Take One for the Team

Chapter 24: Kicked Off

The crowd cheers for me. I am so happy! I nailed a routine I could never even do before, and I had saved group routine!
But I had also ruined it. If it weren't for me everything would have gone according to plan, and it would have looked better and scored much higher. If it weren't for me.
We all walk offstage and collect our ropes. "Oh my gosh that was amazing!" I hear someone say. I turn around. It's Lexi. She comes up and gives me a hug.
"Great job out there! You're stalling saved this routine! I had no idea that your singles was that good!" she exclaimed. Ah, good. Lexi wasn't mad at me. I don think that she even remembered that I wasn't supposed to be in group routine. I guess she had just zoned out during all that complaining in the car rides. I probably would have too if I were in her position. I guess that I was being annoying. Maybe Lexi did remember that I wasn't in group routine, but she wasn't mad.
I feel relieved for a second, and then I feel like I have to barf. All of that excitement was too much. I run to the bathroom and cough and cough. I see McKenzie and Lilah coming after me. I hurry faster to the bathroom. I finally reach it, lock myself in a stall, and start to cry and cough all at the same time. I really should have thought this through. Now I was going to have to face Coach Melissa and my teammates. Why did I have to be such an attention hog? Why couldn't I be a good sportsman and be happy for my team even if I wasn't in their routine? I cough more. I cry more. I don't know what to do. I don't have anybody who will understand. My mom will ground me forever. And I might get kicked off the team.
I hear McKenzie and Lilah banging on the door.
"Julie!" they yell. "Come out!"
I realize that I can't hide in a bathroom stall forever, and that if I have to face everyone, I might as well start with my friends, so I come out. They hug me.
"Julie, we were so worried about you!" Lilah exclaimed. "You look so sick, and you were hiding in the bathroom for ten minutes!"
"I'm ok," I answer. "Really?" asks McKenzie. "No," I cry, spilling out the truth. "I wanted to be in this routine so bad, and when Coach Melissa used Becky as a sub instead of me, I just kinda lost it. I don't know what happened, but I really wanted to be in it, and then this crazy idea struck me, and I snuck out on stage with you guys. I felt really sick afterwards, but now I feel fine, except that I know I have to face Coach Melissa. And my mom. And everyone." I started to cry even more. "It's ok Julie" McKenzie says. I sniff a little. "I probably would have done the same thing if I was you." I laugh, because it was true. McKenzie would have done the same thing if she were in my position. I could almost see her out there on front of everyone alone.
"Thanks guys" I said. "I'm just worried about what Coach Melissa will say to me."
"Well, what you did was wrong, but you did save the routine," Lilah said. "So in a way, you're still the hero." "Not exactly," I said. "I used that rope. The double dutch rope. For the single rope part of the routine. It was my fault that the rope was missing, so it only fitting that I go out and stall. I wasn't the hero. I ruined it."
"It all sounded ok until you said that you took the double dutch rope, so just don't tell Coach Melissa that. Just say that you snuck out with us but ended up helping. Make it sound like you saved the day."
"Can't do that," I replied. "She has the video, she'll see. There's no point in denying it."
"You might as well tell the truth," suggested Lilah. I knew that she was right. So we all walked out of the bathroom together and went to the Starbucks stand in the convention center. I always feel better after a vanilla bean Frappuccino.
We were all kinda having fun now. We walked around the stands and we bumped into Trevor and Andrew and a couple other boys from his team. He's sooooo cute! "Is this the boy you were talking about?" McKenzie whispers. "Shhhh!!!!" I elbow her playfully. "Hey Julie!" Trevor says. "Hi Trevor," I reply. Lilah smirks at me. "Julie's right," McKenzie says, "You do have good hair!" Trevor strokes his silky hair. "Shut up!" I whisper to McKenzie and playfully elbow her again. "Good job in group routine," he says. "You really stole the spotlight!" "Yah," I say. "Funny story, I wasn't even supposed to be in it." I tell him the whole story. "We'll leave you with your boy," McKenzie says after I finish my story. I watch them walk off, and Trevor's friends leave too.
"What do you think I should do?" I ask Trevor. He puts his hand on my shoulder, and I instantly feel better. "Just tell the truth," he says. "You didn't really do anything wrong, and you did a great job on your singles. Your coach can't get too mad."
"Thanks, I'm still a little worried, though." He hugs me. I've never hugged a boy before. Well, besides my brother and my dad. But that doesn't count. This is a real boy hug. A romantic hug. "It's ok," he says. He puts his arm around me. I do feel better. Not better about my situation, but that I have a cute boy walking with me. I wonder if this would count as a boyfriend.
Trevor walks back with me to where my team is. "I'll see you later," I say. "Wait, what's your number?" he asks. "You know, so we can text." Asking for my number? Maybe he does want to be my boyfriend! We exchange numbers and then I go, ready to face Coach Melissa.
It's been almost an hour since group routine. I'm a little worried that I disappeared for too long, but then I think about Trevor, and I feel more confident.
Coach Melissa spots me before I see her. "Julie," she says. "Can we talk?"
"Yes!" I answer, and we go find a place to sit.
"Julie, why were you out there?" she asks. I took a deep breath. I decided to tell the truth. "I really wanted to be in group routine. I tried to stay cool with it. And then I remember the day you told me I was a sub. You said that I should learn every part in the routine. And that you would need me. A lot. So I tried really hard to learn everything. It was jut my frog that was holding me back. I remembered you telling me that you would need me. And then it did happen. Someone got hurt. I felt bad for Leia, but I was kinda excited because now I got to be in group routine. But then you used Becky instead. I got really upset and snuck out onstage and did the routine with the rest of them. I don't know what got into me. I'm really sorry."
"Well, your singles was awesome, and I am sorry that you weren't in this routine, but I make decisions for a reason. I thought that Becky was better for this part. You didn't have your frog, but that wasn't all of it. I know that you are really sick. And I don't want you to get sicker. That was the main reason for my decision. I sort of understand why you snuck onstage, but we are a professional team. I can't have my competitors fooling around and doing stupid things like that. Julie, you're kicked off the team."