The Girl in the Gym

The Movement

Present-day

"Jack! Hurry, we'll be late!"

Jack was heard playing with Bud in the other room, laughing at the sound of Inaya's voice.

"He wants to come too, we can't leave him. He's family."

"Of course he wants to come. Both of you get ready to leave in exactly ten minutes. The realtor will be waiting."

Ten minutes later they were all downstairs piling into Inaya's new car and heading to their newly bought lab in a posh area nearby. They had decided to buy out a top-floor office with a wonderful view of the Arabian Sea. It boasted of a private terrace as well, which Inaya had already decided, would be the background for her videos. The equipment was due to arrive today, and Jack didn't trust anyone else to handle it, but himself. They would set it up and then shoot Inaya's first vlog for her channel.

She had met up with a few female journalists and feminist groups' heads the day before. They had all been struck by her calm demeanour and no-nonsense attitude. They had all sat down to discuss how modern women were under the scanner of these extremist groups. The incident with the love Jihadists had shocked them, but they had been proud to see how well she had dealt with the rowdy people.

"The point is that none of us should have to go through this. We face discrimination and harassment every day from every corner," said Lata, a reporter from one of the leading dailies in Mumbai. "During my job interview, I was asked multiple times whether my father and husband were okay with me working."

The others nodded their assent. They had all been subjected to the same treatment. "And now, we have these illegal anti-love squads and Love jihadists roaming the street. Why should they curb our freedom to have dinner with a man, even if it is just a friend?"

So on the conversation had revolved around the table. Each one had been personally victimised by the Love Jihadists, and wanted to band together to tackle the menace.

"I am starting a vlog on YouTube with a presence on Instagram and Facebook. I propose we write articles, get reports and build a case against these kinds of people. Once we manage to acquire a large audience base, we might be able to move political authorities into helping us," said Inaya. Her statement was met with approval from every woman present. They had begun their vendetta.

She had shot her first vlog and they were about to air it soon, on the same day that they opened the doors of their lab for business. In the video, she had called out to all her haters.

"This video is just the beginning of a movement which will surely take over the world. For what is the world made up of? Women. We, who men treat as crutches, forever wanting to keep us bowed down and submissive. This is a call to all women, I am not going to stay down. Anyone who tries to oppose or threaten us would do well to be afraid. Because we refuse to be afraid anymore." She had shown the video to the other women and Jack, and they had loved it. It was to be an introduction to further their agenda. They would follow it up with more videos, protests, women's marches, etc.

Jack had been busy setting up the lab, and Inaya felt guilty for not helping the last couple of days. So she put her work on the backburner while she helped him see to the details. It took them almost a week to hire some staff, including two researchers and a receptionist and an accountant. Finally, the business had been registered and they were ready to dive into the work. The name of their firm was Integrators Ltd.

It was Inaya who had come up with the name one morning, while they were brainstorming about it.

"I love it!" Jack had exclaimed, happy to get into his new lab and restart his work with a fresh angle and more hope than before. He didn't know what it was, but being with Inaya had opened up channels in his heart. He found that he was unable to stay glum or moody for very long. He woke up cheerful, happy to be in love with a wonderful partner. Last year thinking of work made him feel nothing but despair, but now, he could practically taste success. 

Nobody would have guessed, but The Integrators were about to create history. They would flip the world on its head and forever change the topography of the business world. But that was yet to come, and right now Jack and Inaya were safe in their bubble of love and new beginnings. So far, they didn't even figure on the radar of political movers and shakers and economic powers. So far...