Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 (C) Copyright 2002.  M.C.  All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee or
profit forbidden.

   Copies of my stories can be downloaded from:
</files/Authors/MikeC/>

   Send all comments and suggestions to MikeC@NSpace.net



   =============

   James Part VIII.  Lofty Goals

   Chapter 51

   The girls went crazy, crowding around Ami to congratulate her and it was
ten minutes before some order was restored.

   A very breathless Ami sat back down next to me and whispered, "Thanks!".
I reached over her shoulder and gave her a hug and a smile.

   Erin came back and pecked me, "Whatever you did, it was just the thing!
That was so rave!" then she dragged my ear down, "You want I should fix you
up with her?"

   "No thanks, I already have a girlfriend." I murmured back

   "You know, just because Jules flies a plane and is a walking wetdream
shouldn't bias you against my friends!"

   "I'm sure your friend is quite the fox, but I'm resonably happy with my
walking wetdream." I smiled.

   "Erin!" Ami hissed at her, "Brian is waiting for you!"

   "Oh, oops." Erin jumped up, "My turn!" As if a switch had been thrown,
the levity diappeared from Erin's face, to be replaced by a mask of
detached concentration as she chalked her hands.  Breathing deeply, she
slowly approached the bar.

   "She's gonna do it...  The Mitchell." Ami whispered.

   Erin was poetry in motion, her fuild moves from hand to hand, bar to bar
looked totally effortless.  Only the pings of the guy wires and the
creaking of the equipment belied the tremendous forces she was keeping at
bay with just her fingers.

   As Erin wound up for her named move, I suddenly realized that Ami had
taken my hand.  "One...  And...  Two..." we murmured together.  At
"Release!" Erin threw herself over the bar, legs pointed straight out her
sides.  As she passed the zenith, she reached down to catch the support,
but with hands crossed, one over and one under the bar.  As the force
tumbled her in a whip, she was also twisted to face the opposite direction.
A front giant later, she dismounted with a single front tuck.

   "Excellent!" Brian cheered, "The best one yet!" as Erin came back
grinning and shared a high five with us.

   "That was truly awesome!" I said, "You did our name proud!" I hugged her
warmly.

   "Thanks, it's not 'mine' yet.  I have to compete it successfully
nationally before it gets recognised." She slowly caught her breath, then
continued, "It's technically only half a Mitchell - I've decided that I
have to leave out the last giant and land the front tuck to be a full
Mitchell." She looked up smugly, "But it's considered a high-E move and too
difficult for my level."

   The practice session came to a close as Angela came in and gathered the
girls around, "OK, shower now, then into your track suits.  You all know
your duties, let's get everything perfect for your family!"

   She held a brief conference with Brian and gave Ami a warm hug, then she
came over, "Let's go get you settled and we can have a bite before the
guests start arriving." She led the way out, "Ami tells me you helped her
get the Tkatchev."

   "Oh, it was nothing Ami couldn't have done herself."

   "Still, it couldn't come a better time.  She was quite stressed out by
it and now she can share the good news with her parents!"

   Jules waved to us where she was giving a small group of girls a guided
tour of Minimax.  She was wearing a T with 'Camp-counselor' across it.

   "That young lady is a remarkable role example for our kids." Angela
nodded back, "Too often they are shunned by their friends at school because
they don't hang out at malls or movies.  I think they can look at JulieAnn
and realize what a lot they can accomplish if they would think for
themselves and not bow to peer pressure."

   "They already seem very focused and postive."

   "They are, and I'm very proud of them.  The downside of this sport is
that for the 30-plus hours of work each week, most of our girls don't get
the recognition they deserve, even less than track and field athletes.

   "Then, before they reach their late teens, physical growth will all but
end their competitive career.  So we try to give them skills beyond the
jumps and spins; the tricks you see on the apparatus.  Instead we hope to
teach useful and healthy life-skills they can carry with them their entire
lives, even if they don't stay in sports." She looked back at Jules and
then smiled at me, "Although, soon enough they'll find what a firm, toned
body can do for their social life!"

   I filled in a form with information about basic health and diet
information as Angela continued, "And also let me thank you for the fresh
fruits.  We're an hour round trip from the town and it's hard keeping 60
healthy and active kids properly provisioned!"

