Chapter 24: Sweat and Stress
Getting a good night's rest requires a few things. The right temperature, good support, and comfy pajamas.
All conditions Zelene has managed to keep…
"SNAP!"
"Eep!"
…Until today.
"I just got up. Only wanted to do my morning stretches…" She looked at the button that had bounced off her closet and onto the floor, then down at the small gap formed in front of her chest.
"Damn it…" She growled, her mood starting off bitter.
Her pajamas, a lovely shade of lilac with elongated sleeves, was meant to be a size too big for her to AVOID these issues.
"I must have grown…AGAIN." She bit her teeth and the trembling of her eyes showed anger and anxiety.
With nothing else to do but roll with the punches of this inconvenience, she got up and wandered over to the bathroom with a deep yawn, being careful not to stretch again.
Someone beat her to the punch, "Please be mom, please be mom…!"
She begged, and then cursed her luck when the door opened and Lunalei walked out in her cute little striped pajamas.
Zelene tried to cover the gap but that just made her big sister more curious…more envious.
Zelene anxiously looked the other way and hated, HATED that her sister was looking at her like she was some kind of…show-off slut.
Lunalei glared, adjusted her glasses, and then stepped aside remarking, "It's all her yours."
Her tone was a facade of kindness while her body had already spoken for her.
Zelene entered the bathroom and washed the tiredness off her face. The anxiety wouldn't come off even with bleach.
Then she reached into a drawer only she used and pulled out a tape measure and notebook.
She stamped down on the tape measure with her heel and kept her back pointed at the mirror. With a bit of work, she took her height, and breathed a sigh.
"Nothing…yet."
She logged this down, but would need to wait for her mom to measure her chest.
She looked at where she started, just a mere year ago, and wished she was still a foot shorter and many, many cups smaller.
She clapped the book shut, hurried to put everything away, and then went about applying the dye to her hair.
A nervous fidget sprung out of nowhere and nearly ruined her look. She had to take a few breaths to steady herself.
She looked in the mirror, and behind her reflection was blackened. She saw an eight foot monster grabbing her shoulder.
She saw herself.
"Haaa…!" Her heart clutched in her chest and she grit her teeth, ready to punch the mirror.
She held her fist back, tightened it. Hated it. Hated her looks.
"Another one of these days…" She knew she couldn't stick around here today.
After returning to her room she pulled open her closet and put on her usual attire. It was snug around the chest, but manageable…for now.
She then pulled out a sporty bag hidden in the back and threw it hard onto her bed.
She'd come back to it after breakfast.
There was a full table today. Well, as full as it could be…
It was nice to have her mom's optimism on full display in spite of this gap. And dad was in a good mood too. Which meant a lot of lives were saved this week.
Xander was scarfing down his food. Lunalei kept her meal light. Zelene focused primarily on protein and carbs.
She did everything possible to distract herself from her body, make the mood comfortable.
Lunalei was never going to stop pushing the occasional glance upon her though.
After the meal was done, Zelene ended up bumping her plate with her chest and causing it to clink. She uttered "Shit" under her breath and blushed when her parents stared at her.
"I have to adjust how I move around…again!" Her frustration jabbed her brain and heart like a thousand fists.
And just as she seemed ready to have another episode, she felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around to vent it out on WHO DARED to do this.
But it was just her mom, poignantly concerned despite the softness of her expression.
She kept their conversation quiet, "Do you need to get out for a bit, Zelene?"
Zelene bit her lower lip and looked down at herself with a hiss of frustration, "I-It happened again."
"I understand," She said, her gentle reach as incredible as her ability to pick out the finest details, "I can't go shopping with you today, unfortunately. But I can take you anywhere else before work."
"I…was wanting to go to the gym." Zelene whispered.
Her mom patted her on the back and then grinned, "Then brush your teeth, get ready. I'll warm up the car."
Zelene smiled and the sheer shift in emotions made her cry.
