, smiling at the judges and posing nicely. Nina looked gratefully at the scores, which were remarkably high. She beamed ear to ear, running back over to her team, who exchanged congratulations with her.

The rest of the meet passed by like a dream, Nina barely aware of her motions during each routine. She received a high score on bars, but scored much lower on beam because she wobbled and forgot to point her toes a few times. Nevertheless, she was pleased with her results and couldn't stop smiling.

After each girl had performed her routine, Coach Blunt gathered the team.
"Nicely done, ladies." She exclaimed. "I'm very proud of you. I'm sure that next meet is going to be even better."

Nina giggled, already imagining what the next meet would be like. She knew that this was just the beginning of something big.

THE END