Double Flip
by SevenSparkles
Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge or anything related to it, etcetera, etcetera…you all know the drill…
A/N: I've read so many great modern-day MR fics (karadarlin's Crazy Love is amazing…I think that's the one that inspired me to write my own…along with a few others which I can't seem to think of the names of) that I decided to write my own. This one turns around the characters of Satine and Christian a bit, but also combines them…it will make more sense if you read it…there will be more to it, I just wanted to get this much out right now…enjoy!
The water trickled in glistening rivulets down the sun-tanned and muscle-toned back of Christian Anderson as he stepped out of the pool and walked over to the diving board. He climbed to the top, and waited for the signal from his coach, Harry Ziglani (who most of the team called Coach Z or Ziggy).
"Ok, Chris – I want a double front flip with a pike twist, got it?"
"Sure thing, Coach Z," replied Chris, nodding his head.
It wasn't really a difficult dive, in fact it was one of Chris's favorites. It was a beautiful dive, really, one that combined the skill of a double flip with the precision of a pike twist, which meant that the body went from curled up in a ball to straight as an arrow in one quick motion. Chris took a deep breath, and positioned himself for a powerful leap that would send him high enough in the air to be able to complete the dive without injuring himself. He let go of the bars on the side of the board and took the three necessary steps, and was in the air. He curled his head to his knees and turned twice round, then stretched his body out as far as he could, and twisted down, landing headfirst and with pointed toes in the water, providing only a small splash. The force of the dive took him down almost to the very bottom of the 14-foot pool, where he turned his body around and pushed his way back up off the floor. He burst through the water, shaking his head so that his jet black hair was out of his eyes, and looked, questioningly, at Coach Ziglani.
"The best one I've ever seen you do, Chris my boy! I think we've got ourselves a starter for Saturday's meet!" said Coach Ziglani, turning to face the whole team, who had stopped swimming to hear their coach's decision. The team cheered – maybe now they would finally win a meet! But there was one scowl among the sea of smiles. That scowl was coming from none other than Lucas "Duke" Monroe, the team captain.
Duke had been the main diver at all of the Chicago Junior Mustangs' previous meets. But now that this Chris Anderson guy had come to Chicago from – where was it again? Oh right, Minnesota – Duke was in his shadow; and he did NOT like it. He watched from his perch on the high dive as Coach Z gave Chris yet another difficult jump to do – and of course Chris was able to perfect it. But so could Duke. Duke could perfect any of the dives Chris was doing – maybe even better than Chris could! But of course all of Coach Z's attention was on the Minnesotan prodigy. Duke brushed his hand through his mop of sandy brown hair and let it fall back in front of his face. Well whatever Coach Z decided, Duke could always get his father to remedy that.
Duke's father worked in the Sears Tower and the Monroe family was quite well off. What ever Duke had wanted, he had gotten. And Duke had also always gotten the girls. But now…now he had Chris to compete with. Chris was the new guy – new meat for the girls to scope out, a new experience to try.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Addison is next – doors open on the left at Addison" came the mechanical voice of the L train guy. Sarah Diamond stood, pulling her long red locks into a simple ponytail and tucking the loose strands under her trusty Cubs baseball cap. Today was an interleague game - the Cubs were playing the Minnesota Twins. Sarah was a die-hard Cub fan, and had had to endure many jokes and jeers from her friends, especially Nina, who was an avid Sox fan. The rivalry between the two was always there, and if it ever went away, it resurfaced as soon as spring training began.
