The Girl in the Gym

Dutch Courage

They reach Zero Bulge the next day. Bud was overjoyed to see Jack and didn't leave his side all day long. Paul promised himself that he would never travel without him ever again. They fell back into their old routine, with the exception that Jack was closer to his goal weight than ever, and soon, he would have to leave Zero Bulge and Mumbai. And Inaya. Whenever Jack thought of his stay coming to an end in little more than a month, he felt panicked. And each time he tried to console himself, he failed. A vague idea had entered his mind, but it was too outlandish to even think about. As the days progressed, their friendship grew deeper, but there was always a grain of low self-esteem in Jack.

Even though with Inaya, Jack had regained some of his lost confidence. As his body was getting back in shape, so was his mind and new ideas started filtering in. Still, Jack suffered from pangs that kept him up late at night, going over all the arguments that she was too good for him. He was in no shape to compete with the 22-year-old Inaya, whether it was his body, his combative and non-combative skills. He knew he would have to reach his absolute best if he ever hoped to be in a genuine relationship with her. She would not judge him, but he would judge himself. Each night, he vowed to keep a check on his feelings. He promised himself that he would not make a fool of himself by asking heer out before either of them were ready. But when the morning came, and with it Inaya, all his resolutions flew out of the window and he continued to moon after her.

Weirdly enough, Jack's anxiety and blood pressure had reduced considerably. Maybe that was the reason he stopped having the recurring nightmare about his lab. He had told no one about it but was secretly relieved when they stopped coming. With his heart and mind emptied of all negative emotions, a new space was cleared up. Lots of space in his head to fill with new ideas and thoughts. He started sharing a little bit here and there about his work with Inaya. He told her of his experiments and their failure. He opened up about his breakdown and a broken engagement. He told her how much of a loser he had felt like until he came to India. Zero Bulge, and Inaya specifically, had given him a new path to follow. Inaya listened to all of that sympathetically, marvelling at how strong he seemed. She was in awe of his intelligence, and could only stare when he finally admitted he was a scientist researching quantum theory.

"You must be brilliant. I thought you were an engineer in a normal office. I had no idea," she said. Even after all these months, there was so much about each other they didn't know. She wanted Jack to tell her more about his engagement and research, but sensing that he wasn't yet ready to reveal so much vulnerability, she desisted.

Inaya was also suffering from the same indecision as Jack. When she had seen him first, she found him attractive, but not someone she could be friends with or be in a relationship with. Jack had won her friendship with his good-natured conversations, his focus and intensity. However, Jack still didn't know much about her. He didn't know about her family or friends, apart from those at Zero Bulge. He had no idea who she was outside the gym. And for now, Inaya wanted it to remain that way.