by Dana Burkey
“Okay, how do you need me to help?”
“How are you at folding socks?” I asked with a smile, getting up and walking past him into the living room where my dad still sat surrounded by clean clothes.
Lying in bed Sunday night I passed the time by staring at the ceiling, trying my hardest not to look at my phone. I had been laying there awake for what felt like hours, my body refusing to fall asleep. The excitement of leaving for Summit in the morning was just too much for me to ignore. Watching the live feed from Worlds all day Saturday and Sunday didn’t help. In fact, I think it made it worse.
At first, Peter would more or less ignore me when I opened my computer to watch a routine on Saturday. But, by the end of the day, he started watching them right along with me. It wasn’t until I mentioned that Nitro’s division was done performing though, that I had to watch by myself as I found out Connor and his team were in 4th place. Even the one small bobble was enough to keep them from the top spots, thanks to a lot of the other teams with hard skills in their routines. It wasn’t that Nitro was a bad team, they were just up against hard teams.
When I mentioned all of that to Connor, it hit home for me too. There was no guarantee Blast was going to make it to the finals of Summit. Even with a harder routine, it wasn’t a sure thing. Fuze was also not a shoo-in, even after coming in first or second all season. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one thinking about Summit the whole time I was watching Worlds, since every time I watched a routine from our gym or a team I knew we were up against, I would get lots of texts from my friends. Even Connor took the time to message me frequent updates once he was done performing for the day and had a little more time on his hands.
“Can’t wait to see you when you get here tomorrow!” Connor texted me as I was getting ready for bed Sunday night. “Hopefully, you being on the way here will be the luck we need to come in first.”
“You don’t need any luck,” I wrote in reply. “You hit today, and were almost perfect yesterday! You keep it up and those Worlds rings are all yours.”
Connor and I chatted a little longer, but even once we stopped talking so he could get some sleep, I was wide awake. I wasn’t sure if it was the mention of the next day or even the anticipation of hopefully winning Summit that got to me. Whatever it was, I couldn’t get my brain to shut down and let me sleep. All I could think about was heading to Florida, finding out how all the TNT teams did at Worlds, and then, of course, compete at Summit. Well, that and softball. I got a direct message from Hillary on Instagram just before bed asking me if I was going to the clinic. She hadn’t been at the others since she isn’t a pitcher but was going to the final one to help her mom who would be running the check-in table. When I told her I was going to be in Florida for cheer stuff she just said “bummer” and that was the end of it. The fact that she didn’t say “well I’m sure you're still going to get on a good team” or anything like that had me worried.
I hoped that worrying about things would tire me out and I would fall asleep, but I still felt like I hadn’t gotten a second of rest when my dad's alarm went off at 6 am. I didn’t need to be awake that early since we weren't leaving for the airport until 9. But, by that point, I figured I might as well get up and get moving. It was better than just lying there with all kinds of thoughts, worries, and excitements going through my mind.
“You’re up early,” my dad grinned as I walked into the kitchen a minute later. He was already dressed in jeans and his ‘CHEER DAD’ shirt, this one purple in honor of Fuze.
I managed some form of a mumbled reply as I sat down at the kitchen table and pulled my knees up to my chest. Resting my head on my knees I could hear either Storm or Lightning purring and meowing at my feet. When I didn’t reach down to pet them I could feel them trying to climb up the chair without success. So, with a heavy sigh, I placed my feet on the ground and picked up what turned out to be Lightning and placed him on my lap. Storm was nowhere in sight, but I knew he would likely be running around before too long.
“You doing okay sweetie?” My dad was making coffee and getting out ingredients to make breakfast. “Did you sleep okay?”
“No,” I said in answer to both questions at the same time. “I don’t think I ever really fell asleep.”
“Too excited?” I shrugged in reply to his question. “Well, hopefully you can get some sleep on the flights.”
