“You can’t run away from me,” Debora yelled, spreading her arms wide.
Terry kept running, breath coming out in short huffs as she tried to escape. She was sprinting hard, feet thudding against the floor with every step, and her muscles burnt from exhaustion.
Music blasted through her earphones. It was the only barrier between her friend’s lectures and herself. She was violently ripped back to reality when the earphones were yanked out of her ears.
“Hey!” she cried out, turning off the treadmill in frustration. Debora looked back at her, matching her annoyed expression. Trying to catch her breath, Terry drank from her water bottle and got off of the machine, making sure not to trip over a spare dumbbell on the floor. The pair were surrounded by any obscure tool that Terry thought would have made nice gym equipment for home workouts.
Debora let go of the earphones. They dropped down quickly, dangling from Terry’s phone. Her friend looked at her expectantly which, with Terry’s brain already tired from working out, was annoying. Her brain always switched off when she did any exercise or sport. It was lucky that Debora hadn’t tried to interrupt her yoga or weight training sessions – those got intense.
“You can’t keep procrastinating by scouring the internet for fitness equipment for sale. Australia is a huge country, there’s no chance you’ll run into them again!” Debora tried to reason.
That was the exact topic Terry had hoped she wouldn’t start with. Ever since she had run into her ex at their local gym, she had begun to hole up inside the house to work out. But there was a good reason! Sure, she didn’t have some of her usual equipment like an exercise bike or table tennis, but it was better than risking public embarrassment.
“I farted in the elevator,” she emphasised.
“You had no idea she was there!” Debora said, following quickly behind her as Terry moved from the DIY gym she had created into the kitchen. She busied herself with making a smoothie, already cringing at the memory.
“I am never leaving the house again.”
“Terry, I love you,” Debora began, “but I cannot stand having you around all of the time anymore.”