Olivia's Fantastic Gymnastics

by Holly Bell

  She tried to keep going with her routine, but she couldn’t. She needed to stop and breathe.

  Olivia tried to go over to her gym bag, but everything seemed foggy and blurry. She tried to call out to her mum, or Natalie, or Maddie.

  Just as she really started to panic, Olivia heard a voice telling her that everything was going to be OK. But it wasn’t her mum, or Natalie, or Maddie. It was Sasha.

  Sasha, the great gymnast who Olivia had been so mean to. And here Sasha was, helping Olivia. No – saving Olivia.

  Olivia felt a quick sting in her thigh as Sasha injected her with the EpiPen. The itching immediately subsided, and finally she could get some air again.

  ‘Thank you,’ Olivia mumbled tearfully, as best she could through her swollen lips.

  ‘No problem,’ Sasha said, rubbing her back. ‘Just take deep breaths. Gosh, there must have been peanuts in that muesli bar.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Olivia said, sniffing.

  ‘It’s OK,’ Sasha said. ‘It’s not like you did it on purpose.’

  ‘No, not about the peanuts,’ Olivia said, grabbing her hand. ‘About how horrible I’ve been to you! I’m sorry.’

  Just then, her mum, Maddie and Natalie came running up and crowded around Olivia. Before she knew it, Olivia was on a stretcher and being taken to an ambulance.

  ‘I want to come, too,’ she heard Sasha say from somewhere behind her.

  She couldn’t believe that Sasha was willing to leave the competition. Olivia had been so wrong about her! Sasha wasn’t a rival at all – she was a friend.

  Olivia caught Sasha’s eye and gave her the biggest smile she could muster. ‘I’ll be fine,’ Olivia told her as the stretcher moved away. ‘Anyway, the team needs you to get the blue ribbon for the club! Get out there and win for both of us.’

  Later that evening, Olivia was lying in her hospital bed. She was thinking about everything that had happened. She felt ashamed of how she’d treated Sasha. Olivia knew now that she’d let her competitive streak and jealousy get in the way of making a new friend.

  She still couldn’t believe that Sasha had been willing to leave the competition to come with her to the hospital.

  While Olivia was brooding over these thoughts, her mum and Maddie entered the room. Olivia gave them a weak smile.

  ‘The doctor says that you’re fine and we can take you home in a few hours,’ Olivia’s mum said. ‘But first I want to know what you were thinking! Why did you eat that muesli bar? You’re usually so careful.’

  ‘I know, I know,’ Olivia said, shaking her head. ‘I normally always check the ingredients. But I saw Sasha eat one before she went on the floor, and I thought it might bring me luck too.’

  ‘Some luck!’ Maddie joked.

  ‘I should have stuck to my clover charm,’ Olivia said, rolling her eyes with a grin. ‘Or patted Minty and Molly for extra luck!’ They were her pet rabbits, and they always brought her extra luck when she needed it.

  ‘You need to be more careful, Olivia,’ said her mum as she kissed her on the forehead. ‘Now, I’m going to go and finish talking to the doctor. I’ll be back soon.’

  Maddie and Olivia were left alone. ‘Are you upset about the competition?’ Maddie asked softly.

  ‘Nope,’ Olivia replied honestly. ‘Which is weird, because it’s been the only thing I could think about for ages! I’m sad that I didn’t get to compete, but I’m more upset at how mean I’ve been to Sasha. How can I ever make it up to her?’

  ‘Maybe you just need to say sorry,’ Maddie suggested. ‘She seems nice. I’m sure you guys will be OK after that.’

  Just then, Natalie walked into the room. ‘How are you, Olivia?’ she asked. ‘Your mum said you’ll be going home soon.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine now,’ Olivia said.

  ‘That’s good!’ Natalie said. ‘We were so worried about you. We missed you at the comp. But you’ll be happy to know that Sasha did really well on the other apparatus. She won the blue ribbon for us, in fact.’

  Olivia had an odd feeling in her tummy. But it wasn’t the strange wrenching feeling she’d had when she first saw Sasha. Now, she actually felt happy.

