Detention With Elgort (Ansel Elgort)

Chapter Sixteen

Ever heard of a couples yoga class? Apparently that's a thing, because Ansel signed the two of us up for one the following Friday.

Of course, I started my period the day before, and I got a text from Ansel that night telling me to break out my yoga pants. I was so stressed by the thought of exercising in front of people that I stress-ate an entire container of Oreos that night.

With my yoga pants on and messy bun intact, I twiddled my thumbs as I rode in Ansel's passenger seat that morning.

"Exactly what is going to go down at this class?" I asked.

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. Yoga, I assume," he replied. "Neil told me that one of his buddies did it with his girlfriend the other day. Supposedly, it helps 'strengthen your relationship' and whatnot, so I thought, hey, why not?"

We pulled up to the modern-looking yoga studio, with its tall front windows and small fountain by the front door. We checked in at the front desk and headed back to the room the lady instructed us to.

There were five other couples in the room when we arrived, six counting the instructors. A container of yoga mats sat in the corner. Ansel and I each picked out a mat, and I glanced at myself self-consciously in the mirror that lined one wall as I set my purple mat next to Ansel's green one.

"Welcome, everyone!" the lady who I assumed was one of the instructors said. "I'm Stephanie, and this is Tom, and we'll be your instructors today. Before we start, we're gonna do some simple stretches to get warmed up and ready."

Five minutes later, we were stretched and ready to go. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"So our first position is called bunk beds," Stephanie said, demonstrating with Tom. They were both in a push-up position, but with her on his back.

"Guys, you start on the floor. Ladies, you'll have your hands on his ankles and your feet just above his shoulder blades."

With my hands on Ansel's ankles, my feet only reached a few inches below his shoulder blades, but we made it work. Not too shabby.

"Good, everyone! Now, our next position is called the back-bend."

They demonstrated once more, with him in a bridge and her doing a back bend on top of him.

Oh goodness.

I put my feet on his shoulders and hands on his legs and tried to bend, but I barely could. My arms shook, threatening to buckle out from underneath me.

Fortunately, we didn't hold that one long. The next one consisted of the guy holding the girl up with his feet, like dads sometimes do with babies. Ansel had no problem holding me up, but I had trouble holding the position. Surprise, surprise.

The next pose had the guy in a downward facing dog, with the girl on his back and upside down. Now, this one we did not get. I kept rolling right off his back. Thank goodness we had the mats.

After another hour of failed poses, laughs, and falling in a heap on the floor, we finally finished the class.

Back in the car, Ansel got in the driver's seat, heaved a sigh, and looked over at me.

"I don't know about you, but I want McDonalds," he said.

"I'm down for McDonalds," I said with a laugh. Leave it to Ansel to suggest McDonalds after an exercise class. Well, I would too, if we're being honest.

After going through the drive-thru, we ate in the car, splitting a 20-piece nugget and large fry.

"So did you have fun?" Ansel asked.