For just a couple of split seconds, Lincoln's mind was blank and his eyes were squeezed shut. The only thing he was aware of was the rapid beating of his heart, threatening to pound out of his chest. He then slowly became aware of the weight in his arms, and as his hearing came back to him, he heard two things. The first was Luna and her band finishing off their song, and the other was … cheering? One eye slowly opened, followed by the other. In his arms, Jordan was looking at him with surprise, his eyes quickly meeting hers. It was then that he realised:
He had caught her.
He had actually managed to catch her. It had worked! This realisation brought a smile to his face, and based on how Jordan's expression seemed to mirror his, she realised it too. He could almost feel her heart pounding in her chest as well, as if it was in sync with his own. He could have stayed there with her in his arms, had he not heard his sisters cheering his name, so he stood up and allowed Jordan to hop out of his arms and turn to face the audience.
"Ladies and gentleman, wasn't that spectacular?" Helena announced, only spurring the applause and cheering the crowd gave. "Give it up for them!"
Lincoln saw Kat and Sadie walking behind him to his right, whilst Jordan saw Joy and Mollie on her left, so they all joined hands and raised their hands up to bow to the crowd. Once they stood back up again, they began to walk back over to the bench.
"Good thinking there, Loud," Mollie commended the boy.
"Yeah, that was a close one," Kat agreed. "If you hadn't done that, then…" Not wanting to finish that sentence, she shook her head. "Well, good work."
"I still don't know what went wrong," Joy pondered. "Did we throw her up wrong?"
"I think it was me," Jordan confessed as she and the others sat back down. "I felt it when I went up, I didn't angle it right." Turning to Lincoln, she gave him a weak smile. "Sorry."
"Why are you apologising?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Because I saw you trip trying to catch me. If I had jumped right, then you wouldn't—"
"Hey, come on, don't talk like that." He placed his hand on top of hers, briefly taking her gaze away from his face to look at it. "It was my job to catch you, right?"
Her gaze met his again. "Uh huh…"
"Well, then, I had to make sure that was what I did, no matter what. I wasn't going to let you get hurt like that." He then chuckled as he added, "besides, it doesn't matter now. It all worked out. Now, come on. Where's that smile?" She didn't even resist laughing as a smile came to her lips, making his smile grow. "There it is!"
"Thanks, Lincoln." She reached over and hugged him. "I knew I could count on you."
"Anytime."
From there, the showcase continued without issue— a few more individual performances took place, followed by a tumbling run from the older kids and a floor routine of their own from the younger kids, each performance impressing the crowd once again. As the younger girls bowed to the crowd and made their way back over to the bench, Chris took to the centre of the floor once more, microphone in hand.
"And that, everybody, is all we have time for today! Have you had a good time?" The hollering picked up once again, making him chuckle. "Well, before you all go, there's a few people we need to thank. First of all, we want to thank the managers for allowing us to put this together. This meant a lot to the kids, so we're all really thankful to have been able to do all this." The crowd gave a small round of applause before allowing the instructor to continue his thanking. "I also want to personally thank my good friend Helena— without whom, we couldn't have pulled this off. She really pulled through for us and helped us to work on everything, so give it up for her."
The cheering and clapping returned as Helena walked up to Chris. "Of course, we also need to thank you, mister," she argued with a grin. "You helped these kids to find something they love, and gave them the passion to do this to begin with. It takes a great leader to inspire people, and you did just that."
They could hear some of the kids shouting their agreements to this, which got the crowd to cheer him as well, once again getting a laugh from the instructor. "Well, I didn't do this alone. We also had help from Artie, who kept showing up in spite of his injuries to help, and we also had help from Lynn Loud Jr." He pointed out the sporty Loud from the crowd. "After initially just supporting her brother, she started coming by and helping to coach as well, which allowed us to provide more individual feedback when helping the kids to improve, and although she's said that she won't be doing so again soon, she's always welcome to come back and coach if she wants."
Rather than boast, Lynn merely waved off the acclamation she was receiving. 'Maybe one day I'll come back here,' she pondered, choosing not to say anything.
"Above all else, though," Chris continued, "I have to thank the kids themselves. They were the ones that chose to do this showcase in the first place, they were the ones to help promote it, and over the past few weeks, they have all worked so incredibly hard. They've worked harder than I ever could have asked, and though it hasn't been an easy road to get here, I could not be prouder of what they have managed to achieve. Honestly, I wish there were more kids like them when I began training as a kid, because I've never seen young ones with such passion for this sport." He turned to the gymnasts. "You should all be incredibly proud of what you've done today, so get up here and take one last bow, would you?"
