“Okay,” Gabriella decides. “Let’s try it, and we’ll add on any of the best tricks we can come up with from there.” Sally and I agree. “We can do this, ladies!” Gabriella gets excited and we all cheer! We all have our work cut out for us, and if the routine focuses on Sally and me being the main jumpers, we just might have a chance.
After about two and half hours, four sweaty towels, and twenty glasses of iced tea, we have a routine. Yes! We’ll still need to work on it and pull everything together without stopping the ropes, but the groundwork is done. Now keeping Sally’s confidence in us as a new team hopefully won’t be a challenge. Just as we are ready to get started again, like sneaky creepy-crawlies, the Bouncing Belles roll by on their bikes.
“Look.” Melissa calls our attention to them. The Belles have weird smirks on their faces and give fake waves. I’m not feeling their vibe.
“Competition?” Gabriella is suspicious.
“Yeah, they used to be my friends,” Sally says somberly. “But now they’re just…mean.”
“Do you think they were watching us? Like, saw our routine?” Tina asks.
“Would they copy us?” Melissa asks.
“I doubt it,” Sally answers. “They’re too good to steal someone else’s routine.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “If they do anything to copy us, I will kick that little one’s—”
“You will act like a lady,” Gabriella cuts me off. “Competitors compete, not fight. Fighting is for savages. Are you savages or are you tough competitors who just put together an awesome routine and are ready to leave it all on the floor?” We nod. “I can’t hear you!” Gabriella screams.
“Yes!” we all scream back.
“All right then, let’s do this one more time, with lots of energy this time.” Gabriella gets us pumped again. “Hit the music, Tina!”
Tina turns the music on, and we get back into it. Melissa’s turning skills are pretty good, but Sally keeps blaming her for stopping the ropes. Those two are making me nervous. Gabriella pays it no mind and makes us practice our routine three more times until we collapse.
—
Before sunset, Marc and Gabriella say their good-byes. All of us thank Gabriella for her help. I guess she wasn’t so snooty after all. I have to stop being so quick to judge people. My mother always tells me that judging a book by its cover is easy to do; be open to the possibility that people might surprise you, she says. Check. The car begins to roll out of the driveway but comes to a screeching halt.
“Girls!” yells Gabriella. We all run to the car window. “Remember what I said: double Dutch is about jumping two ropes but one team, as a unit. Oh, and get really cute outfits. It helps with the ‘wow’ factor.” We watch them drive off, then stare at each other.
“Costumes? Oh my God, we forgot about costumes!” We all panic.
“Don’t worry, girls,” says Aunt Jeanie. “One trip to the mall…and I mean one trip. How’s that sound?”
We all jump around with excitement. The only thing that can make this moment even better is if we win the double Dutch competition…and if I see Charlie again, of course.
It’s qualification day at the Charlotte Sports Day Camp, and the place is crawling with players and parents from all over the city. As for me and my team, we worked all day on Sunday and it was tough, but we’re ready. Melissa learned that if she keeps her eyes on our feet, she’ll turn the ropes carefully. Tina worked out a fly dance, and Sally and I got our tricks down pat. I made sure we knew our routine backward and forward. Sally is no longer “frozen” in time and seems to have put the past on ice so she can focus on her new task, beating the Belles. We’re all sore, but we look good…as good as we can with two new jumpers who really get it. As for me, I am so ready!
In the car on the way to camp, Sally seems to be more excited than I am, but I’m skeptical. She’s been nervous and very negative about everything except picking out the coolest costumes. I just hope she doesn’t let the Belles get in her head again, because she is so good at double Dutch. I can’t believe she let those bullies tear down her confidence. Well, they won’t today. Not if I can help it. We’ve practiced too hard. There’s no way we can lose.
Uncle Larry and Aunt Jeanie pick up Tina and Melissa so we can show up as a team. Tina has woven ribbons into her two pigtails, then intertwined them on top of her head, which looks really cool. She must have done Melissa’s hair too, because she actually looks neat and oddly girlyish. Sally and I have football-black makeup under our eyes, so we all look like we’re ready for war. And maybe there is something to showing solidarity, because when we arrive at the gym and Uncle Larry opens the door for us, everyone watches us like we’re rock stars. This moment has that “ooow” effect like that scene in a music video when everything slows down. One by one, we step out of the car—first Tina, then Melissa, then Sally, and then me. We stand there for the spectators, straightening our superlight puff jackets that read 4-D in satin and sequins that Aunt Jeanie helped sew on so we’d really look unique. The 4-D stands for “Double Deuces,” also known as the peace sign for anyone who tries to defeat us in double Dutch. We pose with the two-finger peace sign as Aunt Jeanie takes our picture. Courage and confidence are a part of any competitive sport, and we have plenty. In unison, we reach into our pockets for our shades and put them on