She took care of business around the house and then double-checked her things. She filled a gallon of water and then carried it and the bag towards the garage.
But along the way she ended up running into her dad, checking over some medical records.
Zelene turned pale but there was no time to hide what she had on her.
He turned and his eyes beamed with curiosity, "Where are you off to?"
Zelene clenched her teeth and said, "I'm going to…do art with Damian."
Whereas her mom was easy to read, her dad was a master of subtlety in expressions. Perhaps too subtle…
When he tried to show love to any of them, it was not a matter of a spoken word.
He had to reach out, touch you softly. But that touch was like the soothing sunlight.
Upon brushing her uncombed bangs with his thumb, his beard shifted like a smile was hidden behind it, "You're almost seventeen…I can hardly believe it."
"I likely won't be home when you get back, so…Be safe out there, Zelene."
For his faults, he could always confirm to her that she was his daughter with the simplest, gentlest moments.
"I'm a horrible person…" She cursed inside as she left him, went out the front door, and ran for the garage. Stress made her catch her breath.
She then entered the car in the passenger side and buckled up, ignoring looking at her mom, "I lied to dad again…"
"Oh no…" Her mom sighed while beginning to back out.
"He doesn't understand what's going on with me. But-"
"I think he does. But you know how he can be sometimes," Her mom boiled down all of Zelene's thoughts quickly, "Don't worry, I won't say anything."
She then giggled a lot, "I kind of enjoy having a secret between us!"
Zelene took this chance to lean back and relax for twenty minutes. Her mom hummed a tune playing on the radio.
Once they arrived in town it was a short drive to the local gym, where Zelene got off with her bag in tow.
Her mom leaned over to close the door and asked, "When did you want to be picked up?"
"I-I'll probably just get a bus back. You have a good day mom…and thanks again."
"You're welcome!" She said with a smile.
Zelene them turned, held her head up high, and the moment she walked through the door you'd be hard-pressed to believe she was capable of anxiety.
She said hi to the gal at the counter who had been working ever since she started coming here.
She then signed in and made her way to the women's locker room. She opened her bag and pulled out a black zipper coat with white stripes on the arms, a gray sports cap, and blue jeans and a white shirt.
She slowly got undressed and put everything on. She took her hair and bunched it up under her cap, leaving only the orange parts sticking out.
The jacket could never zip all the way. Two big guesses why…
She then left her bag in a locker and made her way out, pinching the side of her cap, and looking up with a thin, easy smile.
This was a sprawling gym with plenty of machines and free space to go around. It had stale lighting but the brighter colors on the wall fixed that.
Lots of men and women came here to work out.
Here, nobody was looked at funny because of the way they were shaped.
Everyone was free to improve their lives for whatever reason they wanted: Losing weight, getting stronger, maybe just pray and hope they can find friends.
Zelene could almost be herself here.
"Hey Sunny, haven't seen you in a few." A gym trainer approached her from the juice bar. He was about her height, mid 30s. Seemed to be single. Or just never talked about home.
"I…needed to get out today," She replied, putting on a slightly gruff tone, "...What are you doing?"
"On break. Waiting for an appointment."
"Ah," Zelene looked back and said, "There's a bench open. We can spot each other…? I guess…if you want."
"I'm good on lifts for now. But I'll spot you." He said with a friendly gesture.
"C-Cool…" Zelene muttered.
So why the disguise? Well…the odds are always present that someone will recognize her from school.
And she already gets enough harassing, lecherous eyes for her appearance, if they knew she enjoyed working out she'd NEVER see the end of those thirsty assholes.
But so far it's been clean. It's primarily adults and the kids they bring along that come here, maybe a couple of college seniors here and there.
She gets into her groove for bench press a few notches below the highest allowed weight and takes a break between sets to drink.
The trainer whistles with surprise, "You've improved pretty fast. Ever considered joining a competition?"
"No!" Zelene punctuated bluntly with a gasp from drinking.
The guy flinched, and she felt guilty, "I…I'm good."
