I take my time waking up. Its my day off.
I'd set my alarm an hour earlier than usual and it had woken me up to Cindy spamming my inbox. She wanted to go to the fabric shop. I wanted to sleep.
I left her on read and slumped back into my warm sheets. In another three hours, the gym would open. I'll have breakfast at Mark's place. I doze off again, dreaming of doughnuts and cake.
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It's ten by the time I wake up. I'm still sleepy, but I drag myself out of bed , brush my teeth and pull my shoes on. I pick my phone and grab a jacket before leaving. I think I left the light on in the bathroom though. Well, that's too bad.
It takes a few minutes for me to walk to Mark's gym. He named it Sun Fitness Studio. I told him it sounded boring but he doesn't care. He has a bunch of members though, so the name really doesn't matter.
I walk as slow as a snail, up the narrow set of stairs near the door that leads to his house. Its this smelly old place above the gym. He spent almost all the money he had on equipment and the gym looks amazing. But his house looks like a dumpster. He doesn't mind because he practically lives at the gym, but I do. It almost ruins my apatite when I walk through the door and get a face full of week old sweat.
I've given up telling him though.
So I pinch my nose and walk through the mess and arrive at his table. At least he keeps the kitchen clean. There's a plate in the microwave that has waffles and there's whipped cream and honey in the fridge. I help myself and cram three waffles down my throat before walking down to the gym.
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Mark is busy with some guy so I find myself a comfortable seat. The benches are padded and soft. As I wait for Mark, I recollect the past few days. I'm annoyed at myself for doing that because, soon I'm thinking about how I screwed up yesterday. I'm irritated by the time Mark comes for some water.
"Bad day yesterday?" he asks me.
I am literally shooting laser beams from my eyes now, but he doesn't seem to be affected.
"That's the guy I've been training for a week now. He's good. Wanna give him a shot?" He points to the tall man on the other side of the ring. I know what Mark's trying to do. I can almost hear him say 'I'm diverting your anger to this noob'. I sigh and grab a pair of gloves.
I'm in the ring before Mark can reach the other side of the room. A few seconds later, the trainee joins me. He looks familiar but he's wearing a helmet and his long hair is in his eyes, so I can't really place him. I ignore the thought and take my place in front of him.
From the sidelines I can hear Mark mumbling, "Don't go too hard on him."
I clench my teeth and attack.