AN: Never will I ever (within the next 5-7 year at least) own any TV show. Please enjoy my first Make it or Break it fic. I guess I'm a sucker for Kaylie "whumping" and any kind of coach/father like affection Sasha shows toward the girls.
"Good morning, ladies," Sasha Beloff bellowed from the balcony which overlooked his gymnasts and was right outside of his office. The entire gym halted, with everyone giving him their full attention.
"As some of you may know, we are holding an open house. It will be open to the public to bring in new gymnasts, as well as opportunities for scouts and agents. So brush up on your hardest tricks and perfect them, so we can show what The Rock is all about. Okay?"
A chorus of, "okays," sounded from below, and Sasha nodded with approval. "Get back to work."
Kaylie Cruz had never stopped concentrating on the move she was trying to perfect in order to match her Chinese competitor. She sprayed water on her grips and then dusted them with chalk, and began her routine on the bar. She did not notice that Sasha was walking over to study her, until she had already landed on her back on the mat.
Falling was something Kaylie never wanted to be used to. The smack of her back on the firm mat just encouraged her to stand up again and try even harder.
"Kaylie, I thought we talked about this," her coach's accented voice lectured.
"I've been conditioning more, I'm becoming more aerodynamic, I've got this. Don't worry. I'm the national champion, I need to be able to do this." It was true. Kaylie had been working out more at home, but also eating less. What she called healthy, may have been borderline anorexic behavior.
"As the national champion, you need to know your limits, and not to push them. You could be risking your career, you saw what happened with Payson."
She hated being compared to Payson. Kaylie rolled her eyes at him and tried the routine once more. Again, she ended up falling flat on her back, the wind getting knocked out of her.
Sasha noticed Kaylie's distress as she began trying to take deep and controlled breaths, and he rushed to her side. He supported her as she sat up and advised her to, "Take deep breaths."
Kaylie's minor injury sparked concern from Payson and Emily, and just plain curiosity from Lauren, and the three walked over to the uneven bars.
"Is everything alright over here?" Payson asked, about ready to kneel next to Sasha and Kaylie.
"She'll be fine," Sasha assured.
"I'm…fine," Kaylie breathed out as her pattern of breaths became regular and back to normal.
"Oh great. Wouldn't want the national champion to miss the open house. That would probably drive a lot of potential talented gymnasts with rich parents away from the gym." Lauren plastered a fake smile on her face and crossed her arms.
"Just get back to your training," Sasha demanded.
The girls walked away, Emily turning around and giving Kaylie a meek smile.
"Are you okay now?" Sasha asked Kaylie, helping her stand.
"I remember saying that I am fine." Kaylie walked back to the chalk, ready for another attempt.
"Maybe you should give it a rest for a little."
"No way, I'm going to debut this at the open house."
Sasha had had enough. He rubbed is hands down his face and sighed.
"Listen to me," He said, grabbing Kaylie's wrist before she could put her hand on the bars. "I am your coach. You must do what I say or you could get seriously hurt. This trick is the least of your worries, right now you should be focusing on keeping everything clean. Now, show me your standard routine, with every aspect perfect, and then we'll talk about introducing Genji Cho's skill another time."
Kaylie complied with Sasha, and sighed before beginning her uneven bars routine. However, while preparing, she began to feel dizzy and lightheaded, and stepped back. She blacked out, falling to the ground. As he watched all of it unfold, Sasha was glad that there was a mat beneath her.
"Kaylie!" Sasha called out, as he rushed to her side for the second time that day. He repeated the effort over and over to get her to wake up. This time, Kaylie's teammates ran over and knelt around her.
"What happened?" Payson demanded an answer.
"She just fainted, relax," Lauren quipped. Payson shot her a glare.
"Kaylie, come on," Sasha said as he shook her slightly. Most of the activity in the gym had stopped, and stares were being directed to the uneven bars.