"I'm just saying. You got talent. You didn't even need a trainer."
"I paid close attention to how everyone else did it…" Was in her thoughts.
"Y-You try enough, eventually you succeed." Was in her mouth.
"Words to be inspired by." He said.
"If only I believed them."
Truth is, she could easily lift heavier at this point. But she needed to maintain some degree of normalcy.
Not for the 'charade' the family tried to keep.
This was all for her sanity.
It wasn't that bad though. This let her exercise self control as much as it did her muscles.
Which means her mind wasn't focusing on problems.
And also means she doesn't get a sore back from these stupid breasts.
…OK. It wasn't ALWAYS focusing on problems.
After about 100 reps, the trainer walked off, "Oh. Hang on, I think my appointment is here."
Zelene finished more reps and then as she raised her head and snatched her water up, she was caught by the rare but lethal exercise paralysis demon…
And her name was Serra Whiter.
"Aaaaaaaahh…!" Zelene shrieked down to a very quiet gasp in seconds, "Why is she here?!"
The trainer bumped fists with Serra and said, "This young lady was curious about our facility, so I scheduled her a free day."
"W-Why? You're all about cardio!" Zelene said, struggling to hold her gruff tone.
Serra blinked a few times and then clenched her fists with that competitive grit in her smile, "Zelly is that you?!"
"Fuck!" Zelene's pupils shrink.
"Wow! I didn't know you liked exercise! You should've spoken up sooner!"
"And be chained to your insane routines?! No thanks!" For as disarming to her peace as this was, Zelene cooled her horses and thought, "This is Serra…I-I can get through this."
She took a deep breath and resumed her gruff tone, "You're mistaking me for someone else. My name is Sunny…A-A college student from out of town."
Serra gave that dopey stare of hers and remarked, "I guess you don't have purple hair…"
"Whew…" Zelene huffed.
The trainer remarked, "Huh, it seemed like you knew each other. How'd you know she's cardio focused?"
Zelene widened her eyes and raised her voice, "Z-Zip it…!"
Then she hastily mended her outburst by gesturing at Serra's legs, "Look at those! She's a runner!"
Serra giggled proudly, "Hee hee! It's true!"
She then pumped her fists and told the teacher, "Now I want to test my metal against some new competition!"
"It's 'mettle', you dunce…but then again, all the iron probably went to your bones instead of your brain."
Zelene…really didn't like dealing with Serra. She was way too high-energy, and that oblivious nature of hers had never known obstacles in life. And boy, was that kind of sheltered privilege annoying.
It was easy to keep her away elsewhere, but now their worlds were colliding.
All Zelene could do was just try to grin and bear it.
"W-Well, I'll leave you to your training. I'm going to work on my shoulders…" Right as Zelene tried to make a smooth getaway, Serra asked the question that condemned her.
"So hey, who is the strongest weightlifter in this gym?"
"Oh, that's probably Sunny." The trainer answered. All good intentions, totally bad reading of the room.
Zelene spun around and swung her hands out but it was too late. Those darn hairs went up on the back of Serra's neck, her hands were twitching.
Zelene was now a target.
Serra ran right up to her and declared, "I challenge you to weight lifting, Sunsun!"
Zelene puffed her cheeks and threw her hands at the trainer, who only then realized he messed up and mouthed an apology.
"L-Look…Serra…I'm busy. Can you just…leave me alone?"
Serra's eyes widened, clearly baffled that someone would actually NOT want to go along with her insanity.
She smiled and stated, "That's ok! I understand having cold feet. I AM pretty tough! Hee hee!"
She never had in her to boast directly, but the wording was arrogant enough.
Serra then clenched her fists again and remarked, "But I can tell you're pretty tough. And if I challenge you, it'll help me improve too! So come on, let's compete!"
"Ugh, stubborn idiot…!" Zelene had already tried being polite, the only option was to either get pushy, or…
"Or…?" Zelene looked at Serra again and, maybe it was the Whiter blood in her talking, but she felt compelled to try and fight on her terms.
