Levina

Panting like mad, I burst through the main doors of the center and quickly dashed to the room where I will be having my private lesson. Damn, damn, damn. I swore in my mind as I caught sight of the clock; I'm already five minutes late.

, I knew I should have left the house sooner. I groaned as I willed my legs to be faster. Finally, I turned around a corner and pushed open the doors. They slammed against the walls and my music instructor, Xiumin, turned around. Judging from Xiumin's face, he was not amused by my tardiness.

I hastily bow as I exclaimed, "I'm so sorry I'm late! There was a major traffic jam along the way." I kept on panting as I waited for Xiumin's response. He was always strict on punctuality and I'm kind of afraid of what's going to happen to me.

I knew Xiumin for a few years already but he had always shown me his cool, easygoing side. I took that for granted and sighed up for private lessons with him.

The saying, 'Do not judge a book by its cover' was definitely true. During our lessons, Xiumin was completely ruthless.

He was supposed to help me improve in my tuba playing skills but he had forced me to do push-ups and planks. It was to, quote, "Improve my stamina". To be honest, how is my stamina going to change my tuba playing performance? I just haven't got an answer out of him yet.

Still, Xiumin was only strict and very disciplined during our lessons (correction: torture sessions). He hadn't revealed his angry side to me yet and I'm completely fine with our current situation.

But I think that's subject to change now. I swallowed as Xiumin approached me stealthily, his face free of any emotion. Nervously, I shifted my weight from one foot to another. Xiumin leaned towards me and uttered three words.

"Thirty sit-ups. Now."

"No!" I groaned in dismay. "Can I do planks instead? Or push ups? Anything but sit-ups?" I pleaded but Xiumin shook his head. He pushed my shoulders down, forcing me down to the floor.

"Argh!" I whined as I lied on the floor, my feet in Xiumin's hold. I thought that after taking my final NAFA test back in Secondary 4, I wouldn't have to do sit-ups again. Obviously, I was wrong. Like seriously wrong.

"Hands behind your ears and start." Xiumin ordered me and I rolled my eyes before lifting myself up. My elbows touched my raised knees and Xiumin called out, "One."

"Two."

"Three."

By the fifteenth sit-up, I was dead tired. My stomach was aching like mad and a