Gymnastics Jitters

by Jake Maddox

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One: A GOLD MEDAL

  Chapter Two: THE NEXT STEP

  Chapter Three: INTIMIDATION

  Chapter Four: A NEW PLAN

  Chapter Five: THE PLAN TAKES SHAPE

  Chapter Six: PLAY FAIR

  Chapter Seven: THE SHOWDOWN

  Chapter Eight: A BAD PRACTICE

  Chapter Nine: THE CHAMPIONSHIP

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Glossary

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  More About Gymnastics

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Chapter One

  A GOLD MEDAL

  The judge lifted his card, and the music began. Dana raised her fingers in the air and pulsed her hips to the beat. Then she ran.

  Her toes bounced off the mat, and she hurled herself through the air. She did a flip before landing back on the mat. The crowd applauded, and Dana finished with three back handsprings.

  “Nice work, Dana!” her team cheered.

  She smiled to herself. She knew she nailed the routine. Only a cartwheel and split left. Not a wobble on either move.

  “You did it! You did it!” cheered her best friend and co-captain Mallory.

  “Atta girl,” said Coach Jasmine.

  Dana beamed as she sat on the bleachers and waited for the other girls to complete their routines. She was happy with her routine.

  “Wish me luck, girl,” said Mallory. She unzipped her River City Raiders jacket and went to warm up on the uneven bars.

  “You don’t need it,” said Dana, smiling. She was superstitious about wishing other gymnasts luck. And saying “break a leg” would be disastrous.

  Mallory jogged to the bars shaking her head. Dana could swear she was grinning.

  Dana rubbed her palms together and blew on them. The Halsey Gym wasn’t cold, but she shivered. She watched her teammates Connie and Paula on the beam and vault. Their routines were flawless.

  Then it was Mallory’s turn. Dana sucked in her breath and felt an arm around her. Coach Jasmine always knew when to calm her nerves.

  “Mal will do great,” she said. “I bet you’re more nervous than she is.”

  Dana nodded and tried to smile. Mallory grabbed the lower bar and raised her body into a handstand. Dana counted the hold count in her head. She knew Mallory wanted to hold it for two full seconds.

  Mallory swung her legs down and raised her legs straight over her head again. She did three rotations on the high bar before landing with a firm grip on the lower bar and turning again.

  Dana held her breath as Mallory prepared for her dismount. Since they spent most of their waking hours together, each member of the team knew the others’ routines.

  Dana and the other girls leaned in and grabbed hands as Mallory flung herself to the top bar again. She rotated four times, flew through the air, and completed a somersault.

  The stadium applauded as Mallory planted her feet on the mat, then raised herself to full height. Her smile was huge.

  “She did it!” screamed Dana. She didn’t have to look at the scoreboard to know that Mallory earned a high score.

  Coach Jasmine gathered her team in a big hug as soon as Mallory reached the stands.

  “This is big, ladies,” Coach said as she pointed to the board. There were the results of their hard work.

  A gold medal for the River City Raiders.

  Chapter Two

  THE NEXT STEP

  A week later, the team couldn’t pass their school’s trophy case without stopping and smiling at their trophy. Coach Jasmine smiled too as she saw her team admiring their prize.

  “There may be another trophy up there soon,” Coach said. “Your huge win has moved the Raiders to the next leg of the competition. This is a first in River City history.”

  Dana and her team looked at each other, their faces questioning. They knew they’d done better than anyone expected this year. They knew winning a gold medal was huge. But they were too busy enjoying that success to think about what came next.

  Then Dana looked at Paula’s panicked face. What came next was clear.

  “The next level is against the Sumner Superiors, isn’t it?” asked Paula.

  “That’s right,” said Coach Jasmine.

  The Sumner Superiors were the best gymnastics team at their level. They were also the meanest. They didn’t just fight with skills. They fought with words and dirty looks. Their goal was to psych out the other teams.

  Dana remembered hearing that Shelly, the Superiors’ captain, once put itching powder in another team’s leotards.

  “I know the Superiors have a bad reputation,” Dana said.

  Paula smirked. “That’s being nice,” she said. “The kids in detention have a rep. Put them in a room with the Superiors? My money is on Sumner.”

  Dana put her fears out of her head. As a team captain, she had to put on a brave front.

  “Fine,” she said. “But who says we can’t beat them?”

  Connie bounced up and down. Her blond braid bounced behind her. Dana smiled. She loved that Connie could always tell when the captains needed backup.

  “That’s right,” said Connie. “We have the skill and the muscle.” She flexed her arms and everyone laughed.

  Connie continued, “Besides, you can’t get far by playing dirty. I think they just have a bad rep because they always win and people are jealous.”

  Dana chimed in, “Makes sense. If we keep winning, people may start saying things about us.”

  Coach Jasmine smiled. “Nice pep talk,” she said. “Keep it coming.”

  Soon Dana’s fear was replaced with hope. Who said the Raiders couldn’t win this one?

  Chapter Three

  INTIMIDATION

  On Saturday morning, the Raiders were at the Halsey Gymnasium early for their scheduled workout. They stretched and watched the Superiors finish their practice.

