"Max. Maaaax. MAX. MAAAAAAX!" I jerked up in alarm & looked around. I was sitting in the front seat of moms mustang, & had a rather eager looking Ella leaning over me. "Okay, mom! She's still alive!" Ella confirmed. I glared at her, angry that she woke me up.
"You're brave Ells. I can't believe you just woke me up." I told her, closing my eyes again.
"Well.. Someone had to do it! Mom & I flipped a coin. I lost... Anyway.. WE'RE HERE MAX! We're in Parker, Arizona! Our house is right outside!" Ella exclaimed. That woke me up! I jerked up from my comfortable position in the front seat of the Mustang, & threw open the car door, with Ella following right behind me.
"Woah!" We said simultaneously. & woah was right. The house was gorgeous! It was three stories high made of deep red brick, with a high, white archway made of stone over the front door. There were perfectly clean, large glass windows framed by the same chalky white stone that the archway was made of. It sat upon a perfectly manicured lawn, wet with dew from the morning air. It was surrounded by a gorgeous, well kept flower bed, and sitting beside it was a gorgeous pool with water in it the color of the Caribbean. It was out in the country, & if you looked around you only saw gorgeous, amber pastures stretching across the hills.. The only other house in sight was a beautiful, two story house made of a pinkish color brick, & a balcony off the second floor. Our driveways were made completely of dirt, as were all of the roads reaching towards the highway. On the horizon you saw tons & tons of trees & the morning sun's rays just reaching over the top of them, turning the sky hues of pink, orange, & yellow. I'd never lived in the country before, but I definitely think I could learn to like it. It was gorgeous here!
"Oh my goshhhh!" Ella squealed. She jumped up & down, excitedly clapping her hands. "Mom! Can we go in? PLEASE?" Mom shook her head, while smiling to herself.
"Yes.. You can go in!" She said. Ellas face lit up even more & she ran towards the front porch, up the steps, & without a seconds hesitation, flung open the door to explore. Mom & I laughed at her eagerness.
"Okay Maxi. You're rooms on the second floor. Do your best to start unpacking. We have A LOT of boxes to unpack before your ASC tryouts tonight. Hopefully we'll make some progress. Go pick out your outfit for tryouts & make SURE you're ready on time. We can not be late for this." She instructed me. I smiled at her & took a shaky breath.
"I'm nervous.." I admitted. My mom smiled at me gently, & replied,
"Honey.. You're so talented, hardworking, & charismatic. There's no way you won't make it. Don't doubt yourself for a second. Just remember.. Don't let success get to your head-"
"-Or failure to your heart," I finished, unintentionally wrapping my hand around my locket from Carson. It gave me a surge of hope. I could do this. I'd come too far not to. I just prayed that I could land my full as I did yesterday. Then I'd be okay. I pursed my lips, gave my mom a hug, & then walked towards the house, ready to start unpacking.
Later that night I was standing in my room, looking around. I'd gotten quite a bit accomplished. I'd gotten all of my clothes, folded, put up in my dresser, or closet, gotten my bed made, & had my TV mounted on my wall. I looked in my full length mirror on my closet door. I was wearing a red shirt, with a white figure in a back bend on it. On the back in white lettering it said my favorite quote, often found on my Tshirts. "If tumbling was easy it'd be called football." I wore black spandex that had 'Nike Pro Combat' written across the band, with black Nike socks inside my white, light as air, A6 shoes. My long blonde hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with my bangs braided back into it with a red ribbon with white polka dots. I only wore a small amount of mascara, & some lipgloss to show the judges & coaches that I was at least trying to look decent for them. I took a really deep breath. I could do this. I could do this. I could do this. I could do this. My deep green eyes stared back at me, filled with determination. "Don't let success get to your head, or failure to your heart."
Let me tell you something. South California Power Tumbling is a NICE gym. It's incredibly big & is gorgeous. But not a thing about SCPT prepared me for All Star Company. It was three stories tall, made completely of glass, with gorgeous flowerbeds, a huge parking lot, & a large fountain beside it. I gasped in sight of it, as did Ella & my mom. "I have a feeling we're not in California anymore..." Ella said. My mom & I started laughing at her Wizard of Oz reference.. & I loosed up a bit. I was so incredibly nervous. I opened the car door, & started for the gym.
