"Squats." Ichigo announced.

  I was standing behind Ichigo, who was in a half-crouch, her legs spread and knees bent in front of an intimidating-looking rack loaded with weight ptes.

  Albert was o me huffing from the previous set, his cheeks were still pink, and his forehead was glistening with sweat.

  "S-Sorry?" I stammered. I felt a bit overwhelmed and fused.

  "The king of all exercises," she said, "The most effective and effit exercise there is. If you've only got time for one, you make it this. Nothing is better for making you stronger in a practical way."

  "O-Oh," I replied, feeling a little nervous and overwhelmed. "But I barely even do ten reps on a pair of ten-pous on the bench press."

  "e on. You'll do fine. Just do a set with us, we show you how."

  I stared at the bar loaded with a single medium-sized pte on each side as Ichigo pushed her head underh aed it against the back of her shoulders.

  "That looks so heavy..." I whispered, feeling nervous.

  "We've all gotta start somewhere. It's just a hundred pounds," Ichigo said with a shrug. "Just enough to get ys strong enough to kick down some doors."

  I felt my cheeks turn red. "Kick down doors?"

  "Yup. When we do the thing. You know, sparkle sparkle magic sparkle," she teased. She wi me, her eyes glinting. "It's just a joke. e on, just give it a shot."

  Ioved to take off the ptes from the bar ahem aside, then she adjusted the bar position and the hooks so that it was at just about eye level.

  "There we go. You'll do just the bar first, that way you won't have ara weight to worry about," she said. "It's about forty-five pounds or so, and if you 't go all the way down we'll figure out something to put under your heels, and it won't be as hard. Now, get uhe bar. We'll show you how it's done."

  I moved to sit underh the bar. Ichiigo came over and helped guide me to the right spot.

  "Lift your head so that you're looking ahead. Grab the bar at 45 degrees and tuck your elbows back to tighten up your chest. Keep your eyes straight ahead at all times. Keep your head up, don't let it droop or look down."

  I did so, and the bar felt cold in my hands.

  "Put the weight on your heels. Push bad brace with your core," she tinued.

  I took a breath.

  "Okay, and push up."

  I did so, and the bar lifted. The bar was cold and hard on my shoulders, and I felt my knees buckle as I pushed up. My arms wobbled as I stood, and I felt like I was about to colpse. Ichigo and Albert quickly moved to help me.

  "Good. Now, turn your knees slightly outward, and go as low as you ," Ichigo instructed, and Albert helped guide me into position. I felt my knees shake as I lowered my body into the squat, and I struggled to keep my bance. As I got to the halfoint, I lost bance, and fell forward.

  Albert reacted instantly, and I heard him shout.

  "Sienna!" he said, his arms ed around my waist. He pulled me up a me steady. My heart ounding. My legs were weak, and I felt like my entire body was shaking. I looked around and several pairs of eyes were turned on me.

  "Easy there..." Al whispered as he helped me regain my bance, pig the bar off my neck. I felt myself blush. I looked up and he smiled, but I felt like he itying me. I looked around in mortification a my cheeks turn hot.

  "I-I'm fine. I just... o catch my breath. Sorry." I said, my voice shaky. I stepped back from him. My legs felt weak. It felt like the eyes of all the people around us were on me.

  And then, someone in a bck muscle shirt and athletic shorts shouted.

  "POWER!" he screamed, his arms raised.

  All the eyes that had been turned on me so him, and I followed their movements. For a moment, I swore he was staring straight at me, but then he jerked up, and practically flipped a barbell packed with ptes overhead, before dropping it back down.

  The boy who shouted "POWER" had olive skin and a very defined, chiseled physique. His eyes were sharp, focused and fierce, and looked Asian to me, but his brown hair was wavy and his face looked a little mixed-race. He looked about 5'11 or so. They were perpendicur to us at another part of the weight room.

  He was surrounded by a group of kids I reized from my run-in with the Power Fitness Club with Albert a few days ago, all in workout gear. They were a diverse bunch, some were big and bulky and muscur, while others looked smaller and thinner and weaker, and a few of the girls were even quite petite and thin, but all of them seemed happy and enjoying themselves.

  I bli the sight. A tall blond boy I reized as Bke made eye tact with me and winked, before he turned back to his crew.

  I flushed.

  "Oh boy," Ichigo giggled. "We got some Power Fitness guys here today."