Sarah looked at the ticket in her hand…Row 236, Seat 7. It was an ok seat, not the best she'd ever had. The train came to a stop and Sarah stepped out onto the platform, from which see could see just across the street, her temple – Wrigley Field, standing tall and proud. She smiled to herself, which made her clear blue eyes sparkle in the afternoon sun. She walked down the steps and over to the ballpark, past the men shouting "Peanuts! Get your peanuts!…Score cards, score cards!" and the scalpers waiting to swoop down on unsuspecting Chicagoans. She walked over to one of the guys selling score cards and decided to buy one from him, seeing as he was selling them for one dollar as opposed to the three she would be charged for a score card inside the park. After purchasing the card (and pencil) she walked over to Gate F and went inside. The sound of the crack of a bat floated to her ears and she pushed through the ever-growing crowd out to where the seats were. She had arrived during batting practice, and was excited to see her favorite team out on the field preparing for the game. She walked up to her seat and sat down, setting her backpack down in front of her and opened the program/score card.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On the other side of the park, a tan boy with jet-black hair sat down to watch the game. His face was flushed, as if from vigorous training of some sort, and his skin smelled of chlorine. His blue-gray eyes scanned the park, and he noticed a red-headed girl sitting alone, intently watching the batting practice. She was wearing a Cubs had and seemed to be studying every movement and motion of the players on the field. She leaned over – to write something down, Chris guessed – at the same moment that Chris felt someone jump on his shoulders. He turned around and came face-to-face with a boy about the same age as him, albeit much shorter. "Hey Chris!" said the boy. "How's it goin' Henry?" asked Chris. Henry Laurence was a close friend of Chris's since moving to Chicago. Henry was a bit on the short side, and wore thick glasses, ones that could only be classified as "Coke-bottle" glasses. He carried with him his battered old sketchpad – Henry was something of an artist.
"It's goin' good," Henry responded.
"Good to hear…so you ready for the game?" asked Chris. Being from Minnesota, and a Twin fan, Chris was psyched about seeing his favorite team play in his new city.
Henry didn't get a chance to respond, because right at that moment, a foul ball whizzed past, nearly hitting him and landed in the glove of the guy standing behind them. "Nice catch!" Henry said, turning around to the person who caught the ball. But the guy who caught it was slumped over in his chair. Chris turned around to see the person as well, and laughed. "Juan, wake up!" he said, punching the guy on the shoulder. Juan Gonzales was narcoleptic, although he suffered from only a mild case. Within seconds of Chris's punch, he was awake.
"Chris my man!" said Juan. "Did I fall asleep again?"
"Yep," said Chris.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back on the other side of the stands, Sarah opened her backpack and pulled out a sheet of music, studying it carefully. Of course she knew the words to the national anthem, but she had to make sure the notes were correct. She had arrived at the ballpark like it was any other game, but it wasn't. She, Sarah Nicole Diamond, was going to sing the national anthem. She hadn't wanted to get all dressed up in fancy clothes (she was just wearing her old, worn Cubs cap that she'd had for what seemed like forever, and a pair of jeans and a Cubs jersey – number 17, Mark Grace, her favorite player; she was still a bit upset at his trade to the Diamondbacks) and she hadn't wanted to sit in a special seat, though it had been offered. She took one last glance at her music, and then put it back in her backpack, slung the bag over her right shoulder and walked down to the wall, looked out one last time at the park, and went underneath and out onto the field.
The stadium wasn't really filled with people that day, seeing as the Twins weren't really a major rival of the Cubs, but it was quite full just the same. She set her bag next to the wall and pulled her ponytail tighter, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ears. She took a deep breath and walked out to where the microphone was. She walked past the two lines of ballplayers, and took her place at the microphone. Before she could sing, however, one of the Cubs people had to make an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the National Anthem." Sarah watched in awe as the entire crowd stood and removed their hats in unison. She took one last breath and began to sing.
"Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free –" Sarah paused, drawing a breath "-and the home of the brave!" she sang out, her voice filling the stands, echoing all around her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chris gasped. She was amazing. Watching her before, he had gotten the idea that she was a timid girl, sort of boyish, who wouldn't be caught dead singing – much less in front of the kind of audience she sang for at the ballpark. He watched her as she exited the field, her long red hair pulled back into a low ponytail, sticking out from under her hat. She was, in all meanings of the word, beautiful.