Word meanings: realistic fiction 8

Got Spirit?

1. I closed my eyes and focused my thoughts as the boisterous crowd quieted to a whisper. My heart thudded deep and intently in my ears as I waited for the beat to drop, my signal to begin. This was my first spirit competition, and while I’d expected to have some nerves, the bone-shaking anxiety of standing before the sold-out crowd had taken me by surprise.
2. I’d never been one to worry much about what people thought of me—most of my friends said that was my best quality. It’s one of the reasons I decided to break from the norm and try out for the spirit team, despite being the only male participant in the school’s history. I liked breaking boundaries.
3. What I didn’t like was the look on my granddad’s face when I’d told him.
4. “A cheerleader?” he’d asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.
5. “Spirit team, Granddad,” I’d corrected. “They call it a spirit team, now.”
6. “I thought you were on the basketball team, Samir?” he’d asked.
7. “I am,” I said with a shrug. “But that’s a winter sport. Spirit team is in the fall.”
8. “Oh,” he’d said with a nod before lifting his newspaper to cover his face. His silence spoke volumes.
9. The first beat of the music filled my ears and shook the memories loose from my consciousness. I played the routine maneuvers through my head seamlessly as I snapped my body into position and lifted my spirit partner over and over again. I crouched down as she stepped into my waiting palms, the two of us moving in perfect synchrony as I fluidly lifted and tossed her high into the air. She twisted and curled as she flew, and I judged her movements with the speed of light, positioning myself in the path of her descent. She landed, perfectly cradled in my arms, and I quickly set her back onto her feet before dashing to my next position at stage left.
10. I stared straight ahead, pulling the cleansing air deep into my lungs, readying my muscles and waiting for the signal. In a flash I was gone—running, running, leaping, springing, twisting. My arms and legs pushed against the ground over and over again as I completed my tumbling pass and took my position for the final pose.
11. I scanned the crowd, my chest heaving with deep, heavy breaths, the sweat on my brow glistening as though a crown of triumph. It was then that I saw him. Granddad. He was standing, his stony face aglow with a mix of pride and surprise, as he pounded his palms together again and again.