Another aching bolt shot through me the moment my feet hit the mat. I clenched my eyes shut for a split moment, forcing myself to block it out. And I went again.
"Quick! Quick! We want speed!"
"Yesss,” he hissed happily. "Like that. Feet and knees together."
"A little cleaner, Reagan," he said. "You look like you are squatting to pee." Kova clapped obnoxiously. "We have five more rounds before we move on. Let us get it, girls!"
Bearing the pain, I bit the inside of my lip and completed the task. Five rounds felt like an eternity, but I smiled to myself, happy that I’d endured it.
We stood shoulder to shoulder waiting for our next assignment.
"Now we do handstand hops that we will add a back tuck to. What you are going to do is handstand onto the mat, whip your hips down and jump onto the floor, then onto the mat where you will jump backwards. When your feet hit the ground, whip them into another handstand. Let me show you."
Kova walked over to the mat and stood in front of it. He took his hat off and dropped it to the floor next to his feet. I rubbed my lower back with the heel of my hand trying to soothe the throbbing ache as I watched.
With his arms poised above his head, Kova flipped over into a handstand. His shirt fell down around his chest and revealed his toned, flat stomach with a peek of the rings tattoo. He snapped his hips down, feet pounding into the ground, then jumped right back onto the mat before jumping backwards into another handstand. At what I had to guess was two hundred and thirty pounds of solid muscle, the springs ricocheted loudly, and the vibration of the floor hit my feet. He did it twice, showing us exactly what we needed to do, and each time the fabric of his shirt bounced with him.
"Got it?" he asked us. We all nodded in unison. "Great. Get moving."
Ten
I stepped into a handstand and kept my palms flat on the mat and my fingers spread wide. I breathed in through my nose and whipped my hips down in a pike position.
"Snap your legs under faster, Adrianna."
I made sure to next time.
"Flatten those hips," Kova said to me. "Snap. Snap! Same for you, Holly."
I followed his instructions and pushed harder, shoving the increasing pain out of my mind. It only got worse with each hit into the floor. The more I did and the faster I went, the more lightheaded I became.
"Four more sets, then we are adding a back tuck."
I groaned inwardly. Adding a back tuck would make the skill more demanding on my body. It wasn't anything new to me. I'd done this set so many times I could do it in my sleep.
More importantly, I'd done this before I even knew I was sick. There was no reason why I couldn’t do it now.
I bit down on my lip, angry that I’d let myself get so deep in my thoughts.
I snapped my hips down hard then popped right into a handstand. Repeat. I moved faster than I had before, driven by aggravation. I was so mad I could cry.
"Good, Adrianna. That is what I want to see. Holly, see if you can keep up with Adrianna. You too, Reagan. Make it a competition. Who could complete the last round the fastest—but safest?"
Once my last four sets were done, I stood with my hands on my hips in front of the mat out of breath while I waited on my teammates. Kova walked toward me.
"Nice job, Adrianna. Now add the tuck. Do it off the mat and set it," Kova said, and looked into my eyes.
I nodded, but my stomach plummeted to the ground. I hoped he didn't see my worries. Adding the tuck required additional force, which instantly said additional pain in my head. I had to whip harder and use more stomach muscles.
This should be fun.
On the first one, I saw stars. True, sparkly, silver stars floated in my vision. I knew seeing stars was a sign of dehydration. My mouth was dry, I just didn't think it was that bad. I slowed down on the second one to gain my stance correctly and glanced at the other girls. I rubbed my back again. They were moving so fast without pausing in between. Like little machines.
"What is wrong with you?" Kova asked me quietly in the middle of my handstand. I folded down and looked at him.
"What do you mean?" I asked, out of breath.
"For one, you keep rubbing your back."