Emma's Gymnastics Story

Yay or Nae?

"Mommy, can we please visit Loren at the hospital today?" I begged and cried to my mom.

"Honey, you know it's already late!" Mom said, tucking me in my bed.

"Can we tomorrow then?" I cried.

"Yes, yes but you have an interest meeting for competitive gymnastics tomorrow, so we will not be able to for long." she replied, kissing my forehead.

"Okay then, goodnight Mommy!" I exclaimed as she switched the lights off and closed my door, leaving my room.

The next morning, my mom and I were getting ready for the interest meeting at 9:00 am. It was currently 7:37 am. I was putting on my outfit, a pink and brown striped shirt that had a purple cat on it, with a neon green Gap sweater and baby pink leggings that felt as soft as a cloud. When I was done dressing up, I brushed my hair but it wasn't completely brushed cause it was too tangly to keep brushing, so I just left it as is and my mom helped me with it.

"Here is your favorite cereal for breakfast, honey bun!" Mom exclaimed to me, pouring milk into the bowl with honey bunches and oats.

I dug in right away and as soon as I finished it, I gulped down my glass of fresh Sunny D orange juice. After that we went into the car and drove to California Gymnastics Academy.

My mom and I walked into the gym and we already saw about 6 girls sitting in a circle with Katie and another random lady.

"Good morning, ladies, Emma, you can join those girls over there, and Cheryl, join the parents in the foldable chairs." Katie greeted us and my mom headed on with other parents.

I sat next to Paige and Bree.

"You guys got invited too?" I said to them excitingly.

"Yeah, because we are the best gymnasts!" said Bree proudly.

"Did you guys hear about Loren?" I said disappointedly.

"No, what happened?" Paige asked.

"She's in the hospital for some reason, but me and my mom are going to visit her today!" I exclaimed.

"No wonder I haven't seen her in practice!" Bree said in shock.

"Okay, looks like everyone interested is here!" Katie said. "Good morning, gymnasts! You are all here because you are interested in joining competitive gymnastics, also known as team gymnastics! This kind of gymnastics is very intense and you will spend much of your hours in a week here. You were all invited here because of your capabilities with your strength and flexibility."

We all glanced at each other, thinking about each of our own strengths and capabilities. I mean, I was a pretty good gymnast, especially for a seven year old I suppose!

"An important thing to know about being in this program is the hard work and effort you need to put in order to stay in this team." Katie said, walking around the circle of gymnasts and looking down at us. "You all are here because of that diligence you've been showing me. You have to keep it up especially for this program and if you get lazy and tired of it and decide to not show me your best effort, you're kicked off the team, alright?"

Everybody was shocked. Although we weren't completely in the team yet, we didn't want to be kicked off of it already! Katie used to seem like a very nice coach but because of this program, now she seems like a whole different person—much stricter and meaner!

"Parents, now is the time you should listen up to me." Katie said, eyeing every single parent here, mostly moms, except for one father. It was Paige's dad. "This program is very expensive. I mean it, way more expensive than what you've been paying for. When your daughter is on this team, we will travel to many different places to perform, which costs a lot of money. And there are even more costs, such as the team leotards, hotel costs, and more. Does everyone understand? If you feel uncomfortable with this, now is the time to step out so I can get your name off the team."

Nobody stepped out, but then someone walked in. It was Amiyrah! I jumped up and ran into Amiyrah, squealing.

"Oh my gosh, you're in it too?!" I exclaimed excitedly and we jumped up and down.

"I can't believe it, yay!" she said and Katie chuckled at us.

"Alright, so we have eight gymnasts total then..." Katie said. "Amiyrah, Paige, Emma, Bree, Molly, Liliana, Andrea, and Shay."

I gasped and then glanced across the room to find Shay, looking down sadly without her twin, Julie.

"Alright girls, I will see you at our first competitive gymnastics team practice this Monday at 11:00 am!" Katie exclaimed and everyone got up to chat with each other and the gym became loud.

"Guys, let's go over to poor Shay!" I exclaimed to Bree, Amiyrah, and Paige.

They nodded and we ran over to Shay, now standing, but still sad.

"Aw, where's Julie?" asked Amiyrah.

"She didn't make it on the team..." she said, voice trailing off with disappointment. "What's the point if I can't have my best friend with me on the team?"

My friends and I exchanged sad glances at each other.

"It's okay, Shay!" I exclaimed comfortingly, rubbing her shoulder. "We'll be your best friends and we can have play dates with Julie sometimes!"

"Okay, I guess..." she said, still sad but a little bit relieved.

"Emma, come on!" I heard my mom yell to me, motioning for me to come with her to leave. "We have to visit Loren now!"

I gasped and said,"Oh no, I forgot about that! Well I need to go, see you all in a few days!"

"Bye!" They greeted me and I waved back to them, running to my mom who was already almost outside.

"Mom, do you know what happened to Loren?" I asked her as we hopped into the car.

She sighed and replied,"Honey, I told you I don't know much about this yet. Just be patient—we'll know everything once we arrive at the hospital. I'm sure she'll be fine, and nothing for you to worry about, baby."

"I hope!" I exclaimed, buckling up my seatbelt and then crossing my arms.