Reaching The Summit (TNT Force Cheer #2)

by Dana Burkey

  “Finally, I caught you,” he grinned, walking over and wrapping me in a big and sweaty hug.

  “What was that for?” I asked with a smile on my face as he finally let me go.

  “Just a little congrats on making it onto Fuze,” he explained. “Texting isn’t the same as a hug.”

  “True,” I agreed. “I don’t get your sweat all over me in a text.”

  “Sorry about that,” he laughed.

  “It’s okay, I’m sweaty from tumbling too,” I assured him.

  “Connor, let’s go,” Leanne called out then, shooting me a glare from where she stood at the open gym door.

  “On my way,” he said to her before turning back to give me one final hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “See ya,” I said giving him a wave before climbing onto my bike.

  Despite Leanne’s judging looks and even her annoying comments about me joining Fuze, nothing could dampen my mood. I was doing some awesome new tumbling passes, I was going to get to skip curling my hair after getting it cut with Tonya, and Connor went out of his way to congratulate me. As simple as it was for Connor to make sure to talk to me before I left the gym, it still made me feel really special for some reason. It helped the ride home fly by, even after spending the evening working out with Greg.

  “Like, how short is short?” Halley asked me as we sat putting on our shoes at the start of Blast practice on Thursday night. I had already been at the gym for over an hour working on choreography for the Fuze routine, but that practice time was just with Tonya. When I delivered the news to my friends once they arrived, they were instantly freaking out about it way more than I thought they would.

  “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Just shorter than how it is now. That way I can just put half of it up for competitions and all that.”

  “Are you getting like layers or highlights or like an angle or anything?” Lexi asked, her face lit up at the idea of my hair makeover.

  “No idea.”

  “Tonya isn’t telling you anything?” Halley tried again.

  “I didn’t really ask her,” I admitted. “She just said we were going Saturday morning at 10:30. That’s all I know.”

  “I would be freaking out if I was you,” Anna chimed in. “This is seriously major.”

  I was planning to again explain to the girls that it wasn’t a big deal or anything but was saved when Nicole announced it was time to get started. Moving to stand on my familiar spot, we began with our usual exercises and warmups before launching into the routine that was becoming more natural to everyone. Although I had only been at one practice since the last round of changes, I was easily landing all the skills, tumbling, and even additional dance elements that had been added. I was also happy to see that a few of the girls were staying in the air through most of our full outs. It made me worried that they weren't super consistent, but I could only hope and pray they would get better on it over the next week and a half.

  “We leave in 12 days ladies,” Nicole reminded us as we were taking a break between full outs. It was like she was reading my mind. “If you only hit three times, let those times be on that stage at Summit. You don’t want to walk away with another second place.”

  “Wow, that was harsh,” I mumbled, taking a long sip of my water.

  “What do you mean?” Halley asked me as she re-tied her cheer shoes.

  “She just rubbed in us not winning this season,” I reminded her.

  “That’s not what she was talking about,” Halley said instantly. “She’s talking about last year at Summit. And the year before. This will be Blast’s third year at summit, and every year so far we’ve ended up in second place. It’s like we can do just enough to make it to the finals and then do kind of great, but for one reason or another, we don’t quite go far enough. We’ve always bobbled something and dropped just enough points that we can’t win.”

  “You mean in three years the team never hit in the finals?” I asked, wanting to make sure I understood.

  “Not just in the finals,” she explained. “We’ve never hit at Summit at all. I think that’s why Nicole isn’t pushing us too hard right now. If we can just hit what we have and be confident about it then we can maybe finally land a clean routine. If we can hit at least once we might maybe, possibly, kind of have a chance at winning.”

  I let Halley’s words sink in as we continued to run the routine. Watching the girls around me, I saw that the reason they weren't hitting the new routine had more to do with timing issues and not being used to the changes in positioning than not actually being able to hold the moves in the air. It was like people were getting used to everything that had changed, and as things got more comfortable they were getting better. Once we had hit the routine twice in a row, Nicole announced that we were going to call it a night.

  “Wait,” I said out loud, speaking before I could stop myself. Everyone stopped and looked at me. Clearly, like me, they were not sure why I had spoken up. “I have an idea.”

  There were thirty pairs of eyes on me, Nicole standing with her arms crossed over her chest. At first, I thought she was annoyed, but I quickly saw she looked very intrigued. In fact, as I began letting the girls know my idea, a smile blossomed on her face.

  “We just hit twice, but I feel like we’re finally getting into the groove of things,” I said, praying I wouldn’t lose my confidence before I got out all that I wanted to say. “Now that we’re finally getting used to the routine and we’re all getting it where it needs to be, why don’t we keep going?”

  “But practice is over,” someone called out. I was too nervous about being the center of attention to figure out who had spoken.

