Chapter 6
˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
“Early again?”
“Only place I’d like to be early for.”
“Says the girl who’s only ever early for practices instead of competitions.”
Aldira looked at her reflection as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, adding some ointment to keep the baby hairs down. She could hear the thumps and squeaks outside the door, Bringing a wide smile to her face. A small bag of skin and hair products was placed on a small stool near a long mirror; the bag lumpy with how full it was. She stared at as she fixed her black fitted top and high white shorts.
The bag strained as she zipped it up and threw it into her surprisingly bare locker toward blue large double doors. Heat pricked her skin slightly as she walked through them.
“Hey Ali!”
“Hey Louise!” Aldira waved back to the tall woman smiling at her.
“You're looking good.”
Aldira laughed and replied, “You're not looking bad yourself. Your hair looks great.”
Louise smirked and twirled, “hah you noticed. The place I got it at was amazing. They added extensions on the wig too.”
“Well it’s gorgeous,” Aldira said, inching away slowly, wanting to begin her warm-up.
“Thank you!” Louise replied, moving closer to Aldira. “I mean it's not hard to find places for this stuff but like good places with talented workers are one of a kind ya know”
Aldira hummed and nodded aggressively. “Of course, it's great you found it Louise, but I kinda wanna start-”
“And really, why is it so hard to find shops where people don’t wanna talk to you? I mean I just got to watch a movie that was on the TV and listen to music. No conversations, no gossip. Just peace ya know. That feeling is the best”
Aldira smiled widely and inhaled slowly.
“I totally get that,” She mumbled.
I'm never getting out of this.
“Yeah,” Louise smiled contently as she stared into an empty space in front of her. “Have you done warm-ups yet?”
“Nope,” Aldira replied, popping the word as she stared at Louise.
“Oh, you should start,”
“I should,” Aldira hummed, turning towards the stretching equipment that lay in the room’s left corner.
An awkward silence fell between them as they stood facing opposite directions.
Louise swifty said goodbye when she noticed a group of girls moving toward the uneven bars, and ran behind them, her bronze skin reflecting the light cast from the dreary ceiling lamps.
Aldira paced toward the matted area, shifting her feet to get into a comfortable position before starting her arm stretches, her wide shoulders flexing, showing off her muscled arms and back. She continued for a few minutes, trailing her eyes from the floor below her toward the group of girls in front of her, the crowd laughing as they practised. She giggled quietly as she heard the chatter, her arms moving as she sat and moved into a toe touch.
She kept her breathing light as she progressed through her rotations, finishing her fifteen-minute warm-up with a reverse split.
She continued to walk swiftly towards the beams as she stretched her fingers, stopping now and then to wave at some girls that walked past her, smiling slightly at each one. She fixed her hair before touching the beams, the wood smooth and cold under her palms. Aldira shuffled towards the end of the beam, pushing herself up as she pointed her feet, her arms steady as she flipped herself onto the beam, balancing while standing tall. A group of girls looked over at her as she held her hands up and continued into a forward walkover, She felt their eyes as she flipped, the air brushing around her neck and hair. She loved every second of it. No matter who it was, the gaze of adoration or hatred was all the same to her.
The claps of awe, stares of adoration, or glares of jealousy affirmed one thing. They saw her. They watched her. She was made to perform, made to create and bloom with every cheer or holler commended. The difference was nonexistent.
What is life without an audience? She thought, making sure to add some speed and flair as she continued practicing walkovers, She was one of the oldest regulars in the gymnasium. She had begun when she was young. Spotters and coaches knew her since she was a teenager. Her reputation, no matter how much she joked about it, preceded her. An accomplished gymnast, people knew her for her accomplishments as an artistic gymnast, while also specialising in aerial gymnastics. The others at the gymnasium would have watched her perform countless times. Everyone there knew her goal. The Olympics. It fit her well, the cameras, reporters, crew, and crowds. It was a mystery to many why she never pursued it before. She had plenty of time, as well as practice, but now, she seemed to be ready. She picked her dream apart, outlining every single detail needed to get there. But no, a crowd of people and a few people knowing and announcing her name wasn’t enough. She wanted people walking into the arena to see her. She wanted every article, reporter, and judge to know who she was. She was easy to impress but hard to satisfy. Her demands were never perfection, but instead nourishment, nevertheless her hunger for growth never ceased. The twenty-three-year-old had been performing since she was an early teen, and her love for the arts only grew since then. She rotated through her usual beam routines, stopping every now and then to drink water and wink at some girls watching. Aldira breathed in slowly after landing perfectly from the jump off the beam. She was content, a small smile lying on her lips. She had to figure out when to talk to the judges. They were judges of the Olympic games a few years ago, but getting a chance to talk to them was as good as talking to a current judge. To her at least it was. She continued some more exercises before cooling down, glancing at the clock reading 2:11. She headed toward the locker room, making sure to say bye to some of the other gymnasts there. She was nicer at the end of a session than at the beginnings. She showered quickly, putting her hair in a clip so it wouldn’t get wet. Her mind wasn’t really on her next class, she took enough notes that the professor would look over her while being engrossed in her computer, hoping to see any sign of a reinstated meeting time for the judges.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
A group of students turned towards her as she sighed loudly for the sixth time in the last two hours, Aldira turned towards the cluster, smiling dryly before turning back to look at her computer. “Did we understand enough of what I said today?” The professor announced as he looked over the auditorium, a cluster of low yes’s answered. “Alright then class, we will resume tomorrow on the online class.”
