Center Stage (TNT Force Cheer #3)

by Dana Burkey

  “Don’t say that in front of Leanne,” Jade mentioned, leaning back in her deck chair.

  “TJ would never take her off baskets during tumbling,” Emma assured Jade. “Her tumbling isn’t good enough to do anything else during that part of the routine anyways.”

  “Speaking of her tumbling,” I began slowly, not sure if I should share my conversation with Leanne. “She asked me to work with her on tumbling after Nitro practices.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Nick asked, stopping mid-way in bringing a mini cupcake to his mouth. He looked funny, the small pastry looking even tinier next to his muscled frame, but I managed to keep a straight face.

  Shaking my head, I sat up and crossed my legs under me. Connor, who had been standing just a minute before took the chance to sit on my deck chair with me. He sat where my feet had just been resting, and made me realize how close all of us were sitting to one another. That knowledge helped me feel like I could be honest and open about everything without worrying. Even though I was still getting to know Jade, Nick, and in a way even Juleah, I felt like I was really surrounded by friends that I didn’t want to keep anything from.

  “TJ told her that there’s going to be some harder tumbling going into the pyramid,” I finally began. “I guess he wanted her to get some more practice in, but she can’t go to any of the classes Greg is coaching. So, TJ told her that she would try to work with me.”

  “I never thought she would ask anyone for help,” Emma said honestly. “Leanne thinks she's the best cheerleader in the history of the world. Knowing she actually asked for help is pretty serious.”

  “Well, she’s one of the best fliers we have ever had,” Connor said in her defense. “And she’s been at the gym basically since birth.”

  “But she’s still human,” Matthew added. “It makes me happy to know she’s actually willing to get help and admit she isn’t the best at something. Her head can get a little too big sometimes if you ask me.”

  “I was honestly surprised that even with TJ encouraging her she actually decided to talk to me,” I said finally. “I’m pretty sure Leanne hates me.”

  “She doesn't hate you,” Nick offered, although I could see a little bit of doubt on his face. “She’s just not always welcoming.”

  “Yeah,” Connor agreed. “A lot of people don’t get along with her at first. But she’s really great once you get to know her. The extra tumbling practice time might be just what you need to finally get to know her. Then she can finally realize how much you two have in common and all that.”

  “I guess,” I shrugged, although I wasn’t sure I fully believed the idea.

  Thankfully the conversation moved on to chatting about stunt groups, what the new uniforms might look like, and then finally the dreaded topic came up. After Emma mentioned that she might only be flying for some of the routines, Jade brought up the fact that a few people would still be leaving Nitro before the season started. Everyone immediately began guessing who would be cut from the team, although it was hard for us to agree since practice earlier in the day had been so rough.

  “Do you think Scott will get cut?” Emma asked after we decided there were too many girls getting cut to even stress about it for the time being.

  “It’s either him or me,” Nick said with a shrug, eliciting a chorus of protests. “Seriously though. We’re the new guys, so it’s going to be one of us moving to Detonators.”

  “Unless they make a big move and send one of us to Detonators instead,” Matthew commented, although everyone knew it was the farthest thing from the truth.

  It was common knowledge at the gym that athletes only moved around on the level 5 teams if they either requested the move, or were asked well before assessments. It was rare, and since Connor, Matthew, or Aaron hadn’t talked to TJ about making the move, the chances of Nick leaving Nitro were sadly just as high as his chances of staying. It didn’t help that Nick was the shortest of the guys on the team, which could be a downside for things like partner stunts or pyramid. He was still strong enough to lift any of the fliers, but with the guys all so even on other things, anything could be a deciding factor. Thinking so much about Nick, I suddenly realized there was a real possibility that I could lose my spot on Nitro as well. It would be easy for me to be moved down to Fuze, or even for Juleah to head back to our squad from last year’s team. As new members of Nitro, we were just a few of the girls who were basically on the chopping block.

