“Go ahead, Mimi, I want to watch this. Let’s see where your coaching is up to.” She crosses her arms and eyes Mimi appraisingly
Mimi takes a few steps backward, measures the distance with her eyes. Then she runs forward, springs into the air, every muscle held tight as she focuses on the rapid-fire sequence: arch body, heels overhead, position for landing.
She lands lightly on the gym mat, bounces once or twice, and lets her arms fall with a tiny sigh of triumph. She’s done it!
There’s scattered applause from the girls nearby. “I wish I could do layouts. They just don’t work for me,” Tehillah says, pouting. She does a quick handspring, leaping to her feet to demonstrate the extent of her prowess. “I mean, that’s easy. Layouts are impossible.”
“Not impossible, just… hard,” Lea says. “I always end up doing a front tuck instead. It’s like my mind can’t wrap around how it’s supposed to work, so my body won’t do it.”
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