Meet You There | Calum Hood

3

"God, I feel like complete and utter shit today. I can't believe Coach Wallen called practice on a Saturday. Who even does that?" Lexi groaned from beside Holland, laid across the mat next to her as they and the rest of the team waited for their coach to appear.

"Do you think he knows we went out last night?" Holland asked her, her voice hushed and filled with worry.

"No, Holls. I'm sure it's just for extra conditioning and because he's tough. Even if he did you did nothing wrong, don't worry."

Of course, hearing the words only amplified the concern Holland felt. Her fears weren't dashed until their coach appeared and doled out their practice schedule for the day. While she was relieved that nothing seemed out of the ordinary she still was apprehensive about her participation in the night before's activities.

"So, did you get the guy's number last night?" Margot asked her as the girls met at the chalk bowl following their warm ups and prepped their hands to work on the uneven bars.

"What guy?" Holland asked genuinely confused.

"The one who saved you from the creep. Tall, dark and handsome, couple tattoos."

"Oh." Holland said. "Um, no. I didn't even get his name."

"God, Holls. Sometimes I wonder if you're even human, it's like you're a robot, or maybe an alien or something." Margot laughed and Holland scrunched her face trying to decipher what she had meant by that.

"What do you mean?" She asked, still not able to come up with a good explanation and not wanting to overthink things.

"I just mean..." Margot trailed off as Holland followed her over to the uneven bars and watched as Margot got ready to jump up. "You're twenty one Holland. You're supposed to be carefree and enjoying life, these are supposed to be the best years of your life and I know how badly you want to go to the Olympics and no one deserves to go as much as you, but when the Olympics are over are you going to be happy with everything you missed out on to get there? Last night was the first time I've seen you come close to letting loose in the three years I've known you. A boy, an insanely attractive one, clearly showed interest in you and I don't even think you realize you shot him down. It's like you have tunnel vision, Holls. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be focused, because I know what you're up against to make the team, but damn, don't let the rest of your life completely pass you by."

With that Margot turned to the bars again, jumping up to the lower one and completing her routine on the apparatus.

Holland watched her stick her dismount and then stepped up for her own turn. She tried to focus but she missed the lower bar while completing the exchange and fell to the mat below. She lay on her back, staring straight up at the metal roof of the building until she was able to regain her breath. She sat up slowly, lowering her head into her hands. She felt like her focus was off, but not because of the boy.

Had her friends always felt this way about her? Everyone seemed so fixated on this idea that she was missing out on something and would regret her choices in the future. So, would she? If coach was right, if she didn't make the team at all and all of this has been for nothing, what would her regrets be?

She shook away that thought. She couldn't have that mentality if she wanted to stand a chance at the team. There were too many risks and she was too deeply invested. She pushed off the ground and began again, feeling heat flush her cheeks when she saw Coach Wallen watching her.

She quickly restarted her routine, this time completing it flawlessly with her head much more in the game.

As she completed her dismount she met Coach Wallen's eye and he rewarded her with a subtle nod, she beamed back at him, thankful for the subtle compliment on her worst event.