I opened the large glass door, & felt a burst of cool air as I walked inside. There was a huge, blue, spring floor, a long runway, a beam, a large carpeted spot, for working on jumps, bleachers for the audience, mats for beginners, a row of trampolines, a winding stair case leading upstairs, & a row of water fountains. But the most amazing thing about the gym was that the walls were mirrors. Everywhere you looked you saw your reflection. On the wall in red & blue (ASC colors) the gym quote was written. It said "You cannot perfect your flaws if you are too blind to first see them." I looked around at all the mirrors & smiled to myself. I think I'm going to like it here. There wasn't many people here, I was twenty minutes early. I wanted to be able to stretch, & throw a few tumbling passes before tryouts. & most of all I wanted to stick my full. I walked out onto the blue mat & slid into the splits, counting to ten, then switching to my left leg. I then adjusted into a straddle & stretched to the left, then the right, then to the middle, all for ten seconds. I did some ankle, & wrist stretches & then stood up from the floor. I did a couple of front, & back walk overs, gracefully. & then walked to the corner of the mat.
I decided to warm up with three & a back. Which was three back handsprings, & then a back flip. I ran, bounced into my round off, whipped through three handsprings that we're long & stretched out & rebounded out of the third one, up into the air, tucking my legs to my chest, flipping backwards, & then landing gracefully on my feet. I smiled to myself, breathing hard. I walked over to the corner & decided to do flick back two & a back. (A back handspring, a back, two backhandsprings, & then another back). I tumbled through that, powerfully, & with ease. Then I did a layout. After I felt pretty warmed up, I decided to try my full. I took a deep breath from the corner of the spring floor... I had to get this! I rocked back, & then ran into my round off, mustering as much power as I possibly could, bounding out of it, tightening all my muscles, using my abs, to tuck & twist in the air. I made a full rotation & landed on my feet. YES! I had it. I felt a lot of weight being lifted off my shoulders. I wasn't near as nervous for my audition now. I smiled to myself. Then I went & sat down on the bottom bleachers taking a large drink of my smart water. "Thats not gonna make you any smarter, you know that right?" A deep voice said from behind me. I whirled around, my eyes narrowed.
"You WOULD know. You've probably tried everything you can to get some help." I snapped. Then I realized he was cute. Really cute. More than cute.. He was incredibly hot. He has shaggy black hair, that swept across his forehead. He had a sharp jawline, deep obsidian eyes filled with surprise at my comeback, & a blinding white smile. Like seriously, this dude needs to go on a toothpaste commercial. He smirked, & chuckled quietly. "What are you laughing at!" I asked him, annoyed. Who did this guy think he was?
"Oh just your shirt. What a cute little saying." He said, raising his eyebrows. My mouth drop open.
"EXCUSE ME?" I exclaimed. "Get your butt out there on that floor, drop into the splits, do five flips, & one hundred jumps & THEN tell me gymnastics isn't hard." I said, glaring at him.
"Please. You wouldn't last five minutes in a football practice." He snorted. I raised an eyebrow.
"You run into people. You throw & catch a ball. & you act stupid. Hmmm. Actually I'd just rather spend my time doing something more challenging & time worthy. Thanks though." I said angrily. "What are you doing here anyways!" I wondered aloud.
"My sister does gymnastics. She's going to tryout for the mini tots. Trust me I have no interest in being here, but if it makes Angel happy then why not?" He said, his eyes softening as he talked about his little sister. I looked over to the cheese mat where the most adorable little girl was doing her back handspring. She looked nothing like him. She had a ringlet of blonde hair & caribbean blue eyes. I smiled at her. She was so cute.
"Well I hope she makes it." I said flatly. "See you later." He winked one of his dark eyes at me & gave a tiny nod of his head. What an egotistical jerk. Make that a CUTE egotistical jerk. I rolled my eyes at the thought of him & made myself concentrate. I couldn't let myself get distracted because of some guy. This was my moment. Everything I'd worked for. We even moved for it. By this time there was A LOT of people in the gym. All the girls from last year wore their ASC sports bras & spandex. I wanted so bad a pair of my own.
