The school ground was already a furnace. The sun was blazing like it had a personal grudge against us, and the dust stuck to my shoes like glue. Arnold, our physical endurance teacher, stood at the front like some drill sergeant who thought he was training us for war instead of PE. His arms were folded, his jaw clenched, and his eyes scanned the class like he was waiting for someone to screw up. Spoiler alert: that someone was me. It's always me.
I was stretching half-heartedly, already plotting how to survive the next hour without collapsing. That's when I noticed Sammy. My guy wasn't stretching. He wasn't even pretending to stretch. His eyes kept darting toward Talia. Every time she tied her hair back, his jaw went slack. Every time she laughed at Amanda's joke, his ears turned red. It was so obvious I almost felt embarrassed for him. Almost.
"Oi," I whispered, nudging him. "You got a crush or something?"
Sammy froze like I'd just caught him stealing cookies. "Shut the fuck up, Rudra."
"Ohhh," I grinned, loud enough for Amanda to glance over. "You do. Look at you, blushing like a tomato. Damn, Sammy, you're gone."
Sammy's face went nuclear red. "I swear to god—" He lunged at me like a madman. I yelped and bolted across the ground, dust flying everywhere. The chase looked like two idiots reenacting a cartoon fight, complete with me laughing my ass off and Sammy roaring like a pissed-off gorilla.
"Get back here, you little shit!"
"Not until you admit it!"
We zigzagged across the ground, classmates staring, some cheering, some just shaking their heads. It was chaos. And then came the voice of doom.
"YOU TWO. FRONT. NOW."
Arnold's voice cut through the air like a whip. The entire class went silent. I skidded to a stop, Sammy nearly crashing into me. Arnold's glare could have melted steel.
"You think this is a playground?" Arnold barked. "You think I don't see you clowns running around like idiots?"
I opened my mouth. "Sir, it's not—"
"Shut it. Both of you. Drop down. One thousand pushups. Each."
The class gasped. Amanda muttered, "Holy shit." Talia covered her mouth, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
"One thousand?" I squeaked. "Sir, that's—"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Arnold's voice was pure doom. "Amanda, Talia. You're responsible for these two dumbasses. Make sure they don't cheat."
Sammy and I exchanged horrified looks. Amanda smirked. Talia outright laughed, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh my god, you guys are so fucked."
The ground was hot, the dust stuck to my palms, and I already regretted every life choice that led me here. I dropped down, groaning. Sammy followed, muttering curses under his breath.
"One thousand pushups," I hissed. "We're gonna die."
"Shut up and push," Sammy snapped, though his arms were already trembling after twenty.
Amanda crouched nearby, smirking like a devil. "Don't even think about cheating. I'll count every rep."
Talia was still giggling, wiping her eyes. She walked over, her shadow falling across us. "So… what exactly are you two doing?"
Sammy fumbled, his face red. "Uh… we're… uh…"
I couldn't resist. "Someone's having trouble talking to their cru—"
Before I could finish, Sammy grabbed my mouth with his sweaty hand. "Shut the fuck up!"
I flailed, trying to pry his hand off. Amanda snorted. Talia laughed so hard she had to wipe her eyes again. And of course, that's when Arnold reappeared, like some demon summoned by stupidity.
"You two idiots," Arnold growled. "Do you like me that much that you want me to oversee you personally?"
I panicked. "No sir, no need for that! We're fine! Totally fine!"
But Sammy, the dumbass, looked almost… happy. He was grinning while doing pushups, like he'd just won the lottery. Amanda and Talia both glared at him, suspicion written all over their faces.
"It's not like that!" Sammy stammered, his arms shaking. "I swear!"
Arnold narrowed his eyes, then finally nodded. "Good. Keep going. Don't stop until you hit one thousand." And with that, he marched back to his office, leaving us in pushup hell.
---
By pushup number fifty, my arms felt like noodles. By one hundred, I was convinced my soul was leaving my body. Sammy, though, was still grinning like an idiot, probably because Talia was watching. Amanda kept count like a prison guard, and Talia occasionally laughed whenever one of us collapsed face-first into the dust.
"Sammy," I wheezed, "you're enjoying this way too much."
"Shut up," he panted, "I'm not."
"You are. Look at you, smiling like a creep. Amanda, Talia, he's smiling because—"
Sammy shoved me mid-pushup, and I ate dirt. "Fuck you, Rudra!"
Amanda laughed. "You guys are hopeless."
Talia crouched down, still smiling. "Seriously though, Sammy, why are you so happy?"
Sammy's face went red again. "I'm not happy! I'm suffering!"
"Sure," I muttered. "Suffering with a smile. Totally believable."
---p
By the time we hit five hundred, I was ready to crawl into a grave. My arms shook, my chest burned, and I was pretty sure I'd never lift a pencil again. Sammy was still pushing, though slower now, sweat dripping down his face.
Amanda finally sighed. "Alright, I think that's enough. Arnold's not coming back anyway."
Talia nodded, still grinning. "You guys look like you're about to die."
I collapsed onto the ground, dust sticking to my sweaty face. "We are about to die."
Sammy flopped beside me, groaning. "Worth it."
I turned my head, glaring. "Worth it? We just did five hundred pushups in the blazing sun. How the hell is that worth it?"
Sammy didn't answer. He just glanced at Talia, who was still smiling. And then it hit me. Oh. Ohhh. This dumbass thought it was worth it because she was watching. I groaned louder.
"You're unbelievable," I muttered. "You're actually happy because your crush saw you suffer. You're insane."
Amanda snorted. "Teenage boys are idiots."
Talia laughed again, shaking her head. "You guys are ridiculous."
---
Arnold eventually came back, saw us sprawled on the ground, and shook his head. "Pathetic. Get up. Class is over."
I wanted to cry. Sammy somehow managed to grin, even as he struggled to stand. Amanda and Talia helped us up, Amanda glaring at Sammy like she knew exactly what was going on. Sammy stammered, trying to explain, but his words came out like gibberish.
I just sighed. "Next time, Sammy, keep your damn eyes to yourself. I'm not doing pushup hell again because you can't control your hormones."
Sammy groaned. "Shut up."
Amanda smirked. "No, Rudra's right. You're hopeless."
Talia laughed one last time, wiping her eyes. "You guys are the dumbest duo I've ever seen."
And that was the end of endurance class. Dusty, sweaty, half-dead, and humiliated. But hey, at least Sammy's crush got a front-row seat to his suffering. Lucky bastard