Notes: This was in a series with "The Life of the Party." The series sucked. So now I have several stories (some of which are unfinished) with only two that are somewhat decent.
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As soon as she knew the landing was good, Jubilee raised her arms like she was taught. Clapping and cheering echoed throughout the gym. She smiled. She really loved gymnastics.
She brought her arms down and jogged off of the platform to where her teammates were. Jubilee was greated with high-fives. Her coach patted her warmly on the back.
Collectively, they waited for the score. The time it took for scores always seemed to drag on for Jubilee. When they finally announced it, she was ecstatic.
So what if her score wasn't perfect. She had earned it. She was proud. She knew she deserved what she got.
The audience cheered. Her teammates leaped and shouted. They knew she deserved it, too.
So what if it didn't put them in first place. They were happy where they were. They could be proud of it. They all loved gymnastics and worked hard for everything they got. Even, and sometimes especially, the applause.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jubilee's landing was perfect. She almost raised her arms. For some reason, she successfully resisted it. There was no applause.
She had lost herself during the gymnastic maneuver. She had gone back to the old days, when her parents went and cheered her on. They would sit in the bleachers directly behind her team. They always seemed to be the loudest people there. Even when Jubilee messed up, they always had an encouraging, loving message for the whole world and Jubilee to hear.
"Thank you, Jubilee. That was an excellent example." Scott Summers had come over to help teach the GenXers some gymnastics moves. "You can go sit back down with the others now."
Jubilee just nodded and started for her seat at the floor. On her way there, she heard a whisper from Angelo to one of her other classmates. "What a show off!"
Jubilee sat down in the back again. There would never be anymore applause.