Going back to giving Lightning some attention I was distracted when I heard my phone buzzing from my nightstand. I knew it wasn’t my alarm, so figured it would be one of my teammates that was likely also awake. Carrying my cat with me, I walked to my room and picked up my phone, surprised to see it was a text from Connor.
“Sorry if this is super early but I can’t remember what time your flight is and wanted to message you before you took off. Have a great time traveling today and I can’t wait to see you when you get here. Hopefully we can celebrate a Nitro win together tonight!”
Surprisingly, getting the text from him made me look forward to the day and forget the fact that I hadn’t slept at all for the time being. I wrote back, then once he got over the fact I was awake so early we chatted about how Worlds was going for him. It was nice to just sit and talk to him to start my day. I didn’t realize it until then that I talked to and saw Connor a few times a week ever since I started at the gym. Just like Halley, Lexi, Peter, and Kyle, Connor really was one of my best friends. So, after over a week with only a few texts or snapchats a day, having a real conversation with him was really nice.
I talked to Connor for a lot longer than I planned to, so when breakfast was ready I ate quickly then got dressed for the airport. Nicole let everyone know that we were expected to represent the gym from the second we checked in for our flights, so I wore jeans and my black TNT Force short sleeve shirt. I heard a few girls talking about how we would get new shirts and even bows once we got to Florida, but for the time being the team shirt worked just fine for me. Packing up the last of my carry-on items, I was in the car and headed to the airport right on time at 9 am. Just as, of course, the texts began from Lexi and Halley, who were also on their way to the airport.
“Aren’t you going to see them soon enough?” my dad asked after we pulled out of the driveway.
“No,” I shrugged with a laugh. “Halley’s mom had to stop at the store for something so I won’t see her for at least 15 minutes.”
“And Lexi?” he asked in a serious tone, despite the smile on his face.
“She’s waiting at the airport door so we can go through check in together.”
In reply, my dad just laughed and continued driving. The airport was just across town so we were there in a matter of minutes. As I climbed out of the car and walked to the main entrance, Lexi ran and hugged me, jumping up and down with excitement. I was still tired, but seeing her had me more than excited for Summit. Sure, we had a few hours of flight ahead of us, but it was all finally happening. We, of course, waited impatiently at the doors for Halley, greeting her the same way Lexi greeted me, then made our way through security.
We spotted a few other girls from our gym when we got to our gate, although most of them were on other teams. I recognized two girls from Fuze, so I gave them a wave before we sat down. Most of the other athletes would either be leaving later in the day or first thing Tuesday morning so the airport wasn’t quite as packed with TNT cheerleaders as I thought it might have been. I only had a second to notice this before Lexi and Halley began grilling me on my appearance.
“You’re putting on makeup, right?” Halley asked as soon as we were sitting down with a bit of space between ourselves and our parents.
“And you’re going to do your hair, right?” Lexi also chimed in.
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “Why would I?”
“It’s your hair,” Lexi said simply. When my only reply was a shrug she continued. “Your hair is awesome now, and you need to look super cute when you see everyone.”
“You mean Connor?” Halley as
ked, causing both girls to giggle.
“I really don’t care what I look like,” I said with an overly dramatic roll of my eyes for effect.
“As your best friends we will hold you down and do your hair and makeup if we have to,” Lexi assured me. “You have to look cute for when we get to Florida. Trust me.”
“I don’t want to wear makeup all day,” I tried, hoping that if I made them forget about it for a little while, they would drop the issue altogether.
“Okay,” Halley nodded. “We can do your hair during the layover in Dallas and then we can do your makeup on the flight into Orlando.”
“Fine,” I said with a sigh, praying that by the time we were in Dallas they wouldn’t even remember their plans to ambush me. I had a feeling they would remember at all costs. But, a girl could still dream, right?
“Stop. No glitter,” I whined as Lexi began applying eyeshadow to my face. I already had on a thin layer of foundation and a light pink blush that she had assured me wasn’t too dramatic.
“It’s not glitter,” she said with a frown. “It’s a normal shade with an iridescent shimmer.”
