The Girl in the Gym

Online Assault

Present-day

It had been more than a month since the incident with the love jihadists happened. Their hate and anger had spilt onto Inaya's consciousness, taking over her life in a very frightening manner. She, who had always been the strongest one, found that she could be crumpled a few words on the faceless internet. It had tarnished the joy of looking at her photo on the cover of the Sports magazine; something she had been very excited about. At Jack's insistence, she had gone to see a therapist, and it had helped to a certain extent. But it had taken weeks for her to feel normal.

She had taken time to recover from the online assault, and after that put herself to work. She had said in the interview that she would be releasing a few workout videos, but that would have to wait. Jack had asked her if she wanted to be partners in his lab together, and she had agreed. It was far more complex than she thought it would be.

"The red tape in your public offices is horrendous!" claimed Jack one evening. He had been making rounds of these offices and had also made a short trip to the German embassy. He had been made to fill out endless forms, and submit a large number of documents to set the ball rolling.

"You will have to get used to it if you're going to stay here," Inaya replied. She had been busy drafting articles, making notes and reading up on feminist movements throughout history. Jack frowned at her, taking note of the unopened drapes and her food lying uneaten.

"Inaya, you know I love having you here. But you need to bring your life to order. You can't forget who you are," he said.

Huffing, she snapped her laptop shut and glared up at him. "Who am I then, Jack?"

"For one, you are certainly not someone who would be happy cooped up in the house for days. Let's go for a run, and maybe to the beach. You need some fresh air," he said.

"I will go out when I am done composing my statement," she snapped. She had been trying to write an op-ed article, but the results had not been satisfactory so far.

"You need help. You cannot do this alone. Go to that meeting with the feminist groups and gather your allies. If you do it in a hurry, it won't be good at all," he stated.

Recognising the truth in his words, she mentally agreed with him. She changed into her running tracks and shoes and they went to a public park nearby for their evening run. Throughout, Inaya had the weirdest sensation, like she was being followed. She looked behind once or twice but didn't see anyone suspicious. However, the feeling didn't go away, and finally, she signalled for Jack to turn around.

"What happened?" he asked, out of breath.

"Nothing, I was thinking we could go to that new vegan place for dinner," she said, not wanting to alarm him without cause. "We should head back to get there on time."

During their meal, Inaya was thoughtful and Jack was mentally ticking off the work that he had already done.

"I had an idea. What if I launch my own channel on Instagram and youtube? It would reach a larger audience than a regular website." she suddenly said.

"Hmmm, that would be most ideal. You can address any number of things," Jack replied. "You can call it Feminist Fitness."

Inaya smiled. "Actually that's not a bad name. Thanks for the suggestion."

"So, I have shortlisted a few sites for the lab. I will be sourcing most of the equipment from the companies that I already use. And I already have interested investors waiting to hear back from me," he informed her.

"Oh, that's brilliant. Do you want me to come with you to finalise the site?" she asked, excited for both of them.

"Of course, you are my business partner aren't you? Plus you are also investing a considerable amount of your money into it."

"When do you want to go?"

"Let's go tomorrow. They are all in South Bombay, not too far from my place."

Inaya had something else to say to Jack, but she was unsure about his reaction. She took his hand in hers and said, "There is something else I wanted to discuss with you."

"Go on."

"I have been working at the gym for almost eight years. I now feel saturated, and need to do something different."

"I was under the impression you loved your job. But if it doesn't satisfy you, you must look for something else to do."

"Exactly, I love it, but I have outgrown it. I want to give my time to our lab and myself."

"That sounds wonderful, Inaya. In fact, you can move in with me right after you serve out your notice period!"

Inaya giggled uncharacteristically and nodded. "Yes, that does sound wonderful."