Flooring It - Taylor Broadway (tools of titans ebook .TXT) 📗

in the air can be very relieving, but there is one thing in gymnastics that tops everything relieving wise.
The uneven bars, two fiberglass bars, one at 148 centimeters the other at 228 centimeters. On the bars, you swing around and around, you can switch bars, you can let go of the bar and grab on to it again. The uneven bars are constantly flying, and I love it. There is only one bad thing about the bars. If you do not have grips on with the right amount of chalk, it hurts like hell!
I didn’t have my grips so I had to go chalk only. I lightly chalked my hands; I didn’t want the chalk to get into my blisters that were sure to form. I jumped up on the bottom bar and started to swing, gaining momentum. After a few rounds on the bottom, I released the bar and allowed myself to fly higher into the air to catch the other bar. When I grabbed the top bar, I grabbed it as if my life depended on it, making sure my grip was tight. I swung around, gaining momentum again. Then I did a Giant, handstand into circle swing and back to the handstand. I did a Gienger, a flyaway back salto with a one-half twist and then I regrasped the bar.
I was starting to feel a little better. The faster I circled the better I felt.I could feel the blisters forming because my hands were starting to burn. But I was feeling better and even though I should’ve stopped to avoid major pain, I couldn’t. I just kept swinging and swinging, I did giant after giant, Gienger after Gienger. I was pushing it really, with no grips on and I was releasing the bars and catching them over and over. I couldn’t stop though, I didn’t want to.
“Dylan it’s time to get off,” Jerry shouted from under me.
“Not yet, I’m not done,” I kept circling.
“Now,” Jerry shouted.
I let myself circle one more time and then I just let go. When I let go, I didn’t try to flip, I just let go. The momentum twisted my legs up and flipped me around. I landed on my knees.
“Quit Dylan, don’t overreact,” Jerry said as I sat there on my knees.
“Whatever Jerry.”
I stayed there on my knees doing nothing. My hands burned and I didn’t even want to look at them. I probably just spent 10 minutes on the bar, that’s a long time for someone to sing themselves around and around.
“What’s wrong,” Mitchell said as he stood over me.
“Nothing, I’m frustrated.”
“Well get up and tell me about it,” Mitchell stuck his hands out.
I raised both my hands up, palms facing him so he could see. My palms were a little bloody, not as bad as they would be thanks to my previous calluses.
“Oh,” Mitchell squatted down.
“Yea, 10 straight minutes on the bars with no grips,” I looked at my bloody hands.
“Ouch, let’s go get your hands wrapped.”
“Wait,” I said, “I have some good news.”
“Yea,” Mitchell raised and eyebrow.
“My dad is leaving today, actually he already left, he won’t be back until Sunday.”
“Really?”
“Yea,” I smiled wickedly, “So I’m home alone all week.”
“Hmm, I bet you’ll get scared,” Mitchell laughed.
“Unless,” I teased.
“Unless I come over.”
“Right,” I laughed.
“Six o’clock?”
“Sure.”
“OK, well let’s go get you wrapped,” Mitchell grabbed my wrist and pulled me up.

