Chapter Eight
The next day, Dana walked into the gym and breathed in deeply. It was one week before the championships, but the Halsey Gymnasium was empty. She liked practicing with her team, but there was something special having the entire space all to herself.
She stretched and then plugged in the CD player by the wall. She put in her floor routine CD and started moving.
First the hip shake, then the toe point. Then Dana geared up for her front handsprings. She ran and did three in a row, her legs reaching high into the air. The next part was her favorite. She planted the soles of her feet on the mat and did two flips — one forward, the other backward.
Dana landed perfectly, but her heel fell outside the boundary line of the mat. This rarely happened to her anymore, and it made her nervous. It was so easy to lose the championship from that kind of deduction.
She started her routine again and focused on the flips. Again, her heel went out of bounds. Sweat formed on her upper lip. This can’t be happening, she thought.
She tried again. This time she started the flips well in front of the boundaries. It didn’t help.
Dana panicked. It wasn’t fun being in the gym anymore. Shaking, she packed up her things.
On her way out, she spotted Mallory. The last thing Dana wanted to do was stay in the gym, but she knew Mallory liked the support.
“You okay?” Mallory asked Dana. “You look freaked.”
Dana’s voice shook. She said, “I’m having some trouble with my routine.”
“It happens,” Mallory said. “You’ll get it. Isn’t that what you always tell me?”
Dana smiled. She hoped watching Mallory would calm her down like it usually did.
Mallory dipped her hands into the chalk bucket beside the uneven bars.
“The chalk feels different,” she said to Dana. “Huh. Weird.”
Dana watched Mallory shake her head, something she did when she was trying to focus. Then she grabbed the lower bar.
Mallory’s fingers slipped and Dana panicked. She saw Mallory’s fingers tighten on the bar. She lifted herself up with her forearms. She stuck her toes out in front of her and held the pose for a second. Then she jumped to the higher bar. She swung around and around, but something wasn’t right.
Was it Dana’s imagination, or was the bar higher than usual? Mallory lowered herself and almost fell. Dana gasped. She had never seen Mallory struggle with that move before.
Dana watched Mallory restart her routine. Dana held her breath as Mallory worked through her routine. Her body whipped through the air easily. Then came the dismount.
Instead of two flips, Mallory only had enough height to do one rotation. She fell over as soon as she landed on the mat. Dana stared at her friend, stunned. The last time Mallory had fallen over on a dismount was years ago.
“Mallory!” yelled Paula and Connie, bursting through the gym. “What just happened?”
“I—I don’t know,” Mallory stammered.
“I’ve been having problems too,” said Dana quietly.
“Probably nerves,” said Paula.
“Probably,” said Dana. She hoped that was all it was.
She and Mallory stayed to watch Connie and Paula. Hopefully their practices would go better.
Dana watched Connie hop onto the beam. She pointed her toes as she walked. She did a small jump. No wobbles. Flip time. Dana breathed a sigh of relief as Connie somersaulted and stuck the landing on the beam. It was time for the dismount. Dana covered her eyes and peeked through the slits between her fingers. Connie cartwheeled off the beam and cheered when she landed flawlessly on the mat.
“Awesome!” yelled Dana.
Paula clapped behind her. “Nice work!” she shouted.
Now it was Paula’s turn. Dana, Connie, and Mallory turned to watch. Paula always made the vault look easy. She ran and jumped on the springboard before launching herself over the vault.
In all the time the Raiders had known Paula, she had never once flubbed this move. Not even at practice!
Paula ran and pushed off the vault, but she couldn’t stick the landing. Dana could tell Paula was embarrassed.
Dana tried to hide her worry. “Shake it off. It happens,” she said, echoing Mallory’s earlier words.
Paula slid down to the floor and sat down. “Not to me,” she said.
And then everyone started to talk at once. The panic was out of control.
“Girls!” Coach Jasmine yelled, trying to be heard over the Raiders’ panicked voices. “Please tell me what the problem is.”
Dana swallowed. She willed herself not to cry. “We’re off our game,” she said. “We can’t hit our jumps or landings. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“I’m sure it’s just pre-competition jitters. Happens to everyone,” Coach replied.
“But not to us,” said Mallory. “We’ve been in competitions before and never stumbled like this.”
“It’s the Superiors!” said Paula. “They must have put a curse on the gym or something.”
Coach laughed. “That’s just silly,” she said. “Forget about the Superiors. Do your best, and you can’t go wrong.”
Paula jumped up. “You weren’t there!” she insisted. “Mallory said the chalk felt funny. Dana kept going out of bounds on her floor routine. I fell on the vault!”
Dana saw something change in Coach Jasmine’s eyes while Paula talked. “Take the day off today,” Coach said.
“But —!” Mallory said.
“There’s no time!” Connie said.
“We have to focus!” Paula added.
“Enough,” said Coach. Her voice was quiet but stern. “Veg in front of the television, go to the mall, do some homework. I don’t want you in the Halsey Gym today. Understood?”
The girls pouted but nodded.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Coach.
* * *
The next day, the Halsey Gymnasium was extra busy. There was just one more day until the championship. After a day off, Coach Jasmine had allowed the Raiders to practice again. Dana was glad. She wanted to practice.
Dana did back handsprings on the mat for her floor routine. This time she landed within bounds. Paula cleared the vault and landed with her feet centimeters apart. She didn’t even hop on the landing.
The chalk felt right on Mallory’s hands. She cleared the lower bar as she did three rotations on the higher bar. She released her grip and glided through the air. She stuck her landing, too. Connie walked the beam with poise, her arms spread out.
“Bravo, ladies, bravo,” said Coach Jasmine, clapping. “I think that is the best practice I’ve seen yet.”
“And the Superiors have been absent all day. Coincidence? I think not,” said Paula, smiling.
“I know it sounds weird,” said Connie, “but I think she’s right.”
Coach Jasmine’s voice was stern. “No more talk like that,” she said. “It just fills your head with worry. Only think about yourselves. You will succeed.”