Fat

“Ah, yes, Bruce told me you were coming.” Sarah left her chair, going to a little box behind her that she unlocked with a key. “Here is your key, your access pad. This allows you into many different parts of the gym including the, erm, pool. It’s cleaned on a Saturday until nine, but after then, you can go right on in. Are you with a personal trainer?”

“No, I’m just going to do this myself.”

“Oh, okay. We do advise all new starters have a personal trainer to help them see where they should focus during their workout.”

“I’m just going to hit it running, and hope for the best.” Her cheeks were heating, and she was so embarrassed. “I’m going to go.”

“Okay, have a nice workout, and if you need anything, please let us know. We want you to have a full treatment experience at Bruce’s.”

Elsa nodded and made her way toward the door with a stick figure of a girl on it. “The new me is just exercise away. Once I start, there is no turning back.” She held in a whimper and pushed through the door, determined to try this out.

The changing rooms were empty, and she found a cubicle, locking the door behind her.

“So far, so good.”

She didn’t waste any time in getting changed into her workout gear, which was a pair of shorts that were a little tight and one of her father’s old ratty shirts. Her mother wouldn’t allow her to buy clothes bigger, so she made do with what her father gave her.

Tying her ratty brown hair back into a ponytail, she was good to go.

She found a locker with a key, stashed her crap inside, and left.

Entering the main gym, she didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but she was surprised at how many people were actually there. Entering a room with running machines, she saw at least ten people, six men and four women.

Staying at the back, she stared at the scary looking running machine. It couldn’t be that hard to get started. Stepping onto it, she looked at all the buttons, and pressed for the machine to walk.

“Okay, I’m going to walk. This is going to be easy.” She muttered the words under her breath wishing she’d brought some kind of music.

“Can you believe he wanted me to eat a salad with the dressing?” One of the women was talking so loud that Elsa couldn’t help but listen in.

“Really? That’s got like a thousand calories.”

“I compromised and allowed there to be chicken, but then they went and added cheese. I mean seriously, there’s no way I was going to go for that.”

Great, it’s a health nut.

What was the point in eating at all if you forgo the meat and the dressing? It was just a bowl full of lettuce. Ew, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

The image of her mother sobbing made Elsa keep on walking, and she ignored the conversation going on up front. There was not going to be a change to herself unless she worked out, and work out she was going to do.

She only hoped her diet would allow more than a bunch of leaves in a bowl.

****

Noah Stewart made his way into the gym to find Sarah already had his key in her hand.

“Saturday morning, eight-thirty every single week unless we’re closed for holidays,” she said.

“You know me, I like to be predictable.”

“Yeah, why don’t you work out in your own town? Don’t they give you a special discount or something?” Sarah asked.

Noah sighed. He could work out in his own town, and it would be easier than making the trek four times a week, but he liked Bruce’s Gym. He was left alone, allowing him to train. None of his football buddies were there, and he didn’t have to worry about them trying to hook him up with some of the chicks in high school. Ever since girls had discovered he had a dick at fifteen years old, he’d experienced nothing but drama.

Working out was the one area where he got to relax. He was the kind of guy who found lifting weights, running, or swimming relaxing, but still, it’s what he liked to do, and he intended to make a career out of it. If he didn’t make it through football, he’d make it through becoming a sports medic, or teaching. He happened to like a lot of things, and he was smart. Bruce had even offered him a chance to earn some extra cash as a fitness instructor. The first week he was hit on three times, and that was not what he wanted for himself, so now, he focused on just practicing.

“Stop worrying about how much I’m being charged. Anything new with you?”

“I think Eric may propose. He’s getting all serious.”