All of a sudden a woman stepped onto the gym floor with a clipboard. She had golden hair pulled back into a ponytail, pale blue eyes, & bright red lipstick. I knew immediately that it was Tammy Nunley, the main coach at ASC. The gym quieted down. "Welcome everyone. I'm so happy you could make it today," She began. "Before we start, I need to bring something to all of your attention. Joining the All Star Company is a big commitment. You will have to put a lot of time and dedication into it. We practice & train four days a week, for three hours. If you are not ready to give up A LOT of your free time for this I suggest you walk out the door and don't try out. Because you would be taking someone else's spot who really wanted it! With that said, let's begin. We'll start with the senior squad. First up Katie Ridgevan!" She said, walking to the table centered at the front of the blue spring floor & taking her place between two men. I knew they were also both coaches here.
A girl went up there & began with standing tumbling. She threw a backhand spring back tuck. Everyone clapped. She did good! She then walked to the corner of the mat & took a deep breath. Then she ran & dove into her round off, whipping into a back handspring, did a step out, a front walk over, another back handspring & then a back tuck. Everyone clapped & you heard some people muttering "wow!" She was an incredibly graceful & good tumbler. She then walked to the center for jumps. She did a combination, a toe touch, a herkey, & a hurdler. They weren't incredibly high, but they were definitely good. She landed clean, bouncing up & down, her ponytail shaking. She then smiled & waved, walked off the mat. Everyone applauded her.
The judges finished scribbling down notes & scores & then Tammy announced, "& next we have Maximum Ride!" I inwardly gasped. So soon! I stood & tried to walk as confidently as I could to the center of the floor. I shifted from foot to foot & then flashed them a big smile. Carson flashed through my mind. I had to do this for him. "You may begin." Tammy said. I knew I had to top the last girls standing tumbling. I was especially good at standing, so I decided to wow them. I did two toetouches & a standing back tuck. The gym was quiet for a second & then everyone cheered. The younger, guy judge smiled as he wrote down on his clipboard. I then strutted to the edge of the mat & felt myself breathing hard. I had a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach. I was so nervous.. This was it. My full. I'd be working on it just for this moment. I took a deep breath & dove into my round off, bounded out of it & the whole world seemed to slow down. I was so high in the air, I tensed all my muscles, tucked my arms to my chest, & spinned, then landing cleanly in my feet. It was the best I'd ever done. I stood there for a second, breathless. The gym wend wild! Everyone clapped & cheered & the judges were quickly scribbling on their boards. I then walked to the middle of the floor, breathless. Then I surprised everyone with one of the most difficult combination jumps ever. I had to show off my jumps because they were my best. I did a pike, left hurdler, left herkey, toe touch, right herkey, right hurdler, & another pike, whipping through all of them. "WOAH!" I heard someone in the crowd say. I stood there, breathing extremely hard. The whole gym was cheering. Tammy then stood & nodded smirking slightly. "Thank you. Thank you very much.." She said. I smiled at her & walked off the floor. My heart was beating a million miles a minute. All I could think about was calling Carson when I got home. I went to pick up my bag & my water bottle & that obnoxious guy was still there.
"Hey.. You're pretty good." He told me, with a smirk I'm sure he gives a ton of girls.
"Thanks.." I said as I turned to start walking towards the door.
"Hey! I don't think I ever caught your name." He called after me. I stopped & looked over my shoulder, smiling slightly at him.
"Max. Maximum Ride." I said simply.
"Nice to meet you Max, I'm Fang!" He said, winking one of his dark eyes at me. I raised an eyebrow & smirked at him. Then I turned & walked towards the door.
***Author Note. REEEAAAD. Okay guy.. So some of this gymnastics/cheerleading stuff might get a little confusing for some of you who don't know what it is. If you have any questions just PM me or review and I'll answer your questions. Some of the jumps are tumbling passes might be kind hard to understand, so I'd be glad to let y'all now if you're confused! Okay, so we got to see Fang in this chapter! *swoons* Isn't he just gorgeous? He might be a little OCC but he has to be to play his character. I also want to apologize a lot for the delay on this chapter. I will be trying to update the next chapter as soon as possible to make up for the extra time the last chapter took me. Dumb Vacation. R&R!