The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 6: Thinking Space. (Part 3)

Zen:

Zen stood in the centre of the gym floor. A row of ten people stood before her, breathing tiredly and covered in sweat. She smiled proudly at the lot who had continued to come in for her lessons.

"Good work everyone!" she puffed out her chest and exuded her strength. "Rest well and eat some food. To keep this up you need a good supply of energy."

"Yes Zen!" they replied with tired enthusiasm.

"Hmm," Zen nodded again. "Class dismissed." With a skip in her step, she left the floor to the front desk where Aria sorted out some papers.

"Good lesson Zen?" she asked smiling.

"It was great, but they're far from your brother. Teaching him is like trying to fill the ocean. He absorbs everything and gives it all his all."

"Ha ha," Aria grinned as if she had received the praise herself. "He is my brother after all."

"Umm Aria, I'll be heading off few a bit. Is that alright?" Zen asked meekly.

"Of course it is. It's not like I haven't been here alone before. The new part timer should be here soon anyway. She can help me sort the equipment."

"Thank you. You and your family have been so much help," Zen spoke from her heart. With what she knew now about running the gym compared to before, she would have bankrupted herself by the end of the month. Now her assets were climbing quite nicely. "I wish I could pay you all more."

"Don't worry about it!" Aria pumped her arms. "I'm getting more here than if I took a part time job anyway. Also, you're letting Ardy use the back room, and he's super thankful for that. If we kept the pod at home, we'd need to move the couch and then you'd have nowhere to sleep when you come over!"

Zen laughed at her energetic words, "That would be a problem. If anything happens call me. I'm getting used to my phone now."

"Will do," Aria saluted.

Zen stepped away to her own room. It was located on the far end of the gym down a small corridor that also led to where Ardent gamed in his pod. Whenever she passed, Zen couldn't help but peek inside. There wasn't much to see other than the Pod humming softly and Ardent resting within it. The concept of it however had been gnawing at her for a while now. With the size of the room she could probably fit another pod easily enough....

Despite her own desires Zen shook away the thoughts. She couldn't spend her money so recklessly like she had when she built the gym. After a quick shower, Zen got dressed into her day wear. Her clothes fit loosely, hiding her muscles very unlike her gym wear which showed off her body. When outside she'd rather not get gawked at, especially as she wanted to go incognito and to that regard sported a thick framed pair of sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat. Aria who spotted her leaving the gym couldn't help raising her brow but said nothing.

Zen had one goal for the day and that was to find Arthur. Though she knew she could always meet him after work, she wanted to know exactly what he was going through. He had put incredible amounts of effort to help her and the thought of not being able to return the goodwill didn't sit well inside her. As such, after a rather brisk walk, Zen found herself in the city centre. Buildings that reached for the sky like mountains of steel and glass. No matter how many times she had seen them now, there was always that mysterious sense of wonder that surrounded them. The fact that mankind could build so high. It was a testament to their determination and Zen herself wouldn't mind owning one herself one day.