"The only way I'm keeping this place to myself is to dissuade her from coming back. So maybe…it's time you got humbled, Serra."
These mean thoughts pushed Zelene to glare at Serra and say, "FINE…I-I'm game."
But slowly, Serra's competitive spark shone in her eyes, "Heh heh heh…! I knew you enjoyed a challenge!"
The trainer spoke up, "But…I'm supposed to be giving her a to-"
Zelene then propped a hand on her hip and shouted, "Then you shouldn't have said anything!"
Her bite was too much. She ended up biting her thumbnail and muttering, "Shit…"
Then she brushed the matter off and made Serra follow her through the gym to her pre-planned destination.
Again, this place was big enough that there were plenty of machines for them to use. First things first though, "Do you know how to use any of these machines?"
Serra shook her head, "Not a clue!"
"Haaa…" Zelene was NOT going to be like Erin and play dirty. She made a light gesture at the signs on the machines and remarked, "Follow the instructions. Or you can watch me do it."
Serra leaned into the instructions and after a bit of humming perked up and shouted, "Ok! Got it!"
"There's NO way…!" Zelene groaned, and muttered to herself, "Oh whatever…"
"Ok. We're going to do 100 reps, same weight for us both. You're welcome to take breaks, but if you give up, you lose."
"Sounds simple enough!" Serra proclaimed.
The two got on their respective machines and Zelene set both their weights, close to max. Obviously, Serra was always going to be able to match her simply because of what she inherited from her bloodline.
"But weight lifting is about more than how much you can lift. It's about posture. Proper bending. Taking breaks. Even messing up a tiny bit will hurt you." Zelene can remember the pain she went through when she first started out, but it was worth it to avoid the pain her body would've weighed on her nowadays if she hadn't.
The two started working the machines in unison and Serra actually was doing proper procedure, and keeping pace with her.
It didn't take long for 100 reps to pass, upon which Zelene took a large drink from her water and stood up.
"Whew…!" Serra shouted, "My arms feel all tingly! I should've been doing this more often!"
Zelene glanced at her, "The world doesn't need you to be some buff…freak too."
After downing her water, she turned to Serra and said, "Ok. Next we'll go to the ummm…Ab crunch!"
Unfortunately, this was a machine that had a lot of occupants, so they had to resort to sharing the one they did find, due to Zelene's impatience.
Same deal as before, weights were set, 100 reps. Zelene comfortably stood by and saw Serra struggling a bit with this one as a good sign. She even smiled.
Though Serra did eventually succeed, and afterwards rubbed her stomach with a smile, "Whew, it's burning up down there!"
"All that cardio's keeping her going. I need to think of something else…" Zelene tucked her hands into her pockets and kicked at the air, nervously looking around the gym.
"That's it!" She then turned back to Serra and told her, "This way."
She led her to a grounded bike with two pull strings attached to it. Since this one didn't have instructions on it…
"For this one you sit down, grab the pull strings, and pull them towards your chest."
"And that requires a decent amount of self-control, otherwise…" She could imagine the cords snapping under Serra's hands and her going "Oh no!"
Zelene felt genuine glee at the thought.
So she stepped aside and let her go first. No need to make adjustments.
"Leeeet's see here…" Serra grabbed hold of the reins and tugged, which for her looked as easy as pulling out a roll of toilet paper. The fan made a VERY loud sound and Serra winced.
"Oh, that doesn't sound good." So with a jolly laugh, Serra wound up holding back a little. The fan still got loud, but not enough to break.
Zelene was flummoxed, "Since WHEN do you show restraint?!"
Serra gave her that blank stare and giggled, "Well…I wouldn't wanna break this before I win!"
Zelene slapped the right side of her face and looked the other way, "I'm blaming Leo for this...s-somehow…"
"How do you know Leo?"
"Crap!" Zelene bit her lower lip and muttered, "I-I know him from…"
Zelene was starting to let her nervous side show through, and that mixed with some growing anger to make a really suspicious expression, "At the store, ok!"
