Chapter 242 - Take First
By the time Riverside Gale was called to the floor, Roxie had already watched six teams perform.
None of them looked like they had accidentally reached state.
The routines were faster than regionals. The stunts went higher. Tumblers crossed the mat one after another, and even the teams with little chance of winning looked good enough to make Roxie question every change Briarwick had made since qualifying.
She sat between Angela and Karen, one leg bouncing beneath her chair while Riverside gathered near the entrance tunnel.
Kendall sat two seats away with Tori between them, which Roxie considered the safest arrangement for everyone.
The announcer’s voice filled the arena. "Taking the floor next, your Northern Regional champions, Riverside Gale High School."
The Riverside section erupted.
Heather led her team onto the blue mat with both arms raised. Navy and white flashed beneath the lights as they moved into their opening formation, smiling like the state trophy had already been engraved.
Roxie’s leg stopped bouncing.
Karen leaned forward. "I already hate this."
Angela clasped her hands together. "They haven’t even started."
"That has never stopped me."
The music began.
Riverside hit the opening motions hard enough to make their uniforms snap. Their formation shifted cleanly around Heather, with every girl reaching her place without hesitation.
The jump sequence came next.
Every toe touch hit at the same height.
Every landing struck the mat together.
The crowd reacted immediately.
Karen muttered, "That was unnecessary."
The tumbling section began before the applause settled. Girls crossed from opposite corners in clean lines, landing with their feet together and moving straight into the next formation. Heather came through the center, landed sharply, and reached her place without breaking her smile.
There were no gaps.
No late steps.
No one searching for where she belonged.
Riverside’s bases were already setting when the last tumbler landed.
The flyers loaded in.
Every stunt rose together.
Roxie leaned forward without meaning to.
The flyers changed positions, pulled clean body lines, then moved through another transition without coming fully down. One released and turned before landing back in her bases’ hands.
Clean.
The next group followed.
Still clean.
The stunts came down together, and Riverside moved straight into the dance section.
Heather reached the front.
She changed her expression with the music, bright for the judges and sharper when she turned toward the crowd. For half a count, she faced Briarwick’s section with a smile that looked closer to a warning.
Roxie saw it.
Heather knew exactly where they were sitting.
The dance broke apart into the final pyramid. Bases ran into place while the flyers loaded without any pause.
One level rose.
Then another.
The center flyer lifted above the others, and every group locked into position. The formation changed on count before coming down smoothly.
Heather reached the center for the final motion.
The music ended.
Riverside froze.
The arena exploded.
Their supporters stood. Parents screamed. Cheerleaders from other schools clapped above their heads. Even the people near Briarwick reacted like they had just watched the winning routine.
Heather held her ending pose while the judges continued writing.
Karen slowly leaned back. "Well, that was fucking perfect."
"It wasn’t perfect," Roxie said.
Angela looked at her. "What was wrong?"
Roxie watched Riverside leave the floor. "I haven’t figured it out yet."
Kendall spoke from beyond Tori. "Their second tumbling line crowded near the center."
Roxie looked at her. "They never touched."
"I said crowded."
"So your mistake is something that almost happened?"
Kendall’s expression stayed flat. "I’m observing."
Riverside walked through the aisle beneath Briarwick’s section on the way back to holding.
Heather was flushed and breathing hard, but her smile stayed fixed. She looked up, found Roxie, and slowed just enough to make the moment deliberate.
Then she smirked.
Roxie held her stare until Heather continued walking.
Karen leaned closer. "I hope her bow falls into a toilet."
Angela rubbed her palms over her thighs. "That routine was really good. Fuck, my knees are shaking."
The next team was announced before Roxie could answer.
Westbrook ran onto the floor in black and silver.
They had placed second at regionals, directly above Briarwick. Their routine carried less difficulty than Riverside’s, but every stunt stayed up, their motions were sharp, and their tumbling landed cleanly.
Then came a western team in purple and gold with a pyramid that made the crowd stand.
Another team followed in white and red with a jump sequence so synchronized that Karen stopped talking.
Every clean routine made Roxie’s chest tighter.
There were no weak teams left to make Briarwick feel safer.
State had taken every school that looked unbeatable inside its own gym and placed them in the same arena.
Roxie stopped watching complete performances and began studying pieces.
The height of the jumps.
The flyers’ legs.
The bases’ grips.
How long the judges wrote after each ending.
She tried to calculate scores she could not see until every comparison started running into the next.
Angela touched her arm. "Your leg."
Roxie looked down.
Her knee was shaking the row of chairs.
She planted her foot against the floor. "It’s fine."
"You’ve been doing that since Riverside."
"I said it’s fine."
Angela studied her. "You’re getting pale."
"I’m naturally pale."
