‘Tricking’ you spat the word from your mouth like it was diseased and sniggered. ‘It’s called that because it tricks you into thinking you’re safe. But then BAM’ Jr cringed when you made a sound like a bone breaking. Mark didn’t so much as flinched while he stared at you making the same point you’d made countless times before. It was like a never ending cycle with you two when it came to this. The ballerina/gynmast in you hated the sport.
‘Say’s the girl whose been flipping about since she was two’ he smirked. You smirked back but it was in a mocking fashion Mark noticed.
‘A plausible argument Mark would I have not used my hands in all of those flips I did’
‘And that’s any different’ he replied smugly.
‘I really wish I had a whiteboard so I could educate you’ you rubbed your eyes and sighed.
‘Why is it different ____-ah’ Bam Bam looked at you with interest and you smiled happily at him.
‘Well Bam Bam since you asked so nicely. When I flip’ you glared at Mark, ‘I’m going from foot to hand and then from my hand to my feet again. Meaning the weight from my body is being supported with my arms in the distance between my feet leaving the ground and then contacting the ground again. When MARK flips’ again you glared at him. ‘None of his weight is supported when his feet leave the ground so when his feet reach the floor again he’s slamming his entire body weight down on his ankles. Land slightly wrong on the floor and…’ you made the same sound as before and Jr cringed again.
‘Ok we get it. He breaks a bone. You don’t need to make the sound all the time’
‘I’m just trying to drive home the truth’ you grinned wide while Bam Bam nodded his head in thought.
‘Why are you nodding? It’s not like what she said is true’
‘She kinda has a point Mark. About the weight’
‘I’ve never broken a bone and I’ve been doing it for 3 years’
‘Yet’
‘I’ve seen you flip 360 before so don’t give me that’
‘Again I’m using two feet to land. You… one’ Mark yelled in frustration.
‘It doesn’t matter!’
‘It does to me!’
‘Why?! Why does it matter?’ he asked going slightly red in the face from this whole thing building inside him.
‘Because you lie to me all the time about it! You always say this video is different but it’s never ever the case’ you huffed and sat with your arms folded tightly. Mark laughed incredulously and you glared at him.
‘What so if I stopped lying to you you’ll be happy about me tricking?’
‘It doesn’t work like that jackass’ the insult just rolled off your tongue without you knowing and after hearing it leave your lips you felt happier somehow. You even smiled slightly.
‘Now now guys. Is this really something to get upset about?’
‘No it’s not’ Mark starred at you.
‘You don’t know half of it’ you stood and exited the room before the guys could decipher what you actually meant.
20 minutes later you heard a knock on the door frame. When you looked up Mark was standing in it.
‘There’s no door Mark plus it’s you’re goddanm dorm’
‘Still…’ he waited for you to invite him in and after a while you scoffed.
'You may enter the kitchen’ you mocked and immediately went back to sulking in your own little world. A world that Mark had somehow found a way into.
'Tell me whats wrong?’ he nudged.
'You already know whats wrong. We have big arguments about it all the time’ you shrugged and started picking the fabric that covered your knees.
'I mean whats really wrong?’
'Whats makes you think there’s something wrong?’ you raised your eyebrows and faced him.
'Because you’re my best friend and I’ve know you more than your own parents’ he smirked and you imitated him sarcastically.
'Thats not something to brag about’
'So’ he patted your leg and leaned into you. 'Tell me’ you contemplated lying. 10% of the time you were able to get away with it with Mark if you really tried. The other 90% was him just showing off.
‘Remember all those Ballet classes my mum took me too?’
‘Every Tuesday and Thursday after school for about 15 years’
‘I don’t know if it was that long but yeah those’ you nodded.
‘What about them?’ he hopped onto the kitchen counter with you and nudged you slightly.
‘Our teacher always encouraged us to broaden our skills. Which is why I started the gymnastics class too. She always said when it came to being a dancer the more you know the better. Sticking to one type is restricting. I got into all the flipping but nothing at all like tricking. This was basic stuff. One time in class when she was going on about different styles she mentioned tricking but my gymnastics teacher always told me it was dangerous if you weren’t serious about it. Like really serious. You were stupid if you went in there expecting to be pro within a week’ you paused for a breathing while Mark listened to you intently.
‘It took me a good year and a half before I was confident enough to do it on my own and even then there’s a risk. But I’m not saying I agree with what you said before’ he bumped shoulders with you again and sniggered. ‘Tell me the rest’
‘Do you remember Holly?’ your friend starred at you with his eyebrows burrowed in thought.
‘Y…es. I think’
‘You have to remember her for this to matter’ you insisted.
‘Jog my memory. Is she the one that always smelt of chip fat?’ you laughed out loud and shook your head.
‘No that was Becky. Holly was the rich one’ his mouth hung out slightly before he started nodding.
‘… she was the right?’ you slapped his chest hard.
‘Mark she was my friend… for a while anyway’ your best friend scoffed and burst into full protective mode.
‘A friend? Like that time you came home crying because she’s pulled your hair. Or the time she gave you a black eye ooooor the time she completely humiliated your in front of everyone because you couldn’t get any new ballet shoes. It’s a good job I was there that day. If the teacher hadn’t walked in and taken charge I’d have given her a new face’
‘Please Mark you wouldn’t have hit a girl’ he stared at you in shock.
‘But she wasn’t a girl. She was a monster! Parents did nothing’ you placed your hand on his shoulder and shook him.
‘Okay I get it. Anyway one evening she sashayed in and announced she was taking up tricking. To be honest I laughed. If I didn’t have the confidence to do that she definitely didn’t’ you looked at your hands and shrugged. ‘I just thought she was showing off. I didn’t think she was actually going to try and do it
‘Because she just wanted to seem better than everyone?’
‘Exactly’ you scratched a spot on the palm of your hand and Mark took it in his.
‘What happened ____-ah?’
‘We were practing a technique when Hollys mum came into speak to the teacher. We were told to carry on with the move until she got back. Hollys mum looked awful like she’d been through a war or something…Holly had broken her leg in 3 places. 3 places Mark. She couldn’t walk probably anymore let alone dance’
‘She let her ego get in the way’
‘After that we never saw her again. That’s why I worry about you. Not because you can’t do it because I know you can. I know you trained long and hard to be able to do what you can do now but I cringe every time I see you flip. And it’s not just the videos. Its the fact that you have to then perform them live on stage. And I know you wear the right shoes and you would never put yourself in harms way but what happens if one day you miss something. What if you end up like Holly? That’s it career over. You’d be walking with frame for the rest of your life’ Mark lifted his arm and draped it around your shoulder before kissed the top of your head.
‘We just have to do whatever for what we love. I used to cringe every time you stood on your toes’
‘What?’ you looked up at him and he grinned.
‘I always wondered why you put yourself through that when it looked so painful. Then when I got into martial arts I kind of knew. It was beautiful watching you dance though’ he kissed your head again and you pushed him away.
‘You’re totally lying you hated coming to my recitals’ you poked his side with your finger.
‘I did not’
‘You fell asleep through half of them’
‘Well that’s because they were so late. But I always insisted I went to every one. I missed basketball matches on TV for you’
‘Oh my god you’re so thoughful’ you rolled your eyes and slid off the counter top.
‘By the way I don’t want you to stop worrying about me. I hate that I can’t somewhat change your mind about tricking but that doesn’t mean I don’t like the concern’
‘Believe me Mark this friendship is a life sentence’ he fist pumped the air and jumped off the counter before following you back into the living room.