Becoming A World Champ

Chapter 43

"And now, we will be announcing our runner-ups, or our silver medalists!" The announcer trilled into the microphone, the crowd immediately silencing.

My heart was pounding in my chest and my fingers were crossed so tightly they hurt. I wanted so, so badly to be a World Champion. I wanted to feel how it felt to be the best of the best, to know that there is no team greater than yours. That kind of feeling is extremely incredible, and I'm not sure if the judges felt that Cheetahs were the "best of the best." I certainly felt like we had done amazing this past season, but it's not up to me.

"And in second place..." She began, trailing off for emphasis. I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining a win.

"We have the Cheer Athletics Cheetahs!" My team automatically jumped to their feet, screaming and yelling. It was horrible to be so selfish, but I couldn't really help being a tad bit disappointed. There goes my dreams. So close, yet so far...

I looked over to my coaches and they were beaming with delight. But if you looked a little deeper, you could see the disappointment in their eyes, too. It was like everyone expected a win from us, but in the end, we had finished in second place. That still means that we are the second best team in the world in our division, and I guess you could say that's pretty amazing.

The microphone crackled to life once more, and the announcer cleared her throat, "Excuse me, I know how extremely horrible this is, but we have a mistake. I was handed the wrong envelope, and your real World Champions are the Cheer Athletics Cheetahs." She said, her face flushing with embarrassment.

My mouth dropped and I was completely speechless. My entire team's eyes seem to pop right out of their head as if nobody could even comprehend what was happening.

Then, moments later, the realization sunk in and everyone began to scream and jump up and down. Tears flowed down my cheeks uncontrollably and I was bawling into Eliza and Peyton's shoulders.

"I c-can't believe, we j-just won," I stuttered, still sobbing.

"We're frickin' World Champions now," Peyton yelled, squeezing us tighter.

"F-first place in the entire world," Eliza reminded us, just making this whole situation seem even more surreal. I let go of Eliza and Peyton to see what the rest of the team was doing.

The coaches were sobbing and continuously muttering how proud of us they were, and Jamie Andries? The blonde bitch who used to torture me? Well she was all alone. She looked lost and afraid, the exact opposite of how she should be feeling right now.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug. "We did it," I whispered, making her frown turn into a small smile.

"Yeah, we really did," She said back, looking at me in the eyes and then whispering, "Summer... I'm sorry for everything. I don't know why I was being so mean to you when all you've ever done was be nice to me. I hope you can forgive me someday and Peyton, you, Eliza, and I can all become friends." She said carefully and shyly.

"I would like that," I told her, flashing a smile in return.

And with that, I turned on my heel and walked over to my boyfriend, Matt Smith. I kissed his lips gently, but it soon turned into a heated make out session, right there on the spring floor we had become World Champions on. I couldn't have asked for anything better. This was the most amazing day of my entire life, and I will never forget it.