Emma remained still for half a second.
Then she raised her shoulders and smiled.
Thousands of people were standing.
Phones filled the air.
Rachel was crying.
Emma turned toward her coach.
Did I get it?
Rachel laughed.
You got it.
Emma looked toward the scoreboard.
The judges were still calculating.
But the crowd did not care about the number.
They had just watched a gymnast perform a skill most people in the arena had never imagined seeing.
Emma slowly walked away from the landing area.
A little girl in the front row stared at her.
Emma noticed.
The child smiled.
Emma smiled back.
That moment mattered more to her than the applause.
Because Emma remembered being that child.
Watching other athletes.
Wondering if there was a place for someone built differently.
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