"Nuh-uh."
Karen leaned around Angela. "You haven’t insulted anyone in five minutes either."
Roxie looked at her. "Your glitter looks cheap."
Karen relaxed. "There she is."
Angela kept watching Roxie. "You’re making me nervous."
The answer died in Roxie’s throat.
Angela’s hands were clasped tightly in her lap, and she had been watching Roxie instead of the last team. Tori had started touching her bow again. The freshmen were silent. Even Kendall kept glancing at Roxie while pretending to watch the floor.
Roxie had thought she was hiding the fear.
Apparently, she was failing.
Coach Miller appeared at the end of their row. "Briarwick. Holding in ten."
The team moved at once.
Jackets came off. Water bottles were gathered. Shoes and bows were checked.
Karen stood, then sat again when her knees locked.
Angela pulled her up by both hands.
Roxie remained seated for another second, staring at the mat while another team ran beneath the lights.
Her body knew the routine. She had performed every count until her muscles moved before thought reached them.
That did nothing to calm her stomach.
Kendall stepped into the aisle. "Planning to perform from the chair?"
Roxie stood. "Planning to be a bitch until we win?"
They followed Coach Miller into the corridor leading toward the performance tunnel.
The arena sounded different behind the concrete walls. Music became a heavy beat beneath their feet, and applause came through in sudden bursts.
A volunteer checked their credentials and directed them into final holding.
Briarwick gathered beside the wall in full uniform.
Red across their chests.
Black panels around their shoulders and waists.
Black skirts edged in red.
Red bows high above their ponytails.
They looked good.
Roxie knew they looked good.
She still felt sick.
Coach Miller checked the time. "Two teams ahead."
Karen pressed a hand against her stomach. "My organs are currently trying to escape."
Roxie looked around.
Every girl had gone quiet. The younger girls were watching her and Kendall, waiting to see how scared their captains looked.
Roxie hated that they needed certainty from her when she felt none.
She stepped into the center. "Everyone look at me."
Heads lifted.
Kendall stayed near the wall with her arms folded, already looking prepared to criticize whatever Roxie said.
"Riverside was good," Roxie said. "Westbrook was good. Every team here is good. That’s why they’re here. Stop waiting for someone to perform badly so you can feel better."
Tori swallowed.
"Their routines have nothing to do with ours. Heather can hit every stunt she has. She still can’t perform ours. Westbrook can score higher than regionals. They still have to beat what we put on that floor."
Angela’s shoulders lowered slightly.
"We know every count and every grip. We’ve done this tired, bruised, angry, and with Coach Miller yelling close enough for me to smell his coffee."
Coach Miller looked at her. "Continue carefully and I drink tea."
The team laughed, and some of the pressure loosened.
Roxie looked toward the freshmen. "You’re scared. Fine. I’m scared too. The floor is huge, the judges look ugh." She shook her head and took a deep breath. "None of that changes what our bodies know. We trained for days on end. Now we go out there and make everyone else sit through it."
Angela smiled. "That sounded threatening."
"It was supposed to."
Kendall pushed away from the wall. "Nobody changes anything because the crowd gets loud. Nobody rushes because the judges are close. Hit the same counts we hit in practice. If Roxie starts performing like she’s alone on the floor, ignore her."
Roxie stared at her. "You couldn’t let me have one minute?"
Some of the girls laughed.
Coach Miller stepped between the captains. "Good. You’re both annoying again."
The announcer called the team before them.
One left.
Coach Miller’s face hardened. "You earned your place here. Once you cross that tunnel, you earn everything again. Your job is the girl beside you, the count in your head, and the grip in your hands."
The team formed a tight circle.
Hands met in the center.
Angela looked around the circle. "Briarwick on three."
Roxie shook her head. "State champions on three."
Kendall rolled her eyes. "That sounds desperate."
"Then say something better."
Kendall held her gaze. "Take first on three."
Karen smiled. "Bitchier. I like it."
Kendall counted. "One, two, three."
"TAKE FIRST!"
Their voices struck the concrete walls.
A volunteer appeared near the tunnel. "Briarwick, stand by."
The routine on the floor reached its final section.
Roxie heard the music building toward the ending.
Angela moved beside her. "Better?"
"No."
Angela smiled nervously. "Me neither."
Karen stepped onto Roxie’s other side. "Remember what I said about my organs?"
"Keep them inside until awards."
"I’ll try."
The crowd erupted as the team on the floor finished.
The girls ran through the exit tunnel, flushed and breathless. Floor staff crossed the mat while the announcer began Briarwick’s introduction.
"Next on the floor, representing the Northern Region after an outstanding third-place finish, please welcome Briarwick Academy!"
Karen muttered, "They had to say it."
Noise rushed toward them. This was their moment.