It was early morning when I woke up. I slowly got out of bed, and opened my door. Thankfully the house was quiet. I used the bathroom and washed my face. The eyes that looked back at me in the mirror were that of a scared little girl. I needed to clear my head, and I knew the best way to do that was to go for a run. Granted this was earlier than I usually went for a run and it was still dark out, but I needed to get out of the house. Plus the extra conditioning would do me some good.
The sweat pouring down my back and the wind in my hair felt really good. Phoebe was running with me, and her tail was wagging a mile a minute. There were plenty of days I wished I was my dog. Wake up, eat, sleep, play with a ball, look cute, life would be so much easier. Instead I am worried about what my parents think of me, how stupid I was, and how am I going to make the Olympic team.
I broke then, squatting down on my knees and the tears flowing freely. The pressure of being super was getting to me. All my life I enjoyed doing gymnastics. The freedom of spinning in the air, being able to use my body to the fullest, feeling the power of my muscles whenever I do a power move brought joy to my heart. Slowly that joy was beginning to leave my heart. Each week the competition got harder. Each week Coach Mac would push us to our limits.
The truth was it wasn't the gymnastics competitions that were getting to me. I am this close to getting to the Olympics, to achieving my dream. It wasn't just my dream; it was my entire family's dream. I made my entire family uproot themselves from Minnesota to follow my dream. I made my parents risk my life on experimental surgery to follow my dream. I made them go practically into bankruptcy so I could continue my training. What happened if I failed?
At that thought I really broke down. I could barely breathe. I could barely hear Phoebe whining in the background. I was knocked out of my trance when I felt someone shaking me. I looked up and saw Sasha's worried blue eyes.
AN: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I just got really busy and wanted to start the Hope story.