She was mid-meet with a lot to lose, and so she knew she should have been focusing exclusively on her own gymnastics. But she couldn’t. Leigh was losing. In fact, there was now a small chance Leigh wouldn’t even get chosen for the team. Did it matter? Grace’s heart was calm now. Her body felt strong after half a bottle of water and a full stretch during the break between beam and floor, before she started talking to Monica. Grace led a short line of gymnasts as they marched around the bars toward the floor. The Olympics without Leigh. The thought made her tilt, like she might fall doing a simple march from one podium to the next. Grace swallowed air and blocked the thought. She couldn’t start thinking about Leigh now. She couldn’t let her own gymnastics suffer for the sake of her friend. The solution was simple: if Leigh wouldn’t be at the Olympics, Grace had to make one new friend.