  It was great news that Sasha had won. Sasha was her friend and teammate, and she deserved to win. ‘That’s brilliant!’ Olivia said, and she really meant it.

  Natalie looked pleased, and she squeezed Olivia’s hand. ‘You know, Sasha said that she’s learnt so much from watching you at the gym,’ Natalie said. ‘You’re the best gymnast she’s ever trained with.’

  ‘Really? She said that?’ Olivia asked.

  ‘Absolutely.’ Natalie smiled. ‘I know you two didn’t get off to a great start, but I think you’ll make each other even better gymnasts. Maybe you can even go to the Olympics together one day!’

  Olivia beamed. ‘Thanks, Natalie.’

  ‘And for now, you need to get better and back in the gym,’ Natalie said. ‘I want to see you perform in the next comp!’

  ‘Oh, I’ll be there,’ Olivia said firmly. ‘Nothing will stop me next time.’

  Olivia was nervous as she walked into the gym. Just two weeks had passed since the competition, but it felt like even longer since she’d been to training. So much had changed.

  She took a deep breath and pushed her way through the doors.

  Olivia stood for a moment and took it all in. The gym looked exactly the same. It was Olivia who was different. She still wanted to be the best, but now she knew the value of teammates and healthy competition.

  Olivia looked for Sasha. She was busy practising her switch-leg leaps on the beam at the other end of the gym. She looked good up there. But she wasn’t always keeping her legs straight and her toes pointed.

  Olivia jogged over and gave Sasha a wave. ‘Hi, Sasha,’ she called.

  ‘Hey,’ Sasha replied, a little tentatively.

  ‘Your leaps are looking good,’ Olivia said. ‘Might help if you push your chest out a little more, though.’

  Sasha looked over at her, and then tried again. This time, her leap was perfect.

  ‘That helped,’ Sasha said, dismounting from the beam. ‘I’m glad to see you back.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s good to be back,’ Olivia said. Then she put her hand on Sasha’s shoulder. ‘Hey, I wanted to say thank you for helping me at the competition. You really were a lifesaver. And well done on winning! You totally deserved it.’

  Sasha blushed. ‘Thanks. And no sweat,’ she said, brushing her foot along the edge of the mat.

  Both girls stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say next.

  ‘I wouldn’t have won if you’d finished your routine,’ Sasha said, breaking the silence. ‘The start was really excellent.’

  Olivia shrugged and smiled. ‘Maybe. We’ll see who wins next time.’

  Olivia knew that now was the perfect time to apologise properly. But she didn’t know how. Then she remembered Maddie’s words of advice in the hospital, and it all came out in a rush.

  ‘Sasha, I’m sorry for being weird,’ she said, her voice small. ‘When you started at the gym, I felt really jealous and threatened. You’re such a good gymnast and I was worried you were going to take my place. I’m so sorry.’

  Olivia glanced up at Sasha’s face. She was staring at Olivia, wide-eyed.

  ‘You were jealous of me?’ Sasha said. ‘But you’re amazing. You make everything look so easy. I thought you didn’t think I was good enough to train here.’

  Olivia smiled, despite herself. ‘That’s crazy,’ she said. ‘I just wish I could do a standing full twist like you can.’

  Both girls giggled. Olivia felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. Maybe everything was going to be OK, just like Maddie had said.

  ‘Maybe we should each start a fan club for the other,’ Sasha said with a sly grin.

  ‘I don’t think it will come to that,’ Olivia laughed. ‘How about you just give me some tips on the twist?’

  ‘Only if you promise to show me how you g
et so much height dismounting from the uneven bars,’ Sasha replied.

  The two girls spent the rest of training together, swapping tips and working on new routines. It didn’t take long before Olivia realised that Natalie was right.

  She and Sasha worked well together! Having a teammate was turning out to be a good thing after all.

  At the end of training, Natalie called Sasha and Olivia over. ‘That was a great session, girls,’ she said happily. ‘And I hope you’re ready to compete again, because I’ve entered you both in the regional championships next month!’

  Olivia grinned at Sasha. ‘We’ll definitely be ready,’ she said. ‘Bring it on!’