  A crowd of fit-looking students crowded around the boy in the bck shirt. Most of them were looking at him in fusion, but then a tall, beefy-looking boy with dark skin looked my way, and the others quickly followed suit.

  "POWER!" they all shouted, some more hesitantly thahers. They all threw their fists in the air.

  I was stunned.

  "P-P-POWER!" a girl with a build like Ichigo's screamed. She had light skin, a short pixie-cut of red hair and freckles, and looked very athletic. Her arms were packed with lean muscle. Her eyes were shining and her face was bright red.

  "POWER!" she shouted again. Her arms shook as she lifted the bar above her head. Her arms shook as she dropped it back down.

  "WOOO! GO JESS! KICK ITS ASS! BE STRONG LIKE YOU MEAN IT!" Bke shouted.

  "Woo!" another, more petite girl cheered, g her hands. "Wooo!"

  "POWER!" shouted the first guy. "E ON, EVERYONE! SEBASTIAN, YOU'RE UP!"

  I stared at them, and the first boy, the oh the wavy brown hair and light olive skin, wi me, then he grinned, his eyes shining.

  "Alright fels! Let's show them ower is!" he announced, his voice loud and clear. "You ready?"

  The crowd cheered as he looked away from me.

  Wait, did he start this to distract people away from my extremely visible failure?

  No, why would he?

  But still... I couldn't help but wonder as they kept ting and cheering and yelling, drawing everyone's attention. It was a bit ridiculous and definitely embarrassing.

  The whole situation was surreal, and I felt a little out of pce, like an outsider.

  The boy who wi me looked at me and grihen he looked back to the crowd and shouted again, "e o's get this show on the road!"

  "That's... that's something," Albert ented, watg them, then he looked at me. "You okay? You look tired, Sienna."

  I nodded slowly. "I-I'm fine... just... just catg my breath. What did I d?"

  Iiled and patted my back. "You're not keeping your core tight and brag, so your lower back is flexing instead of staying straight."

  "What?" I said.

  "Su a breath, then sharply exhale and push out like you're trying to push through a belt around your waist. Then brace like that," Ichigo expined. "Like when you lift, you don't wanna do that when the weight is on your shoulders, you have to do that before. Here, lemme show you."

  She got into a simir stance as me and demonstrated. She got underh the bar, grabbed it, pushed her head through the space between the bar and the rad looked straight ahead, theook in a sharp breath and exhaled, pushing out her midse like it was a balloon and then she lifted.

  "See, now it's tight, and I'm keeping that tension while I squat, then when I rack it, I release."

  "Oh..."

  "Yeah. Don't sweat it. It's your first day," Ichigo enced. She gestured for me to get uhe bar. I hesitated. The embarrassment of nearly falling on my face earlier still stung.

  "It's alright. We've got you if anything happens!" Ichigo enced me. Albert smiled.

  "I-I'm fine..." I muttered, feeling like a plete and total idiot. "I just..."

  Albert reached out to pat my shoulder. "Hey, don't be nervous."

  "I'm not."

  He smiled. "e on, Sienna. That's a lie. But no matter how many times you fall, I'll be right there to pick you up. So just give it a go and do the thing."

  I looked down. "You promise you won't ugh?"

  He grinned. "Never. You know me. Always and ever, right?"

  "Okay..."

  He gave my shoulder another squeeze, his fingers gentle and reassuring, before he pulled away and gave me space. He always had unusually warm hands. It was nice.

  I got uhe bar, taking a deep breath and trying not to feel so embarrassed.

  "You do it," Ichigo whispered encingly, giving me a little nudge.

  This time I did what she did and sucked in a breath. It was hard to really feel my abs and core and stuff — mine were almost ent, unlike hers or Stel's, or even Albert's.

  "e on. You do this."

  I slowly exhaled and pushed out like she showed me, trying to keep the tension in my stomach as the weight on my shoulders slowly got heavier and heavier.

  It wasn't easy. I could feel my legs wobble as I lowered my body and tried to go down as low as I could without falling. It felt like ay, but I mao go down to just below my knees. My muscles screamed at me as I tried to keep going. My bance wavered. I struggled to keep the bar from slipping out of my grip.

  But I did it.

  I pushed up as hard as I could. I could hear the others cheer and cp as I finally stood up.

  "That's it! You've got this! Keep going!" Ichigo enced. "Think about shoving your knees out after you unlock them, though. You've gotta think about activating that booty until it's a habit."

  I sucked in another breath. The bar felt cold against my skin.

  I tried not to ugh, but I could feel the ers of my mouth twitg. "Okay..."

