Here ya go, another piece of writing for you to devour before I sadistically take another 30+ days to submit something new! :D
All feedback appreciated!
Lara's eyes left the beam.
Her eyes never left the beam, especially in the middle of a flip when maintaining focus was of paramount importance. And yet…
There she was completely inverted, her legs parallel to the beam, and instead of keeping her full attention on the beam to make sure she stuck the landing, she let her attention be grabbed by something else. About five meters away, Catherine and Brittany whispered to each other with derisive smirks on their faces. For what purpose, though?
Her foot landed on the edge of the beam, and she fell in spite of her flailing-arm attempts to regain her balance. Red-faced, her pride hurting about as much as her knee and ankle, she blew her bangs out of her eyes and clambered onto her feet just in time to witness Catherine and Brittany laughing at her.
"Lara!" Her coach barked, "Come here for a moment!" Resisting the urge to scowl at Catherine and hurl some choice profanity her way, Lara instead nodded obediently and sauntered shamefacedly over to where the coach stood.
"Something wrong, coach?" She asked when she made it over.
"I should be asking you the same thing," the coach snapped, adopting a gentler tone when she saw Lara wince, "your form is normally flawless. What happened there?"
"I just…" Lara stammered, "I guess….I just lost focus."
"Any reason why in particular?" The coach inquired. Lara merely shook her head in response. "Then get it together! I didn't make you an all-around competitor for inconsistency! If I see another fall like that, I'm pulling you out of practice before you get yourself hurt. Understand?"
"Yes coach…" Lara mumbled.
"Then get back to it," the coach said before walking off to go check up on some of the other gymnasts' progress. Lara stared after her for a few moments before letting out a soft sigh and shuffling her way back over to the beam, her shoulders sagging in defeat.
"What was that about?" Came Lexie's voice from behind, and Lara turned her head to see the former making her way over from the vault.
"It was nothing," Lara replied as nonchalantly as she could, drawing herself up to full height and squaring her shoulders to give off a false air of confidence.
"You sure about that?" Lexie prodded uncertainly.
"Of course," Lara assured her, "I just had a fall and the coach was making sure I was okay."
"You? Have a fall?" Lexie blinked in surprise. All Lara could do was give a weak smile in response.
"Happens to the best of us," she remarked at length.
"Still," Lexie said, "I'm kind of upset I missed such a rare spectacle." That was enough to draw a chuckle out of Lara.
"I'll have to make sure you're watching the next time I wipe out, then," she said as she reached down to stretch out her legs, which had long since gotten tight.
"So," Lexie began, "you excited about the upcoming competition?"
"Hm?" Lara murmured absentmindedly, her attention once more being seized by Catherine and Brittany, who both smiled falsely back at her when they caught her looking.
"They're such cunts," Lexie spat, her eyes following Lara's, "I wonder what they're planning that they look so pleased with themselves?" She scrunched her nose up in disgust.
"I don't know, but it's been bothering me, too," Lara admitted.
"You'd think they'd back down after Catherine's surprise nose job, y'know?" Lara's stomach turned as she recalled the sensation of flesh crunching beneath her fist.
"Too soon," she grumbled.
"Don't tell me you actually feel bad?" Lexie asked incredulously.
"I don't," Lara stated simply, "but it's not like I meant to do it, either."
"You can't deny it was pretty great, though," Lexie sniggered, only stopping when she caught the look on Lara's face. "Right. Sorry. I won't talk about it anymore." There was a brief pause. "You never answered me earlier, though."
"About what?" Lara responded in the most polite tone she could in spite of her sudden growing desire for the practice to be over so she could lose herself in a good book.
"The competition!" Lexie exclaimed, "Aren't you excited about being the only first year to compete?"
"On one hand, yes. On the other hand, I wish I didn't have to compete with Catherine…" Lara remarked dryly.
"It's not like you have to interact with her or anything," Lexie pointed out.
"No," Lara conceded, "but I know for a fact she's going to be out for revenge when I score higher than her."
"Confident, are we?" Lexie grinned, "I approve. It's not like you're wrong, either. Everybody knows you're a better gymnast."
"Everybody?" Lara stared at her in disbelief, "Then why did they vote for Catherine during our first week? Remember that?"
"Well…" Lexie began before her features morphed into an expression of pure horror, and she pointed at something behind Lara, "Uh-oh…" Lara turned to see what Lexie was pointing at and saw Paige making her way over to them.
"Shit…" Lara hissed under her breath.
"Hey guys," Paige said in a neutral tone when she finally came to a stop in front of them, "I couldn't help but notice you two standing here chatting, and Lara I don't want you to get in trouble and be banned from competing next week, so...just make sure you get back to practicing. Alright?" Lara and Lexie both blinked in surprise and exchanged a look with each other.
"Yeah, sure," Lexie said at length, "thanks for the heads up."
"No problem," Paige replied with a small smile before returning to her station to continue practicing. Not even a minute after she left, Lara saw the coach walk over to where Catherine and Brittany still whispered to each other and start shouting at them.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Lexie asked as they both watched the scene unfold.
"That Paige is responsible?" Lara responded, looking over to the third sense with a newfound sense of respect for her.
"But why though?" Lexie wondered aloud.
"Because she's not a power-crazed tyrant like Catherine?" Lara offered, drawing a snort out of Lexie.
"Maybe," Lexie shook her head with a smirk still adorning her features. "Whatever her motivation is, we should probably heed her warning before the coach yells at us next."
"That would probably be best," Lara agreed, stepping up to the beam and preparing to mount it once more.
In spite of a rocky start, Lara felt as though the practice had ended on a relatively good note. The coach had, at least, thrown some praise her way after her earlier admonishment, and watching Catherine and Brittany get chewed out had a way of lifting one's spirits. The only problem was those two didn't seem to be even remotely perturbed; they looked as smug and self-satisfied as ever.
Lara only wished she knew for what reason.
Catherine and Brittany were definitely planning something, that much was certain. But just what, exactly? Frowning pensively, she entered the locker room where most of her other teammates had already congregated, and sure enough, there were Catherine and Brittany at the other end, wearing the same false smiles as earlier. Paying them as little mind as possible, she made an immediate beeline for her locker with the intention of emptying its contents and putting distance between herself and the two captains as quickly as possible.
"I wish they would stop smiling like that already," Lexie whispered beside her, "it's seriously giving me the creeps."
"The only thing giving me the creeps is not knowing why they're doing it," Lara said as she began to put in the combination to her lock.
"You still have those photos, right?" Lexie asked uncertainly.
"Of course," Lara assured her as she pulled her locker open, "it's the only real leverage I have against those two." Lexie let out a sigh of relief.
"Then we shouldn't have anything to worry about, right? ...Lara?"
Lara wasn't even listening to her at that point. There, taped to the back of her locker, was an old newspaper article dating back to 2004. Headlining its yellow pages were the words: Disgraced! Renowned Historian's Wild Claims Debunked. Emblazoned next to it was a picture of her father's face.
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