"Knock, knock!" Amy said as she reached the top of the stairs that lead to Georgie's bedroom and gently knocked on the door. The door was ajar, and Amy could see the light inside, so she knew her niece was still up.
They had had a fun day watching Jack, Tim and Caleb dig out the hole for the outhouse, but despite Georgie letting a little loose from her strict exercise routine, Amy was still worried about her. She could tell the young girl was pushing herself hard and it seemed like she was under a lot of pressure when it came to training. As her former coach, Amy couldn't help but be interested in how she was being trained with as achieved coach as Kim Price.
"Come in", Georgie said after a while. When Amy entered the room, she could see Georgie lowering the screen of her laptop and turning around in her chair. It looked like she had been in the middle of something.
Georgie's dog, Remi, jogged to greet Amy, so she gave her few scratches before walking toward Georgie's bed and sitting down.
"How are you doing?" Amy asked, getting straight to the point even though she tried to be somewhat subtle as well so Georgie wouldn't fold into herself.
"I'm fine", Georgie said with a chipper tone. Almost too chipper.
"How's the training?" Amy tried another approach. While watching her niece, she could tell that Georgie was tense and somehow alerted, almost as if she didn't want to allow her too close.
"It's good. Yeah, it's good", Georgie confirmed, nodding extensively, not thinking too much of it even though she tried to appear that she had.
Amy nodded as well, but wasn't exactly convinced. "You know how I said that I would keep watching you like a hawk even though you're now training with Kim?"
"Yeah?" Georgie recalled. She tried to appear casual, but at the same time she seemed like she could sense the danger in the air and was scared to go forward.
"Well, I just wanted to kind of check up on you", Amy explained. "Because the other day, you were doing so well with Phoenix at the ring and yet you didn't think it was good enough. I guess what I'm trying to say is that... don't be too hard on yourself. I know it's good to have drive, and sometimes people push themselves by thinking they are doing badly when they haven't reach the goal yet, but it's also good to acknowledge when you've been doing better because that means that there's already been some progress. That way you have faith that you will get there eventually because you've already gotten this far. Maybe you're not where you're supposed to be yet, but... that doesn't mean you wouldn't be on your way."
Remi came to Amy with a ball, wanting Georgie's aunt to play with her. She rolled the ball for the Shepherd without thinking too much of it since her main focus was on Georgie. The girl looked thoughtful, almost a little melancholic, but still held back. Amy had pretty much guessed that Georgie's pride would probably not allow her to admit that she was being too hard on herself, but in some way, Amy was hoping that her words would still get through to her.
"Yeah, okay", Georgie said. That was pretty much as far as she was willing to go.
"Good." Amy smiled a little, hoping to support her. "I was wondering, could I see the training schedule Kim has made for you?" she asked.
Amy knew she was not in charge anymore, but with Lou gone, Amy felt some level of responsibility over Georgie, even if the girl had Jack to look after her, too. Still, this was something she understood more than Jack, so she had figured it would not hurt to ask.
"Uh, yeah... okay", Georgie said, turning around and getting her tablet.
Amy could remember Val being crazy with her schedule last year, and while Amy didn't want to diminish the woman or Briar Ridge's reputation in competitions, Kim Price was on another level. That was why Amy wanted to be sure that Kim was not asking too much from Georgie, seeing she still had to attend school and work at the same time.
Remi came back with the ball and waited for Amy to toss it again. "Not now, girl", Amy said to her softly, but gave the dog few pets as she waited for Georgie to give her the schedule. The dog looked sad and laid down on her feet, dropping the ball from her mouth and let it roll under Georgie's bed.
Meanwhile Georgie handed Amy the tablet and studied her nervously as her aunt began going through the schedule. Georgie knew that Kim was a professional and knew these type of regimes better than anyone, but Amy would probably still think it was too much, seeing her style was more gentle and more about experiences than about winning. While Georgie appreciated her concern, she didn't want Amy to get too involved and hurt her chances of reaching her goal if she would not agree with Kim's approach.
Then again, the reality was that even with Kim's plan, Georgie had decided to add few more runs to her week and skipped some meals in hopes to reach her goal even faster.
