by Burkey, Dana
“Oh, weird,” I answered, my brain trying to figure out everything he had just told me. “I wonder if that guy is one of them.”
“Really?” he asked, looking toward TJ’s office. “What was he saying to you?”
“He told me I had enough height to do a full,” I began, trying to remember the conversation. “And he knew who I was. He said after Worlds most people knew who I was. But that was it.”
“Weird,” Connor said simply, then seemed to move on from the issue all together. “There’s no point in me going home before Nitro practice so we might as well get some work done. Why don’t you show me the pass you were throwing?”
“It’s kind of lame,” I said with a sigh, walking back to the end of the trampoline track. “TJ said I can only do layouts on the practice tracks and only tucks on the blue mats. Next week I can try single fulls as long as there’s no sign of stress on my ankle.”
I knew Connor would want to know about the flying restrictions I was on, but all the talk about the tumbling pass had me itching to try it again. Stepping forward on the trampoline I did a quick bounce before doing a front flip to get some extra power behind my jump. Then, knowing my hands wouldn’t quite reach the ground due to my height off the mat I did a standard cartwheel motion only without my arms for added support. The resulting aerial had me traveling in the right direction for two back handsprings followed by a layout that landed me in the soft pit.
“Your form was great,” Connor encouraged me, reaching a hand down to help me up. He pulled me in for a hug once I was on my own feet, clearly as excited that I was back to tumbling as I had been. “So, how does it feel?”
“My ankle is fine,” I said simply after stepping back from the embrace.
“Not that,” he laughed. “I mean how does it feel to get to tumble again?”
“Oh that. It feels so amazing.”
To prove just how great it felt, Connor and I spent the next half hour doing tumbling passes one after another. To make me feel better he also only threw whips and layouts, keeping fulls, double fulls, and anything of the sort out of his passes. I appreciated that he was willing to stick to my restrictions, and in a way it made the practice time a little bit more fun than usual. We tried the maximum number of back handsprings and whips we could throw down the track before always ending with a layout into the pit. It wasn’t quite the same as getting to add in fulls and Arabians, but it was better than anything I had been allowed to do until that point.
“So what stunting can you do?” Connor asked as we were finishing up a much-needed water break.
“Finally,” I grinned. “I thought you were never going to ask!”
With the all clear to start at least some tumbling and stunting, Friday’s practice was my favorite of the summer. I still ran with Sara for the mile and half around the gym, with strict orders not to push myself before practice even got started. Running with Sara was even more fun the second time, since we were able to chat and carry on conversation the whole time. Getting to know her made the time pass quickly, and before we knew it we were back at the gym for conditioning and then finally working on pyramid. I wouldn’t be able to perform much of my planned part, but knowing I was only a few days away from most of the skills had me excited all the same.
“I know most of you have this down pretty well, but today is a little different,” TJ explained as we all found our spots on the map. “Now that’s she’s cleared by her doctor, Max is going to be working back into her spot. So, before we start working on cleaning up pyramid I thought she might want to give her baskets a try. For real this time.”
“Seriously?” I asked, hopping back and forth on the balls of my feet.
“Of course,” TJ smiled, gesturing my stunt group to the center of the mat. “You ready to give your kick double a try?”
“Can I try my kick-kick?” I asked eagerly.
“Let’s go with the kick double first and then work from there.” Even as TJ spoke I could tell he was excited to see what I could do, and I was more than excited to oblige. “Now everyone stay close, but give them a little space. I want to make sure she comes down safely on her first trip back into the air.”
As everyone else on Nitro began finding spots around my stunt group, I stood between Addison and Connor with my back to Juleah. I tried to take in a few calming breaths to tamper down my excitement, but it was hard to control the emotion. After months of waiting and only getting to try a few double arounds during the last practice, I was finally going to do a real level 5 skill. Hopping into Connor and Addison’s arms once they had locked together, I gave TJ a simple nod before he counted us into the stunt.
In no time at all, I was soaring high above the mat, while the room around me seemed to go completely silent. While still traveling upwards I kicked my left leg high above my head to tap my hand that was also stretched up high. The rest of my body was as straight and serious as possible aside from my face which was a mask of pure joy. Once I tapped my foot to my hand I snapped both back down as I felt my body start to lose altitude. Knowing my teammates were not far below me, I quickly twisted my body in two full rotations, then braced myself for impact. I was held in place for a second then set gently on my feet. Then, once I let out a long breath and turned my focus on the people around me, I realized everyone was cheering. Cheering for me.
“That was textbook Max,” Addison gushed, pulling me in for a hug. “Are you sure you haven’t been practicing baskets this whole time?”
“I haven’t, honest,” I laughed. Although I knew the core workouts and weightlifting in my time off had likely helped. “Can we do it again?”
“I thought you wanted to try a kick-kick?” TJ asked, the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.
“Can I?”
“Well,” TJ said, pausing as if to think it over. Thankfully he caved easily. “Might as well go for it.”
