Emma's Gymnastics Story

Bad News and Missing Boos...

"Bye guys!" I said, waving to my friends, as I walked out the gym with my mom.

"How was the sleepover, honey bun?" Mom asked.

Honey bun was a new nickname for me! I've never heard my parents call me that before.

"It was sooo fun, Mommy!" I exclaimed as we hopped into the car.

Later, when we got home, she told me we needed to talk in her office, and I was scared, but I went in there anyways.

"What is it, Mom?" I questioned as I stood by the door.

"There's something I need to tell you, and you may feel overwhelmed or excited after this, I don't know." she told me.

Hmm. Is it about Daddy? What is it?

"Okay, tell me now!" I said ready to hear the news.

"You are going to be switching to compatible gymnastics!" she exclaimed to me.

Competitive? Huh. Sounds...hard. I think I can do it though! I thought.

"What's that?" I asked, taking a seat on the couch next to Mommy.

"You will compete against other gymnasts instead of just having meets, and these competitions will be in many different places!" Mom said to me. "You are a very skilled gymnast for just a seven year old and you have been qualified, so it's a great offer."

"Wait, will I still have Katie as my coach and will my friends still be with me?" I asked her.

"Well I'm not sure about your coach, but I know that if your friends' parents let them join competitive gymnastics too, then yes, they will still be with you, but it depends, sweetie." Mom replied.

"Okay, I'm so excited!" I exclaimed, jumping around.

She smiled at me and ruffled my hair. "I'm glad, sweetheart. Meanwhile, I'm going to cook us some lunch. What would you like?"

"Cookies!" I said, giggling as we walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, come on, you know you can't have cookies for lunch, Emma!" she said, chuckling and opening the pantry.

"Okay, fine," I said, hopping onto the stool. "Can I have Mac and cheese then?"

"Yes you can, sweet darling!" Mom exclaimed and started cooking.

"I will go and practice my gymnastics now!" I said, running to the garage with my gymnastics equipment.

For some reason, through the garage door, you could see red and blue lights flicking and you could hear a siren outside. I know what it is...police!

"Mommy!" I screamed, running inside scared. "There's police out there!"

"What?" she said worriedly, putting her knife back on the chopping board, and running outside.

Police were banging on the door, so my mom looked through the peephole and nervously opened the door.

"Are you Cheryl June?" a police man with red hair and a bushy red beard said to my mom.

"Yes, what's wrong?" My mom answered and I could tell she was scared, as her heart seemed to be beating fast and she started to shake a little bit.

"According to Alyssen Bridges, you and your daughter know Loren Bridges, so we have a few questions to ask both you and your daughter." the policeman said.

"Oh, what has happened?" Mom asked afraidly.

"Um, do you have any other children?" the officer said, avoiding Mom's question.

"Uh, yes, Haley and Josiah." she replied.

"I need them to then." he said.

"Haley and Josiah, come down!" Mom yelled inside the house.

Soon, they came lazily down to us and were shocked by the cops. I was so scared because they had to ask us questions!

Later we arrived at the police cells and I was in the room with a different police officer who was going to interview me. I was so scared and was about to break down crying because first of all, I didn't know what was happening with Loren, but I was worried cause she hasn't been to gym the past few classes, second of all, I was trapped in a PRISON ROOM WITH A RANDOM POLICE OFFICER I DONT KNOW AND POLICE ARE SCARY AND I MIGHT FREAKING GET ARRESTED TODAY AND I WONT GET TO SEE MY FAMILY!!! Aaaaaaah!!! I started panicking.

"Chill now," the officer said to me. "I am Will Derrison, and I am a police officer. I will just be asking you a few questions about Loren Bridges. First of all, I'm checking your public record and you are supposedly seven years old and your name is Emma June?"

"Um...yes..." I said, shaking nervously.

"Okay, good," Will replied, browsing the records and finally taking his eyes off it. "So, a little birdie told me that you do gymnastics with Loren. Is that so?"

Birds can't talk. What the heck? And how does he know? Oh, because he's a police, that's right! I thought, zoning out for a second.

"Yes, but she wasn't here for the past...6, I think, classes, and I don't know why." I stated hesitantly.

The police nodded and jotted down some notes. "When day was your last sixth class?"

I thought for a minute. Today was January 22. I tried doing math in my head. January 20, January 17, January 13, January 10, January 7, January 3. Ah, that's it!

"March 3, I believe." I said, using adult language, my attempt to sound like an adult.

"Oh, oh wow!" Will exclaimed shocked. "That's...a long time! You sure you did your math right, hon?"

I nodded confidently and said,"Yes, Mr. Derrison. I am a good math student. You will have to trust me on that."

"Okay then," he said, jotting down some more notes. "What is your relationship with Loren?"

"We are best friends, and the last time I saw her was on our play date, I think." I responded unsurely.

"Thank you, Emma." Will said to me, getting up and stacking his papers. "This info should really help the detectives investigating the case.  I'm sorry for dragging you, just a little girl, into this mess. You can go sit in the waiting room and wait for the rest of your family to be finished with the interview."

"Wait, what is this case? What happened?" I asked curiously and concerned.

He sighed and said,"It's too much for you to handle, honey. I'm afraid we shall talk about it next time. Good day, darling!"

"Please, nothing's too much for be to handle." I said sassily and confidently. "Just tell me, I promise to not cry or die! Okay?"

"You really want to know?" he said.

"Um, yes!" I exclaimed annoyed.

"Fine, but don't get mad at me when you're upset, little girl..."he said, sighing. "Your friend is at the hospital right now."

"What...but why?" I said in extreme surprise.

Loren is in the...HOSPITAL?