The Pro

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” her mother asked in concern when she saw her trembling hands.

“Yeah ma, I’ll be fine,” she replied “these are just from excitement. See?” She laughed and raised her hands to better show her shakes.   

“Okay then,” her mother smiled and stepped back. “Go kill it, I’m so proud of you!” She curled her hands into a fist and made a motion like she was punching the air.

Her daughter laughed again at this. “Well, you’d better save some of that pride, it might be third place now but when I take first at Worlds then I may just stop your heart,” she sang.

Her mother smiled harder and said with mock sternness: “Just concentrate on today’s exhibition, we’ll celebrate later.” She waited until her daughter finished her stretches and then waved her off. After a short announcement, she watched her run out unto the platform, grinning all the way. Amused, she shook her head and hurried to her seat in the audience.

  Fifteen-year-old McKea Reeves was the happiest she’d ever been in her life. She raced to the stage to the applause of the spectators, jumped and landed a cartwheel before turning around and receiving the metal contraption that had been rolled to her. This was her trusted Rhönrad or Gym-wheel and as the name implied, it was a giant metal circle that competitors entrusted their lives to, and to her; a personal, customised friend that never failed. She planted her foot on the horizontal rod in front of her and rolled it forward, lifting into the air. She slowed at the peak, arching her spine to the side as she leaned against the curve of the wheel and waited; everything went quiet. The music started and she began her routine.

  She controlled the wheel with moves so practiced they seemed natural, slipping in and out as the wheel rolled in 360 and other varying degrees, her body simply flowed into the familiar moves. This was her first year of gym-wheeling professionally and after winning several local and regional competitions, she made it to Nationals and placed third which was an impressive method for a newbie, now she had the opportunity to compete for America in the World Championships! If that wasn’t a dream come true then she didn’t know what was. She couldn’t help but think that the exhibition was a bit dull in comparison, sure there was a decent audience but it was just an opportunity for first, second and third places to freestyle.

 She repeated her moves with growing boredom then suddenly, the wheel staggered and brought her to reality. She bent at her knees to regain her balance. She looked down and realised what had happened: she’d over-rotated at a turn!

She wanted to slap herself, that was a mistake she should not have made, especially not when she was aiming for a flawless exhibition. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and poured herself into the routine, seriously this time.

 But that couldn’t take away the embarrassment of making that kind of mistake, she felt she could already hear the jeers of the crowd. Her face burned and her mind raced to think of something that could take the attention off of that moment.

She didn’t think long, she decided to go with… that.

  She pressed down with her foot and stopped the wheel, she looked and decided not to use the handles for dramatic effect. Rather, she balanced on one horizontal cross-bar, grabbed the sides and rolled the wheel fast before pushing off the bar as hard as she could. She was going to go for a flip in the air and land with feet on the ground when instead she felt pain, wild and hot, gobble up her foot. Before, she could think ‘Huh, that wasn’t supposed to happen’, she slammed into the ground with a resounding bang.    

“Kea!” she heard her mom shout. As the sound of numerous foot-steps grew louder, she managed to force her eyes open- only to see the huge wheel dropping down on top of her! Before she could even scream, everything went dark.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  It was a bright afternoon, quite lovely for outdoor activities or whatever one might prefer but in this room, a person bundled in blankets was curled on a couch. A figure blocked the sunlight from the open curtains, casting a dark shadow over Kea. She frowned and looked, her mom picked up the remote and turned off the TV.

“Mr. Kelton called, told me you weren’t over for class this morning.”

 “Didn’t feel like it.” Came the reply.

 “You have to go back someday, Kea.” Her mother sighed.

“I know mom, but I only got out of the hospital a few months ago, don’t I need some time to rest?”

Before her mother could reply, the doorbell rang. Her mother went to get it. “It’s Desiree,” she called.

A young girl about Kea’s age entered with her mom. “Hi Mrs. Reeves, hi Kea,” she greeted before pausing, “Woah, you look like a mess.”

“Don’t need you to tell me that,” Kea grumbled.

The girl crossed her arms. “I didn’t see you in class today, you could’ve at least come to watch me even if you don’t do anything.” She complained. When she didn’t get a reply, she decided to tease her: “I need your wisdom, O great guru of the wheel!” This time, she got a pillow thrown at her face.

“Don’t call me that!” Kea raged.

Desiree laughed and threw Kea’s feet off the couch to make space for herself. “Don’t worry yourself Mrs. Reeves, I’ll keep her company.” She assured. Mrs. Reeves nodded and left the two alone.

“So, what were you watching?” she asked Kea as she picked up the remote and turned the TV back on.

“Just something.” She mumbled back.

“Wow, what descriptive genius.” Desiree commented flatly.

After a period of silently watching, Desiree suddenly spoke: “I have an exhibition coming up.”

“Congratulations.” Kea said, she really meant it.

Then Desiree went for what she was really after. “You think you can be there?” she directly asked.

Kea winced, there was the question. After a moment, she started trying to explain: “Desiree, you know I haven’t been to one of those in months and—”

“Forget it,” Desiree cut her off, “You’ve used that excuse enough times already, just say you don’t want to.”

“That isn’t true, I just…. I can’t.” Kea defended pitifully.

“You can’t hide away forever Kea,” she said softly. “I worked hard for this, ever since you started competing I wanted to catch up to you. I wanted to compete with and against you… so why does it seem like I’m too late?” she paused a bit before continuing, “I get that it’s hard but you aren’t the first person to get injured, you know?”

