by Dana Burkey
“She broke her elbow! Her post just went up on Insta,” Emma had texted me sometime around 2 am.
“I hope this doesn't wake you up, but it looks like Catherine is going to be out for the rest of the season. Her elbow is broken in two places from the fall,” Jackson filled me in at 6 am.
“Are you awake yet? I have big news!”
The text from Lexi came in while I was reading Jackson’s message. There were also a few group chat messages I hadn’t gotten to, but considering Lexi was texting me in real time I ignored them and let her know I had just woken up. I really should have said I was working on waking up, since I felt like I was still more than half asleep, but didn’t feel like typing all of that.Her reply, however, helped get me going thanks to the instant excitement it caused.
“I’m going to be on Nitro!”
“Wait, what?” I replied, not sure I had read her text correctly.
“Yeah!! I’m on the team for Worlds,” she typed again, with enough exclamation points to fill two lines of text. “TJ messaged my mom last night after practice since he knew Catherine’s injury was bad. They talked about it for a while I guess, and then my mom just told me when I woke up. I have to make sure I fit with the stunt group and all that, but as long as there aren't any major issues then we get to be on the same team and go to Worlds together and I’m just so excited!”
I replied with a screaming gif, then quickly sent a text with the news to Jackson and Emma. There was a good chance my message would wake up at least one of them, but I didn’t care since I was officially wide awake thanks to the news. Not just awake either, I was suddenly super charged to know I would finally get to share the mat with my best friend for the first time since I joined Nitro two years ago. All but jumping out of bed I took a quick shower and got dressed between checking my phone as more people continued messaging me. Most messages were just from Emma and Lexi, but before long I was also texting with Jackson, Connor, Halley, and a few other friends who had either heard updates from Lexi, myself, or a combo of both.
“You’re up early,” my dad commented when I finally emerged from my room to find breakfast.
My dad was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper while enjoying his morning coffee. He was already in his usual work outfit that consisted of dress pants and a short sleeve button up shirt and simple blue tie. A white lab coat would also be added once he was at work, where he spent his time trying to cure the very cancer that killed my mom when I was younger. His hair was a few shades darker than mine, even with the strands of gray I noticed more and more, and his green eyes had a stormy gray quality that always made him look somehow more thoughtful, especially when he also had on his reading glasses like he did now.
“My phone’s been blowing up,” I shrugged, struggling to contain my excitement.
“I’m assuming it’s news about last night?” he guessed.
“Yeah,” I nodded before letting all the news rush out. “Catherine’s fall broke her elbow in two places and also possibly tore something but they don’t know yet since the scans were hard to read with the breaks and all that. Which is really sad since it means she can’t go to Worlds. I mean, she might still get to go to Florida but she can’t compete with the team even if she does. But, since she can’t compete TJ needed a good flyer who can fill the spot, and he asked Lexi. So now her and I both get to be on the same team for Worlds!”
“Wow,” he replied with a laugh once I was done rambling. “No wonder you have so much energy.”
“I feel like I just got off the mat with all this adrenaline in me right now,” I said as I grabbed a muffin and some juice before joining my dad at the table. “Catherine getting hurt is horrible, but this is the best thing that could happen as a result. We still get to compete with a great flyer, and it happens to be Lexi so I get to spend Worlds with her.”
“I’m really glad for Lexi,” my dad nodded. “As for Catherine, let me know if we need to send flowers or anything her way and I can take care of that on my lunch break.”
“Thanks Dad.” I glanced at my phone as it lit up with one incoming message after another. “School is going to feel so long today.”
“You’ll do fine,” he assured me. “Unless you think your phone will be a distraction. I can easily keep it with me today while I’m at work.”
“No, I’ll be good.” I picked it up off the table and slipped it into the pocket of my jeans in case he got any ideas about snagging it when I was distracted with my breakfast. “Now that I know everything I’m sure I won’t need to check notifications barely at all until practice.”
Well, I quickly learned that was a lie. My phone continued to go off as team group chats, stunt group chats, flyer group chats, and of course individual conversations kept going on all day. My math teacher noticed me looking at my phone so much during first period that she threatened to take it away until the end of the day. So to prevent that, I started only checking it between classes. Which made it next to impossible to keep up with everything. I thankfully could type fast or reply with emojis or gifs to save time, and managed to pretty much know what was going on.
By the end of my last class things were falling into place. The whole team had pitched in to get a present for Catherine that Emma and Whitney were going to take to her house before practice since they lived near her. As for practice, we were still planning a normal evening, but it would also include getting Lexi all caught up. She had to be at the gym for her team Glow as well, so would be joining Nitro late. Once she got there it would be all about drilling stunts, skills, and choreography until she was getting the hang of it. It would mean a lot of work for her and what was about to become her new stunt group, but I was feeling oddly confident that things would work out. Catherine getting hurt was just a speed bump, not a roadblock or anything more serious. Worlds was just over a week away, which gave us plenty of time to put in the work so we could prove we were the best.
