Champion [2014]

Chapter 4- Emma?

When Emma arrived the next class day, the two girls went into the gym. They practiced and practiced the kickovers, and when Becca mastered that, they began to patch up the end of it. Becca tried to do a move called a back bend, where the person who is already in the bridge stands up from the bridge position. 

Emma demonstrated, and they worked hard to learn the move. Becca's score would certainly lower if the judges at the competition saw the flop at the end of a perfect kickover. The hard work paid off—by the time the coaches arrived, Becca was able to perform a kickover followed by a satisfactory back bend.

Several weeks passed. Becca practiced for fifteen minutes before every class, and she got better and more confident. Emma continued leaving the notes and Becca continued working as hard as she could until the other girls arrived. 

Soon she became extremely good and began to feel as if she could do anything when Emma was around. Emma was working her Katie Ramon magic—Becca knew she could do anything she put her mind to, even if it was impossible—like fly, or win second place again—as long as Emma was there.

Becca perfected all of her routines during one Emma session. She practiced a routine she had created on the bars—everyone had made up their own bar routine—and the beam and trampoline routine all the girls had been assigned. 

Emma practiced, too. She was about to practice a part of her beam routine that she hadn't done very well the last time she'd tried, when Melissa walked in. 

Not wanting to reveal the origins of Becca's newfound skills, the girls immediately stopped practicing and acted as if they had coincidentally arrived several minutes early and had started to warm up before the other girls arrived. This was the cover story they had decided on when they decided that their private practice sessions would be kept a secret. The coaches arrived shortly after Melissa. Becca was relieved—their arrival avoided any awkward... or perhaps a better word would be snarky... conversations.

The class immediately began. It was great up to the point the girls went on the beam. Becca was first in line to try the routine they were all learning for the competition. First she walked three steps forward. Then she stretched her leg out behind her as far as possible. After walking forward three more steps, she did a handstand quarter-turn, a move where you stand on the beam and turn your hands while standing on your hands and land 90° from where you started. Then she walked another step and then did a kickover on the beam, landing with her hands and feet on it. Doing her back bend again, she dismounted the beam while the girls, with the exception of Melissa and Jessie, clapped politely. 

Emma was next in line. She stepped, stretched out her leg, and did her handstand quarter-turn. Then she did a beautiful handstand, and kicked her feet over. She landed her kickover... and suddenly her ankle twisted painfully, and she toppled sideways off the beam. She landed on her feet, and then collapsed, clutching her right ankle. A horrible crack sounded as she hit the ground. This was the time where Melissa would probably laugh, but even she was silent.

"Emma!" Coach Isabel said, running to the fallen girl. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Emma said shakily. She stood up, and then she fell over with a cry of pain. She lay curled in a ball, barely able to move. All the blood was rushing to her horribly swollen ankle.

"Oh, dear," Isabel muttered, examining Emma's wound. She touched her ankle in certain places. Emma let out a low moan.

"Matt!" Hannah yelled to the boys' coach, a tall, muscular man. "Little help here!"

The man said something to the boys, the he dashed over to the beams. "What's going on?" he asked urgently.

"Emma's injured," explained Isabel. "Can you stand?" she asked the girl. Emma shook her head miserably. "We need to get to the nurse," she said to Matt. "Help me." Turning to the other girls, she said, "We're going to take Emma to the nurse. She'll be okay." Hannah took out her cell phone and dialed three numbers, then held it up to her ear. What phone number had only three numbers? 9-1-1.