Super Base (TNT Force Cheer Book 5)

by Burkey, Dana

  “What about Thursday?” he asked, his tone still annoyed.

  “Halley and Lexi are sleeping over. With the summer schedule at the gym and the fact that we’re all on different teams we don’t get to see each other as much we want.”

  “That sounds familiar,” Peter mumbled with a bit of a sigh.

  “What about this weekend?” I offered.

  “Can’t. I leave for Football Camp on Friday night.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I nodded. “You get back next weekend right? In time for my showcase?”

  “I think so,” he said, but his voice still sounded a little hurt.

  “I don’t have cheer today at all either,” I reminded him. “If you and Kyle want to stay over for dinner my dad and I are planning to do Taco Tuesday.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  With that, Peter moved to the side of the pool and climbed out without using the ladder. He sent a few messages on his phone then lay down on his deck chair and got comfy. I felt bad that I wasn’t getting to spend much time with my best friend, but working back to the level I had been at the gym was important. Thinking about it though, I realized that Peter was my first friend when I moved to Texas. He was my friend before I ever even thought about cheer, and once I started cheer he was my biggest fan besides my dad. Despite knowing it was sure to get him crazy looks from his friends, he even bought a TNT Force shirt after Worlds. I hadn’t seen him wear it yet, but he claimed he was saving it for a big occasion. Considering that he had been hinting that he was going to get his driver's license the week before my first big out of town comp of the season, I had a good idea what occasion he had in mind. It was a competition he never attended due to the long weekend so far from home, but with a car at his disposal I knew he might not only show up, but show up in TNT gear for added support.

  “So when are you going to show me the rest of that YouTube video you mentioned in your Snap Chat?” I asked Peter as I climbed out of the pool. I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around myself before sitting on the deck chair next to him. Scooting it closer, I reached over and picked up his phone.

  “I’ll do it,” he said quickly, grabbing the phone before I could unlock his screen with my finger print like usual. After quickly hitting the home button to leave a text conversation with someone, he pulled up YouTube to find the video in question. “It’s kind of long.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I assured him, leaning closer to see the screen.

  “Good.” Peter looked at me for an extra second after he spoke, then finally turned his attention back to his phone with a smile on his face. I knew it wasn’t the same as going with his friends to a movie or anything, but I hoped it was enough to show him that I was sorry for not having as much time to hang out with him as previous summers.

  The next afternoon I sat on the blue mat, watching as Catherine fell out of her stunt yet again. After working through some of the stunt sequences a few times, it became clear that something wasn’t working. It wasn’t that she was a bad flier, or even that the athletes below her were bad at their jobs either. There was just something not clicking. In cheerleading when that happened it often led to stunt falls, score sheet deductions, or worst of all, injuries.

  “Connor, come over here and step in for Jackson,” TJ finally called out after another failed attempt at a double around to heel stretch.

  Connor sprang up and jogged over to stand with Abby and Nina. TJ counted them in, then all three lifted Catherine while spinning her around twice. Once she was more or less balanced, which took a matter of seconds, she lifted her left leg up so she could hold her foot with her left arm near her head for a heel stretch. It wasn’t the prettiest stunt, the bases having to struggle to get their grips right as they went. But she stayed in the air. TJ had them bring her down again, only to have them do the stunt three more times.

  “Alright, Jackson, I think we’re going to have you swap with Connor for this one,” TJ finally decided.

  Expecting Connor to move so Jackson could try the stunt again, TJ sent Jackson to stand with us before announcing that both myself and Catherine were going to run the skill. I stood up, still confused by what was happening, but got to work. I rested one hand on Jackson’s shoulder and the other on Addison’s before hopping up into their waiting arms. As usual, Juleah was behind me, ready to help in lifting me and also in keeping me from falling. Before I could over think anything, TJ counted us in and I began the motions I could basically do in my sleep.

