they passed the judges’ table, Keisha heard snatches of their conversation: “—take us to an exciting new level …” “—never thought about doing it without a downbeat …” “How am I supposed to score this? I don’t even know what she was doing. Can you name every one of those tricks?”
Sarge was the next person to give her a hug. “I’ve never seen you look so graceful,” he said. But Keisha barely had time to respond before she was swept away by her teammates.
“You were definitely in the flow,” Marcus told her.
“That was sweet!” Jorge clapped Keisha on the back.
“Say, 2,236!” It was the captain of the Buzzing Bees. “What was that move you did when you—” She stopped, swung her rope in a circle and did a backward somersault, but she got caught up in the rope.
“Um …” Keisha giggled. “Larry-recovers-from-missing-the-branch.”
If Grandma could name her yoga poses, why couldn’t Keisha name her new moves?
“What about this one?” The Cadettes’ captain tried to shuffle her feet and skip her rope between each short step.
“That’s … that’s my calabaza steptaraza.”
“Your what?”
“That’s how we lay it down on the West Side,” Aaliyah said, pointing at the floor.
“It’s Grand River–style stepping,” Wen chimed in.
Keisha’s energy didn’t flow quite as easily in the final round, since there was more pressure on her to perform. More people watching made Keisha more aware of what she was doing. To calm herself, she pictured her friends at the V.A. facility. These people were just like them … curious to see her routine. Besides, they wouldn’t know if she messed up or not because even
she
didn’t know exactly what she was going to do ahead of time.
It was almost dark before the final round was over. The Steppers would wait until all the scores were tallied and announced, then stay overnight at the Renaissance Center. At their hotel, skippers from all overthe state could go to special rooms and meet each other and share moves. But Mama and Daddy were anxious to get on the road.
Just before they left, Daddy grabbed Keisha’s hand and led her over to the cove by the drinking fountains. Coach Rose followed them. “Honey, Coach wants to talk to us about something. It seems a few of the coaches are contesting your scores.”
Coach Rose got down on one knee to be closer to Keisha. “When someone contests a score that would make a difference in a team’s placement, the videotapes have to be reviewed by an independent panel of judges. That won’t happen this afternoon. It could take a few weeks for a final decision.”
Keisha looked back and forth between her dad and her coach. “So we won’t know today?”
“I don’t think so.” Coach Rose patted Keisha on the back. “For now, let’s be proud of our achievements. Whether they allow your routine or not, Keisha, you definitely learned that you can jump with the best of them.”
Daddy kissed the top of Keisha’s head. “There’s no doubt in my mind that
my
girl helped put the Grand River Steppers in the center of the radar screen for Michigan jumpers.”
That evening, the whole team gathered in theCoach Insignia restaurant on the seventy-second floor of the RenCen. The Steppers rushed to the windows and oohed and aahed at the lights of Windsor, Ontario, across the Detroit River.
Standing there, Keisha felt a shiver of pleasure run down her spine. At dinner, everyone had wanted to talk to her. She was a jumping sensation! Even if they disqualified her for not sticking to the same routine, jumpers from all over the state wanted to learn more about her moves. Fun roping was launched.
“Want a Lemonhead?” Aaliyah pressed up next to her friend and held out a box.
“Where did you get those?”
“They have a vending machine filled with candy on every floor.” Wen handed Keisha two Pixy Stix while Aaliyah filled her other palm with Lemonheads.
Keisha put six Lemonheads in her
Sarge was the next person to give her a hug. “I’ve never seen you look so graceful,” he said. But Keisha barely had time to respond before she was swept away by her teammates.
“You were definitely in the flow,” Marcus told her.
“That was sweet!” Jorge clapped Keisha on the back.
“Say, 2,236!” It was the captain of the Buzzing Bees. “What was that move you did when you—” She stopped, swung her rope in a circle and did a backward somersault, but she got caught up in the rope.
“Um …” Keisha giggled. “Larry-recovers-from-missing-the-branch.”
If Grandma could name her yoga poses, why couldn’t Keisha name her new moves?
“What about this one?” The Cadettes’ captain tried to shuffle her feet and skip her rope between each short step.
“That’s … that’s my calabaza steptaraza.”
“Your what?”
“That’s how we lay it down on the West Side,” Aaliyah said, pointing at the floor.
“It’s Grand River–style stepping,” Wen chimed in.
Keisha’s energy didn’t flow quite as easily in the final round, since there was more pressure on her to perform. More people watching made Keisha more aware of what she was doing. To calm herself, she pictured her friends at the V.A. facility. These people were just like them … curious to see her routine. Besides, they wouldn’t know if she messed up or not because even
she
didn’t know exactly what she was going to do ahead of time.
It was almost dark before the final round was over. The Steppers would wait until all the scores were tallied and announced, then stay overnight at the Renaissance Center. At their hotel, skippers from all overthe state could go to special rooms and meet each other and share moves. But Mama and Daddy were anxious to get on the road.
Just before they left, Daddy grabbed Keisha’s hand and led her over to the cove by the drinking fountains. Coach Rose followed them. “Honey, Coach wants to talk to us about something. It seems a few of the coaches are contesting your scores.”
Coach Rose got down on one knee to be closer to Keisha. “When someone contests a score that would make a difference in a team’s placement, the videotapes have to be reviewed by an independent panel of judges. That won’t happen this afternoon. It could take a few weeks for a final decision.”
Keisha looked back and forth between her dad and her coach. “So we won’t know today?”
“I don’t think so.” Coach Rose patted Keisha on the back. “For now, let’s be proud of our achievements. Whether they allow your routine or not, Keisha, you definitely learned that you can jump with the best of them.”
Daddy kissed the top of Keisha’s head. “There’s no doubt in my mind that
my
girl helped put the Grand River Steppers in the center of the radar screen for Michigan jumpers.”
That evening, the whole team gathered in theCoach Insignia restaurant on the seventy-second floor of the RenCen. The Steppers rushed to the windows and oohed and aahed at the lights of Windsor, Ontario, across the Detroit River.
Standing there, Keisha felt a shiver of pleasure run down her spine. At dinner, everyone had wanted to talk to her. She was a jumping sensation! Even if they disqualified her for not sticking to the same routine, jumpers from all over the state wanted to learn more about her moves. Fun roping was launched.
“Want a Lemonhead?” Aaliyah pressed up next to her friend and held out a box.
“Where did you get those?”
“They have a vending machine filled with candy on every floor.” Wen handed Keisha two Pixy Stix while Aaliyah filled her other palm with Lemonheads.
Keisha put six Lemonheads in her
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