Aldira groaned as she slowly stood, checking her phone for the time as she texted Marie.
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Ali the gator 👑 : We on for tonight?
Marie the bee ☀️ : I’ll see you at the one restaurant next to that pretty park that the red truck is always parked in front of.
Ali the gator 👑 : Great but the lights are always way too bright there :(
Ali the gator 👑 : What about the one on the street with the fancy street lamps? It has those cool posters and has those ugly curtains.
Marie the bee ☀️ : Girl it is so dim in there you can barely see your food.
Ali the gator 👑 : But I thought I was the only ray of sunshine you needed :(
Marie the bee ☀️ : One ray wouldn’t be enough to see in that restaurant. We are going to my choice ;)
Ali the gator 👑 : Fine :(
Marie the bee ☀️ : See you later my love! Latest at six
Ali the gator 👑 : Cya!
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𓇢𓆸
Aldira continued to shuffle around the university as she mindlessly wandered to kill the time. Now, however, she found herself pacing towards the restaurant. The cool air pricked her skin as it brushed against her harshly, her green sweater doing little to warm her up. As she neared the restaurant she saw a short-haired brunette standing outside, the closer she was getting the clearer she could see the scowl on Marie’s face. Her straight hair was down, some small braids running down tied with colourful bands. Her white heels were high, making Marie’s height tolerable to herself. Aldira awkwardly jogged towards Marie, waving at her aggressively as Marie stood unimpressed, looking her up and down in judgement.
“Ya know…when you ask someone to hang out, you might want to show up.”
“I know I know, I’m sorry, I got busy.” Aldira tried her best to smile widely.
“You had no classes after 5!” Marie jested
“I didn’t plan on being this late!”
“It’s 6:40!”
“I’m sor-”
“Hush up. I am starving, so get your ass in here” Marie interjected, turning and opening the door to her right.
“Yes ma'am.“ Aldira hung her head and trudged behind her,
“I reserved a table. You know most places need you to reserve and show up at the time that you reserve at. That’s the point of the fancy table reservation sign.”
I don't think I have ever heard the word reservation said this many times in under 30 seconds. Aldira thought as she sulked behind Marie.
“You should be thankful this place isn’t bustling like normal.”
“I am thankful,” Aldira moaned as she trailed Marie to their seats.
“How was class?” she questioned, trying to distract Marie from her scolding.
Marie pulled a face before replying softly “Fine…How was practice?”
“Oh, that was fun. I uhm, ironically ended early because I didn't want to be late,” Aldira replied with a slow awkward laugh.
“Gosh Ali just order,” Marie stated, trying her best to keep a serious face.
“Hehe fine”
“Have you been careful recently? Especially with the fires and everything.”
“Oh, I’m not very worried. There haven't been any casualties yet, right?
“None yet but still, it's very eerie. Please be careful.”
“Sure I will, I’m always careful” Aldira replied flipping through the menu, stopping to wink at Marie.
Marie laughed dryly, opening her phone.
“Oh my god…”
“What?”
“There was an explosion at the airport!”
“What!”
“This is the worst article ever, there's no information about what happened…”
“Girl you are telling me nothing!” Aldira put down the menu and stared at the woman in front of her.
“I know nothing! It just said there was an explosion.”
“Scary…” Aldira looked back at the menu.
“Do you think it's related to the fires?” Marie murmured.
“Well, you better figure it out Ms Detective. We’re all counting on you.” Aldira spokein a scornful manner
“You should find out when you need to shut up”
“Hey you’re the detective, find it for me” Aldira replied snarkily before quieting down when she spotted Marie's glare.
“It’s so weird..”
“It is… it was probably an accident or something ya know? Maybe some gas leaked or something.”
“Maybe,” Marie answered in a hushed tone, putting her phone down.
“Did you find what you wanted?”
“Nope, plus it would be easier to choose if we go to a bakery.” Aldira wiggled her eyebrows.
“Ugh.”