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Authors: Patty Blount
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out.
Amanda tucked her hair behind her ears. I didn’t know why, but it made my fingers itch. She didn’t answer me. Instead, she just angled her head and looked me up and down the way Gage had a little while ago. “You got any weights at home?”
I thought about Matt’s stuff. He had gym equipment in the basement. A bench and a set of barbells. I think there were even some dumbbells still in his room. “Yeah. Why?”
“Tomorrow, get up early and start lifting. You’ve got broad shoulders, but you need to build the muscles here and here,” she said with a hand to my back and my arms. “Do a set of ten with light weight. Increase the reps the next day. Next week, go heavier. Got it?”
“Sure. What else?”
“Run the bleachers every day. Weights in the morning, running in the afternoon. Now, head over to the library. Bear’s waiting for you.”
I held back the groan and just nodded. I went back inside the gate and grabbed my bag from the low bleacher, but when I got back outside, Amanda was gone.
***
The next day, I woke up an hour early and did presses, rows, and curls with Matt’s barbells. In the afternoon, I ran the bleachers.
I couldn’t raise my hand without coming dangerously close to sobbing.
“You have to give your muscles time to heal,” Alex reminded me on Friday as we walked out of the school’s main entrance.
I rolled my eyes. My drill sergeants didn’t believe in time off. I’d already gotten texts from Max about doing more step runs after school and from Bear about reading another topic in the textbook and even from Ty about showing me what firefighter’s irons were. “Yeah, well, time is apparently something I don’t have a lot of. Squad has this field trip coming up. Once a month, they go out to Yaphank where there’s a huge training facility, and they physically practice everything they’ve been studying in the classroom.”
“When is the next one?”
“End of the month.”
Alex shook his head. “Reece, you should sit this session out and do next month’s.”
No.
I shouldn’t.
Because that would show my dad I couldn’t do the job. The whole point of this exercise was to show him he’d been wrong about me.
Beside me, Alex sighed.“But you’re not going to do that, are you?”
“Alex, I can’t. The whole squad is trying to help me. I can’t let them down.”
He put up his hand when we reached the bus stop. “Okay. Here.” He opened his messenger bag and took out a bottle of water and a banana. “Eat this now. Don’t stretch, but do warm-ups before you start running up the steps.”
“Wait, don’t stretch?”
“No. The reason your muscles hurt is because they’re tearing. Stretching will tear them more and, in your case, will likely cause more injury than it prevents.”
Okay, then. No stretching. “Thanks, Doc.” I waved the banana at him and headed for the field.
“Oh, and apply ice later!” he called out before the doors slid closed.
As soon as the bus pulled away, I remembered we were supposed to see a movie tonight. With a curse, I pulled out my phone and texted Alex my apologies for forgetting.
He immediately replied.
I knew you forgot. Your failure to mention our plans indicated that. The pain that you’re in is making it difficult for you to concentrate. We can adjust and try tomorrow.
With a laugh, I texted back my thanks and headed to the field, where Max was already stretching. “Hey, Logan. You ready?”
I ate my banana, swallowed some water, and nodded. “Let’s do it.”
I followed behind him, my quadriceps burning and trembling with every step.
“Come on, Logan, kick it up!”
I struggled to control my breathing, but it wasn’t working. I was sucking air, and my legs quit. I fell, sprawled face-first, and waited for death.
“Whoa, what happened?” Max ran back down the stairs and turned me over. He wasn’t even winded. I’d have cursed him if I could…you know…actually talk.
“Jesus, Logan,” Amanda’s
Amanda tucked her hair behind her ears. I didn’t know why, but it made my fingers itch. She didn’t answer me. Instead, she just angled her head and looked me up and down the way Gage had a little while ago. “You got any weights at home?”
I thought about Matt’s stuff. He had gym equipment in the basement. A bench and a set of barbells. I think there were even some dumbbells still in his room. “Yeah. Why?”
“Tomorrow, get up early and start lifting. You’ve got broad shoulders, but you need to build the muscles here and here,” she said with a hand to my back and my arms. “Do a set of ten with light weight. Increase the reps the next day. Next week, go heavier. Got it?”
“Sure. What else?”
“Run the bleachers every day. Weights in the morning, running in the afternoon. Now, head over to the library. Bear’s waiting for you.”
I held back the groan and just nodded. I went back inside the gate and grabbed my bag from the low bleacher, but when I got back outside, Amanda was gone.
***
The next day, I woke up an hour early and did presses, rows, and curls with Matt’s barbells. In the afternoon, I ran the bleachers.
I couldn’t raise my hand without coming dangerously close to sobbing.
“You have to give your muscles time to heal,” Alex reminded me on Friday as we walked out of the school’s main entrance.
I rolled my eyes. My drill sergeants didn’t believe in time off. I’d already gotten texts from Max about doing more step runs after school and from Bear about reading another topic in the textbook and even from Ty about showing me what firefighter’s irons were. “Yeah, well, time is apparently something I don’t have a lot of. Squad has this field trip coming up. Once a month, they go out to Yaphank where there’s a huge training facility, and they physically practice everything they’ve been studying in the classroom.”
“When is the next one?”
“End of the month.”
Alex shook his head. “Reece, you should sit this session out and do next month’s.”
No.
I shouldn’t.
Because that would show my dad I couldn’t do the job. The whole point of this exercise was to show him he’d been wrong about me.
Beside me, Alex sighed.“But you’re not going to do that, are you?”
“Alex, I can’t. The whole squad is trying to help me. I can’t let them down.”
He put up his hand when we reached the bus stop. “Okay. Here.” He opened his messenger bag and took out a bottle of water and a banana. “Eat this now. Don’t stretch, but do warm-ups before you start running up the steps.”
“Wait, don’t stretch?”
“No. The reason your muscles hurt is because they’re tearing. Stretching will tear them more and, in your case, will likely cause more injury than it prevents.”
Okay, then. No stretching. “Thanks, Doc.” I waved the banana at him and headed for the field.
“Oh, and apply ice later!” he called out before the doors slid closed.
As soon as the bus pulled away, I remembered we were supposed to see a movie tonight. With a curse, I pulled out my phone and texted Alex my apologies for forgetting.
He immediately replied.
I knew you forgot. Your failure to mention our plans indicated that. The pain that you’re in is making it difficult for you to concentrate. We can adjust and try tomorrow.
With a laugh, I texted back my thanks and headed to the field, where Max was already stretching. “Hey, Logan. You ready?”
I ate my banana, swallowed some water, and nodded. “Let’s do it.”
I followed behind him, my quadriceps burning and trembling with every step.
“Come on, Logan, kick it up!”
I struggled to control my breathing, but it wasn’t working. I was sucking air, and my legs quit. I fell, sprawled face-first, and waited for death.
“Whoa, what happened?” Max ran back down the stairs and turned me over. He wasn’t even winded. I’d have cursed him if I could…you know…actually talk.
“Jesus, Logan,” Amanda’s
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