The Flip Side (17 page)

I'm not really worried about getting caught, but I can't deny that prom is on my mind.

“Everything is going to be okay, Gwen.”

She glances around before leaning in toward me. “I've never done anything that I'm not supposed to do. It's exciting and scary, but what if my helping you means you don't make the Olympic team?”

“Gwen, it's only one night.”

“Coach Rachel thought it was only one dip in the pool topless.”

“It's not the same thing. You can't bail on me now. We've made all these plans.”

“I keep questioning what we're doing, but I'm not going to bail. And I have some good news. The Gundersens are going to a fund-raiser that night, so they won't be home.”

“Perfect! So I could actually have Bobby pick me up at your place.”

“And I get to meet him. See what all the fuss is about.”

I nod. “We can discuss the rest in the car.”

After gathering all our things, we head out of the locker room and toward the doors.

“Charlie, Gwen!” Coach Chris jogs toward us. “Glad I caught you before you left. Talk to your parents”—he nods at Gwen—“or host parents, as the case may be, and let them know I'd like for you to pick up some extra hours of practice on Saturday. Say, two until six.”

My stomach drops. Saturday? This Saturday? Of course he's talking about this Saturday. It's the last Saturday before we leave for trials.

“I have tickets to a concert Saturday.” I don't know how I got so brazen, lying to a coach's face. I just hope he doesn't ask me for the name of the band or the venue. I'll also have to make other arrangements, because Gwen will be stuck here.

Coach's gaze zeroes in on me. “You're going to a concert?”

I push through. “I thought it would be a good idea to relax, get my mind off gymnastics for a night.”

“There is no relaxing a week before we leave for trials.” His voice is eerily quiet. “There is no giving your mind a night off. You have to stay a hundred percent focused on the competition.”

“You're right,” I say, releasing a breath. I offer him a brave smile, while inside I'm fighting the bitter disappointment. Why did I think I could get away with this? “I don't know what I was thinking. I'll give my ticket to my brother. He can take a friend.” Why do I keep talking, spinning this lie when it no longer matters?

Coach studies my face. “I know you probably think I'm being obsessive about this, but you need the extra practice. We've got to get that dismount polished before trials.”

“I know. I'm a hundred percent committed.”

“Good,” he says, nodding crisply. “We'll see you tomorrow at regular practice.”

As soon as we're out the gym doors, Gwen says, “Wow, I can't believe you lied like that—on the spot without breaking a sweat. I would have been impressed if I hadn't been so worried that he was going to figure it out. I would not make a good secret agent or undercover cop. I don't think I took a breath during the whole exchange.”

“I decided I had nothing to lose by giving it a shot. If he figured it out, the worst that would happen was that he'd chew me out.”

“He might have decided not to take you to trials.”

“I know there is no guarantee that we'll make the Olympic team, but you and I have brought home enough medals from world and regional competitions that he knows we're good. That's why he pushes us so hard, to make sure we reach our potential.”

“I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of bummed about having practice Saturday. I was looking forward to helping you get to prom. What are you going to do now?”

“I'll just have to skip dinner and the ride in the limo, tell them to enjoy that part of the evening without me and that I'll meet them at the dance.” I look over at her. “That is, if you're willing to drive me over to the skating rink. And if not, I totally understand, Gwen. I shouldn't have put you in this position of doing something we shouldn't be doing.”

She gives me a smile as we reach her car. “You'd do the same for me.”

“I would,” I say. “I totally would. If I could drive.”

She laughs. “That would help.”

“I just really want to do this, Gwen. And I've never given up on something I wanted. I can't give up on prom, on Bobby. I'll figure it out.”

I am strong. I keep fighting. I don't give up.

The next day I'm able to catch up with Bobby at his locker.

“Hey,” he says when he sees me. “I didn't know you knew where my locker was.”

“Zoe knew, since it's close to Michael's. I wanted to give you this.”

