CHAPTER 1

GYMNASTICS LOVE

Riverside Gymnastics Center always smelled of rubber and sweat and burnt sugar from the doughnut factory next door. But to twelve-year-old Sofia Martinez, it was the best smell on Earth.

No matter how late she’d been at the gym the night before, her heart always surged as she entered the vast space filled with beams and bars and ropes and mats. Riverside was her gym, but really, she often thought, it was her home.

“Sofia, wait!” called Rana, Sofia’s best friend, as she climbed out of her mother’s car and raced up to Sofia. “You think Coach is going to make us do push-ups today?”

Sofia held the heavy door open for her friend, who wore a purple hijab with her leotard today. Rana had chosen to start wearing a hijab when she turned twelve last month, and now she had a whole collection in all different colors.

“Ugh, hopefully not,” Sofia replied. “Tia made tamales last night. I had like ten.”

Sofia was living with her aunt, or tia, this year while her parents were with Doctors without Borders in Yemen. Home felt a little weird without Mom and Dad there, but they’d be back by Christmas—just six months away. And in the meantime, Tia Elizabeth was super nice and a great cook.

“Girls! Get going on warm-ups, then Sofia, I want to see you on the beam!” Coach Jackson shouted as Sofia and Rana entered the gym. The other members of the Riverside team were already stretching and running sprints.

Sofia and Rana dropped their bags and hurried to one of the mats to stretch. The eight Riverside gymnasts did their prances, pointing their toes with each step around the edge of the floor mat. Then they went through their planks, crunches, and side planks, designed to build core strength.

When her warm-up was finished, Sofia headed over to the balance beam. It was her strongest exercise. She liked the vault and the uneven bars fine, and floor was always fun, but the beam was where she felt the most at home.

Coach Jackson joined her. “Remember, our next meet is with Forest Hills,” the coach said. “Their beam is particularly strong. We took first in uneven bars and beam last year. I want us to have just as strong a showing this year.”

Sofia nodded. She’d win. She always did. One wall of her bedroom at home was solid blue with the fluttering satin of all her first-place ribbons.

A couple of other girls lined up to watch as Coach started Sofia’s competition music—the William Tell Overture, which she loved.

“Now watch, girls!” Coach Jackson called. “I want you to see how Sofia focuses on the setup here. A lot of times we tend to focus on the flip itself. But the setup is just as important for a flip, because there is no time to correct in the air.”

Sofia took a deep breath and swung onto the beam. The smooth, slightly nubby leather was familiar under her hands. She could feel her core muscles tighten. Her arms and legs balanced. The world looked right from up here. The beam was where she belonged.

She leapt to her feet, feeling her feet gripping the beam exactly right. Her heels were in the middle, toes to either side, like she was a gecko climbing up a wall. Her feet were sticky pads. They’d never let go of the beam.

The horns in Sofia’s competition music sounded, and she brought her arms up in opening position. She made sure to keep her chin high, chest out, lower back straight, and legs perfectly poised.

As the music continued, Sofia pranced forward. Then she bent forward and lowered her hands to grip the beam.

Taking a deep breath, Sofia swung her pelvis and legs backward into a smooth back walkover. Then another, and another, her body whipping over her head, until she was back where she started.

“Nice!” Coach Jackson called.

The horns were picking up speed now. This was Sofia’s favorite part: the layout step-out. It was basically a no-hands flip—a dramatic, difficult showstopper.

Sofia positioned herself, arms up, gaze straight ahead. She took a deep breath, then she tensed, feeling the power in her muscles. In a single movement, she launched herself off the beam and into the air.

Sofia’s legs whipped up over her head, the momentum carrying her back down to the beam. Seconds later, her feet smacked onto the beam.

One more layout step-out, Sofia thought.

She prepared to launch herself off the beam, just as a loud boom! rang through the gym. Sofia startled. Her foot slipped slightly from its usual spot, pushing off an inch to the right. Her body lurched to regain control.

Go! she thought in a panic. Just go!

Sofia launched herself into the flip. Immediately, she knew it had been a mistake. If you started wrong, you could not correct in midair.

But the flip was happening. She was already in the air, upside down. Her momentum was carrying her up and over, but everything was in the wrong place. She couldn’t sense where her body—or the beam—was in space.

Instead, she felt the fall.