A/N-
Hey Everyone! It's Amy here, I know I havn't really uploaded often, but this new story is almost done. I was just writing it for fun first, but now I've decided to upload on here. So, this story will be updated often, I promise! If I get good feed back on this, then I will continue to upload, but if I see that not alot of people are liking it, then I may just take it down We'll see.
Anyway, please comment, fan, and vote. Feel free to leave me advice on how to make it better to!
Enjoy!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Payson!” “Pay!” “Sweetie!”
The shouts were faint but I could here them. I didn’t know what happened. I remember getting ready to do my dismount off the beam, then feeling very weak all of sudden and falling off. My eyes slowly but surely flutter open, and I see my team, coach and parents huddling around me. I was lying on a stretcher. I tried to speak, but only a hoarse sound came out of my mouth. I saw paramedics poking a needle in my arm. After that, I blacked out again.
My name is Payson Santana. I’m 16 years old, and a junior in high school. I do online schooling due to gymnastics though. Without gymnastics, I don’t know what would happen. Gymnastics is such a huge part of my life. I started gymnastics at age 3, since then I’ve passed up to level 10 and now an elite gymnast. Last year, my family packed up, sold the house and we moved to Los Angelus California. This was hard for my family because we lived in the same place for 21 years, in Illinois. We moved for one reason. Me. I was going to the trials for the national team. Thankfully I made it.
“BBBBRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG”
I hear my alarm clock going off. I flip over and see its 8 am, I had to be at the gym by 9. I jump out of bed, and walk to the bathroom. I was my face, apply a thin line of black eyeliner to my upper lash line, and brush on a few coats of mascara. I put on my vanilla EOS lip balm. I grab a hair tie and a bunch of bobby pins and my hairbrush. I flip my long, strawberry blonde hair over and brush it in to a high a ponytail. I clip my bangs back, and bobby pin any fly a ways down. I grab my hairspray and do 3 quick spritzes. I skip back to my bedroom, and pick out my favorite leotard. It was a purple, white and lavender tank leo with many gems. I slip on my spandex shorts and grab a hoodie. I get my national team member gym bag and pack my water bottle, phone, grips, an ankle wrap, hair brush, extra bobby pins, lip balm and stuff it into my bag. I swing the bag over my shoulder and grab my car keys. I was running late, so I grabbed an apple to eat on the way to the gym.
“Bye Mom!”
“Bye Sabrina!”
I shout to my sister and mom as I run out the door to my car. I turn on the radio and listen to music on the way. I pull up the gym and lock my car; I walk through the glass doors and toward the main room. I see my friends already there stretching. I throw my bag on the floor next to the other 9 identical bags. I jog over to my team and start stretching with them.
“Hey Payson how are you?” my friend, Mackenzie asks.
“Ugh fine. A little stressed.”
“I can second that!” My friend Lily chimed in.
Our last, most important competition is less then a week away. 5 days. This means our training schedule is crazy. We train 8 hours a day, plus an hour of conditioning.
15 minutes later, coach Lina comes out. “Out to the track, 8 laps!” “GO!”
Coach Lina was actually the nicest person ever, when it came to conditioning though, she was strict.
We all walk out to the track with our water bottles. We immediately start running. 4 laps around the track is a mile. We must be able to run 2 miles under 10 minutes or we get another mile to run. Mackenzie and I start jogging for the first mile, then sprint the second mile. We were the 3rd and 4th person to finish, our time being 8:34. We gulped down our water and sit down and wait for the rest of the team to finish.
2 minutes later we were walking back to the gym. The rest of the hour we had to climb the rope. There only 2 so we took turns. I was first. I hopped on the rope, wrapped my legs around it, and griped the rope with my hands until my knuckles turned white. I used all my strength to inch my way up the rope. Soon, I was at the top. I loosened my grip on the rope, and slid my way down to the ground.
Finally after what seemed like much more then an hour, conditioning was over. It was finally time to practice.
