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“Mhm. I saw those photos too,” I reply.
“You follow Emmy on Instagram?” Carol asks me.
“She’s my best friend—”
“Oh, come on now, Evan!” she interjects. “You follow her but you don’t follow me? What kind of nonsense is that? Let’s rectify that, shall we? Come on, follow me right now!”
“Umm … I’m kind of busy right now. I’d really like to start my workout, if you don’t mind,” I tell her, but she won’t relent.
“In a minute!” She pulls out her phone and looks at me expectantly.
After a moment of awkward silence, I feel I have no other choice but to pull mine out as well.
If I follow her, maybe she’ll leave me alone to exercise in peace.
I open my Instagram app and type in her name. It’s then that I realized Carol’s already following me.
I get the urge to ask her if that’s why she signed up for this gym—because she knows I go here. But I just want to be done with this awkward interaction and workout in peace.
Note to self: No more posting gym selfies.
“Alright, I followed you, Carol. Now I’ve gotta get to my workout. I’ve had a long day at the hospital, and I need to unwind a little. So—”
“That sounds interesting!” she interjects. “What exactly do you do there?”
“Uhh … look, it’s been a really long day and I just want to exercise. Why don’t we talk a little later, okay?”
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely! We can talk later, Evan!”
“Great, thanks so much!”
“So, how long have you been going to this gym?” she asks.
I groan and roll my eyes, before stepping on the treadmill. “Carol, how about this? Why don’t you let me exercise for half an hour, and then we can talk more, alright?”
She starts to laugh, as always, even though nothing about this conversation is funny.
“That sounds like a date!” she says before finally moving a few feet away.
“No, it doesn’t…” I mumble.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her stepping onto the treadmill next to mine. She starts to run alongside me, but I pay no attention to it.
In no time at all, Carol starts talking to me once again. “Look at that! It’s like we’re a couple running together at the park! Side by side!” She giggles.
“Or we’re just two strangers at the gym…” I mutter.
“Strangers? Come on, Evan! We’re practically best friends!”
I shoot her a dirty look and continue my workout. Even though, at this point, it doesn’t feel worth it anymore. I feel more tired than ever—I’ll never relax or decompress with Carol talking nonstop next to me. Not to mention her questions.
After a few more steps, I turn off the treadmill and grab my gym bag. Not surprisingly, Carol does the same thing.
“Uff!!! That was some workout! So, where are we going next?” she asks me as if we’ve been working out together for years.
“Home. I mean, I’m going home. To my home. Alone.”
“Ahh, you’re leaving already?” she asks.
