New ongoing story - New Life

[El_Roy_1999]

Her mother helped Ava pick some clothes for training. That stuff was just the biggest, most comfortable and shapeless stuff she had. She said:
“If you like training for real, we’re going to get you a nice outfit too. For the first time, we’re just going to stick with the basics.”
“I’m not sure about that …”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I found your old gym shoes from school. They should still fit you.”
She held up the most aggressively pink pair of shoes Ava had seen in a long time. The chubby woman groaned. Her mom shrugged:
“Hey, you picked those. Also, I think they’re cute.”
“Mom … Please.”
The older woman grinned:
“Am I embarrassing you again?”
“Well … A little, maybe.”
“Sorry. I gotta admit, I’m a bit nervous myself. I just hope you’ll enjoy this as much as I do.”
“Let’s just go, shall we?`”
They descended the stairs down to the street. As she huffed and puffed, Ava asked:
“Why aren’t they getting the elevator fixed?”
“They’re out of money and I didn’t complain. The building is pretty much abandoned now. Most people moved away and the old ones still living here drag their stuff up by hand. Or I help them. I have a schedule.”
“That’s nice.”
“Thank you. If you want, you can help me. Right now, I can barely do one visit a week.”
“I’ll try.”
“Very well.”
They reached the ground floor and Ava’s mom just started walking down the street.
“We’re going by foot?”
“Until we get you a bike, yes.”
“A bike?”

[El_Roy_1999]

Soon after, Ava was tired and sweaty. Her mother had set a rather quick pace and she wasn’t used to this kind of strain. She felt her legs chafe, her clothes stick to her body and her hair turn into a wet mess. She hated all this already.
The gym was even worse. It was obviously a serious affair, not one of those health clubs where people went to chat and maybe stand on a treadmill. The people here, only men, were mostly buff and very sweaty. There was a certain smell to the place. Ava didn’t feel comfortable.
Her mom, on the other hand, greeted everyone with a wave, a smile or a blown kiss and was clearly at home. She pulled Ava to the changing rooms and quickly undressed. Again, Ava was impressed by her mother’s buffness. She vaguely took off her own clothes and switched them for the improvised gym gear, blushing all over.
She was relieved that her mother didn’t frown at her or anything, instead, she gave her an encouraging nod. She added:
“You’re going to do fine. Don’t worry. Everybody here started small.”
“I’m not starting small. I’m way too big.”
She embraced her daughter and said:
“You’ll see. These guys are all big nerds. They won’t even make any lewd remarks, trust me. That’s why I go here and not to a woman’s gym.”
“Seriously?”
“I tried that once. Never again.”
They stepped outside, her mother all confident, while Ava just wanted to shrink and disappear.

[El_Roy_1999]

To her surprise, she had fun. The guys at the gym didn’t ogle her or make any rude remarks. They mostly left her alone. Only once did one of the guys come over and say:
“Try holding the bar like this, it’ll be easier this way.”
Once she did and realized he was right, he had already returned to his exercises. Meanwhile, she was amazed by her mother’s workout. She was really pushing herself, forcing her muscles to move surprisingly big weights. There was quite a bit of grunting involved, but it seemed to work. Ava was just doing some general exercises according to what her mom told her. At the same time, she was working on her arms and only on them and she was fighting hard.
After her warm-up, that guy Lucius came over. He was rather tall and very muscular, but not in a hunky way. Instead, he was ripped. His muscles were amazingly defined and he looked a bit like a Greek statue. He greeted her mom with a handshake and Ava with a little wave:
“Hi, Angela. This is your daughter?”
“Yes. Ava, meet Lucius. He’s my trainer and coach. He helped me getting this to work.”
“Nice to meet you. You did great. She looks so happy and healthy.”
“Thank you. But it was really her own work.”
Her mom waved her hand:
“Stop being modest and let’s get to work. I want to feel the burn!”
“Right away.”
Ava watched them go through the training program and smiled. She wasn’t sure about what her mom thought of him, but it felt good to see that she wasn’t alone.