Kaylie groaned and her eyes were slowly drawn open. Noticing everyone around her, she started to feel embarrassed and began to sit up. Sasha pushed her down before she could be fully sitting.
"Stay down," Sasha commanded. "What has gotten into you, Kaylie?"
"I don't know, but this is really embarrassing," she said with a slight rasp in her voice.
Sasha stood up and looked around. "The show's over, everybody. You all have other things that need attention, so get back to training." Everyone began to walk away, including Payson, Lauren, and Emily, but Sasha stopped them. "Not you three."
Kaylie sat up, supporting herself with her arms. Her palms were pressed into the mat behind her body.
"What's going on?" Payson asked as she sat down next to Kaylie and glanced at her worriedly.
"That's a very good question," Sasha sat across from Kaylie, and the other two girls mimicked him. "What is going on, Kaylie?"
"What?"
"Well normal people do not just black out," Sasha retorted.
"Coach Belloff, if I may?"
"Yes, Emily?"
"Well I've noticed Kaylie hasn't really been eating."
Sasha stared at Kaylie. "Is this true?"
"I eat, what are you talking about?"
"Is this because I told you Genji Cho can only do the trick because she is ten pounds lighter than you?"
"What else would it be about?" Lauren piped. "She's the only girl you took this long to compliment on weight."
"I wanted to nail it, I was willing to do anything," Kaylie admitted.
"You don't need to be on a crash diet to lose weight," Sasha assured.
"You do if you need it to be done quickly," Kaylie answered.
Payson put her hand on Kaylie's shoulder.
Sasha frowned. "We need to get you to see a medic, and then you need to eat a big lunch."
Payson and Emily helped Kaylie up. One of her hands immediately went to her head, as she was still feeling a little bit dizzy, and Sasha helped to steady her, and guide her into the training room. The three girls stayed behind, and talked about the situation further.
In the training room, Sasha got Kaylie situated on an inclining therapy table, and went to fetch the medic.
Always on duty, the medic determined that Kaylie had a slight concussion if at all from the fall, and just needed some nourishment and hydration. Sasha thanked him and handed Kaylie a waterbottle.
"Drink this. Lunch breaks in half an hour, would you rather stay in here, or sit out in the gym?"
"Gym. Definitely the gym." Kaylie was not into the idea of staying bored in the therapy room, watching girls getting their ankles wrapped and their knees taped. She'd rather be in the gym, concentrating on what she was going to do, and maybe even sneaking off to fix something she had noticed in her vault.
"Fine, but do not try anything, do you understand?"
Kaylie nodded.
"I know you understand, but the real question is if you'll listen to me for once." He helped her stand up and brought her out into the open gym, seating her on a padded bench meant for short five minute breaks. He shot her a stern glance before walking up the stairs to his office.
After twiddling her thumbs, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and turned her head to see her coach.
"I've called your parents. I told them everything and said I wanted you to stick the rest of the day out with some light training. They'll be worried when you get home, I can guarantee it."
"Thanks, I guess."
"And I brought you this." He pulled a granola bar out from his pocket. "This will hold you over until lunch."
She took it and slowly unwrapped it. Taking small bites, she felt Sasha's eyes watching her every move.
"Okay, now you're creeping me out."
"I'm worried about you, Kaylie. I don't know what's going on, but things like that should not happen under any circumstances, okay? If you're keeping this attitude up because of something going on at home, please confide in one of your teammates. Get it out of your system. Tomorrow I am not going easy on you, so be prepared to work." Sasha gave her a nod to reinforce what he had just said, and walked away to help his other Rock Girls train.
Twenty minutes later, lunch was called, and Emily, Lauren, and Payson walked over to Kaylie.
"Sasha said we have an hour, we're taking you out to eat. And no salad allowed," Payson said and grabbed her hands to stand her up.
They walked out of the gym after putting on sweats. Kaylie was surrounded by her friends (with the exception of Lauren) who she could confide in. She was determined that this would never happen again.