  Twisting my body with the aid of the hands hold me, I spun around once while being thrust upwards. The timing of the move was like second nature for me, so I kicked my foot up and held it near my head automatically. Unlike Catherine I was standing on my left leg, since TJ didn’t trust me to put that much weight on my recently injured leg so soon. Other than that, I looked the same as her, something I noted as I glanced over before my bases popped me up so I could fall straight into their arms and end the stunting sequence.

  “How was that?” TJ asked Jackson once I was back on the ground.

  “Good, felt good,” he nodded with a serious look on his face.

  “It looked good too,” our coach nodded, then turned to Connor. “What about you Connor?”

  “It was great,” he shrugged, his eyes shifting to look at me. “Is this final?”

  “I think so,” TJ said slowly. “Although when we get to partner stunts we can play that by ear. Right now we’re going to run this whole section again. Everyone up.”

  As athletes from the other stunt groups stood up to get ready for the move Catherine and I had been working on, I listened in while Addison and Juleah introduced themselves to Jackson. He knew who I was, so I didn’t give him my name, instead only flashing him a smile when he turned to me.

  “For an injured person you’re pretty great in the air,” he said simply.

  “I’m not injured anymore,” I reminded him.

  He nodded, then we were all put into motion as TJ counted us in for the stunt once again. All of the stunt teams ran the double around to heel stretch skill a few times in a row, and each time I saw Catherine get less and less shaky. Whether it was the added height or the larger hands for grips, Connor seemed to be a good addition to her stunt group. Not only that, but Jackson was doing a good job of filling Connor’s place in my group. I saw Connor look over at me and my stunt team a few times, but I tried to focus on my stunts so I wouldn’t make any mistakes.

  Aside from a tick-tock heel stretch that I wasn’t allowed to do thanks to the stunting restrictions TJ had me on, I was able to land all the skills we went over with only a few modifications so I would only stand on my left leg. During the stunt, however, I found myself more aware than usual of my bases beneath me. Or at least more aware of Jackson. Any time I ended a stunt and was caught by Addison, Juleah, and Jackson, I found myself almost leaning away from him, as if worried I would do something embarrassing like elbow him or smack him in the face. It made a few of my kick doubles not get the full rotation, but TJ still looked pleased with my progress. Everything seemed to be going great, right up until we got to our partner stunt sequence.

  “This section is looking good, let’s run the partner stunt and then the elites,” TJ called out to the group then walked toward me. “I want to see just the basics Max. Ball up to left leg and then arabesque is good enough. No single around this time. You don’t need to try for the scorpion if you don’t think you’re ready.”

  “What about the kick double?” I asked, wanting to make sure I knew exactly what he wanted from me.

  “That’s fine,” he nodded. “Just maybe not the kick-kick until you’re a little more used to your stunt group.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Jackson asked, looking at me for confirmation. He had learned the skills last practice, but I had a feeling he would be happy for a reminder on it as well.

  “Ball up to heel stretch, but I kind of want to try the needle to arabesque,” I explained quickly.

  “Needle? D
idn’t TJ only mention a scorpion?” Jackson looked from me to Addison and Juleah, both of whom were used to my way of pushing the limits.

  “I’m center flier,” I began finally. “If I do a needle it will look fine. Plus it won’t be as much pull on my ankle.”

  “If you say so,” he finally replied, giving a little shake of his head despite a smile growing on his face.

  I got in place then, standing facing forward and ready for Jackson to join me for the partner stunt I had done with Connor only a few days ago. When I felt his hands make contact with the bare skin on my waist I shivered, despite being warm from the workout so far in practice. I tried to bounce on the balls of my feet so it would go unnoticed, but I wasn’t so sure it worked. Grabbing hold of his wrists I closed my eyes and took in a long breath then let it out slowly. Behind me Jackson must have done almost the same thing. I felt his breath tickling at my right shoulder and concentrating became instantly harder. As TJ counted us down I pushed with my legs after dipping low and did my best to hold the heel stretch by the time I was in the air above Jackson. But no matter how hard I tried to tighten my core, I still felt myself falling just as soon as I was up in the air.

