Thank you for the comments!
I have made a number of changes. Par exemple, someone mentioned that I jump around... This seemed to be
the
problem for most of you. On my word processor, I know that time has elapsed because of double spacing. So, to solve that problem here on the site, I decided to indicate a time change by capitalizing the first three words of a new section. This should resolve confusion and so forth, I hope, and I will continue to do this for the duration of
There Will Be Time
.
If you had no problem at all following Chapter 2, then by all means, you don't need to reread this edited version, unless you want to. There is one added conversation between Adina and Stephanie and corrections, but that's about all. I'm in the process of writing Chapter 3. :)
Bonne lecture, (my French professor seems to be rubbing off on me :))
LeoCharmer
*There Will Be Time*
Chapter Two: The Body and the Mind
SCHOOL WOULD START that next week and Adina could honestly say she was ready to get it over with.
Otherwise, while still fresh in her mind, she took it upon herself to visit the dorms' gym three times a week in the mornings. She tried to spend ten minutes running a mile on the treadmill once, but that was a catastrophe, for she got tired so quickly. So, instead, she ran, pacing herself for twenty minutes. She purchased herself some ten pound dumbbells and ankle weights, and was delighted that the Herbalife diet was working in her favor.
Adina found that she could slip into her pants a bit easier and when she weighed herself the previous week she was nine pounds lighter.
After completing her third set of lunges, she decided it was time for her to go back to her room and shower. The sun was out, but there was a breeze when she walked out into the cold January weather. Despite that, she was sweating profusely, had aching, burning muscles, and she felt energized.
"Shower time," she sang to herself as she made her way up the stairs.
The dorm Adina shared with her roommate was more like an apartment set with its own kitchen and breakfast bar. It came pre-furnished with plain oak furniture and a plain brown couch that was comfy at times. The dining room and kitchen had been decorated in red apple designs, courtesy of her roommate, but not overly done—the placemats and towels with a porcelain red apple sitting in the middle of the table, and cream colored curtains printed with... more apples!
As for the living room, it was clad in zebra print—again, courtesy of her roommate. Stephanie Burk had purchase a really nice lime green fur rug to put the coffee table over, throw pillows of eggplant purple, lime green and hot pink—zebra printed as well. And Adina's favorite things that she purchased were zebra printed coasters to set on the end tables. She wondered when she first saw them where in the world you would get those.
Next to the T.V. stand was the lizard tank for Stephanie's pet given to her by her grandparents before they went back to Michigan. Adina had brought two televisions when she moved out of her foster parents' home, setting the bigger one on the T.V. stand against the wall. There on the couch in front of that television, the two young women had many nights dedicated to chicken enchiladas and tequila and sometimes woke up the next morning in the same place.
In the hallway Adina's mother Laveda had laid out a long eggplant colored carpet, and on the walls had hung up two weaved angels to remind Adina of home. She could only smile and shake her head as she'd helped the plump woman who couldn't stop chattering about how she would try and drop by once or twice a week. She swore to her mother that she acted as if she were moving out of the state of California or something, reminding her to call beforehand if she decided to pop up.
To the left was the toilet, which was a separate room from the rest of the bathroom, but Stephanie somehow managed to get a matching purple rug in there too. Needless to say, the colors in the bathing rooming were the same as in the living room minus the purple. Lime green and hot pink. Adina didn't mind the color scheme one bit. It was bright, happy, and girly.
Once one walked into the apartment, they would be able to see the door to Adina's room straight down that hallway while Stephanie's bedroom was adjacent to Adina's. Both rooms came complete with a twin-sized bed, a small bookshelf, a desk and chair, a small dresser, a file cabinet, and a small walk-in closet.
Unlike the loud and vibrant colors of the rest of the dorm, Adina's room contained subtle and soft colors. She'd always liked the way baby blue looked with baby pink and so decorated as such. The curtains she hid the windows with were sheer and baby blue and she made it a point to buy little accessories that matched the color. Her bed—she wished it was full-sized at least—was dressed in a baby pink comforter with dark brown twisting loops, matching pillows, and a baby blue thermal blanket that she kept half folded.
It looked very inviting when she entered her room, but she didn't want to soil it with her bodily grime and sweat. The phone in her pocket began to vibrate and she groaned in annoyance. Adina had just gotten into her dorm and already someone wanted her.
Begrudgingly she pulled out the device and glimpsed the time and the number before picking it up. It was a number that she didn't know and it was only half past ten. It was probably someone from Craig's list.
"Hello, this is Adina, your personal beauty consultant and weight managing consultant, how are you today," she recited the greeting in a chipper voice as she made her way down the hall to her room.
"Hi Miss Richards, how are you?"
The man's voice sounded vaguely familiar but she just couldn't quite place it. She frowned trying to remember. "I'm well sir and how are you?"
The man chuckled slightly and she smiled at the pleasant sound. "I'm doing fine. This is Detective Greene by the way."
"Oh, Detective Greene! Wow," she exclaimed genuinely surprised. "This is definitely a... shock," she said as she tossed her gym bag onto the floor beside the bed and paced over to her desk. It was nice to hear his voice after such a long time. He had always been pleasant.
Adina could hear his smile through the phone when he said, "Yeah well, I was just going through some case files and then you crossed my mind. I just thought I would check on you."
The ease she'd had just felt before he said the word "case" disappeared completely as she plopped down on her desk chair. Reaching down she undid the ankle weights and then tossed them to the side. "Oh," she said somewhat stoically.