"Looks alright to me", Amy finally said much to Georgie's surprise. "I mean, it's demanding, for sure, but it's still reasonable, for both you and Phoenix."
"Yeah, it's definitely more than I expected, but then again the goal is Olympics, so it's really not that surprising", Georgie said and took back her tablet, closing the excel document and shutting the whole thing.
Remi began whining as she looked at the ball that had escaped from her under the bed. She could not fit under the structure and even though Amy refused to play with her, the dog still wanted her ball.
"Is it the ball?" Amy asked from her, sighing a little. "Why did you drop it there if you're not going to be able to get it back", she spoke to the dog and got down on her knees so she could pick it up.
As she reached down and got the toy back, Amy noticed a scale under Georgie's bed. She pulled it out as well. "What is this doing here? Isn't this supposed to be in the bathroom?"
Georgie turned around, noticing what Amy had just discovered.
"Oh, I... I borrowed it", Georgie said, feeling nervous again. Her guard was getting back up, higher than before.
"Borrowed it, for what?" Amy wondered, getting up and tossing Remi her ball while she looked at Georgie with new red flags on her mind. She had noticed Georgie watching her diet more than before and skipping deserts, but this definitely looked like there was more to the story and like her niece was trying to keep her weight under a strict supervision.
There was nothing wrong with a healthy diet, but if the goal was to become thinner - especially with Georgie's current weight - then there was definitely a cause for concern.
"It's just... sometimes I'm trying to see if there's been any progress, that's all. It's nothing", Georgie tried to downplay it.
"Okay..." Amy said, but didn't completely buy it. "Why does the scale have to be here then? If it's just sometimes."
Georgie tried to find the words to say, but she had not been expected to be ambushed like this, so she had not prepared herself.
"Georgie... You do realize that getting better at what you do has nothing to do with weight, right?" Amy said. "It's good that you're keeping healthy, but healthy isn't necessarily strictly tied to how much you weight. Not to mention, you're doing a lot of training, so you're also gaining weight because your muscles are getting bigger and they need more protein. So you can't stare at the scale too much, you have to measure your health and progress with other ways. Even if you would be lighter, it wouldn't automatically mean that you would be healthier. Health is more than just about being skinny, it's about feeling good with yourself and your body being able to have the energy to do things that you require from it."
Georgie looked down, feeling ashamed.
"Did Kim say that you have to keep an eye on your weight?" Amy wanted to know. If this was something Kim was feeding her, she would have no choice but to call Lou and tell her what was happening. "She has you on some kind of diet, right?"
"Well yeah, but she didn't ask me to keep eye on my weight... I just thought that- I don't know. That maybe if I was skinnier, it would help Phoenix go over the jumps, or something", the girl said, shrugging. Now that she said it out loud, it sounded like no one would probably agree with her.
Amy sighed. "Well, you should have talked to someone about it first before doing anything, because Kim, Lou or I could have told you that it's not the way to go."
Georgie still didn't look up as she felt like she had disappointed everyone.
Amy took the scale onto her lap. "I'm going to take this away, because you're not going to continue doing that anymore, is that clear? If anything, it'll only weaken your chances of making it, because you don't have enough fuel in your system to keep going."
"Yeah, okay", Georgie promised, even though she felt nervous and in some level thought this was a setback. But at the same time she knew that Amy knew what she was talking about and she had major respect for her, so it was probably better that she would take her advice.
"I should probably call your mom and Kim, tell them what's up", Amy said, thinking that they deserved to know. Not only because they were in charge of Georgie, but also because she herself couldn't always keep an eye on Georgie, so someone else would have to help her.
"No", Georgie said quickly. "No, don't tell them! Please, Amy. I feel so embarrassed. I don't want to worry them. I promise I will stop this, just... don't tell them. I really want to go to Switzerland, but if you tell them, they are going to think I can't look after myself."
"Well... can you?" Amy asked, raising her brow.
"Yes, I can", Georgie assured her.
Amy looked at her, weighing her options. "Okay. I won't. For now, at least. But if you keep doing what you're doing, I have no choice. We all just want what's best for you, okay?"
Georgie nodded. "Okay."
"Good", Amy said, getting up from the bed. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Have a goodnight."
"Night", Georgie said as Amy left the room.