   She did a few more simple tests on me, "You and Erin seem to share a
good physiological makeup; strong, fairly dense bone structure and good
muscle mass.  She's very lucky, artistic gymnastics is a high impact sport
which requires a high power-to-weight ratio, so the bone density is
critical, otherwise we'll be risking stress-fractures at the intense
training level she's in.  And we are expecting her to excel at the Novice
level.

   "That's it.  Now I have to go to the mainland and round up the parents
and get them organised to be ferried over to the island.  So why don't you
and JulieAnn find Erin - she's helping out at the food table.  She was
somewhat insistent on that job.  For you, I think." Angela smiled and
dismissed me.

   I wandered out to the beach where Jules was surrounded by a crowd.  As I
drew near I realised the interest was not so much in Minimax or Jules as a
pilot, but it was in Jules the model, as they gawked at her pictures in the
boating catalog.

   "Hi love!" Jules waved to me, "And here is the OTHER reason modeling is
fun!  You get to meet cute hunks!" She gave me a hug.

   "He's just Erin's brother!"

   "Lookit!  That's him here!" There were frantic flipping of the catalog
pages, "And here!" Almost worshipfully, I thought.  "He's so fat!' But I
could be wrong.

   "Have you finished all your tasks?" I asked, then added the magic
phrase, "Angela's gonna be checking!" The crowd vanished in an eyeblink.

   "Don't you find being a public figure really exhausting?  I'm famished!"
I said as I took Jules' hand.

   "Ah," She smiled, "Then we'd better get some food in you before you lose
your charming boyish figure!" She patted my tummy, "Although I think you've
already got enough charm for two here!"

   We found Erin at the hotdog stand and she quickly shoved 2 in my hands.
"Now see if you can finish these without scaring the kiddies too much!"

   "Yeah!" Jules laughed, "We don't tell him it's dinnertime until we're
halfway through.  He sits and the meal's gone!"

   I finished the dogs as they were still chittering away.  "MORE!" I
snarled at them as I grabbed Jules arm and started nibbling on it.

   She leaned over and bit my ear, "Yeah baby, eat me!  Give Mama a good
lickin'!"

   "Guys!" Erin hissed, "You're embarrassing me!" and handed me another dog
and a juice.

   "And stop wiping your mouth all over me!"

   By the time I finished the food they were giggling and swapping gossip
like long lost friends.

   "JulieAnn, can we talk to you a bit?" Ami was with another girl, even
taller and very pretty.  "This is my friend Cara, and, uh, we wanted to
know if we can go into modeling as well."

   "I can get in touch with our agent and find out." She smiled.  "But I
don't see why not - if you can spare the time, that is."

   "This is probably our last year.  I'm getting a little too tall and big
for comptetitive gymnastics." Ami said sadly, then, "And Cara's 14 and
she's like 5'-5" already!"

   "You know you must have your parents' go ahead first?"

   "Yeah, we figure we'll check with you and then talk to them when they
get here."

   "Yeah, do that, I'll be here or down at the plane." She smiled as they
ran off.

   The place had started to fill with visitors so I took Jules to get some
dessert and fruits and went and ate at the water's edge.  Jules came back
from the Ultralight and opened up a book, "The Synergy of Mathamatics and
Business, a Treatis".

   "You know I get all these charts and analyses of current and projected
income from the companies and nobody ever tells you how they're derived? 
It's like they have public relations talking about accountants talking
about management and nobody understands where the others are coming from!"
She sighed as she leaned against my leg, "So I guess I'll have to learn all
three to really get to know what they're saying!"

   "And you can't wear a bra while you're doing that?"

   "I took it off, that outfit's HOT!"

   "You can say that again!" I leered as my mind supplied the details.

   "Besides, most of the girls aren't wearing bras!"

   "Most of the girls don't have what you have, love!"

   She looked up and took a slow deep breath, "You think so?" she smiled
happily, "What about Ami and Cara?"

   "Hmm, that Cara sure looks yummy!" I ran a finger lightly along the side
of JulieAnn's breast and we watched her nipple grow.  "Of course I'll need
to verify that, after all, looks CAN be deceiving!"