[El_Roy_1999]

When they were done, Ava felt both extremely tired and satisfied. She managed to survive the ordeal and won. Of course, she looked at her reflection to see if anything had changed. Her mother smiled and said nothing. She probably still knew what the beginning felt like. However, Ava asked:
“Do you see any changes?”
Angela looked at her for a moment, then replied:
“Maybe.”
“Where?”
“In your eyes. You look at yourself differently. That’s a good sign if you want to do this.”
Ava was a little disappointed.
“But when can I expect some real changes?”
“It’ll take a while. That’s because it’s going to be gradual. Checking every day will only make it feel slower. If I can give you some advice: Try not to look at your body more than once a week. The effect will be so much greater.”
“Okay …”
“Seriously. You’ll be amazed. Also, I’m going to take some pictures of you. For reference.”
“Mom, seriously? No. Please. I’m going to do that myself.”
Angela seemed a little taken aback but accepted it. Then she went to the showers.
Her daughter stayed back for a moment and looked around. The muscleheads were busy and didn’t pay much attention to her. With a mischievous little grin, she lifted her arms and tried to flex. Obviously, nothing happened, but she still felt amused. She went to the showers all happy. Maybe she would do this. Maybe she would become all buff and strong, just like her mom, even if that sounded all weird.

[sentinel23]

It's not often we get a mother/daughter story these days. Can't wait to see how far Ava and Angela take it.

[El_Roy_1999]

Big, I guess.



After the shower, she noticed that someone had called. She wrapped her hair in a towel and picked up the phone. It was Jaden, a friend from school. That was a nice surprise. She basically broke up all contact with the people from school when she started the classes, and she was relieved since most of the other students were pretty stupid and annoying. Jaden had been okay. She might have had a little crush on him a while ago, but as far as she could tell, she got better.
Once everything was ready, she said goodbye to her mom.
“Thank you. That was weird, but great. I’m looking forward to next time.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
The older woman nodded.
“Tomorrow.”
Ava sighed. She had thought this would be something weekly. Just to get a taste. She hid her reluctance as good as she could and said:
“Anyway, I’m going to call Jaden back. Maybe we can do something together.”
“Have fun!”
“Thanks. See you later.”
“Bye. I’ll fix lunch, so be home at one at the latest.”
“But that’s soon …”
“I know, but the diet is the most important.”
Ava groaned at the word, then she was off.
Outside the gym, she realized just how broken and sad the whole town actually looked. The lack of care was obvious. The shop windows were dusty and the houses looked abandoned. There were heaps of rubble where pieces of the front had fallen off. This wasn’t good. A tired-looking mutt stared at her for a moment, then ran off. She felt a wave of sadness wash over her. This had been her home and she hadn’t noticed what was going on …

[El_Roy_1999]

“Ava? I thought I’d call you now that I’m on my break.”
“Cool. Are you in town?”
“I am. Wanna meet?”
“Sure! Should I come over? You’re staying with your parents, right?”
“Yes! That would be great.”
“Okay, I’m coming over.”
“Right now?”
“Sure, why not? It’s just for a little bit, I gotta have lunch at my mom’s later on.”
“I was thinking of inviting you to our place …” There was someone talking in the background. “Okay, my mom was thinking about inviting you, but if you already got plans …”
“I’ll just come over in a few minutes and we can talk. I’ll be around the whole summer.”
“Awesome!”
That’s when Ava found out that she was at the gym on foot and that she had quite a long walk before her. She groaned. Why did her mom insist on starting all this without even thinking about the consequences? Okay, maybe she should have thought about this herself.
She shrugged. Maybe Angela was right. She packed her things up and started down the road. It was weird to be practically alone in the street. Occasionally, some people would pass her, but all in all, the place was deserted. After a while, she got bored and started hopping and skipping. She had to stop, giggle and catch her breath. She felt stupid, but then again, there was no one to watch her.
By the time she reached Jaden’s house, she was exhausted, but happy. Maybe this “getting fit”-thing would be great.

