"Okay just lift your leg up a bit more," Junn instructed as he circled around you. 

You had been in the studio practicing the routine that Junn had choreographed for the upcoming battle. While SeVen, Lin, and Leebo faced the mirrors and practiced their freestyling, Neo was no where to be found, which left you asking him for help. 

With blood running to your head and sweat trickling down your cheeks, you silently cursed Junn for picking such a hard move as your elbow dug into your waist and your neck bent at a weird, painful angle with the side of your head on the floor. Being non-breakers, you and the poppers had deliberately told him to start with something simple if he happened to put in breaking moves; apparently he must not have understood.  

You felt your arm muscles tremble from supporting all your weight and scowled, who did he think I am? A fully trained b-girl or something?! You grunted as you tried to raise your legs up higher like he suggested, only to let out a yelp as you lost your balance and fell onto your back with a heavy "thud". "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" You whined and thrashed your head back and forth on the floor, flaring your arms wildly. "Why is this so hard??!!"

"I didn't think you'd struggle this much on a simple move," standing on the side with his arms crossed, Junn scoffed. 

If you weren't so tired and frustrated, you would have stood up and shoved him hard for being so obnoxious. Instead you just shot him a glare as you sat up and ruffled your hair. 

Seeing your death stare, he raised his brow and shrugged, "well I mean, the baby freeze is the most basic in breaking, so you know..."

Hearing that made you sit up a bit taller. Easiest move?! You thought in disbelieve, suddenly furious with yourself. Come on, ________! That was the easiest move! Why the hell did you complain so loudly?! How is it possible that you can't do it?! How dare you fail so miserably?! You better get yourself together and get it down right now! 

With that in mind, you squatted down, preparing to try again. "Well then why don't you come and help me instead of standing there and only talking?!" You snapped slightly at Junn as you positioned your elbow at your waist and started leaning your weight on your arm again. Taking notice that you weren't actually mad at him, he smirked and complied, walking towards you and taking hold of your ankles. "Ready?" He asked.

You grunted as you shifted your weight, "y-yeah!"

At your voice, Junn started lifting your lower body higher. Your heart began rising to your throat when he lifted your legs past what you were used to, and you struggled to adjust to the weight shift as your waist started hurting. At some point you didn't know how to move your body for your arm to hold up and you were sent into a sudden swirl of panic. "W-wait!" You panted, wanting him to stop. 

However, Junn must not have heard you over the loud music as he continued to raise your legs. But before you could object again, a sickening bent from your wrist sent a jolting, white hot pain up your arm, making you scream out as you collapsed onto the floor in sudden agony. 

You squeezed your eyes shut as stars exploded behind your lids and your mind wiped blank from the pain while your ears rang. It seemed impossibly hard to draw a breath, and for a second you could barely tell which way was up or down. You panted and curled up into a ball on the floor, holding your hand gingerly as you bit your lips to compensate for the pain. 

"OH NY GOSH ________ are you okay??!!" You didn't know how much time had passed until your ears stopped ringing and you heard Junn exclaim. You could feel his arm on your shoulders trying to flip you onto your back, which just made you moan more in pain. You forced yourself to open your eyes, and you could see pairs of shoes surrounding you as shadows wavered on the floor. 

The booming music stopped abruptly, and you could hear the boys calling your name and holding your arm and shoulders. "Okay, ________, it's okay," SeVen said soothingly, gently helping you sit up as you hissed at every movement. "It's gonna be okay." 

You whimpered as Lin knelt down, scooted over, and took your injured wrist in his hands, examining it. "I think it's a sprain," after several painful seconds with various rolling and bending, he announced. "You'll need to go to the doctor." 

Your heart dropped at his remark. The doctor... "Is it that serious?" You asked between your teeth. But what about the...? Your mind went straight to the battle that was in less than two weeks. You knew painfully clear that if the injury really happened to be serious, you might not be able go and the boys would be forced to change the entire routine. 

"Damn right it's serious!" Leebo boomed on the side, making you flinch. "You better go check it out if you want it to heal properly."