   "Mmmm, don worry love, IF and when the time comes, I can do the
verifying, so don't put yourself out!" She sighed and squirmed on me, "Mmm,
James stop.  I can't study..."

   "I was hoping for some distraction here."

   "Distract yourself, I'm not going to let you make me flunk this Friday!"
She turned her back to me and started reading.

   I had just drifted off when Erin's voice woke me, "See I told you he's
here!"

   I roused myself, "Hi Mom, Dad!"

   "Hello James...  JulieAnn!" Mom hugged me and took Jules' hand.

   "Hello James." Dad shook my hand, "JulieAnn..." Dad looked at her, "The
numnut" not quite making it to his lips.  "Erin tells me you FLEW up here?"

   "Yeah Dad, Jules is an instructor at the Flight Park..."

   "That's right, Mr Mitchell," Jules took over smoothly, "I hold a BFI
flight instructor's licence which allows me to fly ultralights and give
solo-ing instructions on them."

   "This" Dad pointed, "This is an Ultralight?  An airplane?"

   "Yes, the ultralights are designed to be as safe as technology can make
it.  In fact they have the best safety record per passenger-mile than any
other form of transportation.  Can I show you and Mrs Mitchell around?"
Without waiting for an answer she took Dad's hand and led them to MiniMax.

   "Uh-oh, more trouble!" Ering nudged me, "That's Ami and her parents...
and Cara and HER parents!"

   Erin made introductions and Ami's father said, "Ami informs me that you
helped her get her, er..."

   "Tkatchev!" Ami suppled.

   "Yeah, that.  Thank you very much!"

   "Yeah!  Thanks!" Ami gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

   "And she also says you and your friend are models?"

   "Well, we've only just started..." Ami produced the catalog and started
showing it to them.  I continued, "We did this one and then, last week, we
were on another shoot, also with boats, but out of State."

   "Did you fly there?" Cara asked.

   "We could have, but we sailed there on our boat."

   Jules came back with the folks, saying, "...the BRS can deploy anywhere
above 300 feet to lower the craft and her passengers to safety." She paused
for Erin to make introductions again.

   "JulieAnn has been telling us about her flying school at the Lake." Mom
announced proudly.

   "And the capabilities of her Airplane!" Dad sounded indecently pleased
too.

   "But what about this?" The others waved the catalog about.

   "I told Ami and Cara to consult with you, and make sure it is alright
with you first." Jules answered, "Then we can speak to our agent."

   "Are they old enough?"

   "Oh, models can be any age, in fact," Jules flipped to another picture,
"Amanda's even younger than them!" In a whisper, "D'you know what she's
studying for?" She blinked, "Engineering!  That's a rule we have, if you
want to model and have fun, you'll have to study and make yourself the best
person you can be.  Otherwise you'll just concentrate on the fun and easy
things and forget about the important things in life."

   "In the summer too?"

   "Yes, ALL the time." Jules paused, "It's like your training, do you
think you can get this far by taking time off all the time?"

   "No," Ami agreed, "We have to do our exercises even when we're on
holiday.  Every day."

   "And that's why you're good at it, right?" They nodded.  "It's the same
with your brains.  If you want it to be any good, you can't stop exercising
it." She stopped, "It's the RULE!  Take it or leave it!" There were nods
and smiles all around.  "Now the studying is not just talk." Jules
cautioned, "It's very serious, in fact James and I will have to take an
Exam this Friday.  On EVERY subject, all at once."

   "Oh my god!  Really!?"

   "Oh yes, I have to finish another grade next month, and James, he has to
get his high school diploma and start University!"

   "How's that going?" Mom asked me.

   "Pretty good, except I had to take time off to visit my sister."

   "Don't blame me, you volunteered!"

   "And you could've brought your books along!" Jules scoffed, "_I_ did!"

   Mom looked at the others, "We've very impressed at what these young
people have done for themselves.  They have a paying summer job, plus a job
modeling; they study hard and never once complained."

   Dad nodded appraisingly at Jules, "Quite the pleasant surprise, I assure
you!"

   Jules smiled, "You still have one more week of gym camp, so why don't I
arranged a meeting for you to meet with our agent in ten days or so?"