[El_Roy_1999]

Jaden came out as soon as she rang and insisted they go to the park to hang out. He probably wanted to evade his mom’s attempts at setting them up. At this time of the day, there were a few parents with little kids and no one else around. They found a bench a little further away and sat down.
He smiled and leaned against the back.
“So, how do you like it back here?”
“I’ve only arrived yesterday. So far, I don’t know. Living in the big city really changes your perspective, you know?”
“It feels the same for me. This is all … I dunno. The past?”
“Kinda. It’s just weird. With dad.”
Jaden nodded.
“I can see that. How’s your mom holding up?”
“You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Okay … Tell me everything.”
“She’s into bodybuilding now. She lost half her weight or something and she’s really fit now.”
“What? Your mom? Seriously?”
“I swear. I couldn’t believe it myself. She’s amazing. We went to the gym together …”
“Wait. You went to the gym. You.”
“Me, yes. What’s the big deal?”
“Ava. You went to the gym.”
“With my mom, yes.”
“Okay, now I’ve seen it all.”
She frowned. Was this some kind of criticism? She wouldn’t take that right now. Maybe he sensed her reaction and added:
“It’s cool, I guess. I just didn’t think you would be into that.”
“Well, the jury is still out on it, but I’m giving it a shot.”
“I’m all for it.”
She grinned and mockingly said:
“I’m glad I have your approval.”

[El_Roy_1999]

They hung around a little more, vaguely deciding on seeing each other more frequently over the next few weeks. Jaden walked Ava home, then embraced her quickly before leaving. Ava stepped back inside and stared at the stairs. Oh. She had almost forgotten about them. At least, this time she didn’t have her luggage with her. Sadly, she was even more tired this time, so the way up was excruciating.
Ava stumbled to the apartment, unlocked the door and slipped out of her shoes.
“I’m back! Also, I’m really tired.”
“Just have a seat, lunch is ready!”
She sat down at the dinner table, the smell of the food pervading the living room. Her mom just got out of the kitchen and set down a plate in front of her. The food looked appetizing and smelled mouth-watering. On the other hand, Ava was also incredibly hungry. She would have eaten a block of tofu and be done with it.
Still, the food was pretty nice. Her mom sat down next to her and said:
“Dig in, you must be hungry.”
Ava didn’t even take the time to answer. Moments later, the plate was empty and the young woman had wiped up every little speck of the sauce. She smiled.
“That was nice. Can I have seconds?”
She could see that her mom was hesitating.
“So this is all I get?”
“It depends. Since you want to build muscle, we’ll have another serving in the afternoon.”
“Huh?”
“Daughter, you’re going to eat a lot. Just no trash.”
“Okay …”

[El_Roy_1999]

After a few days of getting used to being back, she started working. Hallson Inc. was pretty much the only employer left in town and most people who earned any money at all worked there or for the people who worked there.
Ava arrived on her bike, wearing her baggy outfit that did its best to conceal her flabby look. She wasn’t sure, but she was under the impression that the constant climbing and descending the stairs and the biking was helping her. She had gone slow so as not to be sweaty, but she was on time. Her mom had helped her with her make-up, which was as reduced as possible.
Because of that strange “Don’t look so you don’t spoil the surprise”-rule, the mirrors in their home were covered with blankets. As a result, she had to accept her help. Still, she checked herself on her phone, found that it was okay and grabbed her lunchbox. Then she headed inside.
The place was labyrinthine. The Hallson family had started over a century ago as chemists and snake-oil salesmen, more of the latter, less of the former. Their fortune had grown organically, just as the factory. Instead of tearing the entire thing once in a while, they had just added building after building. Some of the older parts were not being used right now and who knew what was going on there.
Ava was greeted by her new boss, a short, obese man named Kurt.
“Hi! Nice to have you here. I’ll just show you around and then, we’ll get you to work, shall we?”
“Sounds great, sir.”
“Just say Kurt. We’re all a big family.”
“Okay, Kurt. I’m Ava.”
She would have liked a bit more distance, but when in Rome …

[El_Roy_1999]

She soon worked as a lab assistant in the production department, preparing lots with other women in a sterile room. There was a radio and they could talk among themselves. It was odd to not know who she was talking to at first because of the masks. Only after a while was she able to tell who was who.
In the break room, they could talk normally, but Ava was immediately set apart by her food. While the others all got their stuff from the cafeteria, she had her own packages from her mom. The fact that she also had five meals a day caused some amusement.
Inez, one of the older members of the team, joked:
“Ava, we’re all trying to lose weight and here you are, eating all the time.”
The young woman took it with a smile and explained:
“Me too, but my mom said this will work. At least, it worked for her. Also, look at it …” She held the box up, showing the chicken and steamed vegetables. “It’s not exactly super-tasty.”
The other women looked at the contents and nodded.
“Yeah. That’s pretty disappointing.”
“I just hope it’s not for nothing. All that eating gets annoying after a while.”
“You’re weird, Ava.”
“Nah. You should see my mom.”
Inez shrugged and grabbed another donut. Ava had to focus on the vegetables so as not to salivate. She had been on that diet for a week and a half and it was already getting on her nerves.

