Boot Camp

20: Old Version

"Whitney, Whitney," someone hisses, nudging my elbow. I glance up and see Martina trying to get my attention.

"What are we supposed to be doing?" I ask, blinking to fix my slightly blurry vision.

"The sun salutation," Martina replies quietly, stretching out her back and raising her hands up in the air. I attempt to emulate what the other girls are doing, hearing my back crack.

"And take a deep breath in and exhale as you bend down to touch your toes," Cheryl says gently, and everyone bends down, most girls tugging at their shorts that had ridden upwards.

"Alright now sit on your mats, girls," Cheryl says, and I inwardly cheer because we have been going at this nonstop for the last thirty minutes. "Today we're going to do something a little different, so gather into a circle on the ground."

Everyone stands up and shuffles past each other to find a spot and attempt to form a somewhat circular pattern. I plop down last minute, right between Willow and a girl trying to get something stuck in her teeth out with her finger.

"I thought it would be fun to play a get-to-know-each-other game since your free time is limited," Cheryl says, picking up a small beach ball. "I'll throw this ball to someone and ask them a question, and then she will answer and throw the ball to someone else, who will ask her own question. If you don't catch the ball, you have to answer the question and state a fact about yourself. Make sense?" We nod, and she smiles, throwing the ball to Joanna.

"Least favorite exercise?" she asks, and Joanna looks to the side, trying to think.

"Jump squats," she answers, and a chorus of yeses erupts through the room. Luckily, Axel doesn't force me to do those, but I imagine they are torturous. Joanna looks around the room, throwing the ball to Willow, who catches it swiftly.

"Favorite food?" she asks.

Willow fiddles with the ball in her hands. After much thinking she replies, "Coffee."

"Coffee isn't food," Adriana remarks, leaning back on her hands. Willow chucks the ball to Martina instead of her.

"Do you like being a twin?" she asks her, seeming genuinely interested in knowing her answer. Martina's eyes widen, and she glances over at me and then at Willow again.

"Didn't have much a choice being one, did I?" she replies, partially evading the question, and throws the ball at her twin. Adriana barely grabs onto the it. Martina asks her the same question.

"It depends," is all Adriana replies, looking around the room to see to whom she'll throw the ball. Her eyes lock with mine, and the edges of her lips curl up in a devious smile. The ball comes flying at me and knocks against my shoulder, bouncing to the right onto the hardwood. I look up, my mouth agape.

"Guess you'll also have to talk about yourself," Natalie says, chortling with Adriana. Cheryl is unamused at their immaturity.

"Did you really come here because you were bullied in gym class throughout high school?" Adriana asks, her arms folded across her chest. Other girls in the room curiously glance my way, and I feel put in the spotlight, my cheeks reddening.

"I—uh I," I begin to say, unaware of how to answer. Why is she even asking such a personal question?

"Whitney?" Cheryl asks, seeming concerned. I lock eyes with Adriana and let out a deep breath.

"Did you come here thinking that exercise would cure your severe bitch syndrome?" I ask, knowing that I'm answering a question with a question. But boy, do I not care.

Adriana's jaw drops and instead of everyone focusing on me, they all laugh at her. I stand up satisfied.

"Can I be excused from this game?" I ask Cheryl with a wide smile, and before hearing her reply, I chuck the ball at Adriana's head and hurry to the door. Hearing it slam shut behind me as I run down the hall, I make it to the end, right near the entrance of the central building. As I take a breath, making out hurried footsteps coming my way, and my heart skips a beat.