  “So, what happens if I was moved to Fuze?” I asked, feeling nervous even mentioning it.

  “That won’t happen,” Emma assured me quickly.

  “Exactly,” Jade agreed. “You’re basically the best flier on the team. Just, again, don’t mention it to Leanne.”

  “Yeah” Matthew added. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “Alright, no more talk about cheerleading,” I decided, feeling the weight of team cuts more than ever.

  My change in topic worked for a little bit, but in the end, we continued talking about the gym. I tried to fight it at first, but then realized how lucky I was. Not only did I have friends over that I could have fun and hang out with, they were also people who understood the whole part of my life that was dedicated to cheer. Of course, Lexi and Halley were also there for me when it came to things at the TNT Force gym, but Peter and Kyle never fully got it. They went to competitions and would even ask me about cheer stuff, but they could never sit and have a conversation with me the way other cheerleaders could. So, sitting with my fellow athletes from Nitro around my pool just chatting and joking about drama at the gym, it was strange to think I’d ever even considered leaving the gym after my dad’s two week bribe was up.

  “If you’re not going to stay in the air then you’re not going to fly this season,” TJ yelled on Wednesday, speaking over the sound of his hands clapping the beats of the skills we were performing. “Again, from the top.”

  I took a deep breath, pushed sweaty strands of hair off my face, then lifted my foot up to prepare to be picked up once again. I was in a stunt group with Juleah, Scott, and Jade and was just barely managing to stay in the air each time we tried the single around to heel stretch. It was a simple enough move, but my stunt group was not doing as well as they could. A few of the other groups were struggling as well, but all of TJ’s attention was on the two groups that were consistently falling. One group was Emma’s and the other was stunting a flier named Lilly. It was clear everyone was tired after all of the conditioning. Not to mention that the weather was even hotter than earlier in the week, despite the initial forecast predicting a cold front moving in.

  As my group lifted me into the air I did my best to keep my body straight and tight. Despite my friends assurances that I had a solid spot on the team, I didn’t want to assume anything and get lazy. Using my arms for extra momentum, I twisted them with my body and planted my left fist on my hip before kicking my right leg up and holding onto my foot for a heel stretch. My grip on my foot was strong, but under me I could tell something was shifting. One of the hands on my shoe wasn’t where it needed to be. As the grip was adjusted to make up for the initial error, I knew I was going to fall.

  The fall lasted only seconds, taking me from standing over 5 feet up off the ground to pitching sideways towards the mat. But, the entire thing seemed to happen in slow motion. As I fell all I could think about was turning my body so I would land on my side or back instead of face first into the blue floor beneath me. Squeezing my eyes shut and bracing myself for impact I felt the wind knocked out of me as I finally landed. I tried to take in a breath, but instead only heard a wheezing noise as my chest again constricted. Trying once more, I could feel at least some air being inhaled, which was an instant comfort.

  “Give them some room,” a voice said, although it was hard to hear with the gasps and other comments being made.

  It wasn’t until I heard that comment that I realized I was not on the blue mat. Instead, of hitting the mat directly, I had landed on someone
. Rolling onto my side as I tried to catch my breath, I opened my eyes and saw it was Juleah who had broken my fall. In the process of landing on the ground, I made contact with her face at some point, causing a massive nosebleed.

  “We need ice,” TJ called out before helping Juleah sit up. “Max, how are you doing sweetie?”

  I tried to speak but couldn’t. I simply wasn’t taking in enough air just yet. Instead I coughed a few times then decided to lay flat on my back in hopes of it helping somehow. Closing my eyes at the bright gym lights I willed myself to take a few deep breaths, focusing on the sound of my breathing to help my body calm down. Putting all of my energy into taking long and slow breaths made me unaware of what was going on around me. So, when a familiar voice spoke next to my ear, I was surprised to realize it was Tonya who had moments before been quite a distance across the gym.

  “Does anything hurt Max?”

