The ringing school bell blared across the campus. As the clock struck 8 AM, the mood of the students suddenly shifted. The mild chatter hushed over amidst the ringing bell, transitioning to the drawled shuffle of footsteps along the halls. Gone was the carefree days of summer vacation and procrastinating intersession schoolwork, now the 5-day cycle of study and suffering returns once more.
Students filed into the gymnasium for the expected orientation day. One could tell who was a senior and who wasn't simply by checking for any hint of anxiousness or not. They hauled themselves to their seats, buzzing with emotion on upcoming quizzes or terror profs. Seconds later, a loud piercing sound screeched from the microphone on stage, followed by a few deliberate grunts from the rector to catch the students' attention.
"Good day to you all. Don't worry, this will be brief."
The students squirmed in their seats, impatiently awaiting something that could have just been sent through an email.
"As you are all aware, the school has been facing several budget cuts due to things out of our control. As a result, we have to merge some of our staff to do double duty or smth idk hwo to word this properly."
The student body let out a collective groan of disappointment. Their voices rose into a cacophony of complaints and remarks, arguing about the discrepancies between tuition and quality, the disrespect of it all. It took several stern remarks from the rector until the angry mob died down, yet they refused to cast away their glares of disapproval.
"To manage costs, we've merged the roles of campus physician and fitness coach. Dr. Dr. Brenner will be covering both responsibilities moving forward. Please direct any gym-related or medical concerns to him."
Students suddenly grew skeptical. Eyebrows were raised, some mumbled in confusion, others glanced around for the so called doctor. It was something to be concerned about cost-cutting measures, but relegating only one individual to being both a doctor and a coach is an extremely dubious one. Murmurs swept the crowd in droves as they questioned the implications.
Unseen and unheard, a gruff looking polar bear watched by the stands, crossing his thick arms with a soft challenging snort to himself.
"I'm going to have to up my game to win these kids over..."
---
Time rolled by quickly, and so did the reintroduction of syllabi and unexpected pop quizzes. Fitness class was always seen to be superfluous in the grand scheme of things, something the students weren't appreciative of and treated it as a free cut most of the time. Several decided to spend their time elsewhere, leaving only a good handful left to attend the first ever Physical Fitness class of the semester.
The small handful quickly suited up without much issue. As soon as they stepped through the doors, they were greeted with the sight of an absolute beast of a coach: An absolute brickhouse of a polar bear clad in only the skimpiest looking wrestling singlet and shorts ever seen, just enough to obscure his more private areas but revealing far too much skin than expected. The thin, tense blue straps splayed directly on his nipples, leaving most of his huge, stony pecs exposed and flexed. The singlet tapered down, vacuuming to his washboard abs leaving little to imagine of his chiseled torso.
"Morning, you all! Looks you'll be the first batch of kiddos I'm gonna handle today! Now let's see..."
The bear squinted at a little clipboard, intermittently glancing at the wide-eyed students too busy glazing over his muscles.
"Ahah! Either half this class suddenly disappeared into thin air or... We've got some escape artists!"
He rolled his shoulders with a firm grunt, stretching the paper thin singlet with a creak. A few students laughed nervously, evidently intimidated by both his booming voice and towering stature.
"Tell you what, champs! We're not startin' with push-ups or lectures on the first day! We're startin' with a recruitment mission!"
He pointed at the doors, snapping his fingers with a proud grin.
"Anyone who brings back a missing classmate, VOLUNTARILY! No dragging... Gets first pick on the stations, and I'll personally tailor your routine to fit what you want!"
He clapped his hand once, barking out in a sincere yet harrowing tone.
"15 MINUTES, SPLIT UP, YOU CAN DO IT CHAMPS!"
The gym slowly emptied as the volunteers scattered through the halls.
Some returned quickly—dragging along friends mid-protest, others laughing as they were coaxed back with promises of “no burpees” and “custom workouts.” A few came later, sheepish but unharmed, surprised to find no yelling waiting for them.
True to his word, the polar bear welcomed every returnee the same way—with a clap on the shoulder, a grin, and a bottle of water pressed into their hands.
“Good. Now you all just did the first step to excelling in fitness: showing up! Now let's keep it up, champs!”
By the end of the period, the gym buzzed—not with exhaustion, but something unfamiliar: momentum.
As the final whistle blew, the bear reached for the chair by the wall, shrugging back into his white doctor’s coat. The fabric strained as it slid over his shoulders, sleeves already threatening surrender.
He adjusted the collar, clipped his stethoscope into place, and checked his watch.
“Alright, champs—hydrate, eat, and don’t forget to stretch. I'll see you all next Thursday for class, and hopefully not in my office!”
Then, with one last confident nod, Dr. Dr. Brenner turned toward the exit, heading back to his doctor's office with a proud gait in his step.
As the bell echoed through the empty halls, signaling the end of classes for the day, Doctor and Coach Brenner Galkin could finally focus on catching up with the mountain of paperwork piled high on his desk. With a determined grunt, he shouldered open the door to his private office, the wooden frame creaking in protest from the sheer mass of the polar bear's hulking physique.
Brenner began rifling through manila folders, his gold irises scanning over the neat lines of each student's physicals and medical histories. As he reviewed the records, he absentmindedly reached for a set of dumbbells resting in the corner, already exceeding 100 pounds apiece. The thick, rubber-coated iron clinked as he raised them to chest level, commencing a fluid set of dumbbell curls.
Between sets, Brenner would lean down to sign off on a particularly concerning note, only to pause and bark out a set of pushups on his desk. The sturdy oak surface groaned under the shifting weight of his muscular bulk as he powered through the reps, not even breaking a sweat. He paused only to flip to the next file, already onto his next set of exercises.
Every so often, Brenner would unfold himself from his chair, the thin fabric of his teal tank top straining over his broad, muscular back as he grabbed onto the pull-up bar mounted on the doorframe. With a mighty heave, he hoisted himself up, swinging his legs back and forth as he flipped through the remaining files. The door frame shuddered from the sheer force of his warm-up.
"Hmm, this kid's metabolism numbers are a bit low... Not to worry, a custom meal plan ought to fix that!"
Brenner's deep voice rumbled through the office as he dropped down, the door rattling from the impact of his landing. He flipped to the next file, only to pause and grab the resistance bands dangling by the coat rack. The stretchy rubber groaned as Brenner stretched them taut, working his shoulders and back through a series of dynamic stretches.
As he reviewed the files, Brenner couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility, a duty to ensure that each and every student had the chance to reach their full potential. It was a sentiment instilled in him by his late father, who had always believed that with the right support and guidance, anyone could achieve greatness.
"And this boy here, he's got the bone density of someone two years younger... We'll need to work on that powerlifting routine..."
Brenner set the resistance bands down with a soft clink, swinging his legs up onto the desk as he flipped to the last few pages. He leaned back in his chair, dumbbells still in hand, and began an unhurried set of bicep curls. The strain of the weights was minimal compared to the sheer mass of his mountainous arms, yet he focused intently on the pages before him.
