Debbie hated her life.
After finishing her degree (Geography), and leaving her average university with an average qualification (2nd class), she realised that she was twenty-one, with no idea what she wanted to do for the next 50 plus years. She faced moving back home to live with her stuffy parents and irritating teenage sister, Claire. No job, no love-life to speak of, and no real friends back home, what should have been a bright future was looking a bit bleak.
The one bright spark in Debbie's life was her love of the gym. It had started out around Christmas of her Freshman year. She'd joined the Uni's small fitness centre, and after an induction with a friendly “instructor” called Darren, she started doing circuit training twice a week. By the time spring came around, much to her surprise she was hooked. She had added a few pounds to her rail-thin frame and felt much better about herself. Debbie had long since moved on from the University gym now. She'd started feeling a little out of place amongst her beer-swilling, kebab munching, fellow students as she added muscle to her frame. She didn't like some of the looks she would get, mostly from other girls in the gym, while she worked out. She'd been training at an independent place, “Jim's Gym” (brilliant), in an industrial unit on the edge of town. It was an old fashioned place where chalk dust and bad language filled the humid, sweaty air. Debbie felt at home there, and the owner, Jim, a short, powerful guy who often seemed as wide as his 5 foot 8 height, had offered her a part time job several times.
The insistent beeping of a car horn snapped Debbie out of her reminiscing. Claire was outside with Tyler, her boyfriend du jour. They had come to help her move back home, the car, a used black Ford Focus that Tyler was incredibly proud of, was already stuffed with bags and boxes. (Where had all this crap come from?) She left the note she'd written for her flatmate on the table in the kitchen, along with her keys, and walked out of the flat and into the rest of her life.
“What's the plan then Debbie? You gonna find a job in Eltown?” Asked Tyler as the car pulled away.
“They are always hiring at the Call Centre where I work.” He continued.
That's because nobody can stomach the place for more than six months, thought Debbie, but she replied, “Maybe, Mum wants me to think about teaching. So I might go back to Uni again in the autumn.”
Debbie wasn't sure about teaching, but it would beat working in the Call Centre she supposed. She wondered what her younger sister was going to do. She was seventeen, and midway through a BTEC certificate at the local technical college. Tourism or something. There were no tourists in Eltown though. She'd probably end up in the Call Centre. Or pregnant, she added to herself, a little unkindly.
By the time they arrived home in Eltown, Debbie's parents had already gone to bed. Her father, Peter, had recently turned 63, and planned to retire in a few months from the bland office job he'd been in since before Debbie was born. He'd recently been having chest pains, but had kept it quiet from his family for the time being. Debbie's mother was 56, and was Deputy Head at the local Primary School, hence her not very subtle, but increasingly regular, hints about going into teaching. She loved her career, and couldn't understand her daughter's reluctance to consider it.
After quickly unloading the car, dumping the bags and boxes in the hallway, Debbie slipped Tyler some petrol money, Clare gave Tyler a kiss that promised more to follow, then he sped off into the night.
The morning came too soon for Debbie, who was woken up by banging on her bedroom door far earlier than she expected.
“Come and have breakfast with Dad before he leaves for work!” shouted Claire.
Debbie dragged herself out of bed, threw on her dressing gown, and headed down to the kitchen to face the music.
“Morning Deb! Welcome home!” mumbled her father through a mouthful of bacon.
“Thanks Dad, How are you?” Debbie responded whilst pouring herself a mug of coffee and putting a couple of slices of bread in the toaster.
“Can't complain Deb! Got to go, the money won't earn itself! Talk to you tonight when I get home.” With that, he finished his mug of tea, grabbed his keys, and was off out of the door before Debbie could respond.
“He seemed in a rush this morning.” Deb said to Claire, as she walked into the kitchen.
“He's been leaving early and coming back late for a couple of weeks now, I think he's overdoing it.”
“Where's Mum?” Asked Debbie as the toaster finished.
“School trip to a castle or something today, she left before I was up. Have a good day, I'm off to college.” Claire stated, before she also headed off, leaving Debbie alone in a kitchen strewn with the remains of breakfast. Welcome home indeed! Deb thought to herself with a sigh.
After cleaning up the kitchen, taking a shower, and unpacking her things, it was lunchtime and Debbie was itching to get out of the house. She hadn't worked out in several days, and her muscles craved exercise. Eltown swimming pool was only a few minutes walk away, down Victoria Street and through the park. A swim would be perfect!
Victoria Park in Eltown was probably a beautiful island of calm and fresh air when it first opened a hundred plus years ago, now it was a gathering place for those with nowhere else to be. Teens drinking cheap cider in the evenings, middle aged men drinking Special Brew during the day. The police would wander through the park occasionally to move people along, but they would soon start to drift back. Today's group of drinkers was joined by a novelty. A tall, skinny guy in his 50s, with an unkempt bushy beard, holding a sign: “Civilisation will Fall”. The sign was scrawled in marker pen on what appeared to be an old pizza box. The man's eyes locked with Deb's for a moment, and she felt deeply uncomfortable, before looking away and moving on.
When Debbie got home from the pool, the house was still empty. Dad and Claire will be home soon, she thought. I wonder if they will want dinner? She sent them both a quick message, and started surveying the fridge to see what she could make whilst waiting for a response. She'd just decided to make a sausage and mushroom casserole, when her dad messaged telling her not to bother, he'd be back in an hour with a Chinese take-out. Claire also responded, she was having dinner with Tyler.
With nothing else to do, she sprawled out on the sofa, grabbed the remote, and started channel surfing. There was an old Strongman contest on Eurosport that she started watching. It looked like the competitors were having a great time. I wonder if women do this? A giant Canadian with a shaved head and a ginger beard was pulling a bus full of shouting kids. His head looking like it was on upside down, when there was a knock at the door.
Who could this be? Dad couldn't have forgotten his key, besides, he wasn't due for another 20 minutes or more. Deb padded barefoot across the living room and down the hallway to the front door, her feet leaving slightly darker impressions in the pale blue carpet. She pulled open the door and was stunned to find herself face to face with two Police officers.
There had been an accident. The coach carrying Debbie's mother, several other teachers, and 24 children, had crashed, caught fire, and she was one of those who didn't make it out.
The next days were a blur. News trucks parked in the street. The sympathetic looks from strangers in the street and in the shops. The funeral itself, on a suitably overcast and drizzly Tuesday. It was as if Debbie was there for all of it, but somehow not present. Detached.
Now here she was in Eltown's backstreet gym, The Power Station. The other people working out would occasionally glance in Deb's direction, but mostly they left well alone. There was something vacant about her eyes that discouraged even the most simple of conversation or request for a spot.
She'd been here for quite a while, cranking out set after set of Deadlifts, Rows, and Chins, sitting on a vacant bench staring into space during her rest periods. Deb hadn't even seen her mother between getting home and the accident, and it was eating away at her. A single tear traced it's way down her cheek, mixing with her sweat before dripping on the rubber-matted floor. She stood up suddenly, downed the last of her water, and headed off to the changing room. The atmosphere in the gym noticeably lifted as Deb left the room.
