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Chapter Two

Sitting around tables at the Garden Bar, the friends laughed and got to know each other better.

"That was a great lunch." Brian said sitting back and patting his stomach.

The guys laughed.

"You always like food anyway Bri." Nick teased.

Brian shrugged innocently.

They all got up and headed back to the womans gym. They sat on the floor and began stretching.

"How much time do you have off before you have to go back and pratice?" Nick asked Anita.

"We have about an hour and a half left." She said smiling at him.

Anita kicked up into a handstand and walked back and forth on her hands. She stepped down out of it and sat by Nick.

"Do you ever wish you weren't in gymnastics?" Nick asked her.

Anita became thoughtful.

"Not really, I mean all I know is gymnastics. I guess if I knew how life was without gymnastics then got into it I might feel trapped and want the real world, but my whole life has been filled with gymnastics so I don't really know what I'm missing so there is no reason that I wouldn't want to be in gymnastics. I love the sport." She answered.

Nick nodded.

"You are the favorite for the up coming Olympics, how do you feel about that?" He asked.

Anita hugged her knees and rocked back and forth.

"Its kinda exciting. I mean I never dreamed that I would have fans or be so big in the gymnastics world, but I am and I love it. I love competing. I hope to do well at the Olympics." She said slowly.

She moved and sat in the splits then suddenly winced.

"Whats wrong?" Nick asked looking at her.

"My leg and been sore lately." She said rubbing her calf. "It's probably nothing."

"Maybe you should get it checked out." Nick said, his blue eyes clouded with worry.

She shrugged and continued to stretch. Kelly, her coach walked in. Anita jumped up and ran to her.

"Can we please run through my floor routine for a while?" She asked.

"Well sure, if you want to work out during your break." Her coach smiled at her.

"No I don't mind." Anita grinned.

Kelly went to get her music.

"Ok guys get off my floor, I need to run through my floor excercise." Anita said shooing her friends off her mat.

The group all scooted back to watch. Nick smiled.

Anita stepped out onto the corner of the mat and set in her beginning pose. Her classical music began and she began her elegant routine. She had always admired Shannon Miller on the floor with her ease and grace. Anita tried to show grace like Shannon had.

She went through the routine. There was still some pain in her leg but she chose to ignore it.

She got ready for her final tumbling pass. A triple twist with a punch front. She did it perfectly until the punch front. When she landed she felt a sharp pain explode in her leg. She sat down clutching her leg.

"What happened?!" Kelly asked running over to her.

"I, I don't know its my leg." Anita said gritting her teeth against the pain.

Her friends jumped up and ran over to her.

"I think we need to get her to a doctor." Kelly said looking at them worried.

Nick gently picked her up and carried her out to a car. Kelly drove them. Nick sat with her in the back of the van. Her leg was drawn across his lap. He put an ice pack on.

They arrived at the hospitle.

*One Hour Later*

Anita sat in the hospitle bed. After they had taken exrays of her leg, the doctor said that he wanted to keep her for some tests. She sighed she was missing practice and hated the thought of being in the dumb hospitle.

The door opened and her doctor walked in.

"How do you feel Anita?"

"I feel like getting out of here and going to the gym for practice." She answered sadly.

"I'm afraid that you won't be able to do that for quite awhile." The doctor answered.

"What why?!" Anita asked out raged.

"We looked at your blood work Anita, and the exray showed that you have a hole in your leg bone. You have cancer."

Cancer, cancer, cancer.

The word echoed in her mind. She stared in shock at the doctor.