  “Yeah, but every time we come back to the gym it’s like we forget that we can do it,” I replied, remembering that we hit the routine towards the end of the night at Tuesday’s practice as well. “So why not use the momentum we have right now and see how far we can go? I think we should run the routine until we drop a stunt. It might just be one more time, but what if we can say we have to do it four or five times before we mess up? I know I’d feel a lot better going into Summit if I knew we were able to hit a whole lot all in a row.”

  “What if we can’t make it through anymore right now?” Anna asked although I could already see a determined look on her face.

  “Then we’re done,” Lexi said, taking over before I could speak up. “And at next practice, we see if we can beat just twice in a row.”

  “I’m in,” Halley announced, looking around to see who else was going to agree.

  I didn’t realize it at first, but I was more or less holding my breath. After speaking up with the idea to really push ourselves, I was suddenly nervous that only my best friends would think the idea was a good one. But, as one girl and then another followed by another also announced that they were ready to try, I could feel the energy on the mat changing. It was like everyone was on board with the idea, and not just to try it one more time. It was clear that people were ready to run the routine as many times as it took, to prove we could do it.

  “Alright ladies,” Nicole called out, the biggest smile on her face that I had ever seen aside from maybe the day we won our bid to Summit. “Let’s get in place for the start of the routine.”

  As the music familiar to Blast filled the gym, the energy that started building moments before suddenly seemed to triple. When we normally ran the routine full out, people would perform a lot, but not quite the same as when we were in front of an audience. But this time, it was different. This time, everyone was performing like we were on that final stage at Summit, going for the grand prize. The energy was electric, and as we reached our final poses without a single mistake people were actually excited to set up and run it again. And again. And again.

  Running everything full out for the seventh time of the night without a mistake was starting to get everyone's attention. Nitro actually stopped their practice and came to watch and cheer us on. Even the athletes that were at the gym to p
ractice skills on an open mat came over to watch. We had gotten a lot farther that I thought without a fall, and despite having a regular length practice before starting the extra full outs, all of the girls on Blast were still giving it everything they had.

  “From the top!” Nicole called out, causing an explosion of cheers.

  We set back up and made it halfway through the routine for the eighth time when, based on the gathering crowd’s reaction, I knew we must have finally dropped a stunt. We finished the routine though, and as we reached the end of the performance there was just as much cheering as when we had hit everything perfectly.

  “Seven!” Nicole called out as we were finally quieting down and ending the hugs and high-fives. “You did awesome ladies.”

  “Next time we’re going for eight!” Lexi announced, causing all the girls on the mat to cheer even more.

  “Now get out of here and get some rest!” Nicole said in response. She was smiling though, clearly proud of all we had done.

  “That was such a good idea,” Halley said to me as we were finally getting a much needed drink of water. “If we can keep that kind of attitude until Summits over then we might finally win.”

  “Fingers crossed, right?” I shrugged, although I was still grinning.

  “No crossing fingers needed, that was amazing!” Turning, I saw that it was Connor who had spoken. “I don’t think Nitro has even gone that many times full out without a mistake.”

  “Not yet at least,” I told him, finishing off my water and slipping the empty bottle into my bag. “You still have a few days until Worlds.”

  “If only we had you on our squad to get us pumped up like that,” he said as he reached over and picked up my bag for me.

  Connor walked me to the door then, chatting with me about Nitro’s upcoming trip to Worlds. It was nice to not only have my bag carried for me after working out for so long, but also to just hang out with Connor for a bit. We usually had time to hang out some while we were both practicing at the gym, not to mention the time we spent texting. But with the extra practices that came with joining a second squad, my time spent at the gym was always busy.

  “Wait,” I finally said when we made it to where my dad was waiting near the office. “I won’t see you again before you leave for Worlds, will I?”

  “I don’t think so,” he replied after thinking it over. “We leave super early Monday, and I won’t be in the gym until we get back.”

  “In that case, good luck!” I reached up and gave Connor a hug, something I would never have done even a few months before. “Text me as soon as you get off the mat every time.”

  “I will,” he assured me before finally ending the long embrace. “And hopefully, I’ll see you once you guys get to Orlando.”

  “Hopefully,” I agreed, then turned to leave the gym.

  The news about our seven perfect full outs got around the gym fast. I was just thankful that we didn’t try to match or better the record at Fuze practice Friday night. Instead, we worked on running the routine in sections so everyone could clean it up, and also so I could finish learning everything. It was a little hard to remember all of the skills and motions, but I was more or less able to get in the right place at the right time. When I finally did my flying skills towards the end of practice, I thankfully stayed in the air every time with only a few bobbles, which were largely due to me trying to remember the order of everything.

  “Your timing is coming along nicely,” Tonya said to me as I was packing up at the end other night. She didn’t help me with the flying as much as the previous practice, but was still there to watch a lot of our time on the mat. “Are you excited for tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow?” I asked her, my brain suddenly trying to remember if I said I was going to be at the gym for something.

  “Your hair?”

  “Oh yeah!” I said with a laugh. “Sorry, I’ve been so busy working on the routine and worrying about Summit that I haven’t really been thinking about it.”

