FATE

91. The Gym

JONAH

I never noticed how long my hair has gotten since I got to the institute. It's almost reaching my shoulders now and it's weirdly unequal. Long locks of jet black hair mop my forehead as I stare at the mirror in the gym and I push it back, frowning to myself. I wonder if I can get someone to cut it for me, I don't like how it touches my neck and tickles me.

The gym is quiet because I'm the only one in it. Yesterday was noisy. Some of the older kids in the adoption center decided to try their hands at actually working out without a trainer. I think they were about fourteen to fifteen years old. Anyway, they had fun but it also wore them out so I was sure they would not be back today.

Next to the bench press, Jacques sits cross-legged on a white plastic chair- his face buried in a women's magazine he found at the front desk. I sit on the bench press and take a deep breath. For the past week, I've been feeling nervous and paranoid about absolutely nothing in particular. I also miss Brooke more than usual.

Jacques shifts in the chair and looks up. I follow his gaze to the entrance of the room where Suri walks in through. She grins at us.

"I didn't think I'd see you here", she places one hand on her bare waist and waves her water bottle in front of her. Wrapped around her neck is a long white towel that falls past her sports bra to her bare belly.

I was right. She works out a lot.

"This is my favorite place in the whole institute", I lay down, sliding half of my body under the weight. I'd like to think I'm not lying to Suri. The gym is my favorite place in the whole institute. It distracts me and it sure as hell beats working out in my room with my old punching bag.

"Hi Jacques", I hear Suri say as she walks past me. I smirk to myself. I would have sworn she would be careful when it came to talking to Jacques after their last conversation.

"Good day, Suri", Jacques says in a friendly tone, " I hope you're having a great morning"

I close my eyes and take deep breaths.

"I am, I hope you are too", Suri says in an equally friendly tone, "all you do is follow Jonah around though. Must be boring"

I scoff. I can tell she's heading towards the treadmills by the sound of her voice.

Jacques chuckles softly, "it is my job after all"

I open my eyes and my gaze shifts to him. He smiles at me and faces his magazine back. I can hear the sound of the treadmill and the music coming from Suri's headphones is so loud, I can hear it from my side of the gym. She hums to herself in a low voice.

I take another deep breath and wrap my palms around the pole.

Suri doesn't talk to me in the gym. Surprisingly, she acts as though I do not exist which is refreshing considering how clingy she's been for the past week. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

The gym has male and female bathrooms that smell like antiseptic. They also have hot water which I don't think is the right temperature for a shower after working out but I'm not complaining either.

After my shower, I take another look at my hair in the mirror. It looks better when it's wet and sticking to the side of my face. It also makes my eyes difficult to see, like characters from the animes Francis is always watching.

I push the hair to the back and let it lie over my head before grabbing my wet gym clothes and shoving them into a paper bag. Then I walk to the exit.

Outside, Suri and Jacques are talking and smiling with each other. They turn to me but Jacques doesn't take his usual first step towards me. Suri does instead, which means he knows something.