With the crowd goading them on, none of them hesitated to get up from the bench and walk onto the floor. They stood in a line, with Chris and Helena standing on either side and clapping, before they took each other's hand and bowed to the crowd again, soaking in the adoration.
"So, thank you all for coming, everybody!" Helena concluded. "Parents, family members and friends can come in to talk in a few minutes. Hope you all get home okay, and enjoy the rest of your day!"
So, the crowd began to get up from their seats and head to the exit. While the kids began to talk amongst themselves about how things had gone, Lincoln noticed that Lynn had not followed her sisters and parents towards the exit, but was instead clambering over the wall from the bleachers. "Lynn, what are you doing?" he asked as he walked over.
"Hang on," she replied, then dropped down onto the floor, crouching down to cushion the fall with a slight groan. "There we go."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've taken bigger falls than that. Anyway, I couldn't wait, so come here, bro!" Before he could protest, she dashed forward and enveloped her brother in a tight hug. "You did it! I knew you had it in you!"
"Th-Thanks, Lynn," he managed to squeak out, feeling his sister's affection crushing him. "A-Any chance you could l-lighten up a bit?"
Realising that she was doing it again, she released him from her grip and allowed him to regain his breathing. "My bad, bro. I just can't help it, that was awesome!" She then saw that she had garnered the attention of the group. "All of you absolutely crushed it in here! For only a few weeks of practice, you seemed like you were pros out there!"
"I don't know about that," Jordan told the older girl. "I mean, I can't speak for the others, but I know there were some areas I could have done with some improvement on."
"No, Lynn's right," Chris countered. "You were all very professional out there. Even if you made mistakes, you carried on and put on a heck of a show! I'm really proud of what you were able to achieve out there, and I'm honoured to have been your instructor."
"And it's been an honour for me, too," Helena added. "Had I known how wonderful you all were, I would have moved here sooner to help Chris with instructing."
"You both made gymnastics fun for us!" Connie replied, with her friends all nodding affirmatively.
"Yeah, and I wouldn't have made so many friends if I didn't come here!" Natalie pointed out.
"Plus, some of us wouldn't have become closer friends than we already were," Sadie agreed.
"I know these two have gotten closer," Mollie quipped, gesturing to Lincoln and Jordan, who both glared at her mildly. "What, I haven't made one of those all day, at least let me have that one!"
While the others shared giggles, Jordan rolled her eyes, but Lincoln cut her off before she could say anything. "You're right," he admitted, much to the Rosato girl's surprise. "If it hadn't been for you girls and Artie, I wouldn't have found something I love quite like this, and we wouldn't have all become closer friends. I really owe you guys one."
"Lincoln, you don't owe us anything!" Jordan insisted. "If anything, we're the ones who should be thanking you."
Confused, he raised an eyebrow. "Thank me for what?"
She simply smiled at him and answered, "for making all of this happen."
"She's got a point," Kat spoke up. "It was you who suggested we put a showcase on."
"And for it to be a fundraiser for the sports centre," Artie added. "That was probably why they let us do this in the first place."
"Not to mention, you were the one who suggested the flyers," Joy further added. "I'll admit, your ones were… maybe one percent better than mine were."
"And we wouldn't have had all of your sisters helping without you," Sadie then pointed out, gesturing to Luna and her band, who were walking over.
"Well, dudes, this was rocking!" Luna commended. "I'm so glad we could be a part of this."
"So are we, Luna," her brother replied. "You really helped us out by doing this."
"Ah, we didn't do all that much, just added a little bit of flair. Not that you needed it, not with those slick moves!"
"She's right," Sam told the group. "You take away the music, and you still would've had an awesome showcase."
Lincoln's eyes widened— he knew that music was one of his sister and her band's top priorities, only topped by their friends and family, so to hear them say that was quite a high honour. However, he didn't get the chance to reply, as he soon heard clapping. Everyone turned towards the entrance to the gymnasium, where they saw Miss Thomas walking over to them. "That was wonderful!" she commended. "Absolutely wonderful! I thought you all performed amazingly today, and from what I could hear, the crowd seemed to agree with me!"
"Well, we're glad you thought so," Chris responded. "The kids worked hard for weeks, so it was great to see it pay off like that."
"I can tell. You all must have put in so much effort for this, and you did a great job in raising funds for the sports centre."
"Does that mean we can keep practicing here?" Lyra asked, before wishing she hadn't when she saw the woman's smile begin to fade. "Why not?"
