An Angel's Fix Pt. 07

"Well, good for me, since the defense was only able to stop about three of our plays. So, I got bumped from the scout team today to third string."

Ashley hand fed him one of her cubes as a reward. "That's great, baby!"

Joe finished the morsel. "Thanks. But, on the flip side, what does that say about our defense this year?" He fretted for a moment. "More importantly, I got bumped up because Rick blew out his knee."

The others gave a groan of empathy to the injury.

They chatted about a variety of things until Jill changed the subject back to home. "So where were you guys?"

Jasmine went to the media cabinet. "We were near the courtyard. You guys gotta see the tumbling clinic Ashley put on." Then toward the windows, "Molly, bring up file two, please."

A still image displayed of Ashley staring at the grass. Joe got up when a chime sounded. "Well, I've already seen Ashley tumble," he said while touching a panel on the elevator to allow the pizza man up.

Jasmine left the video on pause while Joe paid the delivery man with the money she had set up, and went to the kitchen. While Joe arranged the boxes on the coffee table, Jasmine handed out paper plates and everyone got their first slices. "I guarantee you haven't seen this, 'cause I sure hadn't," she said after taking her first bite.

Jasmine gave the instruction and the video played on the window. Ashley walked the grass strip in gray gym shorts and a t-shirt with the shirttail tied at her back. She was looking intently at the ground as she paced while putting her hair in a ponytail, answering Ken's question of what she was doing by reaching down and then holding up a flattened soda can before tossing it into the parking lot. Jasmine fast forwarded a bit until Ashley stood ready at the end of the strip. The camera panned with her as she tumbled down the length of the grass, then back when Ashley reversed course without pause.

Ashley winced at seeing herself. "Wow, I really am out of practice."

Jill turned to her with wide eyes. "A layout, rebound, half twist, into a back handspring?"

"A rebound?" Ashley finished off a bit of crust while replaying Jill's comment in her head in comparison to the run. "Oh! We called those punches."

"But." Jill sighed in half astonishment, half exasperation. "Without a spring floor or even a trampoline?!"

Ashley reached for another piece. "Yeah, why? You just gotta be a little quicker on the rotation when on grass," she said with a shrug.

A few more tumbling passes played before Ashley and Ken talked for a while in the video and Jasmine left the camera to record and took a position to spot and help catch Ashley. Ken lifted her in several ups, the maneuvers and dismounts being scarily awkward at first. The stunts looked vastly better after a number of tries, and a routine took shape that with some polish, could have been featured on any instructional video.

"Good God," Jill exclaimed after the video ended. "You really dumbed yourself down last year for us, didn't you?"

Ashley frowned while reaching for her phone that started to ring. "Not really. This is club and competition stuff. Y'all just asked for team cheering." Then, into the phone, "Hey Kim!"

"ARE YOU FLIPPIN' INSANE?!" Kim shouted across the cellular waves.

"No, just have a touch of the bi-polar," Ashley joked. "What did I do now that you're pissed about?"

"Jasmine just streamed me the video. What are you thinking, doing that without a mat?!"

Ashley looked pointedly at Jasmine, and Jasmine guessed the conversation, and shrugged, "Sorry, I'm a multi-tasker."

Ashley rolled her eyes and sighed. "Kim, it's fine. It was on grass and the stuff I did today is like kindergarten to me."

That caught Jill's attention. "What level in club cheering were you, exactly?" she asked Ashley.

"Elite." It was obvious in her flat tone that she wasn't bragging. For Ashley, her competition classification was a matter of simple fact. She then focused her attention back to Kim on the phone. "So now I can't even enjoy a little recess?"

"That was more than a little recess." Kim sighed before changing the subject. "Be careful, is all I'm saying. Anyway, I wanted to remind you that your Pinheads are coming over there tomorrow. Y'all will be playing that club downstairs as a dry run for your mini tour next week. Remember, you gotta be in Atlanta on Monday, Chattanooga on Tuesday...."

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this latest chapter. As always, please vote. 5's are greatly appreciated if you feel deserved.