  “I got you,” Juleah assured me. She got under me and managed to slow my fall enough so that Addison could also assist in stopping me before I hit the ground.

  “Are you okay?” Jackson asked, his eyebrows raised high in concern.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” I nodded immediately. “We can try it again.”

  “Not so fast,” TJ interjected, walking over to my stunt group. “We’re not putting you into the air until we make sure you’re not going to fall again. What exactly happened?”

  “I pushed with my legs off balanced so I don’t think I went straight up,” I said quickly, talking before anyone else could. “I should have pushed with both legs, but didn’t. That’s all.”

  TJ stared at me for another second then seemed to believe my story. In fact, everyone around me seemed to believe it, even Jackson. Or rather everyone but Connor. From across the mat he had a worried and weirdly frustrated look on his face. I knew it was because he wanted to make sure I was okay, and the best way to do that was by being my base. As much as I might have liked that as well, Jackson was a good base, I just needed to get my head straight. It was annoying how much my mind was focusing so much on my new teammate, especially since it was affecting my cheering. Reminding myself that I just had to get through practice and then I could have some time away from Jackson to get my head clear, I took another long deep breath and got ready for the same flying skill again.

  The rest of practice I did my best to shut out any thoughts or weird feelings I was having about Jackson. Mostly since they didn’t make any sense. Why should him being in my stunt group effect my cheering? He wasn’t the only new athlete on the mat after all. But for some reason I didn’t understand, he was the only person that made me lose focus.

  “Water break then full outs,” TJ called after we were done running the various section of the routine piece by piece. “You have ten minutes, so use it wisely.”

  “10? He must be in an extra good mood,” Jade laughed as we both walked toward our cubbies.

  “Or he just knows we’ll need the extra water now to make up for all we’re about to lose,” I replied with a laugh. “There’s always a catch when we get extra treats like popsicles or longer breaks.”

  “You looked great in the air,” Connor told me, walking over to give me a high five. “We should work on some tick tocks in the pool later.”

  “Not just baskets?” I asked, knowing it was always a favorite activity for my friends and I. Without the worry of actually catching me, I was often launched high above the water to try tricks that would never make it to the competition floor. But landing a kick triple into my deep end was still pretty fun all the same.

  “Maybe both,” he finally nodded.

  “Speaking of the pool, you should invite Jackson and Nina,” Juleah commented.

  We were all moving to an open spot on the mat to take a seat for the break so I tried to busy myself with sitting down and taking a long drink of my water before I spoke. “Yeah?”

  “Totally,” Whitney added as her and Nick joined us. “Nina was next to me for the part of pyramid we went over and she seems really nice. She’s kind of quiet, but it could just be because she’s new.”

  “Jackson seems cool too,” Jade added. “I’d be down with hanging out with him any day.”

  While my friends laughed at Jade’s comment, I looked around to see where Nina and Jackson were for the water break. They were both talking to TJ, likely checking in with him on their progress so far in their second practice with Nitro. I kept an eye on them for an extra moment, noticing the way Jackson pressed his lips flat together and nodded when he looked to be thinking hard or concentrating on something. I was watching him so intensely that it wasn’t until Juleah nudged my arm that I realized she had been talking to me.

  “Sorry, what?” I asked, my friends all laughing in reply.

  “I said you should go ask them when they’re done talking to TJ,” Juleah said with the raise of an eye brow. “Since you’re so focused on them right now anyways.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I mumbled, her suggestion putting me into action.

  Walking back to my cubby, I put my water bottle down and grabbed my phone. I figured I would need to give them my number in case they got lost, so saving their contact info was a good idea. Then, before I could chicken out, I walked over to where they were both talking to TJ. Slowing down when I got closer to make sure I wasn’t interrupting anything, I heard they were actually talking about me.

  “Once she gets a little more mobility then we can make the final call, but I think swapping you and Connor was a good choice,” TJ said with a smile. “Between your strength and how tiny Max is I have a couple of things we’re going to have to try once we’re certain she’s back at one hundred percent.”

