Free Balance by Kurt Bartling Page A

exercises in preparation of the task ahead .
    Michael stares at her, confused by her anger.  The form- fitting clothing she wear s reveals every curve of her lithe body.  L ean, yet toned, her physique falling somewhere between dancer and gymnast, f eminine without looking frail, t he lycra tank revealing her muscular arms, shoulders and abdomen .   It’ s immediately obvious she was no t one to sit around pampered . Based on the attention directed at Rena, he’ s not the only one to notice her physique.  Most odd is Takada’s reaction ; t hough very subtle, he alternates his interest between Rena and Michael.
    Rena warmed up, positions herself at the end of the beam.   She looks straight-ahead , avoi ding eye contact with Michael.
    Takada takes notice of her hostility .
    Michael re gards her with admiration, finding her undaunted determination , extremely attractive.  In the last day , he’ s seen her looking exquisite and refin ed in the amazing dress earlier; visceral and dangerous at the tryout; confident and determined at this moment.   He feels any animosity she has for him at this time , warranted, even if he doesn’ t understand why .  A ccept ing her anger , he hopes he can continue to spend time with her, as she ha s become someone he wants to learn more about.
    Rena waits fo r the tracer.
    As with Michael ’s first run of the course, the tracer light appears at the far end of the same beam.
    Rena jumps, cat-like , gliding across the beam breaking the tracer , causing it to disappear, reappearing fifty feet away on top of a pedes tal.
    She leaps headfirst over the end of the adjacent beam, tucking into a roll , into a handspring to a standing position on the top of the beam, gen erating cheers from the crowd.
    Gliding to the end of the beam, she do es a round off into a back hand spring onto a pe destal, into a second back hand spring to the next pedestal , into a third back hand spring to the last pe destal, contacting the tracer.
    The tracer again reappears across the open space populated by several pedestals of various height and diame ter.
    Like a cat , she bounds weightless from pedestal to pedestal straight to the tracer.
    The beam of light relocates to a high pedestal with four parallel beam s of varying elevation between her and it.
    Rena pauses, recognizing the elevation differences pose a difficult challenge, especially considering the height of the pedestal the tracer illuminat es .  She knows she only has to get her hand on the top of the pedestal, but just touching the top would likely prevent h er from moving beyond it.  She formulates a plan, knowing a mistake could result in serious injury .
    Leaping from the pedestal , she understand s she cannot lose speed .  Landing on the first beam with her right foot, momentum carries her forward.  Leaping to the next, landing with her left foot, she skip s to the third beam before continuing on to the last . B oth feet plant on the narrow round beam , Rena lets momentum propel her forward and down, bend ing her knee s to build power.
    Michael realizes what she ’s about to do, watching as her center of gravity carries over her legs.
    Now crouching, she launches herself like a cat up a tree , stretching with her arms, bringing her knees up under her.
    Without hesitation, Michael reacts , moving so fast he’s cover ed a third of the distance across the course , between Takada and Rena , before anyone realizes he’s moved.
    Rena’s hands reach the top of the pedestal , at the same time her feet , coiled up under her, plant on the side.   The tracer disappears.   Hoping the rubber soles on her booties hold fast to the s urface, she simultaneously pulls hers elf up with her arms and pushes off hard with her legs . H er body propelled upward and backward , toward the four b eams she just navigated, h opeful she’s gotten enough h eight , intending to adjust mid-flight to land safely on one of the beams.  Immediately , sh e realizes the