The Girl in the Gym

Badass Athleticism

This clarifies nothing, she fumed. It was all conjecture, and not even Jack could do anything about it. Absently, she took out her fidget spinner and started playing with it. It was almost like an involuntary habit. In a sudden flash, she heard her mother's voice in her head. She had been three, almost four and was trying to snatch at her mother's pendant. Her mother had said nothing but loving caught her hands in her own and said, "Inaya, you know that's not for you. Not yet at least. You have to grow taller than me to unearth its secrets. Yes, it is full of secrets. It contains all the knowledge of its universe and its many worlds...." The voice faded away, leaving Inaya in prickly silence.

The train of thought broke off. Was that a real memory, she wondered. Or what it her imagination playing tricks, cooking up something related to the day's event. When her mind didn't yield any more answers, she kicked one of the legs of her bed in frustration. It splintered with a crack, shaking her out of her self-pity. She took deep breaths to calm herself down. She couldn't afford distractions like this or even Jack for that matter. In another month he would leave and she would be alone once again. Mr Kamble and Zero Bulge needed her to be on the top of her game. He was growing old and frail, unable to do much more than manage from afar. He depended on her solely and she couldn't let him down. She had to deal with her attraction to Jack, it was a dead-end for her.

She had some paperwork to do that she had been delaying for the last week, she would deal with that today. All trainers had to file reports each week on the progress of their client, and it involved a lot of details. It kept her busy until dinner time, which is exactly what she had hoped for. As the clock struck nine, she glanced at her phone to check if Jack had messaged. He had not. She was not very hungry but decided to go down for a light meal anyway. And if she bumped into Jack over there, it would be pure coincidence. Right? She convinced herself of that logic and was looking forward to dinner, but Jack never showed up. She supposed he had eaten earlier and gone to bed. Taking his cue, she shut off all thoughts of him and his research and tried to go to sleep. It was going to be a tough month for both of them and he deserved her full attention.

It was almost midsummer. Jack's training was about to come to an end and Inaya was pushing him harder than ever. HE had lost all his fat and was down to a seven percent body fat ratio. He had never looked or felt so good. However, instead of slowing down, Inaya explained that this last leg would be the final sprint.

"You will train longer hours, with each rep getting more and more intense."

Miraculously, Jack was pumped up with adrenaline and exhilaration. With the loss of his body fat, his self-confidence and will power had skyrocketed. Inaya could throw anything at him and he could follow it through. Towards the end of his programme, Inaya designed a hybrid workout for Jack, varying it each day in intensity and effort. It was a multitasker method to pave his way for a leaner body and happier mind on his own. Every day, fresh mix-ups not only challenged Jack's muscles in new ways, ramping up his calorie burn, but also kept him motivated by spicing up usual yoga and jogging routine with her in the park. The badass athleticism of boxing with the beautiful sculpting of Pilates, which he learned from Inaya, interested him to no end. He was fast becoming proficient at both. They had been conducting regular boxing matches, hurdle races and swimming competitions in which Jack was always in the top three.

Unfortunately for Inaya, this transformation only served to heighten her attraction toward him. She counted days until his last day at Zero Bulge. Time seemed to have sped up and the last few months felt like they went by in seconds.