  “There’s no way we’re going to win this,” moaned Connie.

  “Think positive,” said Dana. She stood on her tiptoes to stretch her calves. Her eyes did not leave Shelly, who was on the other side of the gym doing her floor routine.

  “She’s right, Connie,” said Paula. “How’s this? I’m positive we’re not going to win.” She laughed.

  “Very funny!” said Dana. “Now, no more of that negative talk. I know we can do this.”

  The music stopped in the gym, and the Superiors packed up their gear. The Superiors’ coach brought them into a huddle for a secret talk and blew his whistle. The girls picked up their duffle bags. He blew the whistle again. The team got into a straight line. A third whistle and they marched single file to the exit.

  “That’s what we call intimidation,” Coach Jasmine whispered to Dana.

  “Well, it’s working,” Dana whispered back. “They even leave the gym perfectly!”

  “Okay, team,” said Coach Jasmine. When no one moved, she spoke louder. “Girls, if we’re going to win, we cannot just stand around. I can train all of you to follow commands too. It means nothing. Now let’s practice!”

  Dana and her team slowly walked into the now empty gym. All of their energy was gone. Each girl was lost in thought and more than a little nervous.

  “I want to see strength out there!” Coach Jasmine said. “I want to see power! You can do it!”

  Of course we can, thought Dana. Mallory rocks the uneven bars. I own the floor. Connie’s a whiz at beam, and Paula is fantastic on vault. If the Superiors want to beat us, they’ll have to work at it.

  Dana continued giving herself a pep talk as she walked to the mat. Her teammates had obviously done the same thing. They were completely focused. Sudden
ly, she stumbled as she was shoved from behind.

  “So sorry,” came Shelly’s familiar nasal voice. “I could have sworn I left my ribbons in here.”

  Dana looked around the gym. She was not surprised there were no ribbons.

  Shelly laughed and looked in her duffel bag. “Oh my goodness!” she said. “They’re right here. My bad.”

  “Funny how you didn’t think to look there first,” said Dana, finding her voice. “I mean, that’s what a normal person would do.”

  Shelly scowled. She said, “When you focus on the floor routine as much as I do, there’s little room in your brain to think about anything else. See you around.” She smirked and ran out of the gym.

  Dana’s blood boiled. I’ll show her who’s focused, she thought. She ran to the mat and turned on her music.

  Dana ran as fast as she could and launched into three back handsprings. She focused on every movement in her routine. Shelly couldn’t be further from her mind.

  Chapter Four

  A NEW PLAN

  As the Raiders sat in their favorite mall lunchspot, Veggie Haven, the morning’s bad vibes vanished.

  “This place has the best veggie burgers ever. You can actually taste the celery!” said Connie. She took a large bite of her patty.

  Paula made a face.

  “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, Miss Spinach Lasagna,” said Connie.

  The other girls laughed and dug into their veggie dishes. Even Dana, who was a meatball fanatic, loved the Haven. She twirled her zucchini spaghetti around her fork. Then she lifted it high in the air and swooped it into her mouth.

  “Perfection,” she said. She thought a minute. “That should be our new name! The River City Perfections.”

  “That would be cool,” said Paula. “However, I think we’re stuck with the River City Raiders.”

  Dana sighed. “I know,” she said. “Superiors just sounds so annoying. I want a name that says how good we are too.”

  “Do we have to ruin a perfectly awesome lunch by talking about the Superiors?” Connie asked.

  Dana pushed her plate away. “They always make me lose my appetite,” she said.

  Paula rolled her eyes and kept eating. “Are you going to finish your garlic bread, Dana?” she asked with her mouth full.

  Dana shook her head. Paula eagerly grabbed it. “Gotta keep up my strength if we’re going to beat the Superiors,” she said.

  “Here’s what I’m thinking,” said Mallory. She licked tomato sauce off her finger. “All we need to do is practice and focus. I know the Superiors are good, but so are we. We’re going to keep our head in the game, ignore them, and do our best.”

  “Speaking of the Superiors,” mumbled Dana, nodding toward the door. A group of girls in Superiors jackets entered Veggie Haven.

  “I think it’s time to go,” Dana said. “We have work to do.”

  “I don’t want them to think we’re running away from them,” said Connie.

  “If we run anywhere,” said Dana, “it will be to the gym. From now on, whenever they enter that gym, I want them to know we’ve been there.”

  “How?” asked Connie. “By leaving Mallory’s smelly sneakers under the trampoline?”

  “Not a bad idea,” said Dana with a laugh, “but that’s not what I had in mind. Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

  Chapter Five

  THE PLAN TAKES SHAPE

  When the girls got to the gym, it was empty. There were no signs that the Superiors had been there.

  Dana took in a deep breath. “Just pure sweat,” she said. “No Sumner stink at all.”

  Mallory laughed and said, “Like you can really tell when they’ve been here.”

  “I can,” said Paula. “The air feels cold and evil after they’ve practiced.”

  “It’s not evil you smell after their practice,” said Mallory. “It’s the awful perfume they wear.” She pretended to gag.

  Connie’s eyes lit up. “That’s it!” she said. “I always wondered why I stunk like daffodils after I left this gym.”