  “I don’t know,” I managed, opening my eyes to look at her. “I got the wind knocked out of me.”

  “Yeah, I saw that,” she nodded. “How’s everything other than your breathing?”

  “My head kind of hurts,” I replied after thinking it over. “But I think it’s just from falling. Like, my whole body feels sore, but not really hurt.”

  “Do you think you can try to sit up?” she asked.

  Rather than answer, I decided to sit up immediately. It was not the best idea, since I felt dizzy right away. Bending my legs, I rested my feet flat on the mat so I could rest my arms and then my head on my knees. Closing my eyes once again, I tried to be patient until my brain stopped spinning. Once I was certain the spinning feeling had passed, I lifted my head, opened my eyes, then gave Tonya a reassuring smile.

  “I’m okay,” I said simply. “How’s Juleah?”

  “TJ just walked her into the office, but I think she’s doing okay,” Tonya explained. “Why don’t we head that way as well. If your head is hurting we need to make sure it’s not a concussion or anything even more serious.”

  I wanted to protest, but knew if I my dad was at the gym he would have already been by my side running through his concussion checklist. During a soccer game once I slipped on wet grass and went down right as someone was kicking the ball. After taking a foot to the head, my dad made absolutely sure I wasn’t suffering from a concussion before he even let me go back to practice, let alone an actual game.

  Standing up with the help of Tonya and a few athletes around me, I made it to the office without having any trouble. My head was no longer dizzy and my body was sore but overall fine. In fact, when I walked into the room and saw Juleah sitting on the ever-present medical table in the corner of the room, my only concern was for her. She just looked so miserable, her red hair and pale skin only seeming to draw attention to the smudges of blood on her face and hands. On top of that, her bright blue eyes were even more intense when rimmed with red from crying.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, then continued without waiting for a reply. “I’m so sorry Juleah. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “I’ll be okay,” she said, her voice muffled by the ice pack pressed to her face. “But don’t worry about it. Catching you is my job, remember? Besides, if I wasn’t standing under you, you could have gotten really hurt. My nose will be fine. It doesn't even feel broken.”

  Despite assuring Tonya and TJ I was okay, I sat next to Juleah as they checked my vision. They also asked me questions to see if I was at all confused or disoriented, and then finally called my dad to let him know what happened. TNT Force took head injuries seriously, so I tried to be patient. Eventually TJ went back into the gym while Tonya stayed with Juleah and myself. I wasn’t sure what TJ was saying to Nitro, or rather my stunt team, but what I could overhear sounded rather loud and angry. It made me feel a little bad, but then again, I knew that as minor as our injuries were, it could have been a lot worse.

  “I’m not bleeding anymore,” Juleah said once Tonya had finished calling both of our parents.

  “Can we go back to practice?” I asked instantly.

  “Max,” Tonya said with a bit of a laugh. “You just took a big fall. Don’t you want to rest for a little while?”

  “Not really,” I shrugged. “I know my head is okay. I mean, you checked and don’t think it’s a concussion. So, I might as well get out there and practice again. Competition season will be here before we know it.”

  Tonya tried to argue with me, but it was only done halfheartedly. It was clear to her that I was going to head back to practice, no matter what anyone had to say. Juleah joined me, and we got back to our squad just as they were finishing up some extra conditioning exercises. Apparently, TJ decided that it was a good way to spend the time until the team found out if we were both okay.

  “How are you feeling ladies?” TJ asked us, looking extremely concerned despite his happy tone.

  “Great,” I said with a smile.

  “Less great, but still pretty good,” Juleah said next to me. She had a red and purple bruise on her nose and there was a good chance she would end up with a black eye as well. But, nothing was broken so that was one thing to celebrate.

  “We’re going to spend a little time on choreography since Tonya is here,” TJ then explained to both of us. Part of me was a little bummed we weren't doing more flying, but I knew it was also the best idea after my fall. “I hope everyone is ready to dance.”

