Saturday mornings were Gianna's sanctuary. No matter how chaotic or unpredictable her life seemed during the week, her Saturdays were always the same. At 8 a.m. sharp, she would head to the small martial arts studio just a few blocks from her house, where she could leave behind everything that weighed her down and focus solely on herself.
The studio was tucked away on a quiet street, its simple exterior hiding the intensity that went on inside. Gianna had been coming here for the past two years, and in that time, the training had become more than just a hobby. It was her release, a way to clear her mind and find balance in a world that often felt too heavy.
As she stepped into the studio, the familiar scent of the mat and the low hum of conversation greeted her. A handful of students were already warming up, stretching and chatting quietly as they waited for class to begin. Gianna nodded at a few familiar faces, then made her way to the back of the room, dropping her bag by the wall and slipping into her training uniform.
She liked the solitude of this part of her day. Here, she didn't have to worry about what people thought or pretend to be someone she wasn't. There were no expectations, no need to be perfect. Just her and the discipline that came with learning martial arts.
"Morning, Gianna."
She turned to see Sensei Collins, the instructor, standing by the front of the room, his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was stern but not unkind. He had always been a man of few words, but his presence commanded respect.
"Morning," Gianna replied with a small smile as she finished tying her belt. She had grown to appreciate his quiet strength over the years. He didn't push his students too hard, but he had a way of making you want to be better, stronger.
The class started with their usual warm-up: stretches, light sparring drills, and a focus on breathing. As Gianna moved through the motions, her mind gradually began to quiet. The worries about Ethan, the confusing emotions swirling inside her, all of it faded into the background. Here, it was just about the moment—about control, precision, and focus.
Halfway through the class, Sensei called for one-on-one sparring. Gianna paired up with her usual partner, a girl named Emma, who had been training at the studio just as long as she had. Emma grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You ready for this?"
Gianna smirked. "Always."
The sparring was light at first, more about practicing technique than going for a win. But as the session went on, Gianna felt a shift inside her. Each block, each punch, each kick carried a little more weight than usual. It wasn't anger exactly, but a kind of pressure, a buildup of emotions she hadn't realized she was holding on to. She wasn't just training today. She was fighting something deeper—something she couldn't quite name.
Her movements became sharper, more deliberate, and Emma, sensing the change, picked up her own pace to match Gianna's intensity. The exchange of blows became faster, more focused. Gianna could feel her muscles straining, her heart pounding in her chest, but she didn't slow down. She needed this.
A final kick landed, and Emma stumbled back, breathing hard but grinning. "Damn, Gianna. Where'd that come from?"
Gianna smiled faintly, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Guess I needed to blow off some steam."
Emma nodded, still catching her breath. "Well, remind me not to get on your bad side."
After class, Gianna lingered behind, stretching out her sore muscles while the rest of the students filtered out. She liked to stay a little longer, letting the calmness settle over her fully before facing the outside world again.
Sensei Collins approached her as she finished packing up her things. "Good work today, Gianna," he said in his usual measured tone.
"Thanks." She hesitated for a moment, then looked up at him. "How do you... keep everything balanced?" she asked, surprising even herself with the question.
Sensei raised an eyebrow but didn't seem taken aback. "Balance isn't something you find once and keep forever. It's something you have to work at every day. Some days, you'll lose it. That's normal. The trick is to keep looking for it."
Gianna nodded, absorbing his words. It made sense, in a way. She couldn't expect to always have things figured out, but she could keep trying. Keep pushing forward, even when it felt impossible.
She thanked him and headed out of the studio, feeling a little lighter than when she'd arrived.
Back at home, Gianna spent the rest of her Saturday doing the things that grounded her. She put on her favorite playlist—soft, melancholic tunes that matched her mood—and curled up with a book in the small nook by her window. Reading had always been her escape, a way to lose herself in someone else's story when her own felt too complicated.
The hours passed quietly, the soft hum of music in the background mixing with the sound of pages turning. She let herself get lost in the world of the book, her mind free of the questions that had been nagging at her all week. Here, in this stillness, she didn't have to figure anything out.
But even in these moments of peace, the feeling that something was shifting in her life remained. The martial arts class had helped release some of the tension, but it hadn't erased it completely. Deep down, Gianna knew that no matter how much she tried to escape it, there was something building—something she couldn't ignore forever.