Inspired by the London Olympics :-)
I love plane rides. I'm serious! There is absolutely no sarcasm located in that previous statement. I love the fact that I'm pretty much defying nature and waited upon by the push of a button. Speaking of that, I'm pretty thirsty right now—could go for some water. I call the flight attendant over and she's more than enthusiastic to bring me a cup of ice and a small water bottle. I love flying first class. Not that I get to do it often, because I'm not rich or anything. This is more about me flying out to Paris for my first Olympic games—ever. I'm hopeful that there will be more after this but not that many continue for a second round in my sport.
I'm Isabella Swan-Bella for short, and a gymnast for the US women's Olympic Team. My other teammates, Alice, Rosalie, Jessica and Lauren are just as excited as I am for this experience. I'm still in awe that I made it onto the Olympic team. I mean, seriously, there were so many people that could've gotten the spot and I'm here and part of the lucky five ladies who get to represent the US. Alice always tells me it's because I always nail the floor routine, but I think all my years of trying to get good Karma are finally coming back around.
The flight to Paris from O'Hare will take approximately nine hours and we're currently two hours into our flight. We're flying in a giant Boeing-777 passenger craft and I just can't fall asleep. I think it's because I'm too excited right now. Alice is conked out right now and I can see a tiny trail of drool leaving her mouth. The sight makes me giggle a bit. Jessica is reading Teen Vogue and Lauren is watching a movie. Rosalie has her Nook out and is reading the latest hotshot novel. I'm trying to fall asleep which I now deem impossible. I had hoped to be out for most of the plane ride so I'd wake up in Paris, but that looks like it's not going to happen. With a sigh I put on my headphones and start watching a movie.
Let me tell you about our team of girls.
Alice is probably the shortest of us—not that any of us is tall. She's my age—eighteen. We both just finished high school. Me at Forks High, her at a fancy private school in Seattle. She has cropped black hair and clear blue eyes and can fly through the air like no other. Her performances always look so effortless. It's because she has been in ballet since she was a little girl and has the grace of a ballerina.
Rosalie is the tallest and probably the hottest. She has shampoo-commercial quality blonde hair and a body to kill for. She's toned from the gymnastics but I think naturally she just has a nice figure. The combo is dangerous and can probably make a grown man cry. She's nineteen years old and can probably live on the balance beam. I'm jealous, the beam is my worst event.
Jessica and Lauren are both seventeen. Actually, Jessica just turned seventeen yesterday, so she's the youngest in the group. Jessica is….interesting. It's not that I don't like her, she just is probably the biggest flirt I've ever met in my life. She has brown hair like me but her eyes are green, not brown. She also claims to have had sex with two really hot guys—at the same time. I don't believe her.
Lauren is blonde like Rosalie, but I'm pretty sure she isn't naturally that way. Her roots are a brown color and her hair when she doesn't style it looks like it's been through some damage. She's nice though, and her vaulting skills are a valuable asset to the team. She flirts a lot like Jessica. I think she's desperate for a boy toy—just not as desperate as Jessica.
So for the past few months I've been to photoshoots, filming promotional videos, doing interviews, and training my butt off for the next two weeks. And it's totally going to be worth it. I'm not crazy famous but our coach, Aro, warned us that if we did well at the Olympics fame would sweep through us. This fact both excites and nerves me.
Rosalie and I did an ad together for a tampon company though. It'd been a few weeks after they announced the Olympic team and they'd approached us with a offer. I still feel awkward being a spokesmodel for what is apparently the 'best sports tampon there is' but it was a fun experience.
"Are we there yet?" Alice asks as she wakes up from her nap.
"Yeah. In seven hours" Rosalie replies.
"Damn it!" Alice closes her eyes again.
I have a few days to adjust before the opening ceremonies. I don't really get jetlag but I'm not sure about the other girls. We're arriving there at nighttime so not sleeping on the plane is a good thing I suppose—I'll be tired and ready to sleep once we get there.
I take a quick glance around the plane again. The whole area is swarmed with athletes, although I don't know any of them. Far away from me I can see Ben Cheney though. He's pretty much a running god in the US. He can't beat the Jamaicans, but then again, who can? He has the American record for the 100 and 200 meters though. That counts for something.
He's the only person I recognize.
Seven hours later I'm on the ground again. My ears hurt because of all the pressure when the plane was descending. So I can't really hear things clearly at the moment. It's okay though because a lot of what I'm hearing around the airport is spoken in French so I can't understand it anyway. The girls and I tried to learn some French before we came here and I can say hello, goodbye, and some other basic phrases. That's it.
"Paris! I love you!" Jessica shouts.
Lauren cheers with her. Rosalie grins and Alice just looks tired. She sleeps too much.
"Bella, isn't this so cool?" Jessica asks, "We're in the city of love! Oh French boys, come to me!"
"Yeah, French guys are hot. Especially with their accents. I don't know which is hotter, a French accent or a British accent" Rosalie says.
"Toughie" Lauren replies.
"British is really sophisticated and mysterious but French is more romantic" I add in.
