Chapter 244 - Keep Counting
For half a count, nobody moved.
Roxie felt the entire pyramid waiting around her. The bases remained lowered, the flyers stayed ready to step in, and every girl seemed caught between the movement they had practiced and the silence that had replaced the music.
Her heart struck hard against her ribs.
This could not be happening.
Every jump had landed. Every stunt had held. They had reached the final and hardest part of the routine without giving the judges a single mistake, and now the arena had taken away the sound carrying them through it.
Roxie glanced toward the judges. Their heads had lifted from their score sheets. One official turned toward the sound table while another raised a hand, but nobody signaled for Briarwick to stop.
The count continued inside Roxie’s head.
Three.
Four.
Her body knew where they were even without the music.
She pulled in a breath and shouted, "Five, six, seven, eight!"
Kendall’s voice came from across the formation before Roxie finished. "One, two, three, four!"
The team moved.
The flyers stepped into waiting hands. The bases tightened their grips and lowered together while Roxie forced her fear beneath the next count.
"Five, six, seven, eight!"
The first groups lifted.
Shoes scraped against the mat. Bases forced air through clenched smiles. The flyers rose above them while the silence made every movement sound heavier than it ever had in practice.
Roxie reached for the next grip and shouted louder. "One, two, three, four!"
Kendall answered from the opposite side. "Five, six, seven, eight!"
Their voices met across the floor.
Roxie heard the strain beneath Kendall’s count, but her timing stayed exact. Kendall watched her from beneath the rising pyramid, eyes sharp and fixed on Roxie as though she expected her to rush.
The irritation in that look helped.
Even with the routine threatening to fall apart around them, Kendall still looked ready to fight her over half a beat.
Roxie gave the next count harder.
The bases pushed.
The flyers rose.
The first level locked into place.
Angela began counting with them, breathless but clear. Karen joined from the center while holding her grip around the flyer’s ankle.
Then the rest of Briarwick took over.
Every girl counted.
Their voices filled the space where the music had been.
"One, two, three, four!"
Roxie’s group lifted again.
"Five, six, seven, eight!"
The flyer above them reached her position. Across the floor, the other groups hit at the same time, and the pyramid began taking shape beneath the white arena lights.
Coach Miller’s voice came from the edge of the mat. It cut beneath theirs, rough and steady, keeping the tempo from slipping.
The Briarwick section caught it next.
At first, Roxie heard Mason. His voice came from the front railing, louder than everyone around him and nearly rushing because he was shouting with his entire body.
Dylan joined him.
Then Zac.
The students around them picked up the numbers, and the count spread through Briarwick’s section until hundreds of voices were shouting with the team.
"One, two, three, four!"
Roxie moved into the center of her group.
"Five, six, seven, eight!"
The bases caught her foot and drove her upward.
She rose above them and pulled one leg behind her, extending it high while she locked the standing leg beneath her. The position had hurt during every practice, but beneath the state lights, Roxie barely felt it.
The other flyers rose around her.
Red and black spread across the floor in a wide formation.
The bases adjusted beneath them, keeping every girl steady while the arena continued counting.
Cheerleaders from another school joined from the lower rows. Their coach followed. Another team began shouting from the opposite side.
The numbers came from everywhere now.
Thousands of voices rolled down from the seats and crossed the floor, replacing the music that had failed them.
Roxie’s throat tightened.
The entire arena was counting for Briarwick.
She had entered VCU feeling smaller than every team around them. She had watched Riverside perform perfectly and wondered how Briarwick could ever look large enough beside them.
Now the whole building was following their rhythm.
Emotion rose so fast that Roxie’s voice almost caught, but she kept mouthing every number. The crowd could carry the sound. The girls beneath her still needed to see that their captain knew exactly where they were.
The bases dipped.
Roxie released her leg as they threw her upward.
She tightened her body and spun twice through the air. The lights crossed her vision in white flashes before the waiting arms rose beneath her.
Her teammates caught her cleanly.
The crowd screamed, but the count continued.
Roxie landed on the mat and moved immediately. There was no time to celebrate the catch. Karen passed her on the way toward the center, and Roxie took her place behind the next group as the formation changed.