  "Alright, now do it again," Ichigo said.

  I looked up, and she grinned.

  "Again?" I asked.

  She nodded, her grin wide. "Again."

  "O-Okay."

  My legs wobbled and my heart raced. My hands felt cmmy and sweaty.

  I lowered my body and pushed down, and then I felt the weight on my back push me forward, my arms bug and my legs giving out. But I steadied myself. I wasn't going to give up. Not when I had Albert and Ichigo watg, cheering me on. The thought of embarrassing myself again, especially in front of them, made me push through.

  I shoved my knees out and pushed as hard as I could. It was hard. Really, really hard.

  But one rep came after another, until finally, I'd finished seven.

  My body was shaking. I could feel my heart beating. My legs felt weak.

  "Great job," Ichigo said as she spotted me and helped guide me into rag the bar. I panted, s from my face. I couldn't feel my hands.

  "I did it..." I gasped. My chest burned. I anting and gasping for air, and I felt a bit embarrassed that it took me so muergy and tration just to finish o with the empty bar.

  I looked at the boy from the Power Fitness club. He was staring at me with a big smile. He fshed me a smile and a thumbs up, before turning to his friends. There about eight or nine of them, including Bke and the redhead, Jessica. The boy who had started the whole thing - he looked aroueen. He had sharp, olive-skinned features and bright brown eyes, with an intense look on his face. He looked at the other members and smiled, giving them high-fives and fist-bumps as he cheered them on and enced them to go harder. They seemed like they were having a lot of fue hoard the outburst was.

  I turned my attention back to the barbell, feeling calmer than earlier. I took another deep breath and tightened my core.

  "Two more sets," Ichigo enced. "Just do it."

  I sucked in a breath, then pushed out and lifted. I did another rep. And another. Somehow, it was easier this time. Maybe I was just getting used to the weight.

  I fihe sed set and the third. And by the end of the third, I felt like I was going to die.

  "Good stuff!" Ichigo said. "You're doing great, Sienna."

  I stepped away, feeling drained. My legs were shaking, my arms were trembling. I felt like I could barely stand, let alone lift any more weights. But I did it. I did it.

  "What now?" I asked.

  "We rest and move on," Ichigo said with a grin. "I don't want to push you too hard on your first day, but we should do some light back work and some mobility work, too."

  "O-Oh... Alright," I said, panting and feeling my arms shake.

  Iiled and patted me on the shoulder. "You'll get there, girlie. We just have to keep w on it."

  "Lightweight!" a girl's voice shouted.

  "Lightweight!" a male voice echoed, both of them sounding cheerful and encing.

  I looked, and saw half the Power Fitness Club crowding around Suguru and Stel by the bench press. Suguru was lying on his back, gripping a bar loaded with two of the rge ptes and several smaller ptes. I didn't know how much the bar on the bench was supposed to weigh, but I could see at least two hundred pounds of weight ptes on it.

  Stel had a hand on her and was watg, looking a little ed. Suguru, meanwhile, was trying to hold up the weight, and was straining to do so, his arms shaking.

  "e on, Suguru!" Bke shouted. He had a big, goofy grin on his face as he cheered Suguru on. "You've got this! e on, man!"

  Suguru's arms were shaking, and he looked like he was about to colpse. A tall, stoic-looking musclebound boy with dark skin stood at the ready, palms up behind him.

  I guessed he was the spotter, and it looked like he might be o bail Suguru out if he couldn't keep the weight up. A petite, pale, blonde-haired girl in a pink t-shirt, pink athletic shorts and a pair of bck running leggings was standio him, her hands csped as she beamed at Suguru.

  The boy with the brown wavy hair with the olive skin was standing off to the side, watg and smiling, but he had an intense expression on his face, and his gaze was fixed on the barbell.

  Suguru lowered the barbell to his chest and pushed. His arms shook, his face red. He pushed again, his arms shaking.

  I slowly walked over, feeling my muscles ache and burn, but I was curious to see what they were doing. I'd never seen anyone lift that much before, and I wao see if he could do it. I was amazed that he was even able to hold it up.

  "Oh hey!" a soft, friendly voice chirped.

  I looked and saw a familiar boy with pale skin and bck hair pulled bato a small topknot with side bangs walking up to me.

