Heads turned in my direction.
I jerked upright, immediately regretting the move as pain cut through the muscles in the back of my thigh.
"Are you okay?" Julie appeared at my side with amazing quickness, probably no stranger to dealing with overzealous beginners.
"Fine," I said in a pained voice. "I might have stretched a little too far."
"You should probably sit down." Her voice was kind but firm.
Tallulah watched me with concern in her eyes, and I saw the exact moment she understood what had happened. She rushed over to me.
"What did you hurt?" she asked.
"Hamstring. Left side." I tried to lower myself gracefully to the mat but failed, dropping to the floor with the elegance of a felled tree.
"Try extending your leg," Julie suggested.
I did as she asked, but another sharp pain lanced through my thigh, and I winced in agony, gritting my teeth to keep from crying out again. "Not a good idea," I said.
"We need to put ice on the muscle. I'll help you up, and then you can lean on me to walk, okay?" Tallulah said.
"I can walk," I insisted, though I wasn't one hundred percent certain. All I knew was I'd crawl out of there on my hands and knees before I leaned my weight on her.
Both she and Julie helped me to my feet.
"Lean on me," Tallulah said, positioning herself under my arm.
"No."
"Jamison—"
"I'm fine," I insisted.
Some of the students were sneaking glances at us.
"Let me help," she hissed.
"Go. I'll follow."
We had a staring contest.
"I'm so sorry this happened," Julie said.
I had forgotten she was standing nearby.
"I'm sorry for disrupting your class."
She shot me a sympathetic smile. "These things can happen when you push too far. As Tallulah said, ice the muscle and take some ibuprofen. Next time, don't force the stretch."
She actually thought there would be a next time. Cute.
I followed Tallulah out of the room, limping the entire way but determined not to put my weight on her. Our progress toward the front of the center was slow but not entirely bad. I had the pleasure of watching her firm bottom as she walked ahead of me. The color green never looked so good.
Tallulah led me into her small office behind the counter, a room the size of a closet, with a desk and two chairs crammed inside. Different colored sticky notes littered the wall above the desk with reminders and affirmations scribbled on them in her terrible handwriting. Without a word, she pointed at the chair closest to me, her stony silence a clear indication she was upset with me for not accepting her help.
I grunted as I dropped into the chair.
She disappeared and then returned a few minutes later with a bottle of water and a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a thin cloth.