Karen and Kendall rose on opposite sides of the floor.
Their groups pushed them high, both girls hitting matching positions while the rest of Briarwick built beneath and between them.
Roxie joined the center.
Her lungs burned, and sweat slid beneath the makeup at her temple, but she continued counting while hands locked around her shoes.
"One, two, three, four!"
The bases lowered.
"Five, six, seven, eight!"
They drove Roxie upward.
She rose between Karen and Kendall as the pyramid widened around them. Roxie locked her legs, found her balance, and reached out.
Karen caught one hand.
Kendall caught the other.
Their grips closed tightly.
For the final shape, Roxie stood lifted in the center while Karen and Kendall held their positions on either side. The remaining flyers rose behind them, turning the entire pyramid into one wide wall of red and black.
Every line locked into place.
No one shook.
No grip slipped.
Roxie could feel Karen’s hand trembling around hers, but her arm stayed firm. Kendall’s fingers pressed hard enough to hurt, as though she planned to hold Roxie there through force alone.
Their eyes met across the formation.
Kendall’s performance smile remained fixed toward the crowd, but the look underneath it was a warning.
Keep up.
Roxie tightened her grip and counted louder.
The arena answered.
"One, two, three, four!"
The pyramid held.
"Five, six, seven, eight!"
The bases lowered together.
Roxie released Karen and Kendall as the flyers dropped into waiting arms. Every group caught cleanly. Roxie absorbed the landing through her legs, touched the mat, then moved directly into the last section.
The crowd continued counting.
They had never practiced with thousands of people shouting the numbers back at them. The sound reached Roxie from every direction, but she forced herself to listen for the girls closest to her.
Karen on her right.
Angela behind her.
Kendall across the floor.
Briarwick controlled the rhythm. The crowd followed them.
The team spread into the final formation.
Roxie’s arms felt heavy now, but she drove them into place with everything she had left. The girls turned together, crossed the floor, and hit the next movement without anyone arriving late.
The arena clapped with the count.
Karen moved past Roxie with a wide, wild smile. "We’re fucking doing it."
Roxie nearly laughed, but the next count was already there. "One, two, three, four!"
Angela reached her place behind them and shouted through her smile, "Keep going!"
The final jump approached.
Roxie planted her feet.
Briarwick dipped together.
The crowd reached the count.
They jumped.
Every girl rose at the same time, their legs opening high before their shoes struck the mat in one hard landing.
The arena erupted, but the routine was still moving.
Roxie lifted her chest and forced her body into the final motions. She had no music telling her where the ending waited. She had Kendall’s voice, the team’s count, and the routine carved into every muscle.
The formation closed around her.
Roxie and Kendall reached the front at the same time.
They faced each other for the final two movements.
Kendall hit the first one so hard that her red bow shook above her ponytail.
Roxie hit harder.
Kendall’s eyes narrowed.
Even now, she had to make it a competition.
Roxie wanted to laugh at her, shove her, and beat her to the final pose.
The last count came from the entire arena.
"SEVEN, EIGHT!"
Briarwick hit.
Roxie locked into the ending position with one knee bent, one arm raised, and her chest heaving beneath the red and black uniform.
The whole team froze around her.
For the briefest moment, the arena became silent again.
Roxie held her pose.
Her muscles shook from exhaustion. Her lungs demanded air, but she kept her smile fixed toward the judges.
They had finished.
The music had disappeared, and Briarwick had still hit every count.
Then the sound crashed over them.
The arena exploded.
People surged to their feet. Cheerleaders from other schools clapped above their heads. The Briarwick section screamed so loudly that Roxie could no longer separate Zac’s voice from Mason’s or anyone else’s.
Coach Miller stood at the edge of the floor with one hand covering his mouth.
His eyes looked wet.
Roxie wanted to stare long enough to make sure, but the official had yet to release them.
She remained still.
Across the formation, Kendall’s smile had changed. It was no longer the sharp expression she gave the judges. Her mouth trembled, and her eyes shone beneath the lights.
Roxie felt her own eyes burn.
She faced forward before Kendall caught her looking.
