Mike sat in the waiting room. He was happy to have made it on time, despite his GPS’s misdirections. Having seen the building on the website, he was fairly certain it wasn’t in the warehouse district, as his GPS had indicated. He’d been looking forward to this appointment with excitement and anxiety. He made the appointment six months ago, but the waiting list was so long that this was the first opportunity they had to schedule him. DeBrose Medical was an unusual for an independent practice. Dr. DeBrose himself was your standard, young MD. Supporting him was almost a dozen practitioners from across the field, including endocrinologists, dietitians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, exercise physiologists, and even a biochemist or two.
I really enjoyed “Workplace Accident”. My vote goes towards writing a continuation, or maybe fleshing it out into a proper story. That is, if you don't mind.
you've gone out hunting with your hyper friend, and they excel at it as only a hyper can
Part 1
“I can’t BELIEVE we got a spot at Arten Farms!” Gene exclaimed. “You know how many people try to get on that place’s waiting list in a year? C’mon, guess!”
Jerry groaned. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Two thousand reservations a year, only one hundred slots granted.
Randy’s desk phone rang. An unusual, but not alarming occurrence.
“Personal Training desk,” the tiger answered.
”It’s May up front. Grab Darren and get up here.”
“Why? What’s the big rush?”
“We’ve got a demo today.”
“We do? Since when?”
“Since now. Sarah just got the email from WeightList half an hour ago.”
”Fuuuck...” Randy cursed under his breath.
“You said it,” May replied.
“When?” Randy asked.
“4:30. Don’t bother checking the clock, it’s a bit over two hours out.”
“I thought we got a 5 hour lead time on demos!?”
“Not today, I guess.”
Character gets a magic/cursed item/artifact that rapidly increases their size and muscles as they work out
Thomas was no stranger to the gym. He had been going casually for years. Most of the time he spent there was on the treadmill, with the occasional dip in the pool. “Those weights are for jocks, right? There’s no way a stringbean like me would fit in,” he thought, eyeballing the free-weight room across the hall from his low perch on a recumbent cycle. The lithe man was not in bad shape, but he was by no means well-built. Thin, a bit on the lanky side, and built like a toothpick, he had often daydreamed about putting on some muscle. The prospect of having to track his nutrition and drink those horrible protein shakes had scared him off every time.
“Not hard to tell when someone on the bigger side is moving in to your neighborhood. Most houses aren’t up to the job of, er... housing folks like them. Either you live next to a house that’s can handle ‘em, or one next door gets torn down so such a house can be built. Well, 981 Fennerad Rd. just got leveled for no reason I could see. Guess we’re gonna have new neighbors.”
Ryan wasn’t sure how anyone would get his number. All they sent were details about a quick job, a one-time thing in from a small town museum. True, he’s done B&E twice, and he’s never been caught, but he’s also never done it for hire. A few minutes after the first batch of texts with the item’s description, the guards’ routines, a layout of the museum, and a few pictures of the item (some egyptian dog mask), his anonymous client abruptly stopped messaging. Ryan let it sit. Could be a setup or something, not worth getting locked up for. Another app on his phone buzzed.
“Deposit received: $162,000.00 to account ending 9917. Reply STOP to disable messages.”
Moments later, a new text arrived, “Are you paying attention now?”
“But doc, I just feel so small compared to the other guys at the gym.”
The counselor sipped on his coffee as his patient continued.
“I can’t help staring at them – their heaving bodies, the weights they’re using… there’s no way I can ever be like that, but I want to so badly.”
The therapist jumped in. “Can you tell me why you want to be like them?”
His client stopped and wondered for himself. After a long pause, he admitted he didn’t know why, he “just did.”
Another sip of coffee. The therapist marked down a few notes in the chart, and flipped back to the beginning of the folder.
“You’ve been seeing me for a year and a half.”
The client nodded.
“When we started, you were 5’7”. You weighed 172lbs.”
The client continued to nod.
“I don’t have a scale handy, but I’m sure you’ve weighed yourself recently – how much do you weigh now?”
“Turn your head and flex. Start with your calves; I’ll let you know when to continue.” The wolf did as he was told. His calves reached 56” around. The doctor took note on his clipboard. “On to your upper legs, please.” 68”. “Relax your waist for a moment, please.” The doctor wrapped the reinforced, quick-extend tape measure around the wolf’s bulky midsection and round glutes. The wolf flexed. 140” around. The doctor counted the abs and obliques by pairs. Full 8 pack. The doctor pinched a bit next to the wolf’s bulging brick-like abdominals. “Your fur looks to be in good shape, Andrew. Alright, on to your back.” The wolf flexed his defined, map-like back. The doctor measured depth and width. Both were on the larger side of the doctor’s memory, but not enough to make him the largest. “Good, good. Arms by your side please.” The doctor stretched the measuring tape around the wolf’s broad, striated shoulders. Measurements of his chest (depth and circumference), arms (upper arm and forearm circumferences), his neck circumference, and his trapezius height came after. The doctor had to stand on a ladder to complete the measurements.
Drew smiled to the receptionist through the door camera. She buzzed him in, as usual for 9:00 AM, Monday through Friday. This was his eighth year, seventh month, and twenty-third day at Shippman Inter-modal Transportation (usually just called Sh.I.M. by the more charitable, and something else by the less.) He was one of the four ShIM employees that had nothing to do with shipping, trucking, packaging, sorting, or logistics in general. Drew Prince was the sole Human Resources department of the entire shipping fleet. Every hire, fire, promotion, raise, and complaint rolled across his desk at one point or another. Today, Drew had the benefit of knowing ahead of time that today would be an unusual day. Today was Peter’s first day on-site. It was only a matter of time before it happened, but that didn’t do much to put Drew’s mind at ease. Peter had been Drew’s main project for the past six months.