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“The pizza is big and the sushi boat is too.” Becker argued.

“No, it's okay, I'm not in the mood for any of that. Thank you.”

The blond nodded and went back to his notes. Troian smiled at me and I went to my room. I left my toiletry bag and grabbed my wallet.

I headed downstairs and met Jaz on the way. She was coming from outside and wearing a sweatshirt that was definitely not hers, not only because of its size, but because it had the logo of the university my brother and Ivan attended.

“Good evening…” I greeted her with a certain malice, teasing her.

“Good evening, Roni.”

“Were you with Ivan?” It was obvious she had been, but I was still polite.

“Yeah… He’s… amazing? I don’t know, I get butterflies with him and it’s not something I usually feel. He really makes me feel special.”

“You're in love with him,chica!” I teased her.

A huge smile broke out on her face.

“¡Sí, me enamoré! And you have no right to judge me.”

“I would never do that.”

We chatted for a bit longer before Jaz finally go upstairs, saying she had to post a paper before midnight and that she still needed to finish it. I went to get my soup and went back to my room, ready to eat and completely shut down.

Because the next day, I knew I would have to start over.

March arrived in a way I never expected, and now it was almost over.

My time became increasingly scarce. If I wasn't on practice, I was sleeping cuddled up to Kendra. The days didn't pass, they flew by. And I was on autopilot every day.

The weekend was limited to Sunday and only after training, because in the morning we had a routine to follow. And withonly fifteen days to go until the competition, everything was finally falling into place. We had done perfect sequences without mistakes and this really encouraged the whole team, especially after the complications at the end of the previous year.

By the end of the day, Karlee confirmed that all the tickets had been purchased, and we were able to try on the uniforms for the first time.

I put on the skirt, which had a lining designed to allow us to perform the acrobatics without revealing anything inappropriate. I also put on the top, which looked like a long-sleeved crop top covered in rhinestones. Luckily, my hair was already tied up, but I still couldn't reach the zipper and the safety catch.

“Love, can you zip me up?” I asked Kendra, who was in the locker room with me and some other girls. Sidney was the first to notice the nickname and looked at me provocatively before joking:

“You guys are so cute it’s almost sickening…” She commented, making us laugh.

Kendra came over to me and closed my crop top, I did the same with hers. We stood in front of the mirror, side by side.

“With your makeup and hair done…” Kendra sighed, coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around me. “We’re going to be the cutest couple in Daytona.”

I smiled and turned a little, sealing my lips with hers.

“Yes, we will!”

The dark circles under her eyes and the tiredness on her face were clear. We all felt the same way. We would go to bed at night, but there was still a hint of anxiety amidst the chaos. Most of us were newbies, so we had no idea what we were up against. Evenif we had a glimpse, it wasn't like we had experienced that kind of competition before. And that weight was a difficult thing to deal with.

“Hey… Earth calling…, Roni?” Ken’s hands squeezed me, forcing me to leave my daydreams aside. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just a little insecurity I guess.”

“Trust the process, okay? Everything will be fine.”

I nodded, but still, the feeling didn't leave me.