The Daunting Dollympic Trials – Part 3

Psst! Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t already.

Molly McIntire mounted the beam, pulling herself up into a perfect handstand. She knew every move counted, and she was determined to do each one to the very best of her ability. How else was she going to qualify for the Dollympic Team Trials next year? If she didn’t land one of the 3 spots at this Qualification Meet, she was sure her life would be ruined.

She pulled her legs back through her arms and sat gracefully on the beam, extending her arms with gorgeous form and perfect gymnast hands.

She stood up elegantly.

 She high kicked, and without a moment’s hesitation…

…She jumped, extending her legs out as far as she could. The world around her became darker. All she could spot was the beam.

She landed the split jump perfectly! The crowd cheered, and Molly immediately moved into her next skill.

She kicked back into a double back walkover. Her carriage had been graceful, her movements quick and deft.

Now for one of her biggest moves. She pivoted and began a very fast walkover.

And immediately she threw herself into a beautiful back flip.

She heard the crowd erupt into cheers. The rest of her routine went smoothly and her nimble feet seemed to practically dance across the beam. She was getting a lot of airtime and her form was perfect. Coach Josie smiled as Molly leapt into a spectacular stag leap – she used to have trouble at those, and now they looked amazing.

And then came the dismount.

She performed a double back somersault…

…And stuck the landing without a single hop or step back!

“S-T-A-R, THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE!” She heard the screaming cheer with the familiar English accent of her best friend. Her eyes scanned the crowd for any sign of her roommates and sister, but they were nowhere to be found.

But I know they’re cheering for me, Molly consoled herself with a smile as she walked triumphantly back to her coach. I can hear them.

Coach Josie held up her hand for a high five. “That was flawless, Molly! Fabulous job.”

Molly beamed a huge smile. “Thanks, coach,” She replied, catching her breath. “I hope I didn’t get many deductions.”

“Oh, I’m quite positive your score will be very high.”

Together they looked up at the scoreboard, all hopes toward a high score.

Molly squealed as the crowd roared with applause. “That’s the highest I’ve ever gotten!”

“Somewhere in that they found a 0.709. You’re not many points behind third place, Molls. I think you can kill this competition with floor.”

“But didn’t you see Demetria’s floor routine last year?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“Floor is obviously her best event.” Molly sighed.

Coach Josie smiled. “But beam isn’t.”

With that, they turned to watch Demetria on the beam. Despite what Coach Josie had said, Demetria looked sensational. She had a lot of style with beautiful arm motions and perfect poise.

Molly watched with competitive hope that she’d wobble or even fall. Just one significant deduction would make Molly third place by a hair, and then floor would be the tiebreaker.

Molly gawked at Demetria’s one-handed L-handstand. She heard someone in the crowd scream, “Rock it, Demetria!”

 She had confident poses and expressions like she owned this beam. She is so amazing, Molly reflected. How will I ever beat her? 

Demetria began to twirl, and when she did, Molly held her breath.

She wobbled slightly as she came out of it.

Fall! Fall! Fall! Molly silently cheered.

But she recovered well with beautiful arms. She progressed straight into the next skill undaunted by her mistake.

She dismounted with a beautiful twisting back flip and stuck the landing perfectly.

“How does she do that?!” Molly huffed. “She’s landed every single landing perfectly so far!”

“Don’t worry, Molly. Demetria’s in for a significant deduction due to her wobble for sure.” Coach Josie told Molly.

Demetria walked back to her coach, holding her head high.

“You wobbled.” Molly heard Demetria’s coach state.

“I know,” Demetria sighed. “But I’ll make it up with my floor routine.”

“I know you will, or you don’t have a chance against Roxanne Moore and Mae Parker.” He noted.

Demetria nodded. “They’re practically guaranteed the first and second places now.”

“Here’s your score.” Demetria’s coach mentioned. They both turned to look.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u656/madisonlorfing/60d733d8-6e3f-4df1-a7d5-446b5547d4bf_zpsxru0f41w.jpg

“That was better than I thought you were going to get!” Her coach spoke.

“I’m still in third by a hair,” Demetria sighed in relief.

“Don’t let McIntire catch up to you.”

“Oh, I won’t,” Demetria reassured. “Remember, I’ve competed with their family last year. I’ll never let any of them get to me, Coach Nick. Who’s going to beat my floor, anyways?”

“That’s the spirit. I’m proud of you, Demetria.”

Jasmine, who sat with the others in the bleachers, bored her eyes into Demetria.

I hope she loses, Jasmine wished angrily. If it weren’t for her, I would be the one competing right now.

“Switch spots,” She ordered to Cécile. “I’m so squished in this three-doll bleacher.”

“Think of the rest of us! We’re squished, too.” Cécile argued.

“Please? I want to see better. You got to pick the matching hairstyle today, even though I really wanted to wear ponytails tonight. So make a move.”

Cécile sighed. Sometimes her best friend was so demanding.

Nevertheless, they switched spots. Jasmine could now see Demetria and the gymnast currently on the beam better.

She better lose, Jasmine mused again as she glared at Demetria, who was sitting down with her coach. Jasmine began to think of what had happened last year.

The gymnasts performing in front of her faded as she flashbacked to August 2015.

Thanks to my mom this time for helping me with the photos of the dolls flipping!

Hehe! Can you tell I love cliffhangers and dramatic stories? I hope you’re curious about what happened with Demetria and Jasmine, because you’ll find out in the next post for sure!

Be honest. You won’t hurt my feelings. Do you like this photo story series and its plot, or is it boring?