Chapter 48: Sonya's Backstory: Close Call
Sonya swung around on the higher bar of the uneven bars, the pull of her body on her arms from the centrifugal force almost a friend to her, before she let go and did a flip before cathcing herself on the lower bar. As she felt herself swing around the bar, let go to do her new dismount she'd been working on. Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten it quite down as she felt her body turning to far to the left from where she let go of the bar.
As such, she knew she wouldn't be abe to stick the landing, so as she neared the mat, she instead just rolled. If she tried to make the landing right then, she was afraid she'd hurt herself and she didn't have the luxury of the time it would take to recover if she wanted her dismount to be ready for the next competition.
She could hear clapping as she got up from the mat. Her coach walked over to her. "Very good, Sonya," he praised mockingly. "I'm sure the judges won't expect you to abandon your planned dismount like that."
"I know I messed up, Odie," Sonya replied, doing what she could to keep from taking her anger at herself out on her coach.
"You do, do you?" Odie asked. "Well, as long os you know, I guess that means we can go home, huh?"
"Fine, what else did I mess up on?" Sonya asked, recognizing that his critique, while definitely unnecessarily harsh, was only just beginning.
Her coach began to lay ou each and every flaw she'd had. Sonya listened to him with rapt attention. She never liked how he dealt with her in relation to her mistakes, but at the same time, she couldn't help but appreciate how much he worked for her and helped her out. When he pointed out where she screwed up, it somehow made it easier to correct afterwards.
Out of everyone in her life, she felt she had to credit Odie the most for her success. When he finished his blasting of her performance, Sonya nodded. "Should I go again?" she asked.
Odie shook his head. "No, you do that and you'll just make it worse. I've seen enough of a travesty today already," Odie replied. "Go home and get some rest, get a girl for the night if you want, and get back here first thing tomorrow. We'll see if you can work through your blunders then."
Sonya nodded and hugged her coach. Even though many in the media had commented about where he put his hands on her when he hugged her, she didn't care. Some speculated that he was her secret lover, and as long as they never suggested that he had been sleeping with her when she was a child, she couldn't care less.
Odie not only knew her strengths when it came to gymnastics, but he also knew some of her personal secrets that she had never told her parents about. Her parents would have flipped out and likely cut the funding she needed to continue as a gymnast if they knew she was more interested in girls than guys.
Yeah, her parents were those kinds of people. Every so often, she would get a warning from her father about how he better not catch her with another girl like that. About how she needed to get a guy who would take care of her.
Sometimes it felt like he was trying to get her to stop being a gymnast, but she knew that he would never try to take that away from her. He knew how much of her life it was. Her mother, however, would be just as happy to see her stop as she would be to see Sonya with a guy.
Odie however, was fully aware of her interests and even sometimes helped her keep her relationships secret from her parents and the media, though, other times he helped her get a girl who was only interested in a one night stand. Regardless of how it turned out, he was there for her with complete support. Especially if a girl she was dating broke her heart.
Sonya took her time as she went to change out of her workout attire. She was supposed to meet up with a girl at a café nearby, but to be honest, she felt she was more interested in a relationship than the girl was. So, she doubted the relationship would go very far, although, she still wouldn't mind getting the girl in bed that day.
She was twenty, soon to be twenty-one, but that didn't mean she expected to have a wife by now. Besides, she wasn't sure if she really wanted a real long-term relationship. Especially with how demanding being a gymnast was.
When she was finished changing, she walked out of the gym calmly, her clothing she'd been wearing in her duffle bag, ready to be put in the laundry with her towel.
As she stepped outside, she breathed a sigh of relief as she enjoyed the scent of the rain falling. It wasn't a downpour, but a nice sprinkling of rain that always had lifted her spirits in the past. Today was no different as she started walking.
It didn't take her long before she got to the café, ready to relax a minute before the girl she was interested in dating showed up. The girl's name was Cassandra, but had asked Sonya to call her Cassie. She'd only met up with Cassie once, and this would be their second date, so she didn't really consider herself dating the girl just yet.
However, she was surprised to see Cassie already at the café. She wondered if she should try to surprise Cassie or act naturally. Cassie was facing away from the entrance of the café and was on the phone. Sonya didn't mind. After all, they weren't supposed to meet up for at least fifteen minutes anyway.
Yet, as she neared where Cassie was after ordering herself a caramel frap, she could overhear what Cassie was saying, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.
"…will go smoothly. I'm sure I'll have enough to write up an article about her secret love life," Cassie said to whoever she was talking on the phone. "I mean, it wasn't easy getting this close to her. Her coach wouldn't tell me anything when I asked him about if she was dating anyone or even if she had her eye on anyone in particular. He wouldn't even say which team she was hitting for."
Cassie paused, listening to whoever was on the other end of the line. Sonya took a deep breath and quietly walked away, a little hurt at this bombshell, but not that deeply. After all, she hadn't really developed feelings for Cassie, and now she at least understood better why the girl wasn't really interested in a relationship. All Sonya was to her was a story. Something that would help build her own career.
When Sonya's order came up, she noticed Cassie was still on the phone, so she quietly paid for her drink and left the café. When she was out of sight, she pulled her phone out to text Cassie.
Right now she was in damage control mode. If Cassie planned on writing an article about her, then it would likely draw her parents' attention. If by some miracle they didn't see it, it would certainly be picked up by much of the rest of the media and it would only be a matter of time when she'd be asked about it at a press conference, especially if she won another title or championship or anything.
Which would in essence be the end of her career, so she knew she had to make Cassie think that she'd gotten Sonya all wrong. While she didn't like the idea of doing this to anyone, especially a cute girl who's dimples made her heart melt as she stared at them, it was survival of the fittest. In both of their careers.
'Sorry I have to flake, Cassie.' Sonya texted. 'Something came up that I have to take care of right away. Maybe we can meet up again some other time. Or maybe do a double date if you're interested in that. I mean, I don't know if you're seeing anyone at the moment, and I'm sure my dad would be able to fix me up with someone, since he's often trying to get me to go on blind dates with various guys he knows.
'Anyway, let me know. And again, sorry I have to flake on you. I'm really not that kind of person.'
Maybe the tone in her text was different than how she had presented herself on their first date, but it was the only way she could be sure that Cassie wouldn't be able to out her like that. Besides, Sonya hadn't realized that Cassie was a member of the media, and she'd always considered anyone in the media, even if they weren't someone doing the writing, as someone to be cautious of.
The media were essentially either hyenas or vultures. They would go after you if they thought there was something that would further their careers and not think twice about the devastation they left behind. Not only that, but once they had what they wanted from you, they would leave and not give you a second thought.
So, Sonya was happy to have dodged that bullet, but before she was able to enjoy a taste of her caramel frap, she found herself waking up in that weird room in the competition.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone