Chapter 33
At practice, it’s going just as I expected it would. There’s some gossip being spread behind hands as we warm up. I don’t want to say anything in front of Coach Hall right now, so I let it go. None of it is the truth, and I know it shouldn’t bother me, but I can’t help it. It does.
I take a deep breath and focus. All I need to do right now is concentrate on my gymnastics. Coach Hall sends me over to floor first with three other girls. I recognize two of them as the ones who were in the bathroom with Mandy the first day I was in school—Justice and Marina. I made a point of listening for their names at the team meeting. I don’t recall the name of the other girl.
Our instructions are to warm up with some tumbling runs. Justice and Marina have taken one corner, so I move to the other, joining the petite blonde. “Hey, I’m Lyla.” I give her a little wave as I approach. “I didn’t catch your name at the meeting.”
“Kit.” She presses her lips together, her eyes following Justice as she flips across the floor mat. She takes off a moment later, easily doing a round-off and a set of three back handsprings. Good form. She’s talented.
I blow out a breath, waiting for Marina to go. She doesn’t quite have the skill level Kit does, and does a simple round-off back handspring from one corner to the other. Everyone starts somewhere. Finally my turn, I throw a front handspring to a round-off back handspring back tuck. I’m not fucking around.
“Nice, Lyla. Lay the next one out.” Coach Hall walks around the floor mat, observing the next set of passes.
Kit and I stand in the corner, and I can tell she’s totally uncomfortable. I bite the bullet and say, “So I’m sure my mom made an awesome impression on everyone, huh?”
She side-eyes me. “You could say that.” She steps up to the mat once Justice has gone and launches herself across the floor.
When I finally reach the other side again, she frowns. “Did you really make up that story about Marshall at the party?”
“He attacked me. Any other story going around is completely false.”
Finally, she looks me square in the eye, sizing me up. “I believe you. I was also told that no one could understand why you were given the last spot on the team, but it’s obvious you’re probably the top gymnast here. Someone’s got it in for you.” She wipes her hands on her thighs, preparing to throw another tumbling pass.
A minute later, I’ve nailed a round-off and two back handsprings into a full-twisting layout, and I step off the mat.
“So, is knowing that people are lying about me going to make you steer clear of me?”
“Nah. I hate those bitches.” She glances up at Justice and Marina. “They spend more time chitchatting and messing around than they do on the equipment. Not my style at all. If you’re going to do a sport like this, you’d better be willing to give it your all.”
I hold my fist up, giving her a wide grin, and she bumps it back. “Preach.”
We end up staying with the same groups of four until we’ve rotated through each piece of equipment. Justice and Marina have been whispering behind my back the entire time, and I’ve noticed Mandy scrutinizing my every move from across the gym. Coach Hall has been carefully watching all of us. No doubt she’s anticipating who she’ll put in the lineup for our practice meet next week. From what Kit tells me, every year the team has a friendly competition with River Rock’s team. It’s super relaxed, and while we have judges who volunteer their time, the scores don’t actually count toward our season.
A movement from one of the doors from the hallway to the locker room gets my attention. Beau comes in quietly and, with a wink, leans against the doorway, crossing his arms in front of him. He gives me a little nod that I read as Let’s see what you’ve got. With a grin, I hop up on the beam, our last event of the day. I stand at one end, pushing thoughts of Beau out of my head and concentrate. Arms above my head, I take a few calming breaths, then swing down with my arms then up, throwing myself backwards into a back handspring walk-out, back tuck. Bam. Landed that bitch like nobody’s business. I glance in Beau’s direction and his brows raise.
Coach Hall comes over and stands off to the side of the beam Kit and I are alternately working on. “I want to see your dismount. What are you working right now?”
“Two back handsprings to a full-twisting layout.”
She nods. “Okay, let’s see it.”
I hop up there and take a second to calm my racing heart, then blast backward in a flurry of arms and legs, flips and rotation. I stick the landing because that’s what I do.
Coach Hall gives me a smile. “Good. We’ll see if we can’t upgrade that dismount soon.” She turns and puts her hands around her mouth. “Girls, good practice. Hit the showers. I’ll see you tomorrow with a list of what I want each of you working on. We’ve got to pull routines together by Monday for the meet.”
Mandy comes to stand by us. “When will you decide who is competing on which events?”
“Probably by Thursday or Friday.”
“Would you like to know my thoughts? As team captain, I mean?”
Coach Hall clears her throat. “We can discuss Wednesday after practice.”
I turn to Kit and give a little eye roll. Under my breath, I mutter, “I hope Mandy doesn’t target you for talking to me.”
She shakes her head. “She’s in for a rude awakening, if you ask me. Everyone with eyes knows you and I are the top performers on almost every event.”
I shrug. “She’ll do whatever to take me down at this point.”