A few minutes later, Rachel was made to kneel in place with 80lb weights on her lap while her hands were held up in the air under the stern glare of Luna. Rachel’s breath was rough and she let out small whines but didn’t voice any complaints.
However, Leo, Greg and Aria were giving Rachel dubious glances. The face she was making wasn’t that of someone who was in pain...but was actually enjoying it!
"Should...Should we say something?"
Aria asked Leo who looked like he had just completely given up on Rachel.
"No...there’s no point. She is a lost cause. Instead let’s focus on tests. What else you got Greg?"
Greg shook his head slowly, trying not to dwell on the unnerving expression on Rachel’s face as she trembled under the weights, a suspicious flush coloring her cheeks.
"Right... moving on," he said, flipping a page on his clipboard. "Next up is strength testing. Let’s see how much you can lift without snapping something important."
Leo stepped forward, grateful for the distraction.
"You want me to go again?"
"Unless anyone else wants to volunteer first?"
Lily gave a mock sigh and flipped her hair. "I should probably go last. It wouldn’t be fair to show everyone up right at the start."
The room went quiet for a beat before Leo, Aria, Luna and even Rachel all let out unimpressed scoffs in perfect unison.
Crystal gave a small laugh.
"I’ll go after Leo. I don’t mind waiting for my turn."
Aria shrugged, arms crossed loosely over her chest.
"I have never really tried to lift weights before for anything other than maintaining my figure. I can go whenever."
Leo glanced at Luna and Rachel before turning back to Greg
"Alright then. Sis and that one can go after Lily I guess."
"That one? Why are you being so cold Leo~!"
Rachel tried to flirt while groaning under the strain of the weights. She batted her eyelashes at him with suspiciously flushed cheeks.
"Well whose fault is it that you wanted to act like a damn fool here? I think your punishment honestly is being too lenient..."
Rachel turned away slightly, her voice airy. "I can’t help it if I can handle this~! It just shows I’m... very resilient~"
Greg squinted at her. "...Right. ’Resilient.’ Sure."
"I mean, you’re not wrong," Crystal said under her breath.
"If anyone asks," Leo muttered, "we don’t know her."
Rachel let out a tiny giggle as Luna narrowed her eyes at her.
"Focus up," Luna said flatly. "If you pass out, I’m making you do squats next."
Rachel shivered, looking suspiciously delighted. "...Noted."
Aria blinked slowly, turning to Leo. "You ever think she might—"
"Don’t say it," Leo cut her off. "She’ll deny it. Loudly. And then somehow make it worse."
Greg cleared his throat, doing his best to refocus the group as Leo stepped toward the weight station.
"Alright, let’s start you off with something reasonable. We’ll go in increments and see where your limit is."
Leo rolled his shoulders and nodded, mentally preparing himself. Rachel’s strained noises and Luna’s constant glaring faded into background noise as he gripped the barbell and started lifting.
Greg watched carefully, jotting notes on his clipboard.
"Two hundred... two twenty... two fifty," he counted aloud. "Still in steady form. Breathing’s good too."
"His posture’s better than I expected," Aria murmured, arms folded as she tilted her head. "Has he done weight training before?"
"Track and field," Crystal replied casually. "He used to sprint and hurdle. It helps."
"I didn’t know that," Lily added, blinking. "That explains the legs."
Leo glanced their way, mid-rep. "Please stop talking about my legs while I’m under a barbell."
Rachel gave a breathy laugh without looking up. "We’re just admiring the view~"
"You’re still being punished," Luna reminded her sharply.
"Worth it," Rachel whispered under her breath.
Greg sighed again, dragging a hand down his face.
"Okay. Leo, take a breather. You’re holding at two eighty like it’s nothing, so we’ll try for three hundred next."
Leo re-racked the bar and took a step back, stretching out his arms.
"Crystal, you’re up," Greg said.
Crystal stepped forward calmly, tying her hair back with a small band from her wrist. "Alright. I’ll start a little lower."
As she positioned herself, Rachel peeked up just enough to smirk at Leo. "You’re pretty strong, y’know. If you ever want to carry me around like a princess..."
"Keep talking," Luna said from behind her. "Ten more minutes."
Rachel let out a tiny whimper that sounded suspiciously like a squeal.
Aria leaned over to Leo again. "Still think it’s not worth saying out loud?"
Leo didn’t look at her. "I’m not giving her the satisfaction."
Crystal completed her reps with quiet precision. Greg raised an eyebrow, impressed and confused that someone could walk and exercise blindfolded like it was no big deal and it having no effect on their movements. .
"Good form. Solid base. That was smooth. You’re stronger than you look."
"Thanks. I was originally thinking of joining my university track team," Crystal said, brushing her hands off. "Keeping up core strength was a necessary part of my training."
"Alright," Greg said with a nod of his head. "Aria?"
She stepped forward with casual indifference. "Let’s see how I do. If I drop the bar, someone catch me."
"You got this," Leo said, offering a small nod.
Rachel raised her head again. "If she drops the bar, I’ll catch it with my thighs."
"You’ll do no such thing," Luna replied without missing a beat.
Rachel muttered something about it being a shame as Aria prepared her stance.
Aria adjusted her grip on the bar, eyes narrowing in concentration. She wasn’t shaking, but it was clear she was calculating everything carefully before even trying a rep.
"Start her at one-fifty," Greg called, stepping to the side.
Aria lifted the bar off the rack and lowered it with surprising control. Her arms trembled slightly on the way back up, but she completed the rep.
"Not bad," Crystal commented with a soft smile. "Your form’s clean. You just need more conditioning."
Aria exhaled and set the bar back. "That was... harder than I thought. I think I’ll pass on going heavier."
"Smart," Leo said. "Better than pushing it too far and needing a medic."
"I can handle pain," Aria muttered. "I just don’t enjoy it like some people."
Rachel gave an innocent hum. "I don’t know what you mean~"
"You absolutely do," Leo replied without looking at her.
"I just find that embracing the struggle brings a kind of peace, you know?" Rachel smiled with her eyes closed, cheeks still flushed from the weights on her lap. "And maybe a bit of... clarity."
"Clarity," Greg repeated flatly.
Lily twirled a lock of her hair and smirked. "Sounds like she’s having a religious experience over there."
"I would never worship pain," Rachel said quickly. "That would be weird."
"You’re kneeling on the floor under eighty pounds with your arms in the air and you’ve been smiling the whole time," Crystal pointed out.
"It’s endurance training!" Rachel said, a little too defensively. "I’m taking this seriously."
Leo snorted. "If you were taking it seriously, you wouldn’t be making bedroom eyes at the floor tiles."
Rachel gasped. "I am not! That’s just how my face looks when I’m focused!"
Luna gave her a cold stare. "Then focus harder. You’ve still got three minutes."
Rachel whimpered, her smile twitching like she was trying to suppress it but failing miserably.
Greg glanced at the stopwatch in his hand, then at the clipboard.
"This is going to be a long night." he muttered under his breath.