[Author's Note: I thank all who leave reviews. Thanks to Carlea, I realized I forgot to write about Kaylie's and Colleen's dinner. I am including a flashback scene to make up for it. Enjoy!]
Colleen skills were improving by leaps and bounds for her standards, but it did not seem that way when compared to Payson or Jordan. "Got it, Coach Belov." Colleen said with a whole new drive to get this vault ready. She needed to change her ways and do it fast if she was ever going to get an Olympic gold.
Colleen waited until Sasha was in deep conversation with Jordan about her Double Illusion before taking a break. She had been working on her vault all morning, and it was not improving. Matters only got worse when Sasha started to work with her. She believed his temper was short due to being hungover. He snapped at her pretty quickly. Colleen would have been upset if it had not been for the dinner she had with Kaylie the night before.
"How do you work with him day in and day out?" Colleen broke the ice after they placed their order with the waiter. "Who Sasha? Believe me, it takes a while to get use to his style. I almost quit gymnastics when he started coaching because he pushed me just like he now pushes you. Gymnastics was not my main focus until I discovered the power within me. If it was not for Sasha, I would not have discovered that power. He cares about you, and that is why he pushes so hard; same with Coach Mac. One day, you will start to enjoy working with him." Kaylie explained as she stirred the fresh lemon juice into her ice water. "Really? Wow, I would have never thought. I mean you, Lauren, and Payson all have such a strong bond with Sasha, and Jordan is close with MacIntyre. I just feel left out, and it does not help that I am out here without my family." Colleen said in response. "It has only been one day; I am sure your bond with both coaches will grow. Your skills will improve with time and training. If you ever need help, ask me. I will be glad to extend a hand, and you are welcome to come to my dad's apartment if you feel lonely." Kaylie offered. "Thanks Kaylie!"
Kaylie watched as Sasha harped on Colleen. She knew that Colleen was struggling with dealing with the whole new atmosphere of the Rock and Sasha as her new coach. Sure, Jordan was in the same spot, but Jordan was a stronger and more advanced gymnast, who dealt with adapting to new situations her whole life due to being a foster child. Colleen came from a gym who did gymnastics more for fun than being competitive. The Rock was a whole new level even with experience from Olympic Training Camp. "Let me help you Colleen." Kaylie said as she left the practice beam and walked over to the pit that Colleen was vaulting into. Kaylie took a moment to gently stretch her legs before doing her Amanar. Vault was easily Kaylie's strongest event. Her legs moved swiftly as she approached the vaulting table. She entered the round off back spring before pushing off the table and rotating in the air. Kaylie was able to complete the two and a half twist with ease before landing feet first in the blocks of yellow and blue foam. With the feeling of doing the vault now in her body, Kaylie climbed out of the pit and stood next to Colleen. "Power and confidence, keep that in mind as you sprint down the runaway. Allow your body to glide through the air. The blind landing might seem scary, but your body is capable of handling it." Kaylie tried to help her teammate visualize before encouraging her to attempt the vault again. Colleen took in a deep inhale and exhaled before she started off running. She still was not hitting the full two and a half twists, but she was getting closer now that Sasha was no longer stressing her out. "Again" Kaylie encouraged with a giant smile on her face.
"What happened Pay?" Becca asked as she entered the trainer's office. Becca had just returned from the run that the assistant coach, Sarah took the lower level girls on. She was hoping to work with her big sister when she returned, but she was disappointed to find out her sister was injured. "Sasha spooked me during a tumbling pass." Payson said as she removed the bag of ice from her ankle. "Steve? Can I walk now?" Payson called. A head poked out from the cabinet he was taking inventory of. "If Becca helps you, and no training." he replied. Payson took that as a yes and swung her legs off the medical table. She picked up the bag of ice and turned around. "Come on Beccs, I may not be able to train, but that doesn't mean I cannot watch and help you. What is your group working on?" Payson asked as she limped into the gym. "We are starting on vault. I am perfecting my one and a half twist Yurchenko." Becca said with pride as they headed towards the group of junior elites working at the two main vaulting tables. Payson nodded as she remember learning how to do that skill on vault.
"I think it is time we upgrade your vault" Marty said to her one morning while they were stretching. "Really?" Payson said to make sure what she was hearing was true. "Yup. We will start on the tumble track to develop the skills you need." Marty replied. Payson was ecstatic to be learning a new skill. She hurried to finish her stretch out before heading to the annex where the tumble track was located. Vault was her strongest event, and she could not wait to get even stronger. Payson hopped across the tumble track like she did when she was a toddler. When she reached the other end, Pay turned around and spotted Marty watching her; a grin was planted on his face. "Looks like you were discovering your inner child." he commented. "There is no time for fooling around. I want to start working." Payson stated despite the fact that hopping like a rabbit across the tumble track was probably fooling around for a gymnast of her level.
[Author's Note: From this point on, time will start to speed up. Please leave reviews of where you want this to go.]