"I'm really sorry, sweetie. All of you, truly, I am. I told the managers about how well the show has gone, but… I'm afraid they still don't think it could work." This dampened the mood for everyone, making her smile completely fade. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come over. I didn't want to ruin the mood. All of you should be celebrating a fantastic showcase, and you should all be very proud of what you achieved. I hope you find somewhere else close by that you can continue practice, because it's a real shame."
She hung around for another second before the awkward mood prompted her to turn heel and walk away. As she left, Lincoln turned to Jordan, noticing how her eyes were downcast and that she was biting on her lip, resisting either the urge to yell at the woman or the urge to cry. Though he didn't know what he could do or say to cheer her up, he could feel something inside him telling him to do… something. Anything.
"Miss Thomas!" he called out, not realising he was going to say that until he did. The woman turned around again upon hearing her name, her eyes locking onto the white haired boy, just like everyone else in the gymnasium had done. "I know it's probably too late… but could you at least tell us why they're closing us down? Even if we aren't able to do anything about it, then at least we would know… you know?"
She paused for a second, not moving or saying anything, before a smile returned to her lips. "Your name is Lincoln, correct?" He nodded. "I can tell you care very deeply about this." She then began rummaging through her handbag as she walked back over to the group, eventually fishing out a bunch of papers. "I can't show you what's on most of these, as they are private documents, but there is one thing I can share with you. Give me one second to find it." The kids looked at each other, wondering what the business woman was going to reveal to them, until she eventually found what she was looking for. "Here we go! Now, this isn't an official document, so I can share this with you." She held the paper out to the two instructors. "Would one of you please read this?"
"I'll do it," Helena offered, accepting the sheet and beginning to read what was written. "'Due to the non-competitive nature of the sport, the lack of regular events and the current financial status of the sports centre, it has been determined that gymnastics practice is the least profitable, and as such, is the sport we can no longer fund.'" She re-read it in her head, then looked to the woman with confusion. "This doesn't explain why."
"Actually, when I was first told you were shutting down gymnastics here, all I was told is it was due to financial matters," Chris recalled. "They never explained what that meant."
Miss Thomas sighed. "The short version is that the sports centre has been experiencing a decrease in profits recently. The only way to change this would be either to increase fees, which would be unfair on families that aren't in the strongest financial situation, or to increase attendance."
"But, surely the showcase would have created interest!" Helena argued.
"I don't disagree, but legally, any sport session run here cannot have more than twelve members per instructor."
"Then I'll start teaching here! I've had such a blast these past few weeks, it would be no problem at all."
"But that would then require us to give you a salary."
"I'll volunteer for however long is necessary."
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. I tried for you, but unless we received more funding, it wouldn't work." She turned around to walk away again, but spotted someone else walking towards them. "Excuse me, sir!" Everyone looked to see a balding elderly man with lightly tanned skin and a thin white moustache, dressed in a white polo, a grey jacket with what appeared to be a navy patch on the shoulder, and black pants and shoes. He was walking towards them slowly with the aid of a wooden cane. "I'm afraid we're not letting family or friends in yet."
"Well, that's good, because I'm technically neither," he joked, giving a hearty chuckle. "Now, I know I look old, but my ears are working fine, and I overheard your dilemma."
"Sorry, but who are you?"
Rather than be offended, he chuckled again. "Well, Miss, my name is Jeffrey Johnson."
"Jumpin' J?" Lincoln blurted, remembering the name clearly. The elderly man turned to Lincoln with a smile. "Pop Pop's war buddy?"
"That's me, and you must be Al's lookalike grandson. I can certainly see the resemblance." He ruffled the boy's hair with his free hand, getting some laughter out of him. "I can also see why he's so dang proud of you. As soon as he told me about your showcase, I knew I had to come and see what you had in you. Honestly, I think you're better than I was at your age."
"Really?!"
"You betcha! You've got a real knack for this, kid."
Smiling a wide smile, Lincoln saluted the man, who saluted him back. "Thank you, sir."
"I hate to interrupt," Miss Thomas cut in, "but you said that you overheard our discussion, which was supposed to be private."
"Ah, right!" He turned his attention to the woman once more. "You said that you would need a donation to keep this practice running, correct?" She nodded. "Well, I know how much this must mean to these kids, because I was just like them as a kid. Gymnastics meant the world to me, and I know I wouldn't be who I am without it. That's why I want to help."
