The Zip Files Bk. 02: Zip Does Gymnasts Ch. 08

But from the expression on her face, in her own panicked haste, the Playa Coach could not actually remember where it was she had left her phone. He saw bewilderment swirl behind her features, and she started to sway. Panic started to set in. She reached out a trembling hand, towards him.

"Just... j-just give me that ph-phone, y-young ma-" she started to say. Then with a squeak, her eyes darted around - as if realizing how many eyes were already on her.

It was too late in any case. Already the Judges had come forward and approached them - save for Judge Morgan, who seemed to be trying to imitate a statue sitting in her own seat, her face set in a rictus of horror. Several other officials, both of the contest and the school, had also started to gather close. Standing directly in front of Zip, Judge Butler and Judge Fukuda both peered forward, and studied the offending text. He saw shivers go through them, as he saw them confirm with their own eyes that he had not been lying.

"It... it is real..." Judge Butler whispered.

"Why... why on Earth would she do that?" Judge Fukuda said.

Zip shrugged. "I mean, I didn't scroll back that far," he lied. "So there might be some other things going on. But I think racism is at least part of it."

"R-racism?" Judge Butler.

"Yeah," Zip said. "I mean they made some real off-color comments about that one," he said, nodding towards Xiao Xiao, "and that one," he added, nodding towards Grace. Picking one, he flipped the phone around again.

"I mean, look at this one," he said, pointing. "She managed to use two different variants of the 'c-word' in the same sentence. I mean, again, I admit, I don't know much about gymnastics. Maybe this language is considered acceptable here? But, well, does that seem like how a judge should speak about a contestant she's grading, to you?"

Lifting up the phone, he handed it to Judge Fukuda, who stared at it. There were actually several texts back and forth, in which the same two-word phrase had been used repeatedly by both parties. The first word started with a 'ch-', the second with a 'cu-'. The timestamps indicated it would have been during Xiao Xiao's performance. Judge Fukuda's hand trembled, and her face shivered, as she read it. Then, she passed it to Judge Butler, who did the same. Judge Butler passed it to the head of the regional athletics commission, who passed it to the head of the host school's athletics department. They all looked around and shared meaningful glances. Then the phone got passed back to Judge Butler.

"Could... could we speak to you about this, Alicia, and... and Amanda?" Judge Butler said softly. "In private?"

Both Judge Morgan and the Playa Coach - whose first name Zip had only just learned - swallowed.

Having belatedly realized that this was not the disaster she first expected, Coach Swan had come forward as well. She quietly came up and stood right behind Zip. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder - mostly because it looked like the Playa Coach, feeling her world rapidly collapse around her, might possibly be considering leaping over and testing whether or not ripping every bone out of Zip's body would somehow put things back to how they had been five minutes prior.

"So, uh, just to be clear," Coach Swan said, over Zip's head, "this doesn't affect the results of today's contest... right?"

Judge Butler and Judge Fukuda shared a glance with the overall head of the current contest - and then they all shook their heads.

"No," Judge Butler said, still staring at the offending phone as if she couldn't quite believe it. "Given the kind of handicap you were apparently working under, I would say if anything it just makes the result that much clearer. But, depending on exactly how far back this goes, I think we may need to review the results of some previous years contests. Several of them, in fact, if my memory of who judged what is correct..."

The Playa Coach squirmed, and groaned.

And with that, events suddenly started to sweep forward. The adults in the room - the ones who hadn't just been thrown into suspicion of deep disgrace - suddenly seemed to realize that as serious as this was, the remainder of the investigation and decision-making should perhaps not be done in quite so open a venue, with a random high-school boy involved. The event officials and school officials swept in and began herding the principle actors for the upcoming drama - the Judges and Coaches mostly - off towards the relative privacy of the athletic office, to hold court. Calls to higher officials within the state organization started to be placed.

Meanwhile, promising that she would come along quickly to the upcoming disciplinary action, Judge Butler made a quick conversation with the head of the state gymnastics organization, and then came forward.

"Well, all, that... uh, that covers it!" she said. She gestured towards the San Cajetan team. "The scores are final, and we have our winners." She looked behind, then forward again. "We... we will have an official award ceremony in a little while once we... we are all ready. But for now, could everyone please clear the room?"

