The Gym

A Story by Rachel

Starting a whole Bug Series....

The life of a fly is very difficult. People are always trying to kill me with swatters and books. I do not get it. One day while hanging around the garbage on the street in front of the New York Sports Club on Queens Boulevard and 67^th Ave, I saw a blond girl in a blue shirt and black pants walking into the gym. I thought to myself, “yes this is my chance,” and I followed her in. When I got through the door, I saw a picture of some guy bending backwards with a slogan of, “Exercise keeps the muscles flexible.” Wow, I wonder if that actually helps convince people to work out. To my left is the staircase to the club and next to that is the elevator down.

I buzz my way down the stairs and at the desk I see that blond girl who opened the door for me. Well, I guess she works here. The phone begins ringing off the hook and the women politely and sophisticatedly answers, “Thank you for calling New York Sports Club Rego Park. This is Rachel speaking. How may I help you?” I now have a name to place on that beautiful face. I can see Rachel is very busy helping the person on the phone, so I will just have to catch her later.

Gazing out of the window I see the bright lights of the gym floor. I decide I am going to go down to the gym floor but instead of taking the long way that humans take, I squeeze through the cracks. Maneuvering around the air conditioning vents, I come upon several members running on the treadmill and using the elliptical machines. One member in particular stands out to me. He is an older man around the age of fifty, he is already bald and he comes to the gym wearing bright rainbow colored tank tops and shorts that reveal way too much. While walking on the treadmill this man’s arm spasmodically slides back along his thigh making its way to his buttocks. When his hand reaches its destination, it comes into contact with his butt and would result in a series of five slaps. He would stop slapping his butt for a few minutes then resume slapping it again for another series of five. This would go on and on. I am surprised that people can concentrate on what they are doing when there is a man constantly hitting his buttocks. If I was human and running on the treadmill, I would probably fall off and get hurt.

As I look around the floor I see all the different trainers with their clients. There is a man with a black shirt that reads “Master Trainer,” teaching his clients martial arts. I became very interest in the session they were having so I got off the air vent and flew over to them. As I dove down towards the man’s shoulder, where I was hoping to get a front row view, a gush of wind followed by the man’s hand swung towards me. It sent me on my way into another direction. I guess the trainer did not want to be bothered while he was working. I flew across the gym floor gazing at all the members working out. The ones using the free weights were mostly men, while the women stuck to the cardio and abdominal machines.
Watching the members got a tad boring so I decided to go back upstairs. This time I decided not to be lazy and I took the route that the humans use to get to and from the gym floor. I flew up the stairs and past the sitting lounge, headed back to the front desk. I find the front desk is the best place to sit and relax. The employees here are so kind and caring. I watch as Rachel and her coworker, Lexi, greet the members. Everyone seems to always have a smile plastered to their faces and they are always laughing, thus creating a comforting and friendly atmosphere.

I pace back and forth on the girls’ desk eavesdropping on all of their conversation, there is some chatter about the Fitness Manager and how good looking he is.

“Oh man, phew he is looking hot today!” Rachel says to Lexi, fanning herself.
”I am too old for this… Nas is going to kill you for liking her man.” Lexi replies back.
All of sudden, Rachel pulls out the Vampire Diaries book she is currently reading to show Lexi and that alone starts its own conversation. I tune in a little more because vampires really interest me. I own every vampire book you can imagine in fly print. I own the Flylight series, the Flyire Beach series, and the House of Flight series, and every other vampire book you can think of but mine are all written in the national fly language. I inch closer and closer to them to ding out more information about the book and all of a sudden…

“Ugh gross! Stupid fly,” Rachel yells.
With a flutter of a wing, I saw the pretty girl’s hand rush towards my body. Suddenly everything went dark. A few moments go by and I look down. What I come across is my body lying plastered on the desk. It all happened so fast, one minute I was just eavesdropping on their conversation and now I am looking down at my dead body. I watch as Rachel wipes my guts off with a towel.