[El_Roy_1999]

At last, it would be time for the unveiling. This is what her mom called taking down the covers from the mirrors at home and checking for progress. At the gym, they were careful not to look and sneak a peek, and even though Ava could tell from looking at her belly and her legs that something was happening, she had no idea of the whole thing.
They were both really excited. Her mom had picked her up at the factory and they had biked to the gym together. Angela had added a second workout session for the afternoon, something she had been doing since Ava had started working. Her daughter simply didn’t have time to work out in the morning, so they trained later.
As they got ready, Ava noticed that her mom was preparing some special drink in a plastic cup. When the older woman saw Ava’s look, she explained:
“Lucius told me to add this before training. It’s more protein and nutrients. It doesn’t taste too good.”
“Okay … But that’s not some kind of drug.”
“No, what do you think I’m doing? It’s just a supplement. Want some too?”
“I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”
“Well, let’s go hit the weights now. We need to get you in shape!”
They grabbed their towels and headed out on the gym floor. This was another thing Ava enjoyed. A week ago, she had been intimidated by all those musclemen. But now, she knew most of them and she found them quite nice. Most of them, really. There were some guys here that were really obsessed and crazy. But those that were okay were super nice people.

[El_Roy_1999]

She followed her mom to the machines and watched her set the weight of the leg press. Three hundred pounds! She only used 150 and even then, she usually felt exhausted after this. She really had to get better.
Anyway, it was time to work. They both got to their seats and started to pump out their reps. The men nodded encouragingly, despite most of them moving twice their combined weight. Ava still found this weird. Maybe they saw her mom and her as mascots or something.
She had to focus on her workout now. Her mom had insisted that she did everything slowly and precisely, even if that meant making the whole process even harder and more annoying. She started counting the repetitions. Today, it seemed to work a little better.
Maybe she was making some progress anyway.
That would be great!
She extended her legs again, pushing the sled away. She slowed down the movement and stopped it before straightening her knees, held the position for a moment and lowered the weight back down carefully. Then again. And again.
She reached the end of the set, took a moment to catch her breath and started again. Somehow, this was getting interesting. Sure, it was boring to always do the same thing, but doing it exactly right took a bit more than just jerking around.
The end of the second set approached. She was starting to really feel the strain and she was getting sweaty. This was the part she liked the least. She got all sticky and then, it would be uncomfortable in the many folds of her body. Yuck!

[El_Roy_1999]

Last set.
She glanced over to her mother. Angela was quite the sight. Her leg muscles were swelling with every rep and the hardness seemed to spread all over her body. In this moment, Ava wondered what it felt like to be so hard. It had to be great, why else would people go through all those troubles to reach such a level. She imagined herself as a thin and strong woman, with hard muscles and a tight body.
Yeah, right!
No chance in hell she’d ever get there. The only thing she could hope for was not getting a heart attack. In this moment, she understood what all this meant to her. If she stuck to this and got fit, she would honor her father’s memory. If she lived a long and healthy life, that would be exactly what her dad would have wanted. She’d do this for herself, but also for him.
She wasn’t a religious person and she certainly couldn’t imagine her dad sitting on a cloud, harp in hand. The thought made her grin. Her dad couldn’t carry a tune if his life … Screw this!
She had to focus on the weight.
Ava adjusted her stance and pushed. She wouldn’t hold back anymore, boob sweat or not!
With a groan, she struggled through the set. It was hard and she could feel her legs shake as she pushed the sled up again and again, but she hoped her muscles would grow. She’d change her life and she’d survive!

[Jaguar]

Great story El Roy!  I'm really enjoying it.  I like this kind of slow build-up.  I like the character building too.  What is Ava thinking and feeling while this happens.