I opened the door to the locker room and went in to change. Unfortunately it wasn't the locker room at The Rock. I was getting ready for gym class. Which was the bane of my existence. It's not like the physical exercise was bad. I mean, come on I am an elite gymnast so it's not like I'm not in shape. I hated this class because Morgan was in this class with me and Morgan was still a bitch. I swear if she could do actual gymnastics then she would rival Lauren or Kelly in the bitch department. Morgan never got over Kaylie and Lauren showing her up and even though I haven't worn the brace in months she still refers to me as "back brace girl."
Heather and I were sitting in the bleachers, talking about Heather's latest club crisis. As we were talking we saw Morgan and her cronies walked up to us.
"Payson Keeler, 2008 National Silver Medalist making a comeback after what was thought to be a career ending injury at the 2009 US Nationals, how sweet," Morgan sneered as she threw down a magazine at my feet. With just one look I noticed it was the edition of Inside Gymnastics that had my interview in it. It was the interview I had done over a month ago in April. It came out on Wednesday and it didn't even cross my mind that people at school would see it but seeing it thorough Morgan's eyes made me cringe.
"So back brace girl doesn't just have circus freak friends she's a circus freak herself."
"Where did you get that Morgan?"
"My younger sister is in gymnastics, she trains at Denver Elite."
That figures I thought.
"So you're a has been who is trying to get her glory days back, is that why you seem to think you can do a better round off back handspring than me?"
"I know I can do it better."
"Oh really, what about making a bet?"
"What do you mean?"
"I bet I can do a better tumbling pass than you, and when I win you have to be the cheerleading squad's water girl all next year."
"It's a bet," I said standing up, "but when I win you have to stop calling me back brace girl and being nasty to me."
"Deal."
"So we will do it on Tuesday at lunch right out front so the school can be the judge."
"Great."
We shook on it and with one last nasty look Morgan walked away with her posse.
"Payson," Heather said as I sat back down.
"Do you really think this is a good idea? What if Morgan does skills that are a higher level than you are cleared for."
"I seriously doubt Morgan could do C level skills plus tomorrow I have an appointment so I might be at D level by Tuesday and I am really tired of taking peoples crap," I said with an eye roll.
"Well her sister is a gymnast and maybe she will teach Morgan some harder stunts."
"Not likely," I shrugged, "she wouldn't be able to learn how to throw those skills in one weekend and when I started here she couldn't cleanly land a round off back-handspring."
"Just be careful."
"Don't worry." The gym teacher came in then and we had to stop our conversation.
After school I went to The Rock for practice. I went to the locker room to change into my leo and then went out to the floor to find Sasha. He was busy with some of the guys so I looked for the girls. Lauren was practicing her beam routine. Sasha was having her work on getting her Arabian double front for the Texas meet that the girls get to go to. Kaylie was on the beam next to her and Emily was watching.
"Hey, how was school today," Emily asked when she saw me come up beside her.
"Don't ask," I said, rolling my eyes.
"That good huh Pay," Kaylie asked turning around to look at me.
"Remember that girl you and Lo snubbed with an elite level tumbling pass on my first day of school? Well she has never exactly warmed up to me and she saw my magazine article and gave me crap and she bet me that she could do a better tumbling pass than me."
"Why are you worried, it should be a snap to beat her as long as all her tumbling skills are C level and below but if she can't do a round off back-handspring then I'm guessing she can't do C level." Emily said while giving me a confused look.
"You better hope Sasha doesn't find out, he'll freak if he knows you're doing gymnastics outside the gym," Kaylie warned me, "Do you want to work in on the beam?"
"Yea, I do and yes that is why I am worried, but I seriously doubt that Sasha is going to all of a sudden show up at my school."
Kaylie did her triple layout dismount off the beam and I got on. As I walked to the other side of the beam to set up my flight series I saw Lauren getting ready for her dismount. I stopped to watch, she had been working on a double Arabian front, and she had landed in once but was having a harder time landing it than Kaylie or I did. She started off strong but then she over rotated and fell on her butt. She looked over at us and she got up and ran off to the locker room.
"Is she ok," I asked.
"Not really," Emily whispered.
"What's wrong?"
"Sasha got an email from Marty and the Committee saying the team order on events, she is only doing 2 events and that's the least amount out of everyone on the team. Emily and I each only have 3 events, so she isn't the only one. We figure it's the politics. They are punishing us for the China meet. Lo is worried she will never be considered as an all around threat now," Kaylie said.
"Poor Lo."
"Yea I know," Emily said.
"Hey Pay when is your bet taking place,"Kaylie asked.
"Tuesday at lunch."
"Would you like us to be there to support you," asked Kaylie, we could take our lunch break then."
"I would really appreciate it if you guys did," I smiled.
"Well then we will be there to support you," said Kaylie, "but you better start practicing Sasha I on his way over."
"Payson," Sasha called, "I need to speak with you."
Sasha walked over to the beam I was working on.
"Since you are taking tomorrow off to see your physical therapist and the gym will be closed Monday for Memorial Day I expect you to work hard today so no more gossiping with Kaylie and Emily."