   The loudspeakers began calling for our attendance in the main gym.  They
turned to go and Cara's voice drifted back, "Did he say they have their OWN
boat?" and another voice, "Did you SEE the name of the book she was
reading?"

   Smiling, Jules took my hand and followed them to where Angela was
starting her welcoming speech, then she continued, "I want to take this
chance to speak with you about nutrition and your daughters.  With such an
intense training program, it is imperative that they get the right amount
of nutrition and IN THE RIGHT RATIOS!

   "All too often we just look at the large numbers and ignore the details,
which could be dangerous for an athlete training at the edge of her
abilities.  Your daughters need carbs and protein, true, but don't forget
her sugars and fat!"

   At the gasps from the audience, she smiled, "See?  The popular press had
you believing that all sugar and fat is bad, but omit to say NO sugar and
fat is equally undesirable!  Now most of us get enough sugar and fat from
our snacks - a pop here or a bag of chips there is all we need.  But these
ladies are on a strict regimen, so there may not be as many chances for
them to get the correct amounts of sugar and fat!

   "NO - I'm not suggesting you start eating chips and drinking pop! 
Sugar, is alright in small quantities; and fat should be in the form of
polyunsaturates, like Vegetable or olive oils and NOT butter or animal
fat."

   "We have spent the last week compiling an exhaustive chart of your
daughter's physical makeup and a recommended diet for her.

   "Let me warn you, a diet, contrary to what TV may want you to think, is
NOT a short term, one-off feeding program.  A diet is a regimen she should
follow rigorously for the long term.  And we will have to monitor her as
her body develops and its needs change."

   "What about BMI?" A hand rose and a voice asked.

   "Good question.  Anybody know what BMI, or Body Mass Indicator is?" She
waited for the murmurs to fade, "Simply put, it is a STATISTICAL
representation of an AVERAGE person." She paused, "But let me emphasize it
now, your daughters' bodies ARE NOT AVERAGE!" She waved Erin up, "The
gymnast's body has 25% more bone density, 50 to 100% more muscle mass and
less than HALF the fat of the average.  She simply does not fit into the
norm that BMI uses as a basis!" She turned to me, "And this is Erin's
brother.  He's an athlete from the other end of the spectrum, he has the
muscle tone and bone mass for weight support and dexterity.  His fat
content is also less than half of the average person, yet according to his
BMI, he is dangerously overweight!" She waited for the laughter to subside,
"So you see the danger of following a popular indicator blindly."

   "Now, so you don't go away thinking BMI is not useful," She waved Jules
forward to a sea of oohs and gasps of wonder, "This young lady is the
perfect specimen for the BMI model.  She has the ideal median mix of
muscle, bone and fat as used by the BMI calculations.

   "For those of you who want to find out more about our concepts of
notrition should look up "Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease" in your
libraries.  The section on "Fads and Quackery" is a particularly
interesting read.  It outlines how our press and news media are being
manipulated into changing our lifestyle into one of expensive artificially
enhanced supplements instead of relying on natural and inexpensive dietary
changes."

   Angela continued with an explanation of the training schedule and the
goals set for each group of girls.  Then the girls went and gave
demonstrations of their skills.

   Ami completed her Tkatchev to great applause and gave me a grinning
finger-gun.  Then Erin showed us her 'Mitchell'.  We went around to
congratulate them, Mom with tears in her eyes and Dad pumping Erin's hand
madly.  Cara presented her Floor routine and mesmerized us with her
flowing, dreamy dance moves, punctuated by 4 separate tumbling lines,
ending with a high flying double front in the tucked position.

   Everyone was in fine spirits, but, after a short mingling period, most
had to leave for the long drive home.

   They got warm hugs from Erin and Jules.  Then Mom took my hand as I
leaned to kiss her goodbye as they left in the ferry, "Keep up the good
work son.  Concentrate on your studies and stay focused!"

   Dad took my hand, "Listen to your Mom!  We're very proud of you!  All of
you!" His fond look took in Jules as well.





   =============

   (C) Copyright 2002.  M.C.  All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee
or profit forbidden.

   Copies of my stories can be downloaded from:
</files/Authors/MikeC/>
   Send all comments and suggestions to MikeC@NSpace.net