A bustle ran through the stands, as the spectators and observers moved to obey. Soon they were all filing out. In the absence of their Coach the remaining Playa team helped get Heidi to her feet and, still seemingly doing their best to conceal from her the extent of the ongoing calamity, started getting their hot round butts out of there too. A couple went to gather their things - minus the Coach's phone, which was still in official custody - and they left.

Meanwhile, the San Cajetan team remained clustered on their bench. They were huddled close, seemingly in deep discussion. There was much leaning around and whispering. Still busy in some discussion with the officials, Coach Swan had their back to them and seemed oblivious.

Zip, having momentarily been the center of all attention, seemed suddenly forgotten. None of the officials seemed to want to bother with him, when his sole role had been handing over the box of evidence they were still going through. He gathered, from what he was overhearing, that in the official report, 'her phone was found left open...' was going to be the extent of his documented participation in the day's final bit of drama; so that all the very important adults didn't have to admit who it was that had actually brought the malfeasance they had been blissfully oblivious to finally and fully to light.

At last, amidst the bustle, a couple of the medical officials who had been standing by came over, and stood by Summer. Handing something off quickly to her team-mates, she let them help her to her feet. With a medic aiding her in keeping weight off her foot, she hobbled over towards where both Coach Swan and Zip were standing.

"Excuse me," the medic said. She nodded down towards Summer. "We'd like to get this young lady's foot imaged, ASAP. Do you want to be present?"

"Oh!" Coach Swan gasped. "Yes, I absolutely should."

She turned to the official she had been conversing with - but that official promptly shook her head.

"Go," she said, nodding towards Summer. "We don't really need you for this part, and we can get your statement later. This is more important anyways." Then she turned to Summer, and waved, smiling shyly. "Congratulations!" she said. "You were amazing!"

"Thanks," Summer said.

Gathering up their things, the rest of the San Cajetan team had followed along, and now stood in a little ring just a little ways behind Summer. They looked around, and then looked at each other. Around them the arena was almost completely empty, with the last few stragglers in the process of filing out.

"Coach Swan," Ileana said.

"We have a request," Grace said.

Eyebrows going up, Coach Swan turned around to face her pupils. "What is it?" she asked.

"Could we stay in here a while longer?" Riley asked.

Coach Swan's brow furrowed. Then she turned and looked at the school official. Said official shrugged.

"I mean everyone else is going to be busy. And they are the victorious team. So if they want to celebrate - sure. No problem."

"You're not worried about safety?" Coach Swan asked.

The official laughed. "I think they've proven they can handle the equipment," she said.

Coach Swan nodded. "True," she said. She motioned the medics to start leading Summer out. She did so - but not before her team-mates came forward one by one and gave her one last congratulatory hug. Each of them also shared a brief whispered conversation, big grins on their lips - and eternal pervert Zip could not help but feel his cock twitch in his pants, at how intimate these little girl-on-girl encounters ended up looking. Then, at last, the medics started leading Summer away. Having gathered up her own things, Coach Swan made to follow - and then turned around.

"Come on, Zip," she told him.

But then, to his surprise, the girls all shook their heads.

"No," Haley said.

"He stays too," Grace said.

"He's part of the team," Rylee added.

Coach Swan's brow furrowed, and she frowned. "But..." she started to say. She didn't get around to voicing it, but her concern was clear: she did not want to leave Zip alone with her girls, unsupervised.

But at this Xiao Xiao, standing with her hands on her sleek hips, heaved a sigh, and then rolled her big dark eyes.

"There are five of us," she pointed out. "And one of him."

Standing beside her, Ileana nodded. "There is not a thing to worry about," she said.

Coach Swan frowned, then shrugged.

"I guess that's fair," she said. And with that she waved her consent, and kept helping Summer out.

Soon, they had all left. Ileana trailed along behind, and checked the doors after they closed. Rylee went and did the same on the other side of the room, and confirmed they were all locked. Then, they all came back and assembled in front of Zip.

Standing in the middle of the big arena, upon the padded floor, Zip gulped as he soon found five very strong and agile girls arrayed before them - all with unreadable expressions on their faces. Their eyes all fixed right on him, boring into him as if trying to burrow straight through into the back of his skull. Zip was suddenly intensely aware that he had just cheated on Summer and, less directly, on all of them - many times over, and not very long ago. Transfixed before that sea of pretty but staring faces, Zip shivered - and took a deep gulp.

To be continued...