In the spotlight

33

Sofia Christensen

I threw my hair to the front as I bent over, quickly gathering my hair together. In the process of tying it up, I missed a few strands, but I was in way too much hurry to care now. When I straightened up once again, a few strands fell into my face, but not enough to disturb me while moving around.

I rushed into the bathroom and took off my wide-framed black glasses, replacing them with my contact lenses prepared in advance. I slid them into position and blinked a few times, feeling my vision clearing out.

I adjusted the hem of my light blue sports bra and the waist of my equally colored pair of leggings, tied my training shoes, and I was finally ready to leave this room. Adriana was already long gone by the time I stepped into the elevator, but my previous Dior shoot was delayed a little, so I told her not to wait for me in the room.

With my small towel thrown on my shoulder and my water bottle fully filled in my hands, I stepped outside and took a sharp right turn, cutting through the main lobby. With one coordinated move, I quite literally kicked the door in, stepping inside the hotel's gym.

Some people were scattered here and there working out already, but it was mostly empty at this time of the day. I took a deep breath as I felt my senses fill up with the smell of metal, plastic, and struggle. I had to miss my early cardio session today due to a full schedule, and nothing has ever felt better than finishing a long day off in the gym.

My eyes were searching for my best friend relentlessly, until I could find her near the lifting weights in the back of the room. I approached her hastily, putting all of my stuff from my hands down to the floor.

Adriana acknowledged my presence with a short nod before both of us started warming up on the yoga mats. I loved training at any time, but training with friends was a thousand times better. We were immersed in a deep conversation, crashing from one subject to another.

People were starting to fill up the space around us, with all kinds of familiar faces showing up and greeting us while we were wandering from one machine to another. We went through a whole-body workout, but a very moderate one, and somehow I still felt unfulfilled by the time Adriana started to stretch before finishing.

Xavier was present as well, but he was lifting heavy weights with another friend of his, and I wouldn't like the idea of spraining my back with their weights. I spotted a few other friends here and there, but none of them alone, and who was I to disturb their routines with my own boredom?

When I was about to completely give up and start with the stretching as well, I looked around in the room aimlessly. I noticed something hanging in the back of the room, but not even with my contact lenses was I able to make the object out.

In the end, my curiosity won over my laziness, and I stood up from my sitting position to approach it. Once I got close enough, I could finally see the punching bag hanging from the ceiling, fixed with four strands of chains on top of it.

My face lit up with excitement as I spotted the bag, with two pairs of boxing gloves hung up on the wall right next to it. I was boxing almost every day back in Los Angeles, besides swimming, and it was no secret that I loved the sport itself very much.

There was no question about how I would continue my workout. I approached the bag with great haste, grabbing a pair of gloves from the wall. Adriana decided that she would not join me in this activity but would wait for me until I finished, regardless, while doing some yoga.

I started pulling the gloves up on my hand, one after another, while walking up and down next to the bag. Before I could land my first punch, however, somebody had already shown up next to me.