“Here, let me help you up.” Scarlett reached for my hand.

I was afraid I might be too heavy for her.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I tried to say, but she grabbed my hand and pulled me up in one swift motion. She was strong.

“All right, dude. We’re going back to kicking drills,” she explained. “Go back to the wall and kick forward until you get to the other end of the gym.”

It sounded easy enough.

It wasn’t easy. My legs were very heavy, and my entire body was sore.

“Keep going, Adrian!” I could hear Scarlett yell. “Go! Go! Go!”

Having support in my corner helped. I thought it would be enough to keep me going, but sometimes your body can override that and decide to shut down. Kind of like mine did.

I was on the floor, inhaling through my mouth. I couldn’t breathe very well, so I took big breaths and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I could see both Ryan and Scarlett kneeling over me with a ton of other faces from the class behind them.

“You all right, big man?” Ryan asked. “You went down pretty hard.”

“I’m fine.” I tried to get back up.

“No, you’re not,” Scarlett said as she put her hand on my chest, holding me in place. “Stay down for a second. You’re going to get light-headed if you get back up.”

“I’m good,” I tried to explain. I didn’t want to look weak in front of everyone. I had to show them all that I could keep up like they did, even if I was bigger.

“Stay down,” Ryan said sternly. “Scarlett, can you take the kid home?”

“Yep. Give him five and send him my way.”

Ryan passed me a bottle of water and I guzzled down every last drop of it.

A few minutes later he helped me up, patted me on the back, and said, “See you next class, kid. This stuff happens, don’t sweat it.”

I went to the washroom, changed my clothes and grabbed my gear. I met Scarlett in the parking lot. She honked her horn at me and I got in her car.

“It happens. Don’t worry about it,” she reassured me.

“It’s just so embarrassing to pass out in front of everyone.”

“I know. But trust me, it could be worse. After my first class at King’s, I threw up right in this parking lot. In front of everyone,” she confessed.

Vomiting in front of a group of people might be a tad more embarrassing than fainting.

“Okay. That actually makes me feel a bit better.”

“See? This stuff happens to everyone. Just take it easy. Where do you live, kid?”

“I live on Maple Street. Right off the corner.”

“Cool. That’s not too far from here.”

By the time we got to my place the sun had already set and moonlight splashed onto my driveway. My house was three levels high, and my room was just above the garage where Scarlett parked.