(PU) THE FIRST LESSON

Taylor had seen some bizarre things at Winslow.

She’d once watched a girl get smacked in the face with a frozen juice box during lunch. There was the time someone poured bleach in the water fountains and no one investigated. And of course, the latest rumor: Sophia Hess, caught skulking the halls after hours with garbage bins and uncollected waste, looking like she’d just lost a fight with a raccoon. Or three.

But none of that prepared her for the sight of Naruto-sensei barefoot on the gym floor, stretching like a particularly sinewy cat in front of thirty bewildered students.

“All right, class!” he shouted, bouncing to his feet in one fluid motion. “Today begins your journey to becoming true warriors of the heart, body, and spirit!”

That was the moment Taylor seriously considered just walking out and never looking back.

Instead of laps or dodgeball, Naruto had cleared the center of the gym and set up a row of orange cones in a wobbly zigzag formation. On one side of the floor, he’d drawn something with chalk: circles, arrows, spirals, and what looked suspiciously like stick figures attempting yoga poses.

“This,” he announced, pacing like a general in front of a very confused army, “is Kawazu Kumite! Also known as Frog Kata!”

The name drew more than a few raised eyebrows. Naruto either didn’t care or ignored it; either was possible. 

“First, we balance. Then, we breathe. Finally, we leap!”

He leaped.

Literally.

Straight into the air, legs tucked, arms spread out wide. And then—because why not—he landed in a crouch on the rail of the upper bleachers. Perfect balance, not even a wobble.

The class gasped.

Phones came out. Madison was already snapping pictures. Others pointed in his direction. Taylor didn’t join them.

That jump wasn’t normal.

Not gymnast-normal. Not stuntman-normal. 

And yet, it wasn't cape-normal either. Just a weird in-between that made her gape like a fish instead. 

Naruto grinned, arms still wide like he was performing for a stadium. “You don’t need powers to be strong. Just guts, practice, and the right teacher!”

He dropped back down with a casual flip, barefoot landing silent.

Taylor crossed her arms and waited for someone to call him out. A snide comment, a laugh. Maybe even a mutter under the breath, anything to break the spell that seemed to blanket everyone.

Instead, Greg Veder raised his hand.

“Can we, uh… will we get ninja stars?” he asked, hopeful in a way that made Taylor cringe on his behalf. “Eventually?”

Naruto didn’t miss a beat. “Not yet, mighty Greg of House Veder. First, you learn to stand like a frog!”

Greg blinked. “Frogs… stand?”

“No. But if they did, it’d look like this!” Naruto dropped into a wide-legged stance, one knee bent, one foot raised just off the floor, arms stretched like branches. A pose that would look ridiculous on anyone else but oddly cool on him.

Taylor could practically hear the collective cringe.

Half the class burst into laughter. Not the cruel kind or even mean-spirit for once, just bewildered. Even Madison, who typically only smiled when someone else was suffering, giggled into her palm.

But Greg, ever determined for weird things, tried to mimic the stance. He lasted all of three seconds before tipping over and catching himself on a nearby Sparky.

Naruto pointed dramatically, eyes wide. “Behold! The frog spirit flows through him! Did you see that recovery? Like a noble toad regaining his footing on a slippery lilypad!”

Greg flushed, half-embarrassed, half-proud. Someone clapped. Just once. But no one mocked him.

Taylor raised an eyebrow. 

That… wasn’t normal either.

The next twenty minutes were spent doing what Naruto called ‘Natural Energy Awareness Drills,’ which he quickly amended to ‘Mind-Body Stuff’ when Emma scoffed from the back row, despite his back being turned.

Taylor watched him for a reaction. He gave none.

He just guided them through what he claimed were basic sensory drills: standing on one foot, breathing with eyes closed, moving in slow, flowing motions like a weird blend of martial arts and interpretive dance.

“You want me to what?” Sophia snapped at one point, arms folded across her chest.

Naruto smiled a patient smile, but his words were dead serious. “Be still. Feel the air. Sense the natural energy around you.”

“Natural energy?”

“Yup!” he chirped, back to being cheerful. “The world is full of energy. But if you wanna draw it in, if you wanna be ‘one with nature’, you have to be perfectly still.”

Taylor expected Sophia to bite back like she normally would, maybe about meditation being for hippies or losers. 

Instead, she just… stared at him. Narrowed her eyes like she was trying to figure out if he was messing with her. Then, wordlessly, she dropped into the stance, somehow perfectly balanced, shoulders relaxed.

Taylor didn’t know what shocked her more: that Naruto had kept Sophia from biting his head off, or that Sophia had listened.

Taylor managed to stay quiet through most of it, following the movements when told, watching when she wasn’t. She caught Naruto glancing at her now and then, though not in that way. Instead he simply watched, as if he saw something she didn’t.

It still made her uncomfortable. 

. . . . .

By the end of class, most of the students had gone from annoyed to confused to… well, engaged, in a weird way. There’d been no pushups. No whistle-blowing. No being picked last for teams. Just this strange, relentless stream of weird exercises, frog metaphors, and optimism that seemed to wear people down by sheer force of will.

As the bell rang, Naruto bowed at the center of the gym with surprising formality.

“You were excellent today,” he said. “Tomorrow, we learn how to fall without breaking your face!”

A few kids laughed. Greg gave him a thumbs-up. Even Sophia muttered something that might have been approval, or just a noise she made by accident.

Taylor lingered at the back of the group, watching Naruto kneel to re-chalk the symbols on the gym floor.

She didn’t trust him. Not yet.

But she didn’t hate gym class today.

And that was new.