A Harsh Reality | ✓

Chapter 34

Amanda

"Girls, may I have your attention, please?" Coach asked politely and waited for everyone to calm down, "This week has been amazing, you trained very hard, and even though only three of the ten of you got onto the podium, I wanted to say I'm enormously proud of every one of you." We all clapped and cheered. We were having a final lunch before going back to Miami to celebrate.

"Three cheers for Coach!" Hailey shouted. We all cheered and laughed. It had been a perfect night, and I couldn't wait to see my family again. Hailey, Riley, and I sat next to each other on the plane, though none of us slept in the short flight.

"I can't believe we're already going back to Miami," I said.

"Oh, shush," Riley said, "We all know you are secretly glad you are."

"Ooh yeah," Hailey chimed in, "A boy is waiting for you there."

"What happened after the call?" Riley asked, "I missed that part because I was fighting a huge hangover."

"He said it didn't matter," I replied, and Riley's jaw fell open, "I told him he could be mad at me, but he didn't care in the least. It makes me wonder if he did something while I was gone, maybe that's why he reacted like that."

"Boys will be boys," Hailey stated as she looked at her perfect nails, "Trust me."

"What about you, Riley?" I asked my friend, "I know you hit it off with Hunter after he carried you to our room."

"Yeah," she said, "But we had met before that."

"You had?" Hailey exclaimed, "When? Where? How did I not know about this?"

"A few days ago," she explained, "He helped me find the indoor pool and told me he knew you, Amanda." She paused and looked at me. "He's a nice guy, I guess."

"Ooh, Riley is in looove." Riley swatted Hailey's arm.

"I'm not in love I just happen to think he's good-looking and nice." Hailey laughed at her. "We exchanged numbers just before we left."

"Oh my god, that's it," Hailey said, "Let's talk about something that doesn't involve love because I'm still here, single as fuck."

"Fine by me," Riley replied, "What do you think about going to the NLC?" She turned to me. I smiled.

I still couldn't believe I was going to be part of the Nastia Liukin Cup. It felt like a dream, one in which I was scared to pinch myself and wake up. If I ended up in the top three, I would have a secured entrance to UCLA, but it was going to be hard. I was going to compete against the best senior gymnasts across the country, and I was terrified. I knew it was going to be impossible to end up first, but I couldn't help having a little bit of hope and faith in myself.

"I can't put it into words," I said, "I can't wait to compete, but I need to train as hard as I can." I sighed. "What do you guys think?"

"I think you are ready," Hailey said, "There's never enough practice, but your routines are amazing, and you execute them perfectly."

"Same." Riley then looked out the window, where white clouds prevented us from seeing what was below us. A clearing then appeared, and I gasped. Miami was just below us, the sun bouncing off the glass buildings and the ocean gleaming in the distance. It was a beautiful sight as the sun turned orange, lighting the sky with pink shades and colors.

"We're almost there," Hailey observed, "Probably a few minutes before landing." I nodded, totally mesmerized by the view.

In just a few minutes, I would be back home, back with my family, and back with Noah. I never realized how much I had missed him until now, moments before seeing him again. My mind still wondered about the phone call we had shared yesterday, how he had acted calm and untroubled. I had thought he would be angry, just a tiny bit, but he was indifferent about the whole thing.