Metamorphosis

Chapter 14

An hour into my first dance lesson, I was sweating bullets and praying for the sweet release of death. Armin, who remained perky in spite of having danced for the past sixty minutes straight, kept counting out the beats to the racy song that played overhead. If I was going to survive this—if my thighs were going to survive this intense abuse that I was putting them through—then I needed a break at once. It was physically impossible for me to keep this up for another hour. Who did he think he was working with here? Could he not hear me panting like a grandpa fresh out of the hospital?

Lord help me.

"Um," I began, not at all surprised to discover that my voice was hoarse from exertion. I was in desperate need of water. "Armin?"

Armin directed his gaze at me after that, looking cheerful. How he was capable of smiling after a grueling workout like the one we just had, I would never know. Maybe he was an angelic demon, one that would dance you straight into your grave. "Need a break?"

Do I need a break?! I need an ambulance.

"Yes," I said, somehow able to retain a calm demeanor, even when I was on the verge of dying. Sweat was running down my forehead in the most bothersome way possible. It took a lot for me to resist the urge to wipe it away with the collar of my shirt, even when I was sure that the fabric wouldn't reach my face. Before we started, he had provided me with an outfit to wear so I could get used to certain apparel. It basically left nothing to the imagination.

"Okay." He bent down and picked up the remote that controlled the stereo. With a push of a button, he turned off the music. Now the sound of my harsh breathing was evident in the silence that followed. "How are you feeling?"

I wanted to lie, to tell him that I felt great and I'd be ready to go in a bit, but there was no way I could keep at this. I hadn't worked out in a long time and my body was letting me know that it had enough for one day. "Uh, to tell you the truth, I feel like I'm about to collapse."

He burst out laughing. "Honey, we are barely getting started. How do you keep your physique if you don't work yourself to the bone?"

"Well, for starters, I don't eat meat, or consume dairy. I also do yoga."

"Yoga is working out."

I shrugged. "I guess, but it's nothing like what you just put me through."

"Wait a minute. How good are you at yoga?"

"I've been doing it for a long time, so pretty good. I take advanced classes down at—"

"Are you flexible?" he asked in excitement, cutting me off.

In response, I bent down, took hold of my right ankle, and brought it back in a position cheerleaders referred to as the scorpion. Armin stared and stared at me, his face unreadable. Then he brought both his hands up to his mouth and said, in a serious tone, "You are God sent. Do you know what I can do with this? We're getting a pole installed. You are going to dance your tight ass off on that pole, do you understand me? I need to call Mikasa right the hell now. This is happening. This is happening!" He hurried across the dance floor without another word, rushing toward the dressing rooms as though his life depended on it. I watched him until he disappeared behind the door, and then I let my leg fall back into place.

What did I just get myself into? A pole? He wanted to have a pole installed?

Not wanting to linger on the thought, I took the opportunity to go pick up the water bottle I'd left on the stage before we started the lesson. I drank down a few gulps and had to keep myself from chugging down the whole thing in one fell swoop. If I did that, I would wind up making myself sick. So, reluctantly, I set the bottle down and leaned back against the stage. My legs were throbbing in time with my heart. They felt like fabricated entities at this point in time, and I couldn't even imagine how they would feel after a week of training. I just had to keep in mind that all this hard work would pay off in the end.