"Oh! Makes sense!" Fortunately Serra had just as much air in that brain as she did meat on her bones.
Zelene wound up really pushing the bike more than Serra did in her attempt to burn off the stress. Then she glugged down more of her water.
Afterwards, Serra looked a little sweaty and brushed her forehead clean, "I can still keep going, unless YOU are ready to give up!"
"Never!" Zelene said, the fire in her voice taking her aback, "No no no! Don't get infected!"
She managed to push Serra through a gauntlet of practically every machine in this facility, but she was simply too stubborn to keep down.
It really did seem like Zelene was doomed to lose what she considered a liberation from the stresses of life to her cousin.
Her cousin, who never knew what it was like to suffer humiliation for looking different.
Her cousin, who never knew what it was like to be challenged.
Her cousin, who was irritatingly…optimistic about everything!
Zelene wound up breaking away from her and secluding herself in the lobby to drink her water.
A grace period that lasted all but five seconds before Serra sprung up around the corner, panting and sweating like crazy, "T-There you are!"
"Come on!" Zelene squeezed the handle on her water jug to the pressure point as Serra took a seat down next to her.
Then, Serra let out a huge huff of air and looked like she was going to get dizzy, "Ha…ha ha ha!"
But she kept laughing without a care in the world, "I was so eager to come here I forgot to bring my drinking mug!"
Zelene's grip eased up, but her irritation at her became a lot more vocal, "You…forgot to bring water? You really ARE amazing, Serra…"
"T-Thanks, Sunsun," Serra said with a grin, and then leaned back into the chair and threw her coat off onto it to relax, "You're pretty amazing, too!"
Zelene flinched and then turned the other way, unsure of how to parse her emotions, "Y-Yeeeeeah, you're just saying that to be nice."
"What's wrong with that?" Serra said, "You should always be nice to other people!"
"T-That's not what I mea-" Zelene glared at her, recognizing that damn it, she's no better than her sister with these envious eyes of hers.
"Well no, there's…a difference."
"..." Zelene glared at her body, and then back over at Serra, who continued to sit back and unwind while talking.
"I want to support people who want to better themselves. Cause if they get better, then I can get better too. And then we'll all feel better about ourselves!" Serra grinned and leaned out with her hands on her knees, "A lotta people think they can't do anything, but all it takes is a little courage and hard work and there's nothing you can't do!"
She then pumped her fists, "Like coming to a gym! That takes a lot of courage!"
Zelene raised a brow, "Y-You…think I'm courageous…?"
She shook her head and mumbled, "No. It's just that everyone else is too cowardly…"
"..." Zelene looked at Serra again, and she felt the green leaving her eyes.
With a deep breath, she gestured her water jug out, "Here."
"Thanks!" Serra took the jug and gulped enough down to be satisfied.
"And…" Zelene was VERY reluctant to say this but, "Forget the competition. Come to the gym whenever you want."
"I just want some space for myself. Ok?" It wasn't much to ask, and Serra nodded feverishly.
"Sure thing, Sunsun! Buuuuut, we're gonna hafta have another competition later down the line! This was inconclusive!"
Zelene bit her teeth together and fidgeted her fingers, "N-No thank you…"
Serra blinked a few times, "It's funny, Zelly reacts the same way when I ask her to workout with me! Maybe you guys are related?"
Zelene widened her eyes, stood up, and threw her fists down as she growled angrily, "You IDIOT! You'd know if you had another cousin!"
She then blushed fiercely with her pupils shrunk, and with a deflating shriek she turned away and ran for the locker room, "B-Bye…!"
"W-Wait…!" Serra stood up, "You forgot your water jug!"
By the time Zelene left her sight, Serra blinked a couple more times and went, "Huh…"
Then said with a smile of certainty, "Guess that couldn't have been Zelly. There's no way she'd snap like that!"
Next Time: Within a Breadth of Reason