CHAPTER 2
“You ready, Nadia?” Alya said as Nadia walked into the gym the next day after school.
Hannah added, “How’s your ankle?”
Nadia shrugged. “It’s a little sore, I guess,” she said. “I’m just so out of shape.”
Alya punched her lightly on the arm. “Come on,” she joked. “It’s like riding a bike. It comes right back in no time.”
Hannah laughed. “Yeah,” she added. “It’s like falling off a log. Easy!”
Just then, Blaire walked by. “Falling off a log, Hannah?” she asked. “If it’s anything like falling off a balance beam, then I’m sure that Nadia will be great at it!”
Blaire walked away, laughing. Nadia felt tears spring into her eyes.
“Don’t let her get to you, Nadia,” Alya said. “She’s just feeling bad for herself because she couldn’t win the finals for us either.”
“Exactly,” Hannah agreed. “You’ve always been better on the beam, Nadia. She’s your biggest competition at tryouts, and you’ll beat her, for sure!”
“If you say so,” Nadia said. She was still nervous about how out of shape she was.
All the girls from last year’s team said hello and talked about their summers for a few minutes. Then Coach Levine walked in and blew her whistle.
“All right, ladies,” the coach said. “Let’s get started. Remember, keep it simple today. Save the dangerous stuff for the big time, okay?”
“Okay, Coach Levine,” the girls replied. A lot of them had been on the team before, Nadia noticed. There were a few girls she’d never seen before, though.
The girls all lined up. Coach Levine looked them over. “You all know how this works,” Coach Levine said. “The best five girls in each event will be on the team. If one girl is in the top five in more than one event, she will compete in both events. Got it?”
“Yes, Coach Levine,” the girls replied.
The coach blew her whistle. Then the tryouts began.
Nadia went straight to the balance beam. “I better get through my beam routine before my ankle starts hurting,” she said to Hannah.
“You’re up, Nadia,” Coach Levine said. “I’m glad to see your cast is off.”
Nadia mounted into a split and started one of the routines she had practiced last year. It wasn’t a very hard routine, but one aerial tripped her up a little. Nadia wobbled as she landed and had to step off the beam so that she wouldn’t fall. She heard Blaire laughing at her.
“That’s okay, Nadia,” Alya called out. “Finish it!”
Nadia sighed and jumped back onto the beam. She finished the routine pretty well, and only took one extra step on the dismount.
Hannah smiled when Nadia was done. “You did great, Nadia,” Hannah said.
Nadia shook her head. “I practically fell off,” she said. “Blaire was totally right. I’ll never make the team this year.”