In the spotlight

42

Sofia Christensen

Music was blasting through my airpods as I pressed play on my phone and slid it back into the pocket of my sweatpants. I took off from the floor and grabbed the long rod above my head with both hands. I pulled my body up, then lowered it down before repeating these steps several times until failure.

When that happened, I let go of the rod and arrived back on my feet panting. I looked around, examining my mostly empty surroundings. The park I was in was surrounded by tall Gothic-style buildings, mostly apartment houses. Summertime was approaching us rapidly; most of the trees were already covered with green leaves, and the days started to get significantly longer.

A slightly cold breeze hit my face as I started stretching, cooling down my overheated body. My hair stuck to my forehead covered with sweat, and stains were visible on my white cropped t-shirt from the random workout I had on these outside bars and such.

Luckily, no one was around to witness me in this state. On a Sunday evening people had better plans to spend their time with, so nobody could snitch on me for not being home confined to my bed as I was told in the hospital.

I just cannot lay anymore. I needed either mental or physical exercise after counting my minutes until I am finally permitted to leave my home without fearing of getting caught. Since the latter was easier to acquire, I changed into training clothes and escaped, coming down to this park behind my apartment complex.

And it felt so damn good. I wasn't sure if it was due to the thrilling side of my escape or just the physical exercise itself, but I loved every minute of it. By the time I started heading home, I was pleasantly tired and very hungry, in fact, so I sped up my steps.

As soon as I reached my apartment, I jumped into the shower, brushing through my hair and scrubbing my body all over to get rid of the dust and everything else. I was ravished after finishing my shower, and I couldn't bother with cooking tonight, so I just quickly ordered some sushi instead.

Unfortunately, nobody was around to chat with while waiting for my food, so I was stuck with my laptop and my TV. I was in the middle of writing an email to Dior's commerce manager when I heard knocking on my door.

Jamie tasked me to work together with the catering team while I am spending my time at home so I do not get bored. I was collaborating with a new ad of theirs and had to negotiate every single detail, preferably each one of them in a different email.

I stood up and placed the laptop on the glass table in front of the TV. I approached the door and took my sushi delivery order, tipping off the courier handsomely for his speed. I placed the bag on the kitchen counter and went back to the glass table to shut down my laptop. I can write that email later.

My stomach grumbled angrily by this time, and I couldn't stop thinking about that California roll somewhere in that bag, getting ready to devour every last piece. As if someone above me has heard my thoughts, before I could reach the kitchen counter I heard another knock on the door.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. After a few seconds of standing between the kitchen and the living room, I turned towards the door and headed there. I figured that the courier has probably left something behind and wanted to return it before leaving the apartment complex.

I opened the door once again, but what I've seen has surpassed my expectations.

"Hello!" I heard someone's voice speaking up. He was standing in front of me, holding a huge box in his hands and trying to peek over it to see me. "I have a delivery for Sofia Christensen." He was struggling with the words; his French accent was clearly audible.