We go put our water back and I grab my grips from my bag for my uneven bars routine. Bars were my worst event, and beam was my best. I slip on my grips and go over to the chalk bucket. I pick up the hunk of chalk and scrape on the palms of my hands. I walk over to the bars and place the springboard directly in front of the low bar. My mount for this bar routine was an extended body handstand on to low bar. It's one of the easier elite level mounts. I stand a few feet in front of the springboard and salute. I run forward, jump on the springboard with all my power, my hands slam into the bar as I quickly pull my self up, my body completely straight into a handstand. I to a half turn so I’m facing forward. I loosen the muscles and do my kip. I continue doing my routine. Dismounts off bars are scary for me so I tend to get extremely nervous. My dismount was a double layout. I wrap my fingers tightly around the high bar, and loosen my leg muscles. I swing around the bar twice with as much power as I can give. I release my hands and go into a layout position in the air. My feet land onto the mat, my right leg stepping forward a bit. I pull my leg back and salute. I finished. I let out a sigh of relief and go back to the chalk bucket, to chalk my hands more.
“Payson, work on your mount and dismount for bars, the rest of the routine is good.” My coach says.
I nod my head and drag the springboard to the correct spot. My coach is standing beside the bars ready to spot me. I run towards the springboard, jump off it and land with my hands tightly wrapped about the chalked up bar and my body perfectly straight in a handstand position. I aced it. I loosen my grip and drop to the ground. I then grab the low bar and do a kip to get on to the high bar. I swing my body with so much power. I go around the bar 2 times then release my hands, and fly through the air doing 2 layouts. I land perfectly on 2 feet. I smile, as my coach comes over to pat me on the back. Now hopefully I can do that in competition.
When practice was over my friends and I walk gather up our stuff and I throw on my jacket. I guzzled the rest of my water down before putting it in my gym bag. I swing the bag over my shoulders, grab my car keys and give my teammates a hug and say goodbye. I walk out to the car, hop in and drive away. My muscles were so sore; I was going home to take an ice bath, that’s for sure.
By the time I got home it was 5:30. My older sister was over with my soon to be brother in law. I say hi to her and Austin, her fiancé.
“Hey pay, how was gymnastics?” Austin greeted me.
“Hard, but fun, I think I’m getting my bars routine good again.”
“Well that’s good, is it your hardest event?”
“By far yes.”
“What’s your best?”
“Beam. I almost have always gotten 1st place on it.”
“I will never understand how someone can do a bunch of flip things on 4 inches of wood…”
“It can be hard, but its easier then you would think.”
“No its not.” My sister chimed in.
Before she retired from her gymnastics career, beam was by far her worst event. Sometimes she wouldn’t even be able to compete it.
“However, running towards and inanimate object, that could kill you if you don’t get enough height or power is easy.” She adds. Vault was her best event.
“I’ll also never understand why you girls would literally risk your life for a sport.” Austin retorts with a playful tone.
I shake my head sarcastically at him with disgust.
I walk toward the bathroom. I turn on the faucet to wash off any extra chalk, revealing bloody ripped skin. Welcome to a gymnasts life. I put Neosporin on band-aids and place them over the blisters. I pull my sweaty hair out from the ponytail, and tug at the bobby pins till they’re all out. I slip off my spandex shorts, and my leotard. I fill the bath with ice-cold water, and dump in a half of bag of ice cubes. It wasn’t an ice bath like at the gym, but it works. I get in and sit down. You might think I’m nuts if your not a gymnast, but believe me it does wonders. I let out a sigh of relief as the cold ice touches my sore muscles.
About 15 minutes later I get out of the tub and drain the water, leaving the ice cubes to melt. I dry myself off and walk to my bedroom; I pull out a flannel pair of pajamas with polka dots on them. I tie my hair back in a messy bun, and walk down to dinner.
“Hey Payson, were having tacos for dinner” my mother greets me.
“I’m not very hungry, but Ill have one” I say.
“Not hungry? Sweetie you’ve been at practice all day, with a few snacks only.”
“I know. I know I’m just not hungry tonight.”
I don’t know what’s wrong with me; I’m usually starving by the time Ii get home. I sit down a gulp down some water, and make my taco. I bite into it and try to finish it as quickly as possible. I’m just really tired. After dinner, I go up to my room and fall asleep instantly.