"Sir, that's very kind of you, but—"
"But, nothing. Whatever it takes to give these kids the opportunity they deserve, I'm willing to provide. Is there somewhere we can discuss this properly?"
"Of course." She then looked to the instructors and said, "would you two come with us?"
Both nodding, Chris and Helena walked off with Miss Thomas and Jeffrey, the latter giving Lincoln a sly wink, leaving the kids in stunned silence for a good ten seconds. "What just happened?" Artie eventually asked.
"I… I think Lincoln just saved gymnastics for us," Joy admitted.
"You did it," Jordan muttered, a smile slowly growing across her face as she and the boy in question turned to each other. "You did it!" She then leapt at him, prompting him to catch her once more, spinning them round in a circle. "You did it, you did it, you did it!"
"Jordan, what are you talking about?" he questioned as he set her down again. "I didn't do anything!"
"Lincoln, I know you're modest, but come on! If it wasn't for you, none of his would have happened! Whether you want to admit it or not, you're the one that got the ball rolling for the showcase, you're the one that brought it all together, and you're the one that saved gymnastics for us."
"Jordan, I really think you're over exaggerating what I did. All I did was—"
"Oh, shut up and come here." She then pulled him into another hug, which soon became a group hug for all the gymnasts, so he rolled his eyes, smiled back and hugged her too. Why argue, when they could celebrate instead?
It was shortly after that friends and family were let into the gymnasium, and Lincoln's sisters were quick to shower their brother in praise for what he had achieved, as were his friends, his parents, and his grandparents. He could barely get a word in without someone telling him how great he did or how awesome everything was, but he was insistent that it was all of them that had made it work instead of just him. The clamour they received carried on for a good ten minutes before Chris and Helena returned and confirmed that Jeffrey Johnson's donation would save practice for the foreseeable future. This got them to cheer, and raised the notion for celebration, so the Louds decided that they would head to Burpin Burger to do just that.
After Lincoln and the others helped to tidy up and got changed back into their regular clothes, they all left the sports centre and headed to the burger joint to celebrate what had happened. While most of the girls wanted to talk about what they thought of the showcase, Lincoln also wanted to get to know Jeffrey Johnson better, since he had heard so much from Pop Pop and he had saved the practice for them. The retired veteran was more than happy to get to know his old buddy's grandson, sharing tales about his own gymnastics days and comparing memories they shared with Albert. All in all, it was the perfect way to unwind after the big event.
By the end of the day, Lincoln was wiped, but he didn't hesitate to join Jordan and the others when they started talking in the group chat. The good mood had carried on throughout the day, leaving him with a near permanent smile. He didn't know how long he and the others had been talking, getting lost in their conversation until he heard a knock at his door. "It's open," he called, turning to see the door opened by Lynn, the jock clearly ready for bed. "What's up?"
"Wanted to talk before bed," she said, before looking to his phone. "You busy?"
"Just talking in the group chat. I actually need to call it a night soon, so I'll sign off. Just give me one minute, okay? Make yourself comfortable."
"Thanks, bro." So, Lynn sat down on her brother's bed and waited as he sent a few messages to let his friends know he was turning in for the night. When he was done, he put his phone on charge and set it back on his desk, then turned to his sporty sister. "What's on your mind?"
"Still thinking about earlier, you know? Today was crazy."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I can't believe we pulled it off."
"Well, I always knew you would." She then patted the spot on the bed next to her, so he sat down with her. "You know something, Lincoln? When we were growing up, I thought we'd be playing all kinds of sports together. Soccer, basketball, hockey, you name it. Things didn't turn out like that, I know, but I'm glad. Even if that's what I wanted back then, I can't imagine you being any different."
"Thanks, Lynn."
"Nah, I'm serious. You're a great bro, and I don't think I've been more proud of you than I was today. Not because it was sporty, but because… well, you really came through. It was a tough journey, but you really showed your heart out there." She then gave a grin and a gentle punch to his shoulder as she added, "I'm sure Jordan agrees."
He rolled his eyes. "Lynn…"
"Alright, alright, I had my fun. I should be hitting the hay too." Giving her brother one last pat on the back, she stood up and walked over to the door, stopping in the doorway to turn to Lincoln. "Night, bro."
"Night, Lynn." With that, she left and closed the door, leaving him in darkness. A yawn escaping his mouth, the lull of sleep called out to the boy, so he shuffled on his bed and got under the covers. Once his head hit his pillow, he fell asleep with ease, his dreams to be filled with happy thoughts— about the day just gone, about his future, and about the people he holds dear.