My muscles were screaming from continually training over and over again to maintain muscle memory, and my throat was as dry as the desert of the Sahara and irritating like sandpaper from having to count. out loud. I thought about giving up just so I could go home and lie down in my big comfy bed and rest so I could stop having noodles for arms and get my voice back to normal, but instead I stayed. Friday was the last day of trials and we had to show the judges our basics and a mini routine we had learned. Luckily we were split into groups of four so no one was left out and we were going to go to the gym so no one could watch us during tryouts. Then we were told that we would be judged on three criteria: counting, smiling and whether we had performed. Personally, I had trouble counting and smiling at the same time. I always managed to either slowly calm down every time I counted or let my smile drop. Sometimes I did both and often lost count and messed up those training behind me. At first I didn't realize it, but then when I did, I didn't admit it, but I was pretty horrible. I was never quite able to do all three at once, but to perform I had to smile, count and spin the flag.