"Ok Sasha, but you know if I was back to training full time I would be able to get in all the practice I need."
"Get back to work Payson," Sasha smirked with an eye roll.
With that Sasha walked away and I started working on some back flips.
The next morning I woke up to get ready for my 8am appointment with my physical therapist. I took a shower and blew dry my hair straight. I got dressed in a pair of flared jeans and a light purple tank top. I grabbed my Rock warm up jacket and headed out the door. Mom and I drove to the therapist building and went inside. An hour later Mom and I came back out. I was so excited I had gotten the ok to train D level, which was great because a lot of my old routines had D skills in them, along with E's and Super E's which meant I was getting really close to my old level. Mom and I got in the car and drove home.
We got home and Mom asked me to drive Becca to the airport in Denver after lunch because she was going to stay with Dad for a week. After lunch we packed Becca's suitcase in the back of the SUV. I got into driver's seat and we drove off. We got to the airport and I helped Becca get her ticket and check her luggage. She got into the security line and I stayed until she got through and waved goodbye to her. I got back into the car and sat back in my seat trying to decide if I was going to go to Denver Elite to tell Marty where he can stick his offer. He probably only wants me because my comeback will bring a lot of publicity, I was a big deal before my accident but an elite gymnast who suffered a career ending injury making a comeback is major news. Plus I could never train with Kelly Parker. I don't think I could leave The Rock. I need the girls and Sasha. I put the SUV in reverse and headed towards the highway.
*Nicky's POV*
I was standing by the high bar waiting for my turn. I turned to the chalk box and put on my grips. As I put my hands into the chalk I looked up and saw Kelly Parker staring at me and I knew she was thinking of a new way to annoy me. I had left The Rock to get away from drama and came to a different kind of drama at Denver. At The Rock all of the drama had to do with girls: his feelings for Payson, the weird moments with Kaylie and Lauren blackmailing me. The drama at Denver all comes from the fact that I am from The Rock. The girls, especially Kelly, like to grill me about the girls at The Rock. Not one day goes by without Kelly trying to get dirt or insinuate my relationships with the girls.
I'm not really sure which drama is worse, or if it was a good idea for me to come to Denver. I think I miss The Rock, which doesn't surprise me. I trained at The Rock for over 8 years. I started when I was 10, right after Lauren, Kaylie and Leo started. We have all grown up together. Carter, Leo, Tony and I had trained at the same levels together for years. The girls were over a year and a half younger than me so I had always thought of them as younger sisters. They were really like a family, they had all gone through their awkward fazes of braces and pimples together. Since they had stopped going to public school in elementary or middle school The Rock had become their high school. For most gymnasts the only socializing they did was with their teammates. He didn't get the family feelings at Denver, probably because Denver Elite and The Rock were fierce rivals so they haven't exactly welcomed him with open arms. It didn't endear him to his new teammates when he became the #1 male.
It was my turn on the high bar. The assistant coach helped me up and I grabbed the bar. As I started my routine I saw that Kelly and her clones were headed my way. I put them out of my mind while I did my routine. I dismounted and saluted. I looked over to see Kelly and the others standing in a line.
"So how is Kalicky," Kelly asked with a sneer. The other girls giggled.
I just gave her a look and didn't say anything. I stepped off the mat and started taking my grips off.
"Aw, are their problems in paradise. Or maybe you and Kaylie are just together for the publicity. Maybe you actually like somebody else like that bitch Lauren."
I inwardly cringed. This is why I think I am regretting my decision to come here.
"No I don't think Lauren's your type. Maybe you have the hots for Ms. Trailer Trash, the boys do seem to like her, and no I don't think you would like her either. I know who it is…"
I felt my body tighten, knowing what about to come.
"Payson, poor broken Payson. Am I right," She asked as I started to walk away towards the floor.
"What the hell is she doing here," I heard Kelly saying behind me.
I turned around and saw Payson. She was walking across the floor to Marty. She said something to him and he gestured to his office and they went in.
Kelly's attention was now on Payson so I walked over to the trampoline to work on some moves. I started jumping and my body went into autopilot while I let my mind wander. What was Payson doing here? I seriously doubt she would want to coach here when he knew she had a standing offer to coach at The Rock. Of course last time he knew she didn't want to coach, she saw it as a poor second to competing and just couldn't do it. He can't blame her on that though, he would feel the same way but maybe she changed her mind.
He couldn't believe she is here. She was one of the reasons he decided to leave the gym but she was also the biggest reason he missed The Rock. The only problem is that even if he went back it's not like he would be with Payson every day, since her back injury she didn't come to the gym every day. He had hoped along with her that she would be able to come back, but doctor after doctor said no.
