The Lightening Round #7: Weigh-In Hell

THE ULTIMATE LEVEL

There was something very surreal about working out at The Ultimate Level for Hannah.  As she gazed up at the gym’s higher, more elite levels, she realized that the gym’s members was engaged in synchronized workout routines like the inner workings of an enormous clock.

Level One was different.  Everyone there moved so much more slowly.  Most of the Level Oners’ energies were consumed with lessons about achieving their target weights.

“Move it, Hannah!  You too, Levereece.”  Melissa shoved her fifteen students towards an actual giant circle of lit torches surrounding several carefully positioned  electronic scales. The first time that she observed The Ring of Fire situated towards the back of the first floor, Hannah pinched herself to make sure it wasn’t one of her dreams.

Leveerece patted Hannah on the back of her paper thin stank brown t-shirt.  The two of them had made it through their first week.  Levereece still kept his sense of humor about the whole thing.  ”You think they’re gonna reward us with whoopie pies if we make our targets?”  He joked to hide his secret fear of failing to lose any weight.

Hannah hadn’t thought about what might happen if she didn’t make her goal weight. One of the first Level Oners she had befriended, a very sweet Latina named Angelica Rose, had left right after her introduction to the The Ring of Fire.  Hannah imagined the gym using the torches to provide added incentive to those members who didn’t shed enough weight.  She started to think about what she’d eaten over the past few days. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried out a new coconut cupcake recipe two days before the weigh in. Unfortunately, the Wow Book had turned into Hannah’s creation tool for numerous new desserts for her business. Sampling even small amounts of each dessert drove her further and further from her ultimate weight goal.

Each of the members stood on a separate electronic scale next to a personal trainer who observed their member’s weight read out.  Levereece had all he could do to contain himself as the stunningly handsome Dante stood beside him.  Levereece had selected his sheerest outfit for the weigh-in.  He carefully  removed his tennis shoes and socks so that he could give himself an extra edge.  ”Wait, I think I have something in my pockets.”  Levereece unceremoniously pulled a half-melted energy bar out of his left pocket and threw it within inches of one of the lit torches almost sending it up into flames.  Hannah had noticed that his normally fluffy hair had been shorn with a razor.

Dante smiled at Levereece as he jotted down his reading.  He realized how important it was to the new members that they see early results from their grueling efforts.  ”Leveerece.  You made a good showing.”

“Good showing?  What am I?  A pet poodle at a dog show or somethin’?”  Levereece looked at his recorded weight.  ”No fudgin’ way!”

Dante tried to calm him down.  ”It’s only the first week.  It’s probably just water weight. You’ll lose it next week.”

“I’d have to be Shamu in order to have taken in that much water.”  Levereece fought back his anger and frustration. How could this have happened? He had actually gained a pound after all of the exercise he had endured for the past week.  ”This is so unfair!”

A³ saw the terror on Hannah’s face after witnessing her best friend’s reaction.  She knew that she had to work fast.  ”Come on, Hannah.”  Hannah was about to leave the weighing area when she saw Leveerece looking up at her with a blank stare.  ”What have you got to lose?”

As she stepped onto the electronic scale, Hannah exhaled with all of her might.  She didn’t even want to have extra air in her body. Or would extra air make her lighter? Hannah appeared to be dancing as she moved her feet back and forth hoping the lowest numbers on her scale would stick.  In her imagination, Hannah visualized herself wearing a pair of weight reducing anti-gravity boots.

Every second felt like an hour as she waited for her results.  A³ extended her narrow arm around Hannah.  ”You lost two pounds, Hannah.  I’m very proud of you.”

Hannah was so euphoric by her achievement that she almost didn’t notice the look in Levereece’s chocolate brown eyes.  She ran over to him, but he retreated.  ”It was just a fluke, Levereece.”

She had never seen her close friend look so sullen.  ”Hannah.  I gave this my best shot. But, I don’t think it’s meant to be.”

Hannah didn’t miss a beat.  ”That’s cool.  I’ll quit too.”

“You can’t quit, Hannah.  You’re doing well here.  And don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you looked when you saw that guy Brenden.”  Levereece sensed the way Hannah felt about Brenden.

“Oh come on, Levereece.  He’s not interested in me.  Besides, I’ll never probably see him again.  He’s two levels away from me.  He’s out of reach.”

“You’d really quit if I leave?”  Levereece was convinced that Hannah didn’t need him now that she was doing so well on her own.

“I only did this to be there for you.”  For a moment, Hannah saw Brenden’s face in the back of her mind.  What if she could actually make it up to Level 3? She wouldn’t even dare to write that her in her Wow Book.  Hannah looked at Leveerece and smiled.  ”You know, there’s a way where we could both get what we want.”

Levereece was still smarting from his recent defeat.  ”And how’s that?”

She thought about the story of Solomon in The Bible. “Well, we could share today’s weight loss.  A pound for each of us.”

“It was your achievement, Hannah.”  Levereece wanted to leave the gym once and for all.

“Let it be both of ours, Leveerece.”  Hannah smiled at him and her face shone brightly in the brilliant flame of a nearby torch.

“I’ll think about it.”  Leveerece walked towards the Level 1 men’s locker room.  He turned towards her.  ”No matter what happens.  I’m proud of you, Hannah. Damned proud.”

© 2011 K.T. Newman. All Rights Reserved.