The silence after the challenge felt heavier than anything we’d done on the mat.
It pressed against my ears until I was half-aware of my own breathing, the slow rise and fall of my chest the only thing grounding me in place. We stood in a line, competitors shoulder to shoulder, facing the judges as they huddled together with their clipboards angled inward, whispering like whatever they were saying couldn’t afford to be heard.
My hands were clenched at my sides.
I loosened them. Then clenched them again.
I kept my chin level, my spine straight. Captain posture. Neutral expression. I’d practiced that part longer than any routine. Looking calm even when my pulse was trying to tear its way out of my chest.
I replayed everything in my head without meaning to.
The stumble. The recovery. Th