An official finally gestured for them to leave the floor.
The team released the pose and completed their dismounts before running toward the exit tunnel.
Karen reached Roxie first and grabbed her hand. Angela caught Roxie’s other arm, and the three of them nearly collided as they squeezed through the opening with the rest of Briarwick.
The moment they cleared the arena, the team fell apart.
Girls screamed and threw themselves at one another. One freshman dropped to the floor crying. Tori grabbed her bow with both hands, then started laughing when she realized what she was doing.
Karen wrapped both arms around Roxie and Angela. "We finished. Holy shit, we finished."
Angela was crying too hard to answer. She pressed her face against Roxie’s shoulder and kept repeating, "We did it. We did it."
Roxie held both of them while trying to breathe through the pressure in her chest. Her body was still following the routine. Every heartbeat felt like another count waiting to be shouted.
Kendall pushed through the group. Her chest rose and fell quickly, and strands of hair had escaped around her face. "You almost rushed after the first lift."
Roxie stared at her. "That’s what you have to say?"
Karen looked between them through wet lashes. "You two are fighting now?"
"She’s obsessed with me," Roxie said.
Kendall wiped sweat from her temple. "You would need to be interesting first."
Angela made a broken sound that turned into a laugh.
The rest of the team followed. The pressure had nowhere else to go, so it came out loud and messy while girls cried against one another and argued over who had started which count.
Coach Miller entered the tunnel.
The laughter stopped.
He looked at the team without speaking. His face was red, and his eyes were definitely wet now.
Roxie pointed at him. "You’re crying."
Coach Miller lowered his hand from his mouth. "Your routine may be under review, and that is what you choose to say?"
"So you are."
"Jones."
Roxie closed her mouth, but Karen whispered, "He’s crying," loud enough for everyone to hear.
Coach Miller looked toward the ceiling before facing them again. "The sound failure came from the venue. Officials are reviewing the footage and speaking with the judges."
The happiness inside Roxie tightened.
Angela wiped her face. "What does that mean?"
"It means we wait."
Kendall stepped forward. "They can’t penalize us for their equipment. We completed the routine, and every element hit."
Coach Miller’s expression softened slightly. "I know."
Roxie looked toward the arena entrance. The crowd remained loud inside, though another team would need the floor soon.
Karen’s voice dropped. "What if they make us perform again?"
Several girls went quiet.
Roxie’s body ached at the thought. They could perform again. They would if Coach Miller told them to, but the routine they had completed belonged to that moment. The silence, the count, and the entire arena joining them could never happen the same way twice.
Kendall folded her arms. "We shouldn’t repeat it. They saw the entire routine. Making us perform again after we already completed every element gives the teams after us an advantage because we’ll be exhausted."
Coach Miller nodded once. "That argument has already been made."
Roxie looked at him. "By you?"
"Who else?"
She released the breath she had been holding.
A competition official appeared at the end of the tunnel and called Coach Miller over.
The team watched them speak.
Roxie could not hear the words beneath the arena noise, but she saw the official gesture toward the judges’ table and then toward the floor. Coach Miller asked something. The official nodded.
Coach Miller returned slowly.
Nobody moved.
Angela tightened her hand around Roxie’s.
Karen held her breath beside them.
Even Kendall’s face had lost its usual certainty.
Coach Miller looked over the entire team.
"The performance stands."
The tunnel erupted.
Angela screamed into Roxie’s ear. Karen threw her arms around both of them again. The freshmen started crying harder, and Tori dropped to her knees beside them.
Roxie laughed as everyone closed around her.
The routine would be scored.
Every jump.
Every stunt.
Every count they had forced through the silence.
Coach Miller raised his voice over the team. "You still have awards ahead, so get yourselves under control."
Nobody listened.
From inside the arena, the Briarwick section began shouting the count again.
"One, two, three, four!"
The students nearest them joined.
"Five, six, seven, eight!"
Roxie stood surrounded by her team, sweat drying beneath her uniform and Angela and Karen still holding onto her.
Briarwick had entered the floor as the regional third place team.
They left it as the team nobody inside VCU would forget.