Gemotions

"Just needs a little more finesse," the coach had said. Finesse? That's what they said about the other gymnasts. She had been the powerhouse, the one with the strength and the grit. Now they wanted her to be graceful on the uneven bars. The thought of it made her body ache with a coldness that ran through her veins.

She avoided the other girls, their laughter a sharp, piercing sound. She practiced, but her movements felt forced, unnatural. She missed the satisfying grind of her old routines, the way her muscles burned, the joy she had found when she was soaring.

When she spoke, her voice was clipped, short. The warm-up exercises felt like an insult. Her former friends whispered behind their hands when she failed. The gym, once her sanctuary, now felt like a prison.