My arms shake as I struggle to get the bar up. "Come on, man! You got this! Push," Kalie shouted at me, encouragingly. It's weird how our relationship started.
One day, I decided to go to the gym to get fit as I was pretty small and wanted to get bigger. When I got there, I had no idea what I was doing; then, I saw this guy lay down on a bench and start lifting a bar with plates at the ends of it. Getting an idea of what to do, I do the same. As soon as I pushed up on the bar to get it off the bench, I realized my mistake.
The bar went all the way down to my chest. It felt like a magnet was pulling it to the ground, keeping me pinned to the bench. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't push it off of me. I panicked as it started to crush my ribs. As a last ditch effort, I use every bit of strength in my body to push it off. I got it a few inches off my chest so I could breathe, then I pushed harder. I could feel the blood rush to my face as I struggled, causing my eyes to shut.
Suddenly, the bar got lighter as I fully pushed it off me. I breathed heavily as I opened my eyes. Right above me holding the bar was a woman with brown hair in a ponytail, a hat and gym clothes on. She was very muscular and tall, she was at least 6'0". "Hey. Sorry for approaching you unannounced, but it looked like you were struggling," She said, racking the bar.
"I thought I was going to die, you saved me. Thank you," I say, sitting up.
"It's nothing but, I think this is a bit too heavy for you. You should go a little lighter and make sure someone spots you," She advises as she starts to walk away.
"W-wait!" I exclaim. She stops and glances at me. "Uh, can you help with this? I have no clue what I'm doing," I admit. She stares off as she thinks about my proposition.
"Hah, alright sure. I'll be your spotter!" She exclaims while smiling. I then started to thank her profusely. "But, know this," She says. I stop and look at her. "I expect you to give it your all, got it!" She says with passion.
I gave an unsettled face, but soon made the same expression as her. "Understood!" I said. After that, we started regularly meeting up at the gym. Our friendship kinda blossomed from there; we began meeting outside the gym and hanging out. I learned that her name was Kalie and that she was...intense. But in a good way. She put so much passion into what she does, it made me really admire her. And today was no exception.
"Ffff-fifteen!" I groaned as I pushed the bar all the way up. I rack the bar and sit up.
"Not bad, Dy. You really pushed yourself in that last set," Kalie congratulated.
"Thanks, Kalie," I say, sipping from my water bottle. I get up as she lays down on the bench.
"Alright, my turn. Kyahh!" She shouts, rapidly benching the bar.
Afterwards, I waited outside the locker rooms. The gym had locker rooms with showers in them so people could wash off. When she came out, we walked out of the gym. "Man, nothing like a few hundred reps to start the day," She said, stretching.
"I still don't know how you do it, I'm barely able to do 15," I say.
"It's really not that hard. It's all about the mind, you know," Kalie didn't strike me as a person who would use their brain very often. "Anyway, wanna stop by Gotro's?" She asks. Gotro's was a small convenience store near her apartment with snacks.
"I'm good. Right now, I need to go home and rest; I'm tired," I say.
"Alrighty, then. See ya, Dylan," She says, walking to her car.
"Bye," I say. I walk to my car and drive to my house. It always puzzled me what Kalie does most of the time when we're not hanging out.
--Kalie--
Two men walked into the convenience store; one of them was tall and slender with a nice suit and cane, while the other was short and slightly chubby. The slender man walked up to the old man behind the counter. "We're here on...business," The man said ominously. The old man put on a serious face and nodded behind him. They walked into a back room which had a high-security door.
The slender man turned to his subordinate. "Do you have the case?" The man asked. The shorter man held up a black metal briefcase. The slender man kneels to open the case. The shorter man held out the top of the case as the slender man opened the case with a hiss. Inside of the case was a single canister with metal ends filled with a pink liquid labeled 'X'. The man closes the case and looks to his subordinate. "Semon, tell me truthfully. Do I look presentable?" He asks.
"Of course, sir. You always do," Semon replied, taking out a mirror. The man looked over himself, finding stray hair. He slicks it back into place before standing up.
"Listen to me, Semon. In this case is the only semi-stable sample we were able to produce for now. You must make sure it stays at its current state. We cannot afford to fail, as such, make sure it is refrigerated. Understood?" He instructs.
"Yes, sir," Semon replies.
The man entered the code for the door as he stood up straight. The door opens and he walks in. "Gentlemen!" The man announces. The door closes behind him, leaving Semon in the room.
He looks down at the case and opens it; he takes out the canister and holds it close to him. "I gotta keep this cool," Semon says to himself. He walks back into the small store and spots a fridge near the entrance. Opening the refrigerator, he pushes aside all of the energy drinks and sodas and places the canister at the very back. He then pushes the drinks back together, hiding the canister. Thinking he did an amazing job, Semon ran back to the back room to listen to his boss's speech.
Kalie walks into the store and greets the man behind the counter. "Hey, Gotro," Kalie says.
"Kalie! It is so nice to see you again. How has your day been?" The old man asked in a friendly tone different from what he used for the tall man.
"You know, the usual," She says, looking through the fridge near the entrance. Almost every drink there she has drank before. She then spots a clear can revealing a pink drink. Moving the other cans aside, she sees a unique one with only the letter 'X' on it. "Hmm," She grunts. It was a little concerning that it didn't have any other labels on it; but Kalie, being the person she is, didn't think that deep. "I'm just gonna get this, Gotro," Kalie says, putting $5 on the counter.
"Have a good day," Gotro says. She walked out of the store and twisted off the metal end of the can. She takes a sip of the liquid as she walks home. It had a weird taste to it, but it wasn't the worst thing she'd ever had.
--Kal--
"Hello. My name is Kal Voltrix, head of Voltrix Industries. And I'm here to show you all the future in sexual stimulation," He said in front of the room of different company heads. Kal presses a button on a small remote as a projector comes to life. It showed a team of scientists working on a chemical. "My team has been working on a new chemical compound that has shown to be twice as effective as the leading sexual stimulant. We called it 'The X serum'," He presents. The image changes to a pie chart and graph. "When ingested by females, their arousal levels increase to a staggering 89%, compared to Viagra's measly 56%. Though there are some hiccups," He clicks the button to show a dazed naked woman clinging onto a researcher.
"In almost all recorded uses of The X serum, the female became extremely attached to any male that first comes within their sight. The female seems to grow a mental dependency on having sexual intercourse with that male. This effect seems to last even after the effects of The X serum have worn off," Kal says. As he says this, some of the heads seemed disappointed. "But, what is a good product without a few errors while making it? I can guarantee you all that with enough time and resources, we'll be able to fix all side effects with The X serum. That is all," He finishes. The heads talk amongst one another before one of them raises their hand.
"I have a question," They say. Kal nods at them. "Do you have any that you can show us? We would like to see what we're working with," They ask.
"But of course! Semon, get the sample," Kal whispers to him. Semon then rushes out of the room and rummages through the refrigerator only to notice it was gone. A terrified expression washes over his face as he scrambles back to his boss. He runs up to him and whispers into his ear. Kal's face scrunches up slightly before he relaxes his face. "Gentlemen, if you would please excuse me. I must leave shortly; I will be back as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience," He says, slowly backing out of the room while pushing Semon out with him. The door closes as the heads turn to each other.
"What do you mean you lost it!" Kal silently yells.
"I don't know. I left it in one of the refrigerators and when I went to get it, it was gone," Semon confessed.
"Semon, you imbecile! Do you know how hard you failed me?" Kal said with anger on his tongue.