33
Workout
Ho‘omakaukau
To make ready.
I’m gonna die, Jay thought.
Nili-boy and Rad are trying to kill me, and I’m not even in the water.
Deep squats while balanced on a ball made his thighs burn and his butt muscles quiver like coconut haupia.
“Ninety-seven, ninety-eight—c’mon, Jay! Dig deep! One hundred! Awesome!”
Nili-boy pulled on the rope attached to Jay’s harness and swung him off the big exercise ball to the ground.
“That’s two sets of crunches and squats. You’re going to have a core of solid steel. Another set?”
Jay’s stomach muscles and thighs felt like scorched rubber, but he wouldn’t admit it.
Pain means you’re alive, he thought.
“Nah, I’m good,” he said.
“I’m unclipping you from the ball station,” Nili-boy said.
“Here,” Rad said, handing Jay a water bottle. “Drink