He laughs as he examines the small star-shaped cardboard. On it is written,
I Survived a Chick Flick
. I glued a safety pin to the back of it. I made it as a peace offering and as a way to break the ice regarding what I need to talk with him about.

“I never claimed to have any artistic skills,” I admit.

“I like it,” he says, smiling. “Probably never wear it, but I like it. Thanks.”

He opens his locker.

“So there's something else,” I say.

He stops, looks at me intently, gives me his full attention.

I swallow hard. “I mentioned this family situation on Saturday. I can't get out of it, and it's going to go longer than I thought. I can't make dinner at six, so I thought you all could go ahead and eat and I'll meet you at the dance instead of at Zoe's.”

“We could move dinner to seven.”

“I probably won't even be ready until seven.”

“Then we'll eat at eight.”

“That'll make everyone late to prom. I don't want to do that to you, not to mention to Michael and Zoe.”

“So what if we're not there at eight?” he asks. “We miss a couple of dances and the long line for photos. Prom goes until midnight. We'll have lots of time to enjoy it.”

“It just doesn't seem fair to everyone else to make them late because of my schedule.”

“Okay, then. I'll check with Michael and Zoe. If they don't want to wait on us, they can go ahead. We'll catch up.”

“That's a lot of trouble for you.”

“Charlotte, I don't care about prom. I care about going with you.”

My heart does a little flip, even as I feel myself falling seriously in like with Bobby Singh. “I thought we were going as friends.”

“You're a friend I really, really like.”

“I like you, too,” I whisper.

“Okay, then, we'll figure this out.”

I nod and back up a step. “I'll talk with you later.”

“Count on it.”

I spin around, slam into Josh. He puts his hands on my shoulders, steadies me. “What are you doing in this hallway?”

“I didn't realize it was a no-Charlotte zone.”

He grins. “I didn't mean that. It's just that you're never in this hallway.” His gaze shifts from me to where Bobby is. I glance over my shoulder. Was. He's already left. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. I have to get to class.”

I rush off, breathing a sigh of relief. I do not need Josh getting suspicious. And I need to figure out how to avoid running into him at prom. I have the advantage that he won't be looking for me, but I'll be looking for him.

I fully realize that I'm taking a risk—grasping for the best of both worlds. I hope it's worth it.

Later, when I'm in Mr. Alto's class, Zoe slides into the desk next to mine.

“Did you really think we'd go to prom without you?” she asks, looking at me as though I'm a total disappointment.

“I know how much this night means to you,” I tell her. “I feel like I'm ruining it.”

“You'll only ruin it if you're not there at all.” She reaches across, grabs my hand, and squeezes. “Charlotte, we're best friends. We share everything. We're going to share prom night.”

A fissure of guilt hits me. We don't exactly share everything. For the first time I'm beginning to regret that.

•  •  •

Mom motions excitedly to me as I jog toward the car after school. I open the passenger door.

“Look!” she cries, holding out a magazine. “Look at this!”

It's a copy of
Gymnastics NOW!
and my face is on the cover. My gigantic face. The whole cover is me. I'm leaning forward on the beam, looking strong and confident.

“Oh my gosh!”

“I know!” Mom squeals. “Isn't it fantastic? Oh my goodness, Charlie, they did the most amazing job. You look absolutely gorgeous.”

I stare at the cover. Is this really me? My hair is a shining gold; my smile is warm and genuine. My eyes are sparkling. I look happy, in my element. Beautiful.

“Why'd they put me on the cover and not Gwen?” I ask. Gwen has won more gold medals at world and national competitions than I have.

“I don't know,” Mom says. “I guess your picture worked for the cover. It is an amazing shot. I mean, I— You are breathtaking. But of course I'm biased.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I can't work myself up to be as excited as she is. I'm worried that Gwen might be disappointed that they didn't put her on the cover. She gets most of the media coverage because she's brought home the world all-around title two years in a row.

