Perfect

This is our chance!

I hop off my beam and rush over to line up in front of Chelsea and the mysterious man. We line up from smallest to tallest, me being third from the shorty end. Macie, with her beautiful lines, is second to the tallest. The smallest is Sage. Then Kayla, me, Lindsey, Payton, Claire, Gabby, Macie, Emma. 8 level 9s. And one level 8 who doesn't belong. "Ladies." Chelsea says in an aggressive way. "This is Robert Menderez. I'm sure you've heard of him?" "No, coach." We say in unison. "In that case, Coach Menderez is a coach and trainer for one of the most prestigious gyms in the country. Have you heard of the Twisters?" Gabby takes a step forward, meaning she knows the answer. "Gabrielle?" "The Twisters is a line of gyms located in Seattle Washington, Sacramento California, Dallas Texas, and somewhere in Massachusetts." "Correct." Chelsea says, and Gabby steps back in line, seeming satisfied. "Coach Menderez will be observing training over the next few days. If he sees someone who he thinks has talent and potential, they will get the opportunity to train with him for two weeks, and attend a ranch session, therefore putting them on the gymnastics map." I lock eyes with Macie. This is our chance! I turn back forwards. "We will be starting with beam, because we are already here. There are ten beams, and nine of you. Everyone get on a beam. Please don't use the shaky one!" There's that one shaky beam that nobody wants to use. I climb on my personal favorite, the third to one end. Macie is on the beam next to me. We give each other a look that says, "I'm hella nervous but whatever." Then we turn back forwards. 

Chelsea and the man are standing at the end of the beams, so they can see all of us. Coach Menderez speaks for the first time in a deep voice. "Alright." He says. "We are going to start with dance. Actually, may I rearrange you? I'd like for you to be in order." We simultaneously jump off our beams and stand next to them. "This is going to be the order for the rest of the time that I am with you. We are just going to do shortest to tallest. Please remember this order." We nod. He points to the end beam farthest from me with his pen. "Sage Martin," Sage scrambles up onto the beam. "Kayla Wright." Kayla gracefully hops onto the beam. "Grace Hall." My heart skips a beat as he says my name. Knowing that someone that important is speaking to me is incredible. I hurry to the other end of the beams, hoping I'm not taking too much time. I swing my leg over the beam, wanting to look as graceful as Kayla and as quick as Sage. I wobble a little bit. Why does this matter so much? I'm just getting on a beam! "Lindsey Randall." Lindsey is already at her beam. She climbs on and turns to face Coach Menderez, chin raised. "Payton Bailey." Payton jumps onto her beam. "Claire Bryant." "Gabriella MacEvoy." "Mandisa Kahn." Everyone looks around to see who Mandisa is. Macie presses her lips together and climbs up the beam. Everyone is still watching her when he calls Emma. "Emma Wilson." 

"Thank you. As I previously said, we are going to be beginning with dance. We will be starting with singular jumps and skills, then moving into connections. If we still have time we will begin on acro. Understand?" He looks expectantly at us. We all nod. "Perfect. Let's get started. We will begin with the basics. I'd like everyone to execute their tightest, highest straight jump, starting with Sage. We have to move extremely quickly. I will not take notes until we begin with the more difficult jumps. Sage, you may begin." Sage does a straight jump perfectly. Then Kayla. I bend my legs, swing up through my arms and straighten my legs at the same time, and push through my toes. I land it perfectly. Who am I kidding. It's just a straight jump. I watch as it goes down the line. Lindsey lands with the most microscopic bobble ever. Payton launches herself super high, and comes down without a tilt. Claire's is relatively low, with flexed feet. Gabby, Macie, and Emma's are all near perfect. "Tuck jump." Says the man. Sage jumps really high for her tiny body, folds in a little ball, then comes out of it and lands perfectly. Beam is her event. Kayla goes. Then I do. I press through my toes, bring my knees to my chest, careful to keep my chin and chest up. Then I come out of the ball. BAM. I land on the beam, perfectly again.  I glance to Macie. She gives me a small smile, but her eyes say "See? Not that hard." Lindsey goes, with the height of a back tuck. Then Payton, who is a little off balance. She has to grip with her toes in order to not wobble. Claire lands well but doesn't get much height. The list goes on. We go through a few more dance rotations with no major mistakes. Finally, it's 3:30. practice is over. The man says we will work more tomorrow. 

I hop off my beam and we file into the locker room. "Hey!" Macie says. "Want to walk home together?" I think about it for a minute. "I can't! I'm meeting someone at the beach." "Who're you meeting?" I rack my brain for answers. "Sarah." I say. "Ooh! Can I come?" The look on my face must give it all away. "Not Sarah, huh? Well have fun with whoever it is." Macie says with a wink. I smile lightly as Macie leaves the locker room.