With yet another sigh, I closed my eyes as she began applying the shadow to my eyelids. I wanted to complain, but she was thankfully using a gold color that wasn’t as over the top as I initially feared. Knowing all three of us had bright red glitter and eyeshadow in our makeup bags, I was assuming I would be coated in something similar to our team makeup we wore on the mat. But, between applications of the shadow, I saw that she was using a light gold, a medium brown color, and then a little bit of a light purple. The purple seemed odd to me, but when I asked about it, she just told me to stop worrying.
While Lexi was finishing my makeup with what she assured me was a thin line of eyeliner and a few layers of mascara, Halley was straightening my hair and putting it up in a half ponytail with a mini poof in front to look “cute, but not over the top.” Although my hair was mostly straightened when we were in the airport, when she saw there was a plug at our seats on the plane she decided to touch it up just in case. I felt a little silly sitting there getting a makeover on the flight, but the flight attendants and other cheerleaders we knew sitting around us thought it was great. Everyone kept assuring me I looked amazing and kept encouraging Lexi and Halley to keep going. But, I reminded them, I was still drawing the line at glitter.
“Okay, all done,” Lexi told me with a massive grin after applying one last layer of mascara. Halley had been done with my hair for a while since it was mostly finished when we boarded the flight. “Want to see?”
“Fine,” I said slowly. But, when Lexi held up a mirror I was shocked. “What did you do to my eyes?”
“Do you like?” Lexi asked, moving her eyebrows up and down at the grin that was quickly growing on my face.
“They look super blue,” I said, not used to seeing my eyes surrounded by any eyeshadow colors other than silver, red, and most recently purple.
“Golds and purples go well with your eye color,” she explained. As I opened my mouth to explain that I had tried purple eye makeup for Fuze she added, “This shade of purple, I should say.”
Pulling the mirror back a little I was surprised to see how good my hair looked as well. I had done a front poof a few times to practice, but not the way Halley managed. It wasn’t as big as it would be for a competition, but was perfect to wear day to day. I made the mental note to try it out and do my hair that way more often for school. So, as I finally handed the mirror to Lexi and sat back in my seat, I had to admit how great everything looked.
“This is awesome,” I told them both. “I thought you were going to make me look like I was going to a competition.”
“Ew no,” Halley said with a shake of her head. “Do I look like I’m wearing competition makeup?”
“You’re wearing makeup?” I asked, instantly feeling bad. “Wait. I didn’t mean-”
“It’s okay,” she assured me. “Do enough to make it look nice but still natural. I’m only wearing foundation and powder and blush and bronzer. And of course a little mascara.”
“Me too,” Lexi added. “Only no bronzer. My mom doesn't like when I go overboard for school and stuff like that. She said I can wear more makeup once I’m actually a teenager. Kind of annoying.”
“I really didn’t think you guys were wearing anything,” I said with a shrug. “You look like this at practice, so I just assumed it was natural.”
“I mean, I don’t wear much,” Lexi said. “But I wear it all the time. Even to practice.”
“Me too. Although I skip the blush and bronzer for practice. I just always have to have something on my face to keep from sweating too much,” Halley chimed in.
As the girls started going back and forth about different makeups they tried for a certain week of cheer, or one they wanted to get, and other things of that nature, I just sat back and snuck another peek of myself in my phone’s selfie camera. Lexi checked to make sure I wasn’t posting to my snapchat story with my new look, but once she was certain I wasn’t she went back to her conversation. Much like the first time I put on my cheer makeup, it was just a lot to take in. It looked really great. I just wasn’t sure in that moment if I would actually wear makeup to practice or even to school like my friends, but it was fun for Summit. Or at least the first day of Summit. The idea of worrying about whether or not my eyeliner was smudging during a whole team practice would drive me insane!