  He was roughly 5'7 or 5'8, with a slender build and bright smile. His eyes were big and round and a deep brown, with long eyeshes that were almost feminine. He wasn't as much of a mess as when I'd first seen him training with his club out on the grass he other day, with his worn-dows. Rather, he was wearing a brand new pair of blue running shorts, a green shirt that framed his narrow shoulders, and a bck sweatband on his left wrist.

  "Oh, hey, Kaz," I greeted.

  "I didn't know you were here!" he said brightly.

  "Yeah, I am," I replied. "First time at the gym, even."

  He grinned and walked over to me. I noticed that he had a nice smile, and that his teeth were straight and white. His almond-shaped eyes practically sparkled when he smiled, and he had rge, expressive eyes. "That's great! We were just starting a group workout. Wanna join us?"

  "Uh... Suguru here was actually showing me some exercises before. I'm here with him and his sister," I said, feeling a bit nervous.

  "Oh! You know Suguru? Er, your name was Sienna, right?"

  "Yeah, that's me."

  He smiled. "Nice. Well, good to see you around. If you ever need help with something, e on over and ask us. We're always here."

  "Thank you, that's really nice of you to offer," I said. "I don't really know what I'm doing, holy, I'm just following Suguru's lead. And my friends over there."

  I looked back over at the squat... thing. Ichigo was grinning and chatting with Albert. I narrowed my eyes.

  He was blushing and grinning sheepishly back at her, and she was standing really close to him.

  I sighed and rolled my eyes. He was so easy to tease. My gut instinct was that I could trust Ichigo, but I khe liween flirty teasing and bullying could sometimes be blurry. But Ichigo gave me the impression that she was nothing like that. I had no reason to be so overprotective of Albert, but I couldn't help it.

  "Well, anyway, Suguru isn't part of the club yet but the boys really took to him. And if you guys ever want to hang out with us, we'd be happy to have you. We have a lot of new members who are really friendly and outgoing."

  I smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like fun. I'll give it a strong maybe, but I'm a little self-scious about w out in front of a group. I'm super clumsy and uncoordinated, you see."

  He ughed. "Oh, I know. I'm a disaster when it es to anything physical, too. I'm just gd that Niko and his crew took pity on me."

  He gestured to the boy with the olive skin and the wavy brown hair. "He's our president. He's super cool."

  Niko was standing with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the barbell in Suguru's hands. He looked like he was in a trance. His face was intense and serious. I wondered how much he cared about the fitness club, to be so focused on helping someone lift weights.

  "It's a long road for me. I've never been the healthiest kid, but they keep me motivated," he said. "And now we have a bunch of people who are all on the same page, and we help each other stay atable. It's pretty cool, you know?"

  "Yeah," I replied. "I'm happy to hear you have that support system."

  He smiled. "Well, if you ever need one, I think we'd be a good fit."

  I giggled as his eyes practically sparkled in adoration toward Niko. He noticed my giggle and blushed, turning away.

  "Anyway. Yeah. Just... think about it. If you wanna hang out with us sometime, we'd be happy to have you."

  I looked toward Stel, who caught my eyes and fshed me a smile. It was still surreal to me that I had a long lost sister, but Stel and I had been growing closer and closer since I'd found out, and her smile was so warm it practically lit up the room.

  She looked back at Suguru as he smmed the bar back up into its pce.

  "Alright! Good job, bro," Bke said with a grin, and the others cheered and cpped as Suguru sat up and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

  Niko, the olive-skinned guy with the wavy brown hair, smiled and gave him a high five. "For real. Good shit, man."

  "Thanks," Suguru muttered, panting and sweating. "That's actually a personal best, man. I've never dowo hundred and fifty-five pounds for six before."

  Niko's eyes lit up. "Oh, dude. That's great! Keep that up, and you'll be a beast in no time."

  Sebastian oically, but didn't say anything.

  He was the rgest person in their entire group, with massive, broad shoulders and bulging arms, and he looked like a sb of solid muscle. He had a diamond-shaped head, a square jaw, and a wide, thiose, along with a pair of dark brown eyes.

  Kaz whispered to me. "I've been at this for a year now, and I still 't deadlift what he bench for reps. Dude's a mohen again though, I'm the definition of a hard gainer. Weights or cardio."

  He turned his head to look at Suguru, who was still sitting there. Suguru fshed us a sheepish grin, and he looked a little embarrassed.

  "Uh, yeah. Thanks," Suguru replied. He stood up and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He was looking a bit red from the exertion. His shirt was ging to his skin. I blushed, and Kaz chuckled at my rea.

  "Any time," Sebastian said. He still didn't smile. "You have potential."

