It intrigued her, but she had no idea why.
“Okay, let’s get started.”
Rebecca’s clap snatched Spencer back to the present, and shefollowed the other girls to an unoccupied corner of the gym.
Ten minutes after that, Spencer was on her third set of a coreexercise that she’d missed the name of but that was brutalizing her abdominalmuscles. She was on her back on the floor and held an inflated ball the size ofa beach ball between her ankles. She lifted her legs and arms so she couldtransfer the ball to her hands, then lowered her limbs. Then raised them againto repeat the move what felt like 150 more times.
Rebecca approached and stood over her. “Keep your back downagainst the mat. Don’t arch it.” Spencer made the adjustment, and Rebecca movedon to where Brittany was doing the same exercise. Spencer turned her head andfollowed Rebecca’s retreat, watched as she stopped next to Brittany and put ahand on her stomach. “Don’t arch your back,” Spencer heard her say.
Her abs were burning, but Spencer forced herself to finish the set.After the last rep, she let her feet drop to the floor, the ball rolling awayfrom her as she gasped for breath.
“Oh, my God, I’m going to feel this tomorrow,” Lucy said from afew feet away, where she was doing some kind of twisting maneuver.
“Right?” Spencer said, with a chuckle. She watched the move for amoment before her gaze was again drawn above to the bicycles.
Class ended with planks. Again. The bane of Spencer’s existence.
Once more lined up like eighteen-wheelers in a parking lot, thefive of them held themselves up on toes and forearms as Rebecca held a timerand strolled back and forth in front of them. Spencer was always amazed by howeasy it was to get into plank position and how quickly she started to sweat,quake, and struggle for breath. Just as Rebecca informed them that thirtyseconds were down, Spencer dropped to the floor, a rivulet of sweat rollingfrom her hairline down her cheek.
“Get up. You can do this.” No poke with a toe, but Spencer gotback up. A quick glance to her right showed Willow flopping to her belly.
“Fifteen more seconds.” Rebecca stopped her pacing and stood infront of Spencer, who barely noticed as every muscle in her body tightened tokeep from collapsing. “Five.”
Spencer’s arms were shaking so badly, and she squeezed her eyesshut, willing those five seconds—which felt like five minutes at this point—topass. Finally, the beeper went off and those of them who weren’t already downdropped to the floor with groans of exhaustion.
“Dare I say you guys are getting better at this?” Rebecca’s voiceseemed to hold the tiniest hint of pride. “Planks are very difficult, and theonly thing that makes you better at them is practice. Work that core.” WhenSpencer glanced up from where she’d had her forehead pressed to the floor,Rebecca was looking at her. “Have a great weekend. See you Monday.” And sheleft them.
“Holy shit.” Lucy’s voice was muffled, as she was still lying facedown.
Spencer chuckled. “You okay?”
“I may not ever be able to move again.”
“That was a pretty rough session.” Spencer could already feel theburning soreness in her torso, but she also felt something else. Something new.
“Rough? I think I murdered my abs.”
Spencer pushed herself to her feet, then reached her hand down.“Come on.”
Lucy looked up, blinked pathetically, then gave a dramatic sigh. “Fine.” She grabbedSpencer’s hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.
“I think we deserve smoothies as a reward for surviving classtoday. Yes?”
Lucy gave a nod. “If I can make it to the locker room and changemy clothes, then yes. I will have a smoothie with you. It’s a long shot,though.”
Spencer picked up Lucy’s water bottle and handed it to her.“Drink,” she ordered as she mopped her own sweaty face with a towel.
“Bossy.” Then Lucy tipped the bottle up and drank greedily.
They managed to change without incident, albeit a tiny bit slowerthan usual. Spencer was acutely aware of the muscles around her ribs, tight anda bit sore to the touch, as if they’d recently been installed and she was justgetting used to them being there. Lucy was right: she was going to feel thistomorrow.
Lucy slammed her locker. “Ready?”
With a nod, Spencer gathered up her things and they headed up tothe smoothie bar where Brittany and Bella already sat. They nodded their hellosbut were already deep in conversation. Spencer and Lucy took a couple of seatsdown the counter a bit. The bar was situated so they could look down over ametal pipe railing to the workout areas below.
“Fruit or chocolate?” Lucy asked her.
“I’m thinking the mixed berry.”