Then there was Kaylie. They had those weird moments at the Open House and Valentine's Day but she wasn't Payson. Payson was the person he thought about all of the time. On Valentine's Day when he and Kaylie agreed that nothing was going to happen between them it didn't bother him at all but earlier that day when Payson told him she was dating a guy at school he was really hurt. Of course when he talked to her that night he found out she wasn't really seeing that guy and he told her he wasn't seeing Kaylie but it still hurt to think about it. Kaylie was a great, beautiful girl but he didn't think they had anything in common except being stubborn, elite gymnast from wealthy families. He and Payson had lots of things in common and not just gymnastics. They liked the same music. When they had time to watch movies they both loved old movies from the 1930's and 40's like Casablanca, they loved that TV station Turner Classic Movies. They were also closeted Dancing with the Stars fans. He loved just spending time with Payson and missed her a lot. Seeing her always made him happy. He felt Kaylie was a good friend but that's it and he was pretty sure she felt the same way about him.
I saw Marty's office door open. Payson and Marty walked out and shook hands. Payson turned and started to walk towards the door. Without really thinking first I jumped off the trampoline and ran to catch up to Payson.
"Payson," I called. She didn't stop. I ran again so I could get in front of her.
"Hey Pay, didn't you hear me call your name?"
"Oh, sorry Nicky, I was thinking," said Payson whose cheeks were red.
"No problem," I said rubbing the back of my neck, "so how is your back doing? When did you get your brace off?"
"My backs great, I got the brace off in March."
"So how's school going," I asked trying to think of something more interesting to say.
"It's fine, exams are Thursday and Friday then I'll be done for the summer."
"That's great, so what are you doing here? Did Marty offer you a coaching job?"
"Uh no, it was nothing," " Payson said slowly looking down and blushing, "I needed to drop Becca off at the Denver airport so Sasha asked if I would bring something over to Marty."
"So are you coaching at The Rock now," I asked, still confused.
"No," Payson said looking confused, "Nicky don't you know I'm…" Payson stopped midsentence, her cheeks bright red again.
"Don't I know what?"
"I've got to go," Payson said turning towards the door.
"But Pay, what were you going to say to?"
"It doesn't matter Nicky, it was good to see you," Then Payson opened the door and was out of sight.
*Payson's POV*
I ran out of the gym without looking behind me. I got back into the car and started it and left the parking lot. As I got on the highway I began to think. Why didn't I tell Nicky the truth? I hated lying but I thought it would be for the best. It would really hurt if I told him and he didn't care. Plus with me back I think its better we both concentrate on our careers right now. Besides he will eventually find out, just not from me.
I got up Tuesday morning and started to get ready for the day. I stood in front of my closet, deciding what to wear. It needed to be something that I could tumble in but was appropriate for school, so that left out any leotards or warm-ups. I picked a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a purple tank top and I grabbed my Rock jacket. I kissed my mom goodbye and went out to Heather's car.
The morning went really fast I felt like I just sat down to homeroom when the lunch bell rang. Heather, Ike and I walked to the grass out in front of the school. A crowd was already forming. I took off my jacket and started stretching. I heard a horn honk behind me and I looked over to see Lauren, Kaylie and Emily get out of Lo's car. They walked over to us.
"Thanks for coming guys."
"Hey that's what teammates are for," Kaylie said.
"Do you know what you are going to do," Emily asked.
"Yea, I'm going to do a round-off, back handspring, layout, step out full twisting layout," I saw the look on their faces, "I know, but I think I will be fine, I have done a full twisting layout at practice and landed it since I've been back."
"If you're sure Pay," Lauren said shaking her head.
"Are you ready Keeler," I heard a snide voice say behind me.
I turned around to see Morgan and I nodded.
"I'll go first," Morgan said. I shrugged. Then she turned to the crowd. "Ok everybody; you're judging this by applause, so clap hard for the one who is the best."
She walked over to the grass to find a clear space to tumble in. She found it and turned towards me.
"Beat this Keeler."
She started her run and did a front handspring, aerial walkover, round-off, back handspring, back tuck. Her landing was not clean; she had to take a huge step. All of her fellow cheerleaders clapped loudly for her, they rest of the crowd applauded politely.
I turned towards my friends.
"You can do this Pay," Kaylie said, holding out her fist for me to bump. All of my friends cheered for me as I walked to the same place Morgan had started from. I took a deep breath and started to run I went into my round off, back handspring, layout, step out full twisting layout. As I went into my full twisting I realized I didn't have enough height to do the full twist so I only did a half twist. I landed and nobody, well except the girls, knew that I changed anything. I got a huge round of applause. Morgan looked shocked and stormed back into the school. I went over to my friends and while Ike was giving me a hug I heard a horribly familiar voice behind me.
"Payson Keeler was in bloody hell do you think you're doing," Asked an angry British man's voice. I slowly turned around to face the person the voice came from.
A/N: I know, I know yet again I took way too long to get another chapter out. But at least this chapter is really long, next chapter I'll try to be quicker. So yes we see Nicky again this chapter. We also see Morgan; it annoyed me in the show that Payson never got the chance to show her up so I wanted her to. As a matter of fact after the episode where Payson starts school we never see her again so I decided to put her in. I hope you enjoyed it and PLEASE REVIEW, it makes me happy!
