Perfect

~Day 4~

~A/N- to whoever probably isn't actually reading this- I'm a level 9 gymnast. Gymnastics is my entire life. I love reading gymnastics stories, and I also love writing, baking, drawing, etc. However, A couple weeks ago I broke four of the bones in my foot on vault. It sucks. I don't have a lot to do, and I have a ton of pent up energy and no way of letting out. I've been channeling this into my writing, and it seems that it's the only thing that keeps me sane. So, even if you don't enjoy my story, it's nice to know that some people are still interested at least. I've been working really hard on this! And without further ado...~

Training with the level 9's is surprisingly harder than the 8's. It's a good thing I have thoughts of Liam swimming through my head, or I'd feel really deflated. The good thing is that I get to train with the lovely Macie. 

Our beam assignment is to complete 10 stuck of our competition series. I take this as an opportunity to work on my front handspring step in, flic, layout step out. I love beam, but long, grueling workouts are never fun. 

I stand a couple feet in from the end of the beam,  one foot pointed out in front of me, hands by ears. I do my pre-series ritual. Blink three times, take a breath, then just go. I step onto my outstretched foot, and stretch my torso towards the beam. Both my feet fly over my head, and I stay watching my hands until I feel my first foot on the beam. I bring the other one to meet it, swing my arms as I do so. I jump backwards off my feet, trusting only my strength to catch me. I start splitting my legs. Then my hands hit the beam, shoulders strong. I bring my feet together and push up through my legs, arching my back, splitting my legs as I do so. When I see the ground, I push my chest up, and prepare my legs for landing. I land on one first, then the other, with my arms by my ears. I squeeze my inner thighs together, until I'm sure I have my balance.

"Watch the layout shape, Grace! Squeeze those knees!" I nod, shake out my hands, and take my place once again in the middle of the beam with one foot outstretched. I blink three times then take a deep breath. I pop off my hands, one foot landing in front of the other. I swing, then watch my arms follow my hands. I split early enough, and transition seamlessly into the layout. feeling my back arch, legs squeezed tight, entering a split. BAM. One. BAM. Two. Two feet on the beam, perfectly stuck without a single wobble or hesitation. I turn to smile at Chelsea, but she's not watching me. She's talking to a tall, muscular man. He has dark, tangly hair, a light stubble, thick eyebrows, and piercing blue eyes. I watch them talking for a second. The man has a clipboard that he keeps glancing down at every few seconds. I can tell this annoys Chelsea. She watches him glancing intently at his clipboard, and I can see her stop talking. The man leans towards her to show her the clipboard, and his brow furrows. He points towards the beams with his pen, eyebrows raised in confusion, quickly glances at us, then puts his head back down. Chelsea looks up, her lips moving, while the man talks. Chelsea crosses one arm and taps her lip. Then she raises her pointer finger and says something, and slaps her forehead. Then she starts explaining something with lots of hand motions. I take a deep breath, turn, and focus on my assignment.

I stand in the middle of the beam, once again, ready to launch into a series, but I never finish. "Ladies! Line up!" Chelsea calls. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."