Kea just weakly lay on the couch and let the silence hang between them. “It’s in two days,” Desiree mumbled and said no more.

So soon, Kea thought.

After Desiree left in the evening, her mom came back in. “Now, let’s finish what we left off,” she began, “Mr. Kelton didn’t just call because you didn’t come to class, it was also because he wanted you to attend a gathering: The AVA Gala.”

Kea groaned at this. “Let me guess, the same one Desiree’s having her exhibition at?”

“Yes,” her mom replied, “I’m guessing she told you.”

Kea nodded. “I’m not going mom.” She stated.

“I don’t think you have a choice in that, Mr. Kelton firmly stated that if you don’t show your face then you’re not just off the team, you’re out of the school.”

Kea shot up. “He can’t do that!” she exclaimed.

“Yes, he can,” her mother corrected, “It’s his school and he’s your coach so its up to him who can and can’t attend, I’m sorry.” She said.

“I’m basically being forced here,” Kea cried.

 “Kea, it’s been almost a year since then, can I ask the reason you don’t want to practice anymore?” her mother asked.

Kea chose to glare at the floor, she remained quiet for a while before mumbling something. Her mother leaned forward, “What was that? I didn’t catch what you said,” she said.

Kea let out a grunt of frustration before loudly saying: “It’s embarrassing, Okay mom.” She waited then continued, “I’m embarrassed.”

“Is that what you’re worried about?” her mom asked incredulously.

“Don’t say it like that,” her daughter argued, “I wiped out in front of everyone.” She gave a self-ridiculing smile, “My YouTube videos get around twenty to thirty thousand views on average, do you know how much that one got when someone posted it?” she asked then answered it herself, “Forty million.” “How am I meant to show my face around, mom?” she was on the verge of tears. “Please, I can’t get back on that stage, I don’t want to.” She said weakly.

Her mom was silent for a while. “In that case, I was thinking… why don’t we take this chance to announce… your retirement then?” she questioned softly. “That way, you can stay at the school but you won’t have to compete.”

“Really?” Kea asked.

“I won’t force anything on you.”

“Fine.” She conceded. Her mother kissed her head and went to the kitchen.

Throughout the entire next, Kea was unable to do anything much. Her mind kept on whirring, especially when she didn’t get the reaction she expected when she told Desiree about her retirement when she came over: she gave a cold ‘If that’s what you want’ and walked out of the apartment saying she had to get to class.

By the time noon came, Kea couldn’t take anymore so she left the house and went to the playground across the street. She found the monkey bars and swung herself upside down on it and stayed like that, it was something she hadn’t done in months but she’d enjoyed frequently when she was younger. She held that pose for quite a while, much to the amazement of some of the younger children at the park.

“Wow, you look like you could do that forever.” One of them, a boy, said with stars in his eyes.

“Really, you know I’m a professional at something like this,” she answered with a smile.

“What’s professional?” another one asked, a little girl this time.

Kea thought about it for a moment before softly answering: “A professional is someone that does something everyday and loves every minute of it.”

“Well,” the girl mused, “I don’t think I can be a professional at that, hanging upside down makes me want to throw up, but I do love singing!” Kea smiled and said nothing else, lost in her own thoughts.

    The night of the Gala finally came and Kea’s hand were shaking for something other than a competition. She sat at the designated table with others in her school but Mr. Kelton, Desiree and a few others were nowhere to be seen. They’re probably preparing for the exhibition, she thought. The AVA was basically a gathering for schools of gymnastics to show off their talents.

Kea was honestly proud of Desiree, she was the only other gym-wheeler in Mr. Kelton’s school apart from her and only took it up as a dare. With hopefully safer strategies and routines, she would do well and Kea looked forward to cheering for her at competitions.

The exhibition started and Kea did her part well by clapping when she was supposed to. Her school came up and their floor exhibition had just started when Mr. Kelton rushed up to their table, his face did not look good. “Kea, we need you, come with me,” he said.

 Kea was confused but she stood to follow him. He led her to the back room, there she saw Desiree pale-faced, sitting on a chair and clutching at her leg. “What happened?” Kea asked as she ran to met her. Her mom had followed close behind.

“She was going for a jump when she tripped and sprained her ankle,” he explained. “Listen Kea, we don’t have anyone else that can do this, you’re the only one.” He said.

“Then pull out,” her mother defended, “You can’t force anything on my daughter.”

“I’m begging you,” Mr. Kelton said helplessly. Pulling out now would cause any school huge embarrassment. Kea could understand where he was coming from.

She asked Desiree with her eyes before declaring: “I’m doing it.” She nodded to reassure her mom.

“Alright,” she said, “Your dress is good enough but you’ll need a pair of tights to go underneath.”

“I have one of those,” Desiree chimed in.

Kea got ready quickly and prepared to go on stage as soon as the other performance finished up. When they filed in, she raced out and waited for the Rhönrad to be wheeled to her. She looked to the side: You. Can. Do. It, her mom mouthed and fist-pumped the air.

She took a hold of one of the bars, the cool metal felt familiar in her hands. Am I ready for this? she asked herself. Doing this was the same as her announcing her return, the exact opposite of what she intended.

She slipped into the wheel and felt like she found a home that see had long abandoned. The answer to her question was yes. All sounds stilled, the music started and she pushed and tucked herself into the roll.