Sticking It On Floor

Sticking It On Floor

My eyes were puddled with tears. They were slowly trying to make their way out, but they weren’t. I felt like I had willingly ended the world for my self. You're braver than that. You never cry. No matter how hurt you are, you never cry.
“It’s just one beam routine, in the millions you’ll do later when you’re in a higher level,” Coach Jasmin consoles me.
“That beam routine just happens to be the only one that counts,” I mumble under my breath.
A little angel pops up in my head, She’s just trying to help and reassure you, and you're putting her down? Who does that? You should be thanking her. Another, more devilish voice pops up in my head now. It’s her fault. She didn’t coach you good enough, so you fell. Be mad at her. Remember, you still have floor to look forward to, the little devil said sarcastically. The voices argued for a while. The devilish voice took over my brain, and I went on with no guilt.
“All level 4s on beam, make your way over to floor and start warming up,” a voice booms over the gym.
        I had to stick it on floor.
My teammate, Grace, and I, made our way over to the floor. We started to warm up our passes. I started off by doing my first pass in my routine. I landed it perfectly. But it was time to face it. If I didn’t stick it in warm-up, it would make an impression that I couldn't’ do it. I take a deep breath in, and charge on the floor. I punch the floor hard, jump up, rotate, and fall. I failed it in warm-up, so I’ll probably fail it in my routine. That’s just great, I think. The next few minutes of warm-up went by too fast.
Grace was right before me. She had the best music ever. It’s beat was pumped up and made people want to get up and dance. It was like time stopped just for her. It felt like you were getting drawn into the whole scene where the music was set. The music would flood through your heart and make it warm.
        The music came to a total halt. I got sucked out of my daydream. Her routine was over. Too soon, it was time for me to get up on the floor, and have everyone’s eyes on me. Even my dad’s were. My mom couldn’t make it here because she had a trip to the US. Usually my mom would come with me to Manila, but I had equally as much fun with my dad as I did with my mom. I barely got to do this type of thing with my dad.
“I know you’ll stick it,” said Grace.
        I was glued on the floor, waiting for my music to turn on, not wanting to do this. Not just did I have butterflies in my stomach, I had a whole flock of wild geese in my stomach. The familiar music flew through my heart like a bird. The very beginning of my routine was flawless.
        The music got to the chorus, the most pumped up part of the song. That was when I had to do it. It all happened so fast. I had to do a front tuck, and land it. Maybe I shouldn’t do this. Maybe it’s too hard for me. Maybe I should just try to lose because I know I’m not making this, I think. But there was no time left to think. I could at least try to be timed with the music. I sprinted halfway across the floor, punched the floor, and rotated. My heart was pounding at the same speed of my feet running. Everything flashed before my eyes. I had done it. I stuck my front tuck for the first time ever.
       “Yes! Good job, Suhani!” Grace yelled from the side.
        From behind the camera, my dad gave me two thumbs up, and a big smile. All of my coaches knew that I had never done this before, and were almost as happy as me. The rest of my routine went by so quickly, I was early. I wasn’t timed with the music, which would make me lose some points. I was early because I was so happy that I stuck my front tuck, that I forgot about being timed with the music. But, I didn’t care one bit because the fact that I had stuck my front tuck was all I could think about.
        My heart was still pounding. I needed to see what I had gotten on floor. Grace had gotten 14.7 on her floor routine, but what would I get? Would I beat her? Could this be it? These questions got answered in one glance. My face shot towards the whiteboard that held my fate. I had gotten a 14.6. My best score ever on floor. All my coaches said I did amazing, but I knew I could have been better, and gotten first place. I had gotten second, but that was good enough for me. I was so proud that I had stuck my front tuck. And for the rest of the day, I didn’t think about getting first at all. I thought about how I stuck it on floor.
        But, one question still remains in my head today; what would have happened if I was timed with the music, and didn’t lose any points? But whenever I think of that, I always remember one thing that kicks that thought out of the way; I stuck it on floor, and that’s all that matters.