After wrapping up my hands I had to go to school. I don’t go to a regular school but I’m not homeschooled. The gym has a room of computers that the girls and boys who train like me use for school. We have to get on this program for two hours every day, even Saturdays. It’s an advanced program, we learn twice as fast as regular kids because we don’t spend six hours at school. My age puts me as a freshman in high school but thanks to the advanced program I’m intellectually a sophomore.
I personally don’t like going to “school”, but who does. I just don’t like wasting my time staring at a computer screen when I could be doing something dangerous on the floor. Instead of doing flips I’m doing algebra two.
The only good thing about “school” is that I have it with Mitchell. Just us in an empty, unmonitored room, sometimes things happen.
“Mitchell,” I said as he scooted his chair towards me and tugged on my hand, “I’m actually trying to finish my work so I can get out of here.”
“Oh, do you not like spending two hours alone with me?”
“You know better, I actually rather do my work and get it over with than fall into temptations with you,” I pushed Mitchell’s shoulder.
“Temptations,” Mitchell raised an eyebrow.
“Just let me finish my work Mitchell.”
Mitchell laughed and scooted back to his computer. I was focusing on my work, advanced chem. /phys. when my phone beeped. It took forever for me to get my phone out because it was cleverly hidden in my leo, but when I did I laughed.
Mitchell had texted me.
Mitchell: temptations?
“Really Mitchell,” I laughed.
“Do you seriously care about doing your work,” Mitchell scooted closer again.
“Yes because if it doesn’t get done I can’t go out and practice.”
“You are such a machine,” Mitchell groaned.
“Thank you,” I rolled my eyes, “now quite complaining, you have tonight and tomorrow. You have every night until Monday with me.”
“I forgot about that,” he poked my side making me jump.
“Mitchell quit,” I laughed.
He stopped and started doing his work. I did my work as quickly as I could. It took less than the two hours we’re given, for me to do my work. I finished 15 algebra 2 problems, read two chapters out of my advanced chem. /phys. book and I typed two pages for my AP English essay. After all that I was allowed to go back to the floor.
I went and stretched again, did a few flips on the trampoline and then went to the spring floor. I absolutely hate the spring floor. There are so many rules you have to follow as soon as you step on that blue, bouncy floor. Once you step inside that taped blue area you are no longer in control. The judges know your routine, so there is no improv, and you have to follow every rule directly. And the rules are crazy!
You have 90 seconds to complete your routine. You perform your routine to an instrumental song only, no singing allowed. You can’t take a step out of the white tape, that’s a huge point deducted. You have to do at least two layouts, all of which start in the corner. Of course you can’t fall or stumble. You must use the entire floor for your routine. Your form must be more than perfect and you have to execute everything well. If you use the same diagonal more than once, deduction. If you pause before tumbling, point deduction. Those are the main, serious rules. Aren’t they crazy?
I hate the floor routines; you can’t be dangerous you have to be choreographed. It’s not like everything isn’t choreographed, it’s just that everything leaves room for quick decisions and improv as back up, but with floor you have to live by the rules. Nothing is spontaneous or free, you have to move and execute quickly and precisely. Otherwise you might as well scratch.
Even though I hate the floor, a lot of people think it’s what I’m best at. Jerry for example, he thinks it’s my strongest element because I have the capability of landing difficult stunts and I’m also graceful. It’s also the one Jerry says I look best on, he says I’m meant to be on that blue floor. He knows my hatred for it though and he finds it hilarious.
“Ready kiddo,” he said with a smile on his face.
“Blue really isn’t my color,” I tightened the tape on my wrists.
“Sure Dylan, what is your color then?”
“Any other color,” I moved to the middle of the floor to start my routine.

Chapter: four
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Chapter: four
I start out on the floor with a few dance moves to the outrageously boring music. A few arabesques and a back walk over. Then I do a quick Assemblé and that lands me in a corner so I can start my layout. My layout will be a simple but hard quad full. One somersault into four twits. Ok, it’s not very simple but it sounds somewhat simple. After that I do a reverse turn toward the other side of the floor. I cat leap and land in a candlestick position. Then I spin up and go to the next corner. I start with a Rudi, a front tuck into two twists, I hit the floor and spring into a quadriff. After that, it is a scissor leap to the middle of the floor, a front tuck into splits and three scissor leaps into the final corner. Then I have to perform my final layout.
I’m not going to say that the final layout is most important. I mean it can be, like if you haven’t been doing well you can somewhat redeem yourself or if you’ve been doing good this layout could make or break you. But for me, the final layout is my most important part. It’s also my favorite because it means my floor routine is practically over. My final layout is also the only fun part because I got to pick what I do last instead of Jerry. I picked something extremely dangerous and fun.
My final layout is a circle with a 1/1 spindle to handstand back to flair. It’s an E level skill and it took me eight months to land on something other than my butt, back or head. The hardest part for me is the handstand back to flair. Everything else is super fun, and very dangerous. When my feet hit the floor after landing that, I backwards roll into a handstand and then I let myself fall on the floor. Just remember that I’m doing all this to the most boring instrumental music in the world!
“What did you think,” I asked Jerry.
“Your wobbly on you landing with the circle, I think we should change it,” he shook his head.
“Jerry no, you know how long I’ve worked on this!”
“And if you fall and get hurt what’s that worth,” Jerry raised an eyebrow.
“You said my landing was wobbly, you didn’t say anything about falling, which if you were watching you would’ve seen that my form was practically perfect and I didn’t fall.”
“How do you know you form was perfect?”
“Because I know,” I fumed.
Jerry frowned at me and walked towards one of the other girls. He wasn’t going to take my layout choice out of the routine. My landing might be wobbly but I have time to work on it, he doesn’t have to take it out. It might be the only E skill level stunt on floor which will give me a big advantage. Plus it’s the only fun, dangerous thing and I got to pick it myself.
I went to the trampoline to try and practice the stunt, well parts of it. It has to stay in the routine. I am determined to have a stable landing and that is the only thing I’m going to focus on. I know I’m being over dramatic but it’s just not fair.
I looked up at the clock on the wall.