Sticking to Tradition

Chapter Seventeen: Rylee

Note: All characters and settings are purely fictional. If there are any similarities to real people or places, it is merely coincidental. The plot was written by me and not copied from any other writer.

"Rylee, can you give me a layout with a full twist at the end of that combo? I feel like it would be smoother." Coach Lawson says, walking towards the mat. I'm breathing hard, but it feels good. I brush the sweat off my forehead, wiping the few loose hairs to the side. I walk back to the back of the mat. Tumbling is liberating for me. It is terrifying sometimes, but it gives me a surge of adrenaline. I exhale.

"Let's go Rylee!" Mikah screams. Her cheers set off a domino effect of mat talk from the other girls. It is enough to get me going. I take in a deep breath and take off into the combination of handsprings, and layouts before landing the full twist. My landing wasn't as clean as I wanted as I stumbled a bit, but Coach didn't seem to mind.

"Good. Clean it up and we will be great," she remarks, and I blow a breath of relief. Coach Lawson is tough, but not drill sergeant tough. She knows we try our best, but I know keeping us at bay won't get me to UW for cheerleading.

"Coach, can I try that again?"  I ask, but Coach Lawson is on her phone. She brushes her straight brunette hair behind her ears as she texts. I turn my head to Jessica, our assistant coach. Jessica used to be a Devenport Cheerleader. After getting pregnant in her senior year and missing out on scholarship opportunities, Coach gave her a position as an assistant coach. She is pretty helpful when it comes to cleaning up skill sets.

"Jess?" I ask.

"If you're up to it, Ry. How's your ankle?" She responds, standing up from the chair. The thing about Jess which makes her a good coach is that she keeps tabs on our injuries as if they were our phone numbers or home addresses. Last year, I sprained my ankle when I landed awkwardly after a tumbling combo. It sucked, but its cheerleading. You suck it up and get back on the horse.

"Yeah, I could give it another go,"  I reassure her before returning to the back of the mat. I exhale. I'm trying to even my breathing as much as I can. I shake my legs to shake out the nerves.

"You got this, Rylee!" Mikah screams again. I zone out the cries of encouragement. I focus on what it is I want to do. I envision doing it. Then, when I feel that surge of adrenaline hit, I go for it. Hitting that last layout requires a lot, but I push through it, groaning in the process before hitting the full twist. I land perfectly, and I jump in excitement.

"Yes!" I exclaim. Jess smiles at me and claps to congratulate me. The girls are shouting words of praise, but I'm trying to calm my breathing.

"Nice work, Rylee," Coach Lawson praises. She slides her phone into her back pocket before returning to the mat.

"Good job, everyone. Don't forget the game is tomorrow. You are dismissed." Coach Lawson announces. The team huddles together for a quick chant off to motivate us for the game tomorrow. Khloe goes into the middle. The seniors have full jurisdiction over leading the chants of the year. Next year, Mikah, Tammy, Naya, and I would have full control over the chants. But this year, Khloe, Destiny, Penelope, Chrissy, Deanna, and a few of the guys were in charge. Thankfully, we got a lot of freshmen and sophomores this year to fill their spots next year.

"Tigers?!" Khloe shouted.

"Yeah?!" We replied.

"What we gonna do?!"

"We gonna rep our school, in this red and blue. Gonna eat them up. Give them a nasty chew. Spit them out 'cause that's what Tigers do!"

"I say, Tigers?" Khloe screamed again.