6.Chelsea Cameron
54.4
Dani and Chelsea have enveloped me into a group hug but release me pretty quickly. They both did what they needed to do today, while I managed to screw up just enough to have no idea whether this is the best or worst day of my life.
Emma comes over and hugs me tight. It’s probably just for the cameras. She’s going to make the team, obviously, but it’s clear from just how tense she is in the embrace she didn’t expect Dani to close the gap, not really. There they are, though, at the top of the standings together with exactly the same score.
Jaime and Sierra don’t come over at all. Jaime’s head is buried in her hands, and she’s sobbing uncontrollably. Sierra stares into space. I don’t blame her. She beat me in the all-around, but that’s not really what matters.
Mrs. Jackson and Janet still have to do the math behind finding the four gymnasts who will combine for the best score in a team final, and that’s going to take more than a minute.
The wait is excruciating, but probably not nearly as long as it feels, and then finally Mrs. Jackson is at a microphone.
“This competition was fierce and a testament to the talented young women we have here with us today. I want to thank each of them for their efforts in such trying circumstances. Now, the scores were tight. So tight, in fact, that three different combinations of girls produced the exact same score. Thus, we moved to a tiebreaker that was unanimously agreed upon by our judges, myself, and Coach Dorsey-Adams.”
A murmur goes up in the gym. A tiebreaker? What the hell? Had it really been that close?
Mrs. Jackson is still talking. “… it was determined that priority should be given to the athletes with a longer history at high-pressure international competitions and the best chance to compete for multiple individual medals. Therefore, the four athletes who will represent the United States in the team competition are Daniela Olivero, Emma Sadowsky, Audrey Lee, and Chelsea Cameron. Jaime Pederson and Sierra Montgomery will remain our alternates, prepared to substitute should the need arise, making us equally proud, I’m sure. Thank you, ladies, for a truly inspiring and well-fought competition in the face of much adversity, and congratulations.”
I made it.
I’m going to the Olympics.
chapter fourteen
There’s no party this time, no parents and sponsors and coaches giving a champagne toast, just the kitchen table in the rental house and two FBI agents asking us questions with Mrs. Jackson off to the side, observing.
“So, this is one way to celebrate making the Olympic team, I guess?”
I sit down in the chair across from Agents Farley and Kingston.
“Congratulations,” Agent Kingston says, her voice soft. “And we are sorry we have to put you through this again.”
“No, it’s fine,” I assure them. “I want to help. I just … I already told you everything.”
Agent Farley nods. “I’m not sure we were asking you the right questions back then, Audrey.”
“On the night of Olympic trials, did Christopher Gibson send you this text message?” Agent Kingston asks, and then reads from a piece of paper.“‘Celebrate tonight, but remember what I said.’”
“He did.”
“Now, please think back, Audrey. What was that in reference to—his exact words, if you can recall them?”
I replay that night in my mind and start talking. “I was in the trainers’ room, and he came over and wouldn’t look at me. Then he said something about how Emma and I wanted to be on the team together and that … that she was holding up her end of the bargain, but that he needed more from me than I’d given him so far.”
“And you took that to mean?”
“That he wanted me to do better on balance beam.”