“My baby girl!” Mom exclaims, pulling me into a hug. “The article is nice too. And you and Gwen are all over the inside, along with a few of the other girls from the national team.”

I can't help but smile every time I flip a page and see the face of one of the girls I've trained with. There are some wonderful photos of Gwen. I laugh at the one of us clowning around for the photographer, trying to look sexy. I can't believe they used it. This is really happening. “Olympic Hopefuls” is the title of the article. “Bringing It On for 2016.”

“You're going to get so many more opportunities like this, to be written about, to be featured,” Mom says.

“But the success will come with a price.” I set aside the magazine and pull down the sun visor so that I can use the mirror to put in my contacts.

“Everything worthwhile comes with a price,” Mom reminds me. It's not the first time she's told me that. “As always, focus on the positive.”

“I've got less than two weeks left to embrace the crazy that is my life right now. After trials—if I make it—I won't be able to keep my secret any longer. Things are likely to get a lot crazier.”

Mom pinches my cheek lightly. “Charlie, enjoy this ride. It's like being on bars. Remember when you were learning your first release move? What was it, a bail?”

“Yeah.”

“You've got to let go of one bar to grab the other, right? Otherwise you'll just keep swinging in the same spot and not go anywhere.” She reaches over to smooth my hair. “You've always been brave at gymnastics. I know you're going to be brave at life, too.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Speaking of being brave—

“So you know we have this extra practice on Saturday,” I say.

“Yes.”

“Gwen invited me to spend the night with her. We thought we could use the time to start mentally preparing. Get ourselves psyched.”

“I think staying so focused on gymnastics this weekend is an excellent idea. You're coming into the homestretch.”

“So I can tell her yes, just go right to the Gundersens' after practice?”

“It works for me.”

I try not to reveal how relieved I am. Another hurdle out of the way. Prom night is going to happen. As if on cue, I get a text from Bobby. With only one contact in, I have to squint at the screen to read it.

Changed our reservations for the restaurant to eight.

I text back,
Great. I'll meet you there. Where are we going?

It's a surprise. Can I pick you up?

I glance over at Mom. She's focused on the road. Bobby is going to so much trouble for prom night. I don't want to be a stick in the mud or ruin his plans.

I'll be at a friend's house.

I just need an address.

I type in Gwen's address and lean back. My heart is thundering. There's no way that Mom knows exactly what we were texting, but I still feel extremely guilty about it.

“Who was that?” Mom asks.

“Zoe.” I'm a little surprised that the lie comes so easily.

“I don't suppose you told her about the magazine coverage.”

Now I have to continue with the lie. I fight not to squirm, because lying makes me uncomfortable. “No. I'd have to explain things, and I'm not ready to do that yet.”

“She's one of your best friends. It seems to me that you could trust her to keep your secret.”

“I don't want to burden her with it.” Even though I'm burdening Gwen with a big secret. But it's a harmless secret. No one is going to get hurt. Still, I try not to feel guilty. “Besides, in a few more weeks she'll know everything.” If I make the team. I'll tell her then, before the Olympics. Or maybe after prom. I have so many balls to juggle to make prom work that I don't want to take a chance of ruining any of it by revealing my other life.

Mom pulls into a parking spot at Gold Star and shuts off the engine. “I don't think things between you and Zoe will change. I know you worry about that.”

“You're probably right.” I hope she is. I can't imagine not having Zoe in my life.

“Ready for a great practice?” she asks with a huge, encouraging smile.

I take a deep breath, easing my mind into positive mode as I slide my second contact into place. “Everything's going to be great,” I say, letting my breath out.

It has to be great. I've got less than two weeks of holding on to my secret identity. I'm going to make it count.

Practice Saturday afternoon is a test of mental toughness. I shove aside every outside distraction: prom, Bobby, the possibility of getting caught. I concentrate totally on my twists, my flips, my dismounts. If it were possible to give more than a hundred percent, it's what I would be giving.