  Dana did a middle split and leaned forward, elbows touching the ground. “Who wears perfume to work out?”

  Connie stretched her thighs and hamstrings. “People who want us to know they were here,” she guessed.

  Paula bounced on the springboard and somersaulted in the air over the vault. She wobbled on the landing and made a face. “I thought we were going to play by new rules, Dana,” she said. “Don’t you have ideas?”

  Dana ran to the mat and did two back handsprings. She stumbled a little on her landing. “Not until we’ve given this practice our all,” she said. “I don’t know about you, but I can use all the focus I can get.”

  The girls split up to work on their own equipment. Dana turned on her music and practiced back handsprings until all her landings and releases were perfect. Then she walked over to the uneven bars to watch Mallory.

  As much as Dana worried about whether she would succeed, she never worried about Mallory. Mallory always appeared to be in control. This calmed Dana.

  Dana stood far enough from the bars not to distract her friend, but close enough to see all of Mallory’s tiniest moves.

  Dana watched as Mallory mounted the bar. Her shoulders were open like they should be, and her legs looked straight. Dana knew the handstand was next. She held her breath until Mallory finished her count.

  Dana knew that the release was next. But she wasn’t worried. Mallory released and flipped twice in the air. Mallory stuck the landing and raised her hands high in a V.

  Dana clapped. “That was amazing, Mallory,” she said.

  Mallory blushed. “My legs were a little bent,” she said.

  “Just barely,” Dana said.

  “It’s still a deduction,” said Mallory. “We can’t afford that.”

  Dana wanted to tell her not to worry, but Mallory was right. “You’ll get it,” Dana said. “You always do.”

  Mallory smiled, and she and Dana walked to meet the rest of the team. They looked sweaty but satisfied.

  “Nice work today,” said Dana to the team.

  “Thanks,” said Paula. “Do we get to have fun now?”

  Dana slapped her hand to her forehead. In all her concentration, she had forgotten about her little plan. “I almost forgot,” she said. She grabbed her bag and gave all the Raiders scissors, construction paper, and markers. Then she explained her plan.

  “I feel like I’m in kindergarten again,” said Mallory, giggling.

  Connie followed Dana’s lead and cut out an R. Then she drew pink polka dots on it. “Perfection,” she said, smiling.

  Paula cut out her R and frowned. “You don’t think we’ll get in trouble for this?” she said.

  “We’re not doing anything bad,” said Dana grinning. “Just marking our territory.”

  “All done,” said Mallory.

  Dana gathered the other girls’ Rs and slipped them places around the gym: one beside the balance beam, another under the mat used for floor exercises, and others at the foot of the vault and uneven bars.

  “I think the Superiors will like the new decorations,” said Paula with a laugh.

  Chapter Six

  PLAY FAIR

  Coach Jasmine did not like the new gym decorations.

  “Girls,” she said at practice. “I was at the gym this morning. I saw some interesting artwork. Anyone care to fill me in?”

  No one did. They stared at their school’s gym floor.

  “Maybe someone else decided to leave random letter Rs around the gym?”

  Dana frowned. “But Coach,” she said, “we didn’t mess up equipment. We didn’t even put them in anyone’s way.”

  Paula piped in, “I even checked all the handbooks when I got home. No rules about leaving letters around.”

  Coach sighed. “It’s not against the rules,” she admitted. “You won’t get in trouble from the Gymnastics Association or anything like that. But I don’t like it. We don’t need to do t
hat.”

  “We just wanted to let the Superiors know they can’t scare us,” mumbled Mallory.

  Coach’s voice softened. “I know that, Mal,” she said. “I understand it has not been easy for you girls to ignore the Superiors. My gosh, their stinky perfume is enough to make me want to leave!”

  The girls laughed.

  “I just don’t want you to stoop to their level,” Coach said. “I know it seems harmless, but we must play fair.”

  “Got it,” said Mallory. Dana sulked.

  “Good,” said Coach Jasmine. “From now on, I want you thinking about how you can beat them with hard work, not mind games.”

  Chapter Seven

  THE SHOWDOWN

  Two days later, the Raiders entered the gym ready to work hard. The Superiors were already there and hogging the equipment. On weekdays, the rule was that teams rotated on the equipment. But it was obvious to Dana that the Superiors followed their own rules.

  “They’re hanging all over the uneven bars,” Mallory complained. “They’re not even practicing.”

  Dana frowned. Coach Jasmine expected the Raiders to play fair. Why didn’t the Superiors’ coach expect the same?

  “Come on,” said Dana. She took Mallory’s hand and walked to the uneven bars.

  “You done hanging out?” Dana said as the Superiors lounged on the bars.

  Tori glanced at her teammates. “You guys done?” she asked them as she stretched out.

  “Nope,” said Shelly. She glared at Mallory and Dana. Dana remembered the way Shelly had smirked when she came back for her ribbons.

  Dana thought about the right thing to do. She stayed calm and asked, “Will you be practicing long?”

  A Sumner girl named Tori pointed her nail-polished finger at Dana, saying, “We’ll stay here as long as we want. Since when did you start calling the shots?”