Since Coach Mars had cancelled Friday’s field hockey practice, Sarah had to make up the day’s exercises Saturday morning. But they were routine. She knew them by heart.She began with a quick workout in her go-to spa’s adjacent gym. She performed a series of lunges and squats. “One, two, three, four,” she said aloud, bending and rising, then bending and rising again. She wiped sweat from her forehead with a scented towel. Hopping onto the treadmill, she set her watch for a half hour. Another girl entered the gym. She got onto a treadmill beside Sarah.”Oh, Dalia, hi!” Sarah said. She started running in place on the machine. Dalia laughed. “You come here often?” Sarah shook her head. She hadn’t interacted with Dalia since Elly’s sexy sleepover. She saw Dalia now and then in the hallways. But the girls didn’t have any classes together. “Not really,” Sarah said. “I usually work out at the school gym for field hockey. I’m only here before I head into the spa.” Dalia’s face started to get red as she ran. “Special occasion?” she asked.Sarah’s eyes sparkled. “Yes. I’m going on a date tonight in the city.” Dalia laughed. “That’s right. Elly mentioned you were seeing someone.” “Our relationship is fairly new,” Sarah confessed. “It’s Kurl Mayor. Remember him? I called him at Elly’s sleepover.” Dalia leaned over and started to crack up. “Seriously? You got Mayor to ask you out? That’s impressive. He’s pretty full of himself.” Sarah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I didn’t know him at all until this year. I was sort of invisible my freshman and sophomore years.” Dalia gave her a tight smile. “Well, times change, right?” “Yes they do,” Sarah said. The girls finished their run. They moved to the floor mat. Sarah started doing stomach crunches while Dalia lifted a few small weights. “You into push ups?” Dalia asked. “Want to help motivate me to do ten?” Sarah smiled again. “Of course.” The girls did their ten pushups, though Sarah continued on and finished doing twenty. That was the minimum Coach Mars made them do every day at practice. “You can do twenty pushups? That’s amazing,” Dalia said. “I absolutely detest them.”Sarah tightened the rubber band in her long hair. “I try not to think about the pain. I just endure,” she said. Dalia brushed her hands off. “Whatever works, right? Ready to steam?” “Why not,” Sarah said, standing. The girls grabbed towels and headed into the steam room. After they’d gotten comfortable on the benches, Dalia broke the silence. “So what do you think of Bent Prince?” she asked, leaning her back against the wall. Sarah was glad she couldn’t see her shocked expression. “Um, what do you mean?”Dalia placed the towel more firmly behind her head. “Elly sort of mentioned something to me,” she said. Sarah sat up straighter. “Like what?”She heard Dalia sigh. “Don’t tell Elly I told you this. But she’s afraid you’ll take Bent away from her.” Sarah forced herself to laugh, though her insides were screaming. “That’s ridiculous. I’m with Kurl now. And besides, Elly wanted us all to double date tonight.” Dalia crossed her ankles, inhaling the warm steam. “I’m just letting you know what I heard,” she said. The girls were quiet after that. A little while later, they rinsed off in the shower. Sarah’s mind continued to spin. So Elly was jealous of her. It was sort of a nice compliment. Dalia gave Sarah a quick hug before she left the gym. “Enjoy your date with Kurl.” Sarah waved and headed next door to the spa. She forced herself to think about nothing at all. She needed to relax. And thinking about boys wasn’t helping.