I set up with my stunt team again, this time pushing even harder with my legs for the height I needed while they tossed me. After I tapped my foot to my hand I snapped my body down to do a full twist. Only this time both were done as I was still flying up or just beginning to fall. Then, as I got closer and closer to the ground I repeated both the kick and the full twist before reaching my stunt group’s waiting arms. I could feel the impact of my landing a little more that time, but it was overpowered by the cheering erupting around me.
“Max is back!” Someone called out as Connor picked me up for a hug the second my feet hit the mat. I could feel other people wrap their arms around me or pat me on my shoulders, but it was impossible to tell who it was with the celebrating happening everywhere.
“Okay, okay,” TJ finally called out. “Let’s take a few minutes to regroup then get back to work.”
“I’m so proud of you,” Connor whispered in my ear before finally setting me down.
“Thanks,” I breathed, my emotions running high. “That felt awesome.”
“It looked awesome too,” TJ said, standing next to me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Just don’t get too used to this. You’re still on limited flying and tumbling.”
“Yeah, I know.” I tried to give him a frown for emphasis, but the smile on my face didn’t appear to be fading any time soon.
TJ gave my hair a rustle, my white and teal tick-tock bow moving around in the process. I managed to stick my tongue out at him before turning to walk to my cubby and grabbing my water bottle. The rush of soaring through the air had me needing a second to recoup. Grabbing my water bottle and taking a sip, I looked toward the parent viewing area that was practically kitty corner to the mat we were practicing on, only then remembering my dad wasn’t there to see the moment. I knew TJ filmed most practices so I could show my dad the footage if I really wanted. It was a thought that popped up and then quickly went away as I realized there was someone else standing at the glass watching me.
Jackson, the boy I had talked to briefly while tumbling earlier, was standing in the room reserved for paren
ts. Only he wasn’t a parent watching his child. He was a teenager. And he was watching me. Realizing this, I dropped my gaze to the mat and immediately reached up to straighten the bow I knew TJ had moved out of place. Once it felt like it was repositioned correctly, I looked up again, but Jackson was gone. I wasn’t sure if he was just somewhere else in the viewing room, or if he’d left the gym. Then again, I could have just imagined him completely. But, what I didn't imagine was the instant nervous feeling I had knowing he might have seen my baskets. It was an odd feeling that seemed to come out of nowhere, but I did my best to push it aside as I drank down some water then headed back onto the mat for more practice.
By the time I headed to the gym for practice on Monday, I had thrown easily a hundred tumbling passes in my backyard. Despite promising to get it out on Saturday or Sunday, my dad dug my air mat out of its hiding spot once he was home from work on Friday. I think part of it was thanks to the video TJ posted to the TNT Force Instagram page showing off my kick-full-kick-full. The video went up while I was still at the gym working on extra stunting with Connor, so I got home to see the mat all set up and ready to go. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one that was excited about me getting back to cheer so completely.
“You sure are here early,” Tonya welcomed me when I walked into the gym Monday morning. She pulled me in for a quick hug, making me feel tall since she only had a few inches of height on me. “Your baskets are looking great as ever, I see.”
“Thanks,” I grinned. “I had a good teacher so even with some time off I kept them pretty solid.”
Tonya grinned at the comment, mostly since she was the one who worked with me the most on my baskets during my skills class in my first season at the gym. It was just one of the many ways I got to get to know her, the first time being when she helped me right after I joined the gym. Back then I was convinced that I would never fit in with the cheerleaders around me, especially when I couldn’t even do something simple like dance. Since then she had become less of a coach and more of a big sister to me.
It helped that she had been a flier all her life so her frame was small and muscular like mine. She also had a haircut similar to mine, her brown hair cropped just above her chin in a dramatic angle. My hair cut had been done by her stylist as well, since Tonya had been taking me out for haircuts and manicures every few months. I thought our girls day was going to be a one time thing before I attended Summit my first year of cheer, but we had continued the tradition ever since.
I chatted with Tonya for a few minutes until her private lesson arrived for the morning, then headed to the open-air mat. It was a firmer surface than the trampoline track, but still helped me get a boost on my tumbling more than the spring-loaded floor would. Once I changed into my cheer shoes I started working on the passes I had done all weekend. Since I still couldn’t throw fulls, per TJ’s order, I worked to stay one hundred percent straight on my layouts, not even bending at the waist when I could help it.
“That’s looking really good,” a now familiar voice called out as I climbed out of the foam pit after yet another pass.
“Uh, thanks,” I said, looking at the boy standing in front of me. “Jackson, right?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, confirming what I knew even before I asked. “So are you always at the gym?”
“More or less,” I nodded, the nervous feeling from the last time I saw him suddenly returning. “I have an air mat at home so I practice there a lot. But if I want a foam pit to try stuff I need to come here.”
“Got it. Do you mind if I join you for a little?”
“Go for it.” Once I answered I thought about the fact that he was yet again at the gym, this time in black gym shorts and a red shirt with the word EAST in bold black letters. “So are you new to the gym? I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”
“I’m kind of new,” he explained slowly. When I raised my eyebrow in reply he continued. “I’m not officially on a team just yet. But I’m hoping I will be.”
