Belly Literary Universe (part 2)

Veera's Spectacle Part 2: Downtime

Ruby Peak was styled as a home away from home for celebrities visiting Azure Heights. For Veera the luxury and privacy of the shining crimson tower was very familiar. Though the city was where she grew up, she spent most of the last five years touring. She had no real home. With her royalties, it was more convenient to simply stay at this famous palace than it was to worry about having a normal apartment to worry about.

There was scarcely a time where she needed something that the tower didn't provide.

The private fitness center that she had rented out for the day overlooked the massive hollow interior courtyard. The atrium was big enough to house another skyscraper in it. Despite the impressive view, her fitness trainer Kary kept her busy.

The flipped tires, they squatted barbells, and they contorted themselves into knots over a two hour session.

"Why - do - I - have - to - push - so - hard?" She huffed in between curls of five pound weights. After finishing her set she clanked the dumbbells back onto their rack. "The next tour is months away." Her platinum hair was falling loose from her ponytail, and her designer workout outfit was drenched with sweat.

Kary was black and short but still taller than Veera. He wiped sweat off his brow over his bald head. "As if you don't know. You work harder to keep fit than I do some days. You're a tigress."

"Only because you make me. Like, I'd rather be on my couch snacking."

"That's what I admire about you. Even when you hate something you put everything down on the table. Treadmill next. Get in some more cardio before we finish up."

"Uuugh." Veera trudged onto the belt and smacked the machine on. She started at a sprint.

"Easy now. Set it to something slower. How about a nice easy five mph? Hmm? This is the end of the workout."

"But that's boring. I push so hard with you because taking it easy lets my mind wander."

Kary chuckled as he climbed onto the treadmill next to her. "Sure. You can sprint. But sprinting doesn't help you much on stage unless you've got a crazy fan to run from. You got guards for that. No. You wanna keep at a pace where you can keep a conversation going. If you can't talk and jog at the same time, you're pushing too hard."

Veera tilted her head back and grunted. "The tour just ended. Why do I have to get ready for the next one already."

"It's easier to maintain than to get back to where you were."

"No it's not."

Kary laughed. "I know touring is tough. You're great at it though."

"It's not tough, it's boring!"

"Oh how sad," he teased. "The superstar gets bored while getting to sing to sold out stadiums."

"You know that's not what I mean. It's the specific music, ya know? Poppy shit. I haven't sang part of an interesting chord progression in months. Maybe I could at least get some unusual cadences in there? Maybe a deceptive cadences even? But no. All I get is four chord songs."

"Hey, I'm not a musician. It all sounds great to me."

"I just want to really WOW people." She shook her hands angrily at the console in front of her.

"I know those lights on stage are blinding, but you have so many people at your show."

"No, I mean. Of course they were entertained. How could they not be with the energy in the venue, with the backup dancers, the huge screen, and the pyrotechnics."