Uppercut (A James Maslow FanFic)

Chapter 12

I nodded and smiled, stabbing a piece of chicken with my fork.

Eventually everyone finished eating their dinner. All the dirty dishes were put into the sink. Being the mom that she is, my mother insisted on washing the dishes. 

“Who wants to go on an adventure?” James spoke loudly in order to get everyone’s attention, a sly smile was plastered on his face.

“And what would that be?” Mom had just finished off the last of the dishes.

I turned to look at him curiously from across the room. I had my suspicions about where this was headed. I could tell from his expression that I wouldn’t enjoy it.

“Oh just a… a little tour. I figured you guys would want to see what I’ve been doing with my life.” He took a quick glance at me.

I froze, suddenly aware of what he was referring to. The gym.

He hadn’t been serious, had he? Wasn’t he just joking around?

“Don’t look so scared, Maddie,” He acknowledged my response and laughed. Then he looked around the room. “Come on it’ll be cool! “

“Where are we going?” Drew seemed excited even though he had no idea what James was talking about.

James smiled and ran a hand through his short hair. “To the magical land of… rubber mats and sweaty people.” He paused to laugh at his own joke before putting on a fake serious expression. “We’re going to the gym.”

I groaned. I was not looking forward to this.

…

“Alright,” James put the car in park and turned it off. “We’re here!”

 “This is so weird,” I said, looking out the window towards the building in front of us. “We’re going to look like ducklings, following you around.”

Literally every one of us had come on this adventure that James was oh so excited about. Besides my mom and of course Devon, everyone else had changed into more athletic clothing. I had put on a pair of gym shorts and a tank top. We were also told to bring extra clothes, I had no idea why. Maybe he thought that we were actually going to be super active and stuff. Well he thought wrong. I did not plan on doing any physical activity while we were here.

“I already told you,” James replied and glanced at me in the rear view mirror. “It’s almost eight o’clock. The gym closes to the public at seven. There’s hardly going to be anyone here.”

“I still don’t get why you’re allowed to come here when it’s closed,” Drew spoke from next to me.

“Because, when you’re an athlete they give you a special membership card and there’s extended hours for you to come work out and train,” James explained, unbuckling his seatbelt.

“But you’re not even a pro athlete,” Drew looked questioningly at him.

“Well I’m still considered an athlete.” James defended his title. “You don’t have to be professional, you just have to show them the papers and stuff from when you sign up for competitions and tournaments, or have them contact your coach, if you have one. Then you can come train without the whole place being packed.”

“Oh, that’s kinda cool.” Drew replied.

“You bet it is,” James said excitedly as he opened the driver’s door and got out.

We all copied him by climbing out of the car. I slung my drawstring bag, containing my extra clothes, onto my back.

James locked the vehicle and led us towards the glass doors of the building. He pulled a card out of his wallet and swiped it in the slot next to the doorway. A green light flashed and the sound of the door unlocking was heard.