“Wait,” I said slowly, finally connecting the dots. “Are you filling one of the spots on Nitro?”
“Hopefully.”
With that he stepped onto the air mat and took off to perform a tumbling pass. Much like I did for most of my passes he began with a front flip, more commonly called a punch front. He followed it up with an Arabian. The move was a mix between a cartwheel and a full, which made for a nice transition into a standard round off. Once both of his feet were on the mat he pushed off and flipped backwards, landing first on his hands and then on his feet for another height boost. Using the extra height to his advantage, Jackson twisted his body while he flipped again, then followed that full with a whip. As I expected, at that point he finished his pass with a double full, twisting two times before falling feet first into the foam pit.
“That was good,” I said honestly, a little jealous I wasn’t allowed to throw the same pass due to the strict rules to ease back into tumbling. “Do you have a kick double yet?”
“Almost,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’m determined to get it this season. Hopefully Nitro will put me one step closer.”
Not knowing what else to say to him, I decided to throw the pass I had just done once again. In all reality it was a level 4 tumbling pass, but I worked hard to push when I could and get extra height in each move and transition. Landing with more force than I expected, I struggled to climb out of the foam pit once I was done. Much like the first time I met him though, Jackson came to my rescue. He pulled me up, his arms showing their strength in the process. I may have been one of the shortest and lightest girls on a senior team at TNT Force, but seeing his biceps bulge under his shirt made it clear that he could have assisted someone much heavier than I was just as easily.
“So how much longer until you get to throw passes like the ones you did at Worlds?”
“Soon,” I managed, his question shocking me a little. The way he said it made it clear he had taken more than just a quick a look at Nitro’s routine from last season. Not only that, but it seemed he also made sure to pay close attention to my tumbling passes as well.
We continued to take turns tumbling, the same way I had with Connor the week before. Only something was different. When Jackson went I found myself paying attention to his technique, admiring the way he kept his body locked in place while he flipped and twisted through the air. When it was my turn to throw a tumbling pass I could almost feel his eyes watching me, and it took extra concentration on my part to do everything as planned. Thankfully the skills I was doing were easy enough that I could more or less go on autopilot, allowing my body to work while my brain stayed glued on Jackson.
“Max, you coming to lunch?” Emma called out, startling me while I was watching Jackson tumbling down the track.
“What?” I asked, giving her a rather confused look.
“Lunch,” she said again, jingling her keys for effect. “We talked about it yesterday, remember?”
I stared at her for a second, certain she was the one confused. But then it hit me. We had been texting the day before and I mentioned going to the gym in the morning to work on the trampoline track. Emma thought it would be a fun to do lunch together before Nitro practice in the early afternoon. Remembering all of that, I moved to get my backpack, still rather shocked at how much time had gone by so quickly.
“You leaving already?” Jackson asked, his voice showing just a hint of a southern accent.
“Yup, I’m going to lunch with a friend.” The truth was, there was more of a group going, but I was worried if I mentioned that he would want to join us. And that, quite honestly, scared me. Even the thought of spending more time with him made me feel nervous and anxious.
“I guess I’ll see you at practice then,” he said with a smile.
“Right,” I nodded as I slipped on my bag. “See you then.”
I turned and walked to where Emma was waiting at the door, letting out a long breath as I went. Something about Jackson had me on edge, and I didn’t like
it. Thankfully, as Emma and I walked out of the gym I saw Jade, Nick, and Whitney were all in her car waiting for us. Seeing them made me certain it was going to be a fun way to get my mind off the new kid at the gym.
It wasn’t until I was sitting in our booth in the familiar Mexican restaurant down the street from the gym that I could fully shake the feelings brought on by tumbling with Jackson. I still wasn’t sure what exactly it was that was making me feel that way, but being able to focus on the free chips and salsa while we looked over the menus helped. Once we all ordered though, without expecting it, the ‘new guy’ at the gym was the main topic of conversation.
“So who were you tumbling with?” Emma asked me seconds after the waiter walked away from our table.
“His name is Jackson,” I said simply, biting into a chip to buy some time. “Apparently he’s going to be at practice today to see if he can fill Aaron’s spot.”
“Really?” Nick asked, turning his attention away from the food on the table. “What gym did he come from?”
“And what’s his last name?” When I looked at Whitney who had asked the question I saw that she was holding her phone, ready to search Instagram for his account.
“I don’t know,” I said to Nick then turned to Whitney. “And I don’t know. All I know is that he was at the gym Friday to meet with TJ in the morning. Then today he was there too, so he came over and worked on tumbling with me for a while.”
“But don’t you usually practice with Connor?” Jade finally spoke up, her tone one I couldn’t quite figure out.
“Well yeah,” I shrugged. “I was waiting for Connor when Jackson came over and was watching me on Friday. Then today I wanted to try stuff on the trampoline since I was working on my air mat all weekend and wanted some extra height for my whips. Connor wasn’t planning on meeting me, so I was alone when Jackson showed up. He just walked over and started practicing.”