By the time we landed you couldn’t tell that I had slept poorly. Sure, I got a little bit of sleep on the first flight, but not enough to make up for the sudden energy burst I got when we landed. It was like just being that much closer to the Summit stage had me fidgeting while we waited to de-board the plane, and then again while we were waiting for our luggage at baggage claim. Taking selfies to send to our other teammates that still weren’t in Florida didn’t help to use up my energy. Instead, it almost made it worse. And all of that energy just about tripled when we made it to the hotel.
“We’re rooming together? Seriously?” Halley asked, jumping up and down in the lobby of the hotel.
“As long as you behave,” her mom told her, although she was smiling as she said it. “And our room is right next door, so if you girls are up acting crazy too late, we will know. Not to mention there’s a door that connects the rooms together that will stay open basically all the time.”
While they went over rules with us for a few more minutes on the elevator ride up to our floor, we did our best to listen. Apparently, Halley and Lexi’s moms were going to stay in one room together, and then Halley’s dad and my dad were staying in another room together. Since Lexi’s dad wasn’t coming until later in the week, the moms decided they wanted to have their own ‘girl time’ like we would get. It was fine by me, since it meant we were finally all together in one room, unlike other competitions where only two of us were in one room at the most. Lexi’s mom had already been staying at the hotel for the week since she was in town to watch Michael compete at Worlds, so Halley’s parents and my dad went over the rules, again and again, to make up for one less parent being present in the elevator.
Finally, after the full lecture on the way up, we were given the keys to our hotel room. As soon as we opened the door, the excitement somehow reached an even higher level, something I didn’t think was possible by that point. The room had a small kitchenette near the door, complete with a mini fridge and microwave. There was also a table and four chairs, perfect for breakfasts before heading to practice or the park. We all took in a rather standard set of two queen size beds, a small couch, a large dresser, a TV mounted on the wall, and lots of storage space in the closet near the bathroom. It was similar to other hotels we had been in for competitions and had nothing to do with the jumping and screaming that began as soon as the door was open and we stepped into the air conditioned room. That reaction was caused by the treats waiting for us.
Sitting on the small table right in front of us was a basket filled with TNT Force gea
r and other gifts. I knew it was likely part of the surprise my dad was so happy about, something he likely also had a hand in planning. There were power bars, protein shakes, Gatorade, and a variety of junk food. All of which were mostly red, with a few purple ones here and there so both Blast and Fuze were represented. As if that was not exciting enough, there were black drawstring bags with the TNT Force logo in gray and silver glitter. Above the logo, each bag had one of our names on it, embroidered in red thread.
“We got new shirts!” Lexi announced as she opened her bag and started pulling out items. “And tank tops!”
As I opened my bag I saw she was right. In each bag was a black tank top similar to the one we wore to the gym every day. But instead of the usual gym logo, it was decorated with silver and red rhinestones on it that said ‘2016 Summit.’ The zero was made of a Minnie Mouse head complete with a red bow. The shirt included in the bag was a red basic short sleeve shirt with the TNT logo in sparkly silvers and blacks on the front, and SUMMIT CREW on the back. Unlike Halley and Lexi, my bag held the same two clothing items again, only with purple as the main color to represent Fuze. Finally, we each got new bows, mine in both red and purple. They were a super flashing tick-tock bow with a shiny black on one side, and either shiny purple or red on the other half. On the team-colored side there was also a silver glitter outline of Cinderella's castle on the tail of the bow, and the TNT Force gym logo on the top loop. They matched the new tank tops perfectly and were likely the bows we would wear when we competed.
“So what do you think?” Halley’s mom asked from the doorway where she and the other parents stood taking photos and videos of us opening our surprises.
“This is awesome” Lexi announced while I added, “So much glitter.”
We all began laughing but were cut off when my cell phone sounded an alarm. Moving into action, my dad pulled his laptop out of his bag and handed it to me. I had it booted up in seconds and pulled up the familiar Worlds live feed immediately. Then, holding our breaths with anticipation, we all gathered around the screen to watch Nitro compete in the world finals.