  Kaz snorted, aian turned his head to look at him. Kaz shrunk back with an exaggerated motion, aian smirked.

  The petite blonde girl, who was shorter than Kaz, looked at us and smiled. She was quite lovely, with a cute, heart-shaped face, and bright blue eyes. She had a pixie-ish look, but was wearing some fairly servative, form-fitting gym wear.

  "Hello!" she greeted, walking over. "My name is Astrid, it's so o meet you. Wele to our little gathering."

  "I'm er, Sienna," I said awkwardly. I was feeling a bit out of pce here, with so many athletic, fit-looking people around me. "I'm just... I'm a friend of Stel and Suguru's, and I was just..."

  "And a new friend for Kaz," Astrid finished. She smiled at Kaz. "Ain't that right?"

  "Oh! Uh, well. I guess. I mean, we haven't talked a whole lot, but... yeah. I'd like to be," Kaz replied, his cheeks reddening. He looked away and cleared his throat.

  I chuckled a bit at his shyness. It was adorable.

  "Hey!" Suguru called. I turned my head and saw him standing with Stel. She looked like she was trying to keep her distance from the Power Fitness clubbers, who were mostly crowding around Suguru, with a few stragglers standing by the bench press.

  "Uh, yeah?" I asked. Stel smiled warmly at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

  Suguru waved me over. "e on over, I've got some more stuff to show you. And uh, Kaz, and uh... Astrid. I'm sorry, I don't know all yuys' names yet."

  "Oh!" Kaz said. "Uh, well. Let's fix that. That's Sebastiahe big ohe guy with the brown hair there is our president, Niko. The girl with the short red hair is Jessica. She's a little scary. Bke over there is her boyfriend. He's the tall ohen we have a bunch of others, like the twins, and the girls who joi week, and uh. Oh, I don't even know all their names. But you'll learn them eventually."

  I here were about seven ht of them here, and they were all chatting with each hing and smiling. They seemed like a friendly group. Way less than the group I'd seen outside when I first met Kaz, though. Maybe this was just a select group.

  "Anyway, how about we s numbers really quick, Sienna? That way you hit me up whenever you want," Kaz offered.

  "O-Oh, sure. That sounds good. Thanks."

  I pulled out my phone and we exged tafo, and I saw his phone number and a text message from him on the s.

  "Thanks," I said.

  Kaz grinned and gave me a high five. "No problem. Anywho, I'll see you around, Sienna. I'm gonna go grab some weights and hit some more sets. Wanna join me, Astrid?"

  "Oh! Uh... sure!" she chirped, smiling. "I'd love to!"

  "Great." he said. He turo look at me and smiled. "See you ter, Sienna."

  "Bye, Kaz," I replied with a soft smile.

  "Bye, Sienna!" Astrid said, waving. "It was o meet you!"

  "o meet you, too," I replied. She was a bit forward, but she was sweet and I could tell she meant well.

  Kaz and Astrid walked off, and I turo see Suguru and Stel.

  Suguru waved me ain. "e on. I wanna show you how to deadlift."

  Stel shook her head. "Hey Suguru, mind if I borrow her instead, actually?"

  Suguru blinked, and shrugged. "Sure. I was going to have us do some light back work, though. Not too much, because I don't want to exhaust her on her first day. What were you thinking?"

  Stel smiled and twirled her hair with a finger. "Oh, just some mobility drills. I think some cooldown would be nice for a vibe check. You should probably che on Ichi though."

  Suguru nodded. "Alright, that sounds good. Just don't push her too hard, alright? She's a total beginner."

  "I won't. I promise. Figured we'd just hit the yoga mats for a while, get the blood flowing, let her stretd stuff. She's not ready to fight in tours like you and Ichigo, you know."

  "Okay." Suguru nodded, satisfied. "See you guys in a bit."

  Suguru walked away to join the rest of the Power Fitness club. Stel smiled at me, ah walked to the side of the weight room.

  "Alright, spill the beans," I said as we sat down on a yoga mat.

  She snickered. "That obvious, huh?"

  "Kinda, yeah."

  We hadn't known each other that long, but I'd already learo read her body nguage, and her mischievous eyes were a dead giveaway. She was a very expressive person, if you knew where to pay attention.

  "Well... how do you feel about super secret a magic family kung fu?" she asked, looking a little sheepish.

  I raised an eyebrow. "Super secr— are you serious?"

  She giggled. "Yup. Serious as cereal."