  Dance was my least favorite area of cheer, since I struggled with it the most. But Tonya was a great choreographer and was sure to give us a dance section that was both high energy as well as entertaining for anyone watching. I knew all of the Worlds teams at TNT also had an additional choreographer that came in later in the summer and then again closer to the actual start of competition season. In the meantime, however, Tonya was there to get us started. When she instructed us to line up to get started though, I was caught up in a hug before I even knew who was next to me.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” Connor said in my ear while giving me an extra tight squeeze. “Hopefully I get to be in your stunt group from now on so I can make sure that doesn't happen again.”

  “Hopefully,” I nodded. Then, as I stepped back from the hug I realized something. “Scott’s not here anymore.”

  “Nope,” Connor nodded. “TJ was super mad he messed up his grip and dropped you. Then when TJ mentioned it, Scott blamed you for not holding your weight or shifting funny or something. Basically, TJ got super mad and told him to leave. I don’t know if he’s off Nitro for good, but TJ was so upset when you and Juleah hit the mat I have a feeling Scott will be trying for a spot on Detonators after this.”

  I was in shock, but didn’t have time to reply. Tonya was instructing us in the first part of the dance, and was calling me over to join a group of girls on the left side of the mat. Following her instructions, I tried not to think about Scott leaving. After all, it got us one step closer to the final Nitro team for the season, and hopefully also one step closer to having a team that could win Worlds. As terrible as the thought might have been, I knew it was the reality of Nitro. Especially since the real goal wasn’t just to get down to 20 people. We also needed to get down to 20 people who could finally bring home a Worlds championship to the TNT Force gym.

  “Need a walking buddy today?” Connor asked as practice finally ended. Despite assuring everyone I was okay, it was clear Connor and a few others were still keeping a close eye on me.

  “Not right now,” I said with the shake of my head. “I’m working with Leanne today.”

  “Oh,” he replied with a concerned look on his face. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “I’ll be okay, promise,” I assured him, then walked over to grab my water and find Leanne.

  The day before she had sent me a direct message on Snapchat to figure out details. Once I told her I was free on Wednesday and Friday, she suggested we start with Wednesday and go from there. Her replies to me were always short and straight to the point. It gave me the feeling she was not looki
ng forward to the practice time together, but I tried to remind myself what everyone else had said. Leanne wasn’t big on asking for help, so the fact that she even reached out to me was progress in a lot of ways.

  “You ready?” I asked her before taking a long drink of my water.

  “Sure,” she said slowly. “I assumed since you got hurt we wouldn’t work together today.”

  “I’m fine.” Saying it yet again made me feel like a broken record. “I’ll be over by the running track when you’re ready.”

  Not wanting to hear anyone else make comments about my injury, ask me how I was doing, or suggest I not stay to do more tumbling, I walked over to the corner of the gym where the foam pit and trampoline tracks were located. I set my glittery teal backpack in an open cubby and sat down to stretch. My body was feeling a little stiff from the fall, but other than that I was feeling fine. Thankfully I also had ice packs and hot pads I could use at home if any part of my body was still feeling sore later in the day.

  While I was stretching, I used the time to check the various notifications on my phone. I was excited to see that Tonya had already uploaded a few videos of the dance routine we had just worked on to the gym’s Instagram account. A few videos showed mistakes, often made on my part. But, it was cool to see the progress that led to a final perfect run. TJ also posted a few videos to Instagram and even Snapchat, since he was always filming practice. He usually only did so leading into Worlds, but so far had a camera set up for every Nitro workout all season. I had a feeling my fall was even on video, not that I was quite ready to relive that moment.

  “Mind if I join you?” Connor asked, sitting down next to me before I could give him an answer.

  “Are you staying?” I asked. Glancing over my shoulder I saw his black backpack in the cubby next to mine.

  “If that’s okay,” he said in reply. “I just figured it would be a good chance to practice tumbling. Not to mention I can make sure you don’t go too hard and hurt yourself or anything.”