You bit your lip for a moment, pondering at his exclaim. You knew you should trust their judgements, given they'd had injuries like this before. 

You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, "okay fine, I'll call my mom to pick me up."

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"Don't you worry much about it, sweetie!" Your family doctor, a tall, young lady by the name of Dr. Nedda, reassured you cheerfully as she walked you and your mother to the entrance of her small clinic. Squeezing your small shoulder---to which you frown inwardly---she faced your mother and continued, "it's only a minor sprain. Make sure her wrist rests well and ice it if it starts hurting. If there's any other complication, just make an appointment to come in for a checkup." 

Before your mom could reply, you cut in quickly, "When is it going to heal, Dr. Nedda?" 

She looked down at you and ruffled your hair lovingly, smiling. 

You hated it when other people touched your hair without permission. 

"Now, if you behave like a good girl," she said slowly and sweetly as if you couldn't understand her, "I'd say you'd be cast-free in about two weeks! Isn't that great?!"

No it's not!! You wanted to scream in her face. "And t-there's no way of speeding it up?" You asked cautiously in a small voice. 

"Honey, that's the fastest any sprained wrist can heal, alright?" She replied patiently. "Just give it some time and it'll be good as new!" 

Something hit you right in the guts as your heart dropped. But the battle... You tried not to sniffle as you felt tears coming and blinked quickly, hoping you weren't too obvious. Your mother and Dr. Nedda exchanged a few more words, and before you know it, you were sitting in a cab heading home. 

As you sat next to your mom in the vehicle, your mind was in a swarm of thoughts, yet one stood out clearly: You had to go to the battle. 

Well, it wasn't really a thought; you knew it was going to happen. There was no way you were going to let your friends down no matter how your personal condition was like. So, as you sat there and thought intensely, what's left now is how to tell them. 

And your mom, too, for that matter. But that part was easier. 

Your mom suddenly laughed, snapping you out of your thoughts. "Are you still mad at Dr. Nedda?" She asked. 

You didn't deny it, "why?" You turned and found her staring at you. 

"Oh come on, ________," she chuckled, "look at who you're talking to. You know that I know you hate it when people talk to you like you're a kid." 

You exhaled and smiled back, of course. Your mother knew you and understood you the best in every way possible, and you couldn't appreciate it more. 

"Well, you heard her about the resting and the ice," your mom said. "So, you know..." 

"Yeah, I got it," you finished her sentence confidently. Another reason why you and your mother were so close was because she understood your independence and great ability to be responsible. Not many adults could bring themselves to trust an eleven-year-old as much as she did. 

This was also why you felt extremely bad for doing what you did next. "Um, by the way," you said, looking out the window, "the competition next week is canceled." In case she remembers and picks it up. 

"Wait, what com- ohhhh, that one!" Your mom recalled. "Alright, then." 

"But we're still planning on going out though," you quickly added before she could continue. "Neo just moved and we're going over to see his new place." 

"That's fine dear," she replied calmly. "Just make sure you stay in touch, alright? Get one of them to walk you home, too."

"Yeah, of course." 

You hated yourself for lying, and the fact that it was to your mother made it ten times worse. 

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The moment you stepped into the studio the next day, the boys immediately gathered around you, asking you about the injury and such. But the strange thing was none of them mentioned anything about the battle. Your heart studded loudly as you told them, "yeah, the doctor said it's not that bad and it'll heal in about a week." 

You could see they let out a relieved breath as they smiled at you and patted your back. "I'll still be in the routine with you guys, so that's good news," putting your stuff in the small closet in the back of the studio, you tried to sound nonchalant as you commented. 

"Oh, right, speaking of the battle," Neo suddenly said, "I heard High West got into the top 32 as well. That means there's a chance we'll be up against them again." 

That was enough to silence the room. 

You ground your teeth at the thought of the last battle. No matter how much you regretted the error you had made, and even though it wasn't technically your fault that you tripped, that didn't stop the judges from voting High West up into the top 8. You exhaled and said firmly, "we need to beat them this time for sure."

You set your jaw as you felt a slight tingle in your injured wrist. You looked down at it, losing to them is so not worth risking this.