Alex wheeled her suitcase across the bumpy pavement of the parking lot. Everyone warned her it would be hot here but she didn't expect to be sweating already. She'd barely walked a block and had already wrinkled her shirt. So much for a good impression on her first day.
She opened the door to the training facility and was immediately greeted by a blast of cool air. She caught her reflection in the mirror near a dumbbell rack and sighed at the sight of her flushed face. Smoothing her hair flat, she looked around.
A group of men were standing around a squat rack, whispering to each other and patting each other on the back. There were championship banners on the wall, more than she could count: the team had won the last seven years in a row. Each sign proudly read MEN'S BASEBALL CHAMPIONS.
"Oh no," she thought to herself. "I must be in the wrong place."
Before she could turn around and leave the building, a tall man in a suit came to greet her.
"You must be Alex!" He spoke so loudly that the men at the squat rack turned to look at him.
She shook his hand. "Hi, that's me. I think I might be in the wrong place though--"
"Don't be silly," He said, cutting her off as though he knew what she was going to say already. "You came very highly recommended, you are absolutely in the right place! I know you must be intimidated by our sterling reputation, but we are thrilled to have you here."
He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Now, let's show you around!" He clapped.
She wheeled her suitcase along beside him as he walked through the gym.
"Training camp lasts one month. The Titans have been state champions thirteen times and national champions ten times, most of these victories in the last few years. I may be biased, but we have the best team in the country, and our trainer Jason is a big part of that. You'll be working closely with him and the other athletic staff. He's out running drills right now, but you'll meet each other shortly."
He opened one of the doors at the back of the gym. "There are three offices here: one is mine, one is for you and the physiotherapy staff, and the other is for the trainers. You're the first of the physios to arrive, so feel free to choose whichever desk you want."
Alex finally released the handle of her suitcase. She hadn't realized she'd been gripping it so tightly. "Tom, I, uh... I don't know how to say this." The bag fell loudly to the floor.
"I know, I know, you're impressed and speechless, right?" He said, grinning, already checking his phone and tapping away at an email.
"Uh, yes, I am... but I also think there's been a mistake. I usually only work with women's teams, and I'm actually a soccer physio."
He looked up from his phone, into Alex's eyes, and then back at his phone. "Well, the company we contracted sent you so I don't think there's been any mistake. Did they not tell you where you were going?"
Alex sighed and shook her head. This was the last thing she needed after the month she'd had. First a messy breakup, then losing her apartment, and now this. Great.
Outside of the office, the gym was getting noisier. Someone was playing loud hip hop music and a man's voice was yelling out the names of various exercises.
"Well, I'm not worried. You'll figure it out. And it sounds like group workouts have started! Come meet Jason and the rest of the team." Tom put his phone into his pocket and left the room before she could follow.
The gym was loud and warm already. Men in ripped shirts were using the equipment and yelling at each other in support. In the centre of the chaos stood a man in a striped tracksuit holding a whistle and clipboard. His clothes hugged his body tightly and he stood with quiet confidence. Periodically, players would look over at him and then back at their machines. He was in full command of the room.
Tom cut a path through the gym right to Jason.
"Jason," He said, patting him on the shoulder and (somehow) still grinning, "This is Alex. She's our new physio, she comes very highly recommended from women's division 1 soccer."
Jason looked at Alex and sized her up. He paused, looking in her eyes, and then looked back to Tom. "Soccer?" He asked incredulously. She could feel herself blushing.
