golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter twenty-six

     eliana was next up for her third event. she'd already gotten even higher scores than yesterday on beam and vault, and was looking good for floor and bars. ben watched with a couple of the boys that took off from the saturday matinee to see her. she threw another wink ben's way, which made him break into a smile. when she came off of the mats, ben could tell that something was wrong. eliana went straight for her water as spots developed in front of her eyes. cally came up next to her and said something, but she didn't seem to hear it.
"eliana dempsey, back at it again on floor exercise with a score of 15.945!"
eliana smiled and slowly pulled on her jacket.
     ben watched her intently. "something's wrong."
"what?" sky said.
"she's not okay, something's about to happen."
"how do you know?"
"i-i don't know, i just have a feeling." ben licked his lips, then pointed. "look how much water she's drinking. she didn't even talk to her coaches before she went straight for her water."
"you're being a little paranoid, dude." sky said. "she's probably fine. relax."
ben bounced his leg nervously and ran his fingers through his hair.
     just as coach easton walked up to talk to eliana, the spots came back to her eyes, and she collapsed.
     "ellie!" ben screamed.
     she laid there, motionless on the floor. cally dropped to her knees and lifted eliana's head off the ground.
"folks, it seems that eliana dempsey has gone down, and we aren't quite sure why."
     "i know exactly why." cally said furiously. coach easton kneeled down and went to pick her up, but cally stopped him. "don't you touch her."
     ben stood up. "i have to get down there. i have to-"
sky pulled him back into his seat. "you aren't going anywhere."
"did you see what just happened?"
"you won't be doing her any favors going down there. they won't let you."
"sky, she just fucking collapsed, and you want me to sit here and do nothing?" his voice was near a yell. sky stayed calm. "that's exactly what i want you to do."
     minutes later, a gurney came racing down the floor towards her. eliana slowly came to, and saw coach easton bending down to pick her up. she scrambled to her feet and backed away from the emt's. a faint "no" was all she managed to get out.
"what do you mean, no?" cally asked.
"i'm not...finished." she stumbled to her bag and took her grips out.
     "oh my god." ben said. "she's gonna try and..."
     cally stared at eliana in disbelief. "you need to go to the hospital."
"i'm fine." she mumbled.
"people who are fine don't just collapse in the middle of a gymnastics meet."
coach easton cut in. "eliana, i think-"
eliana glared at him. coach easton shut his mouth, seething. eliana slowly put her grips on. the girl in line before her finished her routine, and eliana stumbled up the stairs. all of team usa, coaches and gymnasts, watched in complete shock as she saluted the judges. ben just stared, his eyes wide as she jumped up to the bars and did the best routine of her life, sticking the landing perfectly. she turned to the judges and raised her arms, then walked off of the mats and fell into her coach's arms, passed out.
"i cannot believe it, folks. eliana dempsey, princess of the uneven bars, has delivered a perfect score of 16.9 after fainting on the sidelines right before she competed."
     the awards ceremony started. grace finished in third, and cally in second. eliana had just come to again, and walked up the podium. she smiled weakly as the gold medal was placed around her neck, and waved to the crowd. after a couple photos, grace and cally wrapped their arms around her and made sure she didn't fall as they came back to their bags. the emt's were still waiting with their gurney. eliana eyed it. "do i have to?" she mumbled. one of them nodded. "you probably should."
she sighed. "let me get my bag."
they walked her to the ambulance, and rushed her to the hospital, where she was admitted to a room almost immediately.