“You’re here early,” I commented when Jackson got to my house almost half an hour before he usually did before practice. He had let himself in while I made snacks to take to the gym, Nina following behind him.
Nina had moved to Wichita Falls with Jackson to start the season after cheering together at the gym East All Stars of Texas. She was almost as tall as Jackson, and despite being thin had muscles that could do some serious lifting in the gym. Her wavy black hair, deep olive skin, and love of brightly colored clothing often gave people the wrong impression. Sure, she had a girly side and loved fashion and makeup certainly more than I did, but Nina was one of the toughest girls on Nitro. Rumors of the partner stunt she was working on in her privates with Tonya for next season proved just that.
“We figured we should get there early in case we need to rework anything,” Jackson explained as he moved to give me a quick hug.
“Not true,” Nina laughed. “You just want to get there and hear all the drama.”
“Drama?” I echoed.
“Yeah, apparently Portia is super mad that she wasn’t chosen to cross over since she’s a senior.” She quickly explained. “She found out about Lexi a little bit ago and has been kind of freaking out.”
“Well, isn’t Becca a senior too?” When Jackson and Nina both nodded I continued. “So, is she upset?”
“No, just Portia.”
Nina added an eye roll, and I couldn’t help but laugh. It was a little ridiculous to me that someone was going to be this upset about not getting chosen to fill in for Nitro. Although, it was easy for me to see it that way because I was already on the team and getting to go to Worlds. I might not have been so happy about it if I was in her shoes and was missing out on a chance to fill in on a hopefully winning team. But as much as I could possibly sympathize with her, I was also beyond happy that I was going to be on the mat with my best friend, so I found myself praying that the decision to have Lexi fill in would hold no matter what.
We chatted more about Portia, Nitro, and of course Catherine’s injury on the way to
the gym. Now that everyone was out of school the group chats were going crazy, especially when the news broke about Portia. I texted Lexi to ask about it, but she didn’t reply. As we entered the gym though I immediately knew why.
“I hope Lexi’s okay,” Nina commented, her eyes also glued on the office. Inside, TJ and Deanne, the coach of Glow, were talking with Lexi, Portia, and both of their moms. “Mrs. Brooks can be a little intense, and I have a feeling she’s being more so than usual at the moment.”
“Lexi will be okay,” I assured her, but reached over and took hold of Jackson's hand as we walked. I usually wouldn’t hold his hand walking into practice, but I was feeling worried for Lexi and needed the reassurance of feeling his hand in mine.
“Apparently we weren’t the only ones who decided to get here early,” Jackson commented, pointing with his free hand.
Finally taking my eyes off of the office, I was surprised to see most of Nitro already stretching and warming up on the mat farthest from the gym door. It was common enough to see one or two people early, especially if they carpooled. But this was different. The group assembled included a few athletes who never came early, and one or two that were usually late. I knew right away that they had arrived just to see the drama unfold and be the first to know how replacing Catherine was going to be handled. It didn’t seem quite like my team to do something like that, but this close to Worlds a change so big could make people do all kinds of crazy things.
“This is insane,” I commented to no one in particular as I made my way to an open cubby and slipped my cheer bag inside.
“Agreed,” Whitney said, suddenly next to me. “They’ve been in the office for almost an hour now.”
“You got here that early?” I asked in shock.
“Of course.” She said it very matter of factly, then thankfully explained. “Nick was in Catherine’s stunt group so TJ asked him and the rest of their pod to all come early just to go over some basics so they could get used to Lexi. Then everything with Portia went down. TJ still wanted them here in case the meeting was short, but clearly that’s not happening.”
“That’s why everyone is here,” I said, it all suddenly made sense.
“Yup,” she explained. “I rode with Nick, and then Jade and Sarah usually ride together with Juleah. Oh, and Craig had a tumbling private that got canceled since Lenny is still in the meeting too. Then everyone else just started trickling in about a half an hour ago. We’re all just kind of stranded here waiting to see how it all goes down.”
I shook my head, a little exhausted even hearing about it. Glancing at Jackson, I was glad to see he looked about as overwhelmed by all of it as I was. Flashing him a quick eye roll and smile I headed to the middle of the mat to start stretching. Without fully meaning to, I faced the office as I started, much like everyone else around me. Even though, I told myself, I was only keeping an eye out so I could be there for Lexi if she walked out of the office. But I knew I was really just falling prey to the potential for drama.
“Alright Nitro, everyone listen up please,” a voice called out once it was time for practice to start. Looking over I was surprised to see it was Jamie, one of the coaches for a junior team at the gym. “TJ is still in a meeting and wants me to start practice. We’re going to run warm ups like you have been all week and then go full out. He said you should all be able to do this in your sleep by now, so he’s confident you can get the evening rolling without him.”
“Are they going to be in there all night?” I asked Jackson, getting more than a little worried for Lexi’s spot on Nitro.
“They have to come out eventually,” he shrugged. “We can’t change anything about what’s going on in there one way or the other. Instead let’s just focus and hit this routine and crush our tumbling again like yesterday.”