"I like them both" Is what Alice says.
We get our bags and then are packed into large buses to be taken to the Olympic village. I'm sharing a room with Rosalie. Alice is with Jessica, and Lauren is paired with a diver whose name is Angela. Lauren and Angela apparently know each other from school. I've never met her but from what Lauren tells me, she's a pretty cool person.
There are rooms for two, rooms for four, rooms for six, and rooms for eight at the Olympic village. All of us could've been shoved into one room but somehow we ended up with the double rooms. Not a problem for me though. Less fighting over bathroom time.
"Nice" is what Rosalie says when she opens our door.
There are white walls and lime green couches. The sitting area is small but happy looking. Bright colors and contemporary furniture make me smile. An archway leads to the sleeping area. The beds are smaller than I had imagined, but they look comfortable. A painting of the Eiffel Tower hangs across from the bed along with a flatscreen TV.
"Which bed do you want?" I ask Rosalie.
"Closest to the window" She says.
I drop my stuff down on the bed closer to the exit and walk into the bathroom to check it out. There is not bathtub which disappoints me a little because I do enjoy long hot baths, but the fluffy golden towels make up for it. I rub one of them across my cheek. So soft.
I decide to shower first because I feel gross after that plane ride. It feels so nice to wash my face and shave my legs. I think I take too long because Rosalie knocks at my door angrily.
"Bella. What the heck are you doing? Get out right now or I'm going to bust down this door. Seriously, I want to shower too you know?"
Never mess with an angry Rose. Her thorns will stab you and make you cry.
I quickly dry off and put on some pajamas. Rosalie is waiting outside the door expectantly. She moment I'm out she goes in and I crawl into bed. I'm tired because I haven't slept in about fifteen hours.
Closing my eyes, I drift off into a deep sleep.
When I wake up there a line of sun streaming in through a crack in the curtains and Rosalie is snoring lightly. I'm tempted to record it and show it to her or use it as blackmail substance, but I'm too lazy right now to dig for my phone. I twist my neck a bit to look at the clock on the nightstand. It's nine AM. We're supposed to be at training at ten.
I stretch myself out and head into the bathroom to get ready. I pull my hair into a bun and pin the loose ends back. Nothing is worse than having your hair fly into your face while trying to tumble. I've tried it before and I the result was a sprained ankle as a result of a piece of hair blocking my vision.
I put on a blue leotard and some white sweats. I'm not going to wear the official US Olympic team gear until the games actually begin. It's all hanging in the wardrobe though. The leotards, sweats, opening ceremony clothing...
Rosalie has woken up by now and is doing her hair in the bathroom. I'm standing in front of a mirror in the bedroom, tracing a thin line of black eyeliner onto my eyes. I'd rather not have to put on a lot of makeup, but Alice told me that there are cameras everywhere and I need to look good at all times. She's like that though.
I'm heading down to the cafeteria with Rosalie after half an hour to get breakfast.
It is at that exact moment when I notice him.
He's standing down the hallway with a big burly guy. He has the wildest, sexiest bronze hair I've ever seen. His tight white shirt clings to his body and I can see the outline of his muscles. Oh my.
"Wow" Rosalie says, looking at the two, "That's hot"
"Which one?"
"Big one"
"I prefer the other"
"One for each of us"
"Fat chance. Girls will be all over them"
The bronze haired one looks over at me and our eyes meet for a moment. He has the greenest, brightest, most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen. His nose is smooth and perfect, his lips are plump and pink and-gah I want to just kiss him and never let go.
He gives me a breathtaking crooked grin and a wink before walking off with the other guy.
Wow.
We grab some food in the cafeteria and then take the ten-minute walk to the gymnastics center. Jessica, Lauren and Alice meet us at breakfast and walk with us. They all look extremely excited. My mind keeps drifting off to the no-name bronzed haired Adonis. I think I'll call him Adonis for now. Hopefully I'll get his real name soon. It's fitting though. The Olympics started in Greece and Adonis is a Greek God.
"Oh my gosh. There are going to be cameras, and reporters, and so many people at the gymnastics center!" Jessica squeals. She's wearing an obnoxious blue eyeshadow that makes her look like a wanna-be Cleopatra.
"There will be a lot of girls there" Alice says, "We'll get to do a bit of practicing on the Olympic apparatuses, and then we're heading off to another gym to do some more hardcore training."
"Bring it!" Lauren shouts as we run through the entrance.
"Come on, lets go girls!" Jessica yells, "Let's get done so we can see the Eiffel tower this afternoon and scope out the hot French boys!"
There is a lady waiting for us. She's wearing a red polo and khaki pants and she silently tells us to follow her. We're led to the competition floor and I think I feel a small prickle of tears in my eyes.
This is really happening. I'm at the Olympic games. Years of dreaming for this moment and now I'm here.
And I'm ready.
And I'm ready to kick this story off!
I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to drop me some feedback. For the record I'm not an Olympic athlete. I've been trying to do some research for this story though, so wish me luck. I do however, watch the Olympics. It's the only time I pay much mind to sports.