golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter twenty-four

friday, march 20
     the convention center was bustling with energy when team usa got there at ten o'clock. as soon as they walked in, the other gymnasts rushed up to ask for their autographs and pictures. before long, they were ushered into a private room so they could get ready for the meet.
after the team got changed into their leotards and makeup, ben texted eliana a picture of him and all of the newsie boys.
     ben: ready to see our girl❤️❤️
     eliana: i didn't know everyone was
     coming🥺
     ben: we wouldn't miss it for the world
he texted her another picture of the convention center.
     ben: we have entered the building and
     are preparing to be FLOORED (hahah
     get it) by ur mad skillz
     eliana: you actually made me laugh
     anyway we're going to the gym now so
     see ya soooooon
she put her phone away and pulled on her jacket and sweatpants, then grabbed her bag. the károlyis lead them out into the gym, where they were met with immediate cheers, even though the competition hadn't even started yet.
"that's my girl!" ben yelled. eliana looked up to the crowd to find where his voice was coming from. when the coaches' backs were turned, she waved to the boys and put a finger to her lips, reminding ben that the coaches didn't know they were dating yet.
ben couldn't stop smiling at her.
"someone's excited." dan said.
"i think you're making me seasick." sky complained. ben was practically bouncing up and down in his seat, staring at his girlfriend.
"i just wanna see if she's worth the hype." jordan said. ben shot him a look.
"i mean, no offense, ben, but i haven't seen her compete yet." he continued.
"she's amazing." ben said. "trust me."
the meet started, and all the gymnasts shed their practice gear.
eliana started on beam, her worst event. since béla changed her routine, it had a total score of 15.7. a few girls went before it was her turn. she saluted the judges and stepped up to the beam.
ben watched as she started in a split, then slowly pressed up to a handstand. she did a number of tricks before dismounting and sticking the landing perfectly, and the crowd went wild.
"and she has done it again, folks! little miss eliana dempsey with the hardest beam dismount to date, the double-double, and she executed it flawlessly."
eliana hugged cally as she came off of the mat, and grace playfully smacked her arm. "you didn't need to make it that hard for us." she laughed. eliana stared up at the screen, waiting for her score.
"eliana dempsey with a score of 15.325!"
her mouth dropped open and she pumped her fist.
ben turned to jordan. "guess she's worth the hype."
jordan's mouth was just hanging open.
the next event was vault, where she had another hard pass. she chalked her feet and raised her arm before stepping up to the runway. she hopped a little after her landing, and shook her head as she jumped down to her coaches.
"eliana dempsey-vault score of 15.76!"
ben laughed in disbelief. "she's doing so well. like, wow."
"that girl is flawless." demarius said.
during her floor routine, she ran into her last pass, and after she landed it, turned up to ben and winked at him. she landed in her last pose, and saluted the judges again.
"another beautiful floor routine from eliana dempsey, and a score of 15.842!"
she smiled to herself as she grabbed her grips from her bag and sprayed them, chalking up before her bar routine.
ben smiled even wider and leaned forward in his seat. "bars are her best event, by far. she's gonna kill it."
"and after a wonderful routine from the princess of the bars herself, eliana dempsey scores a 16.745!"
the entire newsies cheering section stood up and screamed for her. she laughed and pointed up at them, blowing kisses their way. she pulled on her jacket and untaped her ankles, satisfied with her performance.