Ignoring the team around us finding their spots on the mat for warm ups, I leaned in and gave Jackson a hug. It wasn’t something I planned to do, but in that moment I needed to be put at ease and the hug did exactly that. Holding on a little longer than necessary, I stepped back to see the confused but happy look on Jackson’s face.
“Now I'm ready to kill it,” I grinned, then turned to walk to the other side of the spring-loaded floor to get to work.
The first half hour of practice was a bit different to say the least. We warmed up and ran a full out as best we could, but we had to mark a lot or just go through the motions of the skills since we were down a flyer. It gave some people a little break, but since all of my stunts were either independent from Catherine’s former stunt group, or on the other side of pyramid I still had to work hard during the whole performance. Once we finished we all took turns running the stunt sequence we had been working on the day before, only this time it was one group at a time while everyone else stood watching. Watching and also waiting to jump in and help in the event of a fall during the single rotation.
It was during this drill that TJ finally emerged from the office to join practice. As soon as I saw him on the mat, I glanced over and saw that both Lexi and Portia were at Glow team practice already. That did little to help me figure out what the final decision on who would be joining Nitro might have been, so I instead focused on my team. My patience paid off though when we finished stunts and moved on to pyramid.
“Listen up,” TJ said as we all finished a quick water break. “We’re going to rework a little bit of pyramid. I don’t want to lose any of the skills or score sheet, but we have a bit of a time crunch to help Lexi learn everything and don’t want to make it too difficult for her. Are you okay Max?”
Without meaning to, I had let out a bit of a yelp when TJ confirmed it was Lexi filling in on the team. Nodding to TJ while keeping my lips sealed tight, I shot Emma a wide-eyed expression that I hoped conveyed my joy level. When she grinned in reply I got the idea that she was feeling the same way. Having her boyfriend's little sister on Nitro was clearly going to make for a great weekend in Florida.
“Everyone go to the start of pyramid and we’re going to walk through things a few times,” TJ continued. “Glow’s practice is over soon so then we can slot Lexi in on everything as well.”
Following the instructions I waited at the front of the mat with Jackson and Connor since the first few 8-counts of pyramid were during our last pass. As soon as I was next to Jackson he nudged my shoulder with his. Instantly knowing it was in response to the news about Lexi, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“Are you going to be like this all night?” Connor asked, having watched the interaction between Jackson and myself.
“Of course,” I replied simply. “This is the first time since Blast I get to be on the mat with her. Plus it’s her first Worlds. It’s a big deal.”
“Duh,” Jackson added, although it was accompanied with a bit of an eye roll at my expense.
Before I could reply, TJ started re-arranging everyone at the back of the mat, instantly getting us quiet. We still had a little time in the counts and music until we would join them, but we all knew talking when new instruction was being given was a bad idea. Unless you wanted to run laps or do candlestick back tucks, which we for sure were not in the mood for. Instead we listened in, following along until the moments after my basket toss that ended the tumbling sequence.
“I want you three to still tumble into place like before but I need Connor and Jackson to swap sides,” TJ explained, pausing for us to walk to our new positions. “Then Max, once you do the up and over you’re going to have a little extra time before we have the assist with Emma, so we need to figure that out. We’re going to let Lexi try everything on her side of the mat, but then Trish we might need you to jump in for her, hence the side swap for you boys.”
“Am I staying over here for the rest of pyramid?” I asked, trying to track all of what my coach had just explained.
“Yes, although don’t stay married to that in case we need to change it,” he said honestly. “Let’s mark through that part and see where it puts us.”
Much like at practice earlier in the week we got to work running things, adding in the changes and corrections as we went. It was all hitting well enough, but the real test would be seeing if Lexi would be able to really slot into the spot left open by Catherine, or if someone else would need to learn the up and over. With bases trading spots and roles in pyramid, we started making little mistakes. But, TJ seemed to have a good attitude about it all. Mostly since everyone was super focused as we worked, and also since the small things we weren't getting perfect could all be changed again in a matter of minutes.
“You ready to jump in there?” Glancing towards TJ from my spot, I saw he was talking to Lexi. Who, as he spoke, was putting her stuff in an open cubby next to the mat.
“I think so,” she nodded.
“Okay, quick water break and then we get started again,” TJ called out for everyone to hear. “Get all the jumping and squealing done now too so we can focus the rest of the evening.”
I had a feeling that comment was aimed mostly at me, but didn’t mind since I was happy to do just that. Racing for Lexi I all but tackled her in a massive hug. She was clearly expecting it though since she hugged me back just as aggressively, both of us jumping up and down on the spring-loaded floor in the process. It was moments like that when I realized how much taller than me Lexi had gotten, now standing easily 5 inches over me. She weighed a little more than me, but was still skinny by anyone's definition. It helped that she was super flexible, and also good at tumbling. Much like my other best friend Halley, Lexi had bright blond hair although her eyes were a bright blue while Halley’s were a dark brown. When I first met them, in fact, I had almost thought they were sisters since they looked so much alike.