The English Teacher ➳ Emison

Chapter 15 | On Edge

The upbeat music was still booming in Emily's ears as she pressed the 'stop' button on the treadmill, trying to restore her breath as she slowed her running speed until she came to a standstill. She took deep breaths as she grabbed her towel, wiping the thin sweat from her forehead, her heartbeat continuing to rocket in her chest.

The school's gym was relatively empty at this time. It was only half past 7 AM, forty minutes till the first period. As a result, the only people walking around the large room were all members of different athletic groups who took their time in the gym seriously and had to uphold a certain fit physique.

Emily often preferred going on morning runs, if she was already waking up early enough to do so, but this morning, she saw signs of rain clouds in the sky, so she hadn't been in any rush to take that risk of stepping outside.

Her pulse was still racing as her music switched to another pop tune, and she slung the small towel over her shoulder, stepping down from the treadmill. She headed towards the corner of the room, taking a mat with her and spreading it on the floor. She spotted Cory from the male swim team, who had gotten here at the same time as her, when they'd practically just opened the gym. He looked sufficiently tired as he got off of the weight bench, waving goodbye to her as he walked to the exit, seemingly finishing his workout.

She waved back and then tightened her ponytail, drinking a bit of water before getting on with her exercises. She did reps of russian twists, side planks and mountain climbers until she could feel it burning her abs. It was like operating on autopilot for her at this point. She did these so often at the gym and at home, that the feeling of strain only managed to spur her on. It was something she liked to think that she'd acquired from her dad.

After her final set of crunches, she let out a large breath, soothing herself slightly. She stretched out her body on the mattress, before letting go, allowing her exhausted muscles to rest. While she regulated her breathing, she let her hands rest on her stomach, closing her eyes for a few moments, inhaling and exhaling calmly.

These workouts were only going to get harder and more intense next year, so she had to keep in shape this whole year round. Swimming was her ticket to college, it was the one thing she had been good at since day one, so she always showed commitment in and out of the pool.

When she was already sufficiently relaxed, she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder and jumped, her eyes flying open to find Paige crouching down beside her.

"Paige?" she asked in alarm, sitting up quickly. "God, don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry," Paige appeared bashful as Emily pulled out her earbuds, "didn't you hear me calling your name?"

"No, I had these in," she gestured to the buds, finally paying attention to the fact that Paige was wearing similar workout clothes as her. It wasn't foreign to see Paige at the gym, but for some reason, she was the last person Emily had expected to see this morning.

"Oh," Paige relented softly. "Well, I just noticed you and figured I'd say hi. I haven't seen you around much lately."

"What do you mean? We saw each other at practice this week," Emily remarked in confusion, subtly putting a few more inches of space between the two of them.

"I know. I guess I meant we haven't really talked in a while," Paige corrected, still too awfully close in Emily's opinion. The brunette frankly didn't know how to answer that, so she just looked away from Paige's attentive eyes.

"I was just planning to head outside to run on the track," Paige continued lightheartedly, much to Emily's perplexity. "It doesn't look like it's going to rain anymore. You want to come?"