  “That’s okay,” she smiled. “As long as you’re ready to go in the morning then it’s all good.”

  “I’ll be ready, I promise,” I assured her.

  “And wear flip flops,” Tonya added.

  “Flip flops?” I asked, slipping on my backpack to leave.

  “I told you we’re going to the nail salon too, right?” She paused at my look of confusion. “I might have just told your dad. But yes, you need flip flops so you can get your nails painted. And then we can do lunch before I drop you off at home.” When I stared at her in shock for a minute Tonya went on. “I always do a spa day the weekend before Worlds with my best friend Janet, but she’s at a wedding in Dallas until Tuesday. So, you get to fill her spot.”

  “I don’t think I’ve painted my nails in the last five years,” I said honestly, trying to wrap my head around the girly day Tonya clearly had planned.

  “I promise I won’t make you pick neon colors or anything too crazy,” she assured me. “But trust me when I say that everyone needs a girl’s day once in a while to just get pampered.”

  “Lexi and Halley would agree with you I think,” I said, remembering their constant attempts to do my makeup or put me in girly dresses when we had slumber parties. “As long as I get to pick where we go for lunch, then I’m okay with all of it.”

  Or at least that was what I thought until I was picked up in the morning. Tonya was wearing a fancy and frilly white and pink strapless dress and wedge sandals that made her look at least 5 inches taller. It made me feel out of place in my jean shorts and blue V-neck short sleeve shirt. I tried to remind myself that it was all going to be worth it if I got shorter hair and didn’t need to spend as much time styling it before competitions.

  The atmosphere walking into the Style Shack after the short drive from my home was a lot to take in. As soon as we entered the salon I could smell the hair products in the air. Getting past that, I took in the room around me. It was a fairly small space, all decorated in silver and black. The walls were actually painted black but were decorated with black and white photos of girls with their hair done in fancy styles and cuts to keep it from being too dark and overwhelming. There were only six stations for cutting hair and a small hair washing station near the back. A door led to the bathrooms and back storage room, which was located next to fancy chairs like ones I had seen in movies with large domes that women would sit under to dry their hair.

  “You must be Max,” a tall woman grinned while stepping towards me. Aside from her bright red lipstick, she was wearing all black. Literally, even her hair and eye makeup was black. It might have been a lot on other people, but it was all done in a way that actually looked nice. Her makeup was thick but not too much, and her hair had lots of layers and was curled to keep it from looking too edgy. Her smile also helped me warm up to her as I shook her hand.

  “Yeah,” I replied in answer to her question.

  “It’s so good to meet you, Max. I’m Laura.”

  As she spoke she motioned me to the back of the salon. Tonya thankfully followed us. We started the appointment with a hair wash that was basically the best thing I had ever experienced. Aside from maybe the massage chairs you can pay a dollar to sit on in the mall, it was one of the most relaxing few minutes of my life. It was something they never did at the barber shop, so I was beginning to warm up to Tonya and her plan for me quickly. When we made it to Laura’s hair cutting station, she finally asked the question I was also dying to hear the answer to.

  “So what are we doing with your hair today?” Laura asked as she covered me with a black cape and snapped it closed around my neck.

  “We want a cute inverted bob with a little bit of facial framing and longer layers so it lays simply but can still be styled up as needed,” Tonya explained easily

  “What?” I asked in response to all that Tonya had just said to Laura.

  “It was just a fancy way of saying you want it kind of like my haircut, but with a little less length since you don’
t want a wave like I do,” Tonya explained like it was all extremely simple.

  “Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll take good care of you,” Laura said as she began twisting my hair and holding it up in place with large claw clips. “So this is your first time at a real hair salon?”

  “Yup,” I nodded, only to have Laura hold my head in place. “My mom used to cut my hair when I was little, and after she was gone my dad just started taking me to the barber shop where he gets his hair done.”

  “Did your parents get divorced?” Laura asked, giving me a confused look through the mirror on the wall in front of me.

  “No, she died of cancer,” I said simply, knowing it was likely going to cause a big reaction from Laura.

  “Oh my goodness!” she gasped. “I’m so sorry to hear that Max.”

  “Thanks,” I said with a polite smile. Laura’s response was similar to most other people's reaction, so I had a standard answer ready to go. “My dad is a research scientist and is determined to cure cancer so no one else has to suffer like she did. That will make it all mean more.”

  “I hope he does,” Laura said with a nod. “I have an aunt that had breast cancer that she almost didn’t beat. That was hard enough to go through, so I can only image what it would be like to lose a parent that way.” Laura paused. “So how long have you been cheering at TNT?”

  I knew Laura was trying to change the subject, and I was okay with it. Talking about my mom didn’t bother me too much since it was something that I was reminded of a dozen times every day. It wasn’t as hard as it was a couple of years ago but was still not something I would consider easy. So, the chance to talk about cheerleading, the gym, being on two teams and Summit was a great distraction. In fact, it was a big enough distraction that when Laura announced that she was all done with my hair I thought it was a joke.