And They Were Roommates(40)

“I’m not.” But as I say it, even I hear how ridiculous and whiny it sounds. I was already insecure enough working out with Xavier, but now I’m asking about another guy’s love life when we’re supposed to be acting like manly men. “Forget it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, we got belldumbs to lift.”

“Dumbbells. We’ll start slower than that.” Xavier stands, grabbing a curved bar hovering above the machine’s seat. I swear I see his bicep pulse through his tracksuit. “This is a lat pull-down bar. It simulates pull-up motions on an easier scale, especially if you can’t lift your whole body mass yet. As you get stronger, I’ll readjust the lever I was messing with. Word?”

My zero strength was the reason for the adjustments. “W-word.”

Xavier pulls a stopwatch out of his track pants pocket. “First, let’s see where you’re at. Pull down that bar as many times as you can in one minute.”

I sit on the seat. At least no other students are here to witness my inevitable humiliation.

Shifting into position, I place one hand on the bar. My new tracksuit might be a size M instead of Xavier’s XL, and this equipment might be ten times my weight, but I’m as tall as Jasper at five eight. He could probably pull this bar a lot of times. I can match him. “Ready.”

“Charlie?” Xavier makes a face. “You gotta use both hands.”

“Oh.” I place my other hand on the bar.

He doesn’t stop staring. “Have you done a pull-up before?”

Should I have? Is this something boys innately know how to do out of the womb? Am I so unteachable that Xavier will walk away?

“Not really,” I admit.

Instead, Xavier laughs deeply, in a manly way I wish I could, filling up the room. “I’ll teach you the correct form.”

He walks up behind me and readjusts my grip.

My body tenses. He’s close.

“Face your hands away from yourself,” Xavier instructs, and I try to pay attention over the blood pumping in my ears. “Your grip should be slightly wider than your shoulders.”

“Okay.”

After a few more adjustments, Xavier steps back, and my shoulders finally relax.

He lifts his stopwatch. “Go!”

I flex my biceps. The bar lowers, and my forehead nearly taps the bar. But then my arms give out, and the bar slaps back into place. I grunt.

“Try again!”

I follow Xavier’s instructions. The bar gets closer. Closer. Closer. I finally feel a tap.

“One! Make it two!”

One turns into two; two turns into three in a row.

“Time!”

My arms crash down, burning like they went through a paper shredder.

“Three,” Xavier calls. “Not bad, but we can improve.”

So, I performed worse than he expected. The failure knocks me hard. “Do you actually think my grade rank will get better by finals?”

“Why wouldn’t it? I’m the best trainer in Au Sable Forks.” He grins.

A smile breaks across my face too. For someone so kind, the fact that Xavier has stayed single since his breakup last year is an eighth world wonder.

Would he say anything if he found out what I’m hiding?

“Did you know Jasper has a poetry book?” Xavier asks suddenly.

“Huh?”

“You had questions about his love life? That may help. You’ve checked it out?”

I keep forgetting Jasper handed me a signed copy when we moved in earlier this month. “No. How’d that book even happen?”

“I think Jasper already had a decent following online when he came to Valentine, but then P.M. helped him blow up over last year’s winter break. His book came out a bit after. Sucks that Jasper isn’t doing any new writing for his followers while he’s here.”

“He’s leaving things inactive? Can’t he update during breaks, like you said?”

Xavier bends down to perform more witchcraft on the machine weights. “I think he’s chosen this hiatus on purpose to focus on Valentine.” He smirks. “I don’t know if you know how famous Jasper is—he’s, like, over-a-million-followers famous nowadays. Power of Rank One for you.”

Jasper’s full name next to a 100 on the ranking board flashes through my brain.

“How?!”

Xavier startles so much that his grip slips, and weights slam together. “How what?”

Did I say that out loud? “I just don’t get why he’s Rank One.”

“Tell me about it. I study every second and barely stay Rank Four in my year, yet the guy barely does for a second.”

“Not even that. He’s at a hundred numerical class average. That means he’s never gotten a single point off an assignment?”

“Oh, Jasper can take one more core class than the rest of us because he’s gotten out of the PE requirement. Even though Valentine readjusts our classes out of a hundred, he’s inflated over that. They just don’t show it, or there’d be revolts.”

“Wha—?” So much rage boils inside me that I can’t see straight for a second. “How’d he get exempt?”

I’m not sure why I bother asking. I already know the answer.