  “I’m not too far off,” I reminded TJ, stepping forward to join them.

  “Nope, not too far at all,” my coach agreed, giving my head a little pat. He did it to me often, since I was too short for things like a side hug to seem normal most of the time. “That needle looked great earlier.”

  “Thanks,” I grinned. “I told you I’ve been stretching more.”

  “But you could do a needle last season too, right?” Jackson asked. When I only nodded in reply he continued. “We watched some of the videos from Worlds and stuff once we knew we were coming this week. It gave us an even better idea of what to expect.”

  “Your final performance at Worlds was amazing,” Nina quickly added. “The fact that you did all that tumbling when you were injured was awesome.”

  “Be careful encouraging her like that, or she’ll never take it easy, injury or no.” TJ laughed with a roll of his eyes, then walked off to get his point across.

  “Thanks,” I said to Nina, despite TJ’s response. “So, if you guys aren’t doing anything after practice I’m having a bunch of people over to swim and hang out and stuff. My dad always makes food for everyone and we have extra swimsuits for when guests come over. And it’s just a few minutes away so we can all carpool if we need to.”

  “I’m in,” Jackson said, thankfully stopping me before I rambled on forever.

  “Sounds good to me,” Nina agreed. “We just need to leave before it gets super late so we can make the drive home.”

  “Perfect.” I pulled out my phone and saved Nina’s phone number before sending her a text so my number was also in hers. Then, feeling a little awkward, I walked back to join my friends, phone still in hand.

  “Are they coming?” Jade asked, giving me a strange look.

  “Yup,” I said simply.

  As Nick went back to telling a story he had been in the middle of before I arrived, Jade looked at me for another minute, a smile growing on her face. The response confused me, mostly since I wasn’t sure what she was smiling about. I didn’t thi
nk I had done or said anything to make her act so strange, but I was used to feeling that way around my friends. The number of times Lexi and Halley would laugh about something I said when it didn’t seem funny was too high a number to count. So, I tried to ignore her and instead focused on what Nick was talking about. Just when I thought I was understanding the movie he was recounting, TJ called us back to practice. It would mean more hard work and sweating, but also that we were closer to swim time and fun in my pool.

  “How have you never gotten hurt doing this?” Nina asked as I swam to the side of the pool. I had just been launched high in the air for a double backflip into the deep end.

  “Every so often I end up doing a belly flop or land on my back hard,” I explained. “But we have it down pretty good.”

  Wanting to take a breather, I climbed out of the pool just enough to sit along the side with Nina and Jade. Connor, Nick, and Logan were all getting ready to launch Emma, so I knew I wouldn’t be missed. On the pool deck closer to the patio doors, Jackson, Whitney, Juleah, and Addison were snacking on the latest tray of food my dad had brought out from the kitchen. Seeing them all laughing and chatting while they were eating, I instantly wanted to go join them. Not because I was hungry, especially after the last plate of food I enjoyed, but simply because I found myself wanting to get to know Jackson more.

  “Thanks for having us over,” Nina turned and said, distracting me. “It’s really nice to get to know everyone.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said honestly. “My dad always makes enough food for twice as many people I have over, so I figured it would be a good time for everyone to get to hang out without being in the gym. It makes for the perfect bonding time.”

  “Especially once you guys are on the team for good,” Jade added.

  Nina immediately corrected Jade, reminding her that nothing was for sure yet. But I knew that her basing skills were good enough to keep her on the team. Toward the end of practice TJ even had her try stunting me on her own, and she did it perfectly. I was the lightest flier on Nitro, but when TJ saw her display of power, I could see the wheels turning instantly. Sitting next to Nina at my pool though, it was hard to image she had such hidden strength. This was mostly thanks to the bright orange bikini Whitney had let her borrow. Combined with her dark olive skin and wavy black hair she looked the part of the ‘glitter and glam’ cheerleader more than the tough girl I knew she was.