Eyes Up, Dalia: Using Story Evidence

Eyes Up, Dalia

1Dalia stood at the end of the balance beam and pressed her chalky hands together. The beam was not much wider than her foot, and today it seemed even narrower. She stepped up, turned, and pushed off for her leap. When she landed, her foot slid off the edge, and she dropped onto the mat with a thud. It was the third time that week.

2Coach Ferris walked over and crouched beside her. "You keep staring at your feet," he said. "Look at the end of the beam, and your feet will follow." Dalia nodded. Her first meet was only two weeks away, and her stomach twisted every time she thought about it.

3That evening, Dalia pressed a long strip of blue tape down the middle of the hallway floor. Her little brother, Tariq, sat on the bottom step and watched. Dalia walked the strip from end to end with her eyes fixed on the far wall. She practiced every turn, kick and leap until her mother called her to bed. After a few nights, Tariq began counting out loud to time each pose.

4On the morning of the meet, the gym smelled like chalk and floor polish. Rows of families filled the bleachers, waving and chatting. Dalia's hands felt cold, and her knee would not stop bouncing. When her name was called, she glanced up at the crowd. In the third row, Tariq was holding a piece of poster board over his head. In thick green marker, it said: EYES UP, DALIA!

5Dalia climbed onto the beam. Her first turn was smooth, and her kick was high. Then came the leap. She landed, wobbled, threw out her arms, and slipped off the side. The whole gym seemed to go silent. Her face burned, and for one long second she wanted to run straight to the locker room.

6Instead, she looked at Tariq's sign. Dalia climbed back onto the beam, lifted her chin, and fixed her eyes on the far end. She finished the rest of her routine without a single wobble and landed her dismount with both feet together.

7Dalia did not win a ribbon that day. Even so, when she walked off the mat, Coach Ferris was smiling. "Anyone can finish a routine when everything goes right, but today you showed me what you do when something goes wrong," he said. Moments later, Tariq came racing down the bleachers with his sign crumpled under one arm.

8That night, Dalia stuck a second strip of tape to the floor. "This one is for the leap," she told Tariq. He grabbed a pencil and a notebook. "I'll keep count," he said.