”Yeah I’m just getting to my locker.” A deep husky female voice said. ”Yeah I know.” Jo stayed motionless as the conversation grew louder. “Hey it’s just part of the gig. If I’m not here 3 times a day putting in the work then I might as well not compete.” The woman sighed and began unlocking the locker next to Jo’s. “Look I’ve got a chance to win this next competition so I’m not letting this hard work and gear go to waste. I’ll see you tonight. Love you!”
”Gear? O please god no....” Jo felt a spike of adrenaline shoot through her veins when she realized what the woman was talking about. ”The voice should have been a dead giveaway...” Jo winced at the thought of taking steroids. ”That means she’s probably a body builder... Fuck.” Jo stayed frozen with her head in her locker as she listened to the woman open the locker next to hers.
“Some people.” The woman said sitting her phone on the bench and letting out a sigh. “I just don’t get some people.”
”Damn it.” Jo knew the woman was talking to her. “Yeah... Yeah some people...” Jo nodded her head yes, but refused to take her out of the locker and look up at the woman.
“I’m mean come on.” The woman began pulling items from her locker. “I have a competition coming up and my boyfriend should know I can’t skip a cardio session. I’m not here three times a day because it’s fun. I’m here because that’s what I need to do if I’m going to win.” The woman let out a deep sigh. “He just doesn’t get it.”
Jo let out a sympathetic sigh. “I hate when people are like that.” Jo began shuffling things around in her duffle bag like she was searching for something to look less suspicious.
“Thanks sweetie.” The woman said as she continued to get her workout stuff around. “Sorry for bitching to you. I just needed to blow off a bit of steam.”
“O no worries. I get it. My boyfriend does the same thing to me sometimes.” Jo said lying to the woman.
“You know you have potential.” The woman had stopped what she was doing and Jo could feel the woman’s eyes on her. “You might be a tad too tall, but it looks like you have great genetics. If you ever want to wade into the bodybuilding world and start working out with me, let me know locker-neighbor.” The woman let out a chuckle. “I’m in the process of cutting, so I’m here 3 times a day right now.”
Jo chuckled along with the woman. “Hey maybe I’ll take you up on that some time, but I don’t think I could do three times a day... You must have a crazy work ethic to be in here three times a day.” Jo said to the woman. ”Three times a day is nuts... There’s no way I could make myself workout three times a day...” Jo inner monologue added.
“Don’t be silly.” The woman chuckled. “I wouldn’t start you off with 3-a-days. We would need to build up those muscles and that endurance first.” Jo listened as the woman moved things around within her locker. “But at a certain point, I’m sure your work ethic and genetics will take over and you’ll be a total gym rat like me.” The woman closed the locker door. “Well I need to get in there and get at it. This body fat isn’t going to cut itself.” The woman turned to leave, but stopped and turned back to Jo. “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Robin.”
”DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!” Jo internally groaned and pulled her head out of the locker. “I’m Jo!” Jo stood up and shook the shorter woman’s meaty hand. “I’m new here.” Jo said holding on to the woman’s burly hand as she studied her thick bulky body. ”Fuck! I don’t want to be all stiff and roided up... I need to stay long and strong, not compact and bulky... Why can’t I just get something like her drive or work ethic...” Jo thought as she let loose of Robin’s hand.
“It was nice meeting you. And seriously, let’s lift together sometime. You’ve got potential kid. You just need to get in here more often.” Robin smiled and walked off.
”Fuck...” Jo watched Robin lumber away. ”What the hell am I going to get from her?” Jo’s stomach began to churn. ”I mean those muscles... Those muscles were kind of off putting... So if her muscles aren’t her most eye catching attribute, then what is?...” Jo asked herself as she stood there starring at the spot where the woman had been standing. ”Is it her work ethic?.. Three times a day is a lot of working out... And even with steroids, you have to work your ass off to get a big as her...” Jo felt a bit of admiration for Robin as she continued to think about Robin’s work ethic and drive. _”She’s kind of a bad ass to go that hard. Hell I wish I could go that hard...” Jo thought for a moment about her own workout sessions. Jo could remember pushing herself hard, but at a certain point she would always call it quits. ”Man... I bet with her work ethic I could have gotten softball scholarship at a D1 school instead of a D2 school...”
Jo looked up and then down at her own body. ”Wait I had a scholarship offer?!?!?” Jo had been so focused on escaping the machine room and getting back to her locker, she hadn’t thought to dive deeper into her new memories. ”O My God... I did!” Jo could remember being offered a partial athletic scholarship at a nearby Division 2 school, but Jo had turned it down for her full academic scholarship she had gotten from Central University. ”And thank god for that because I would have never met Piper had I went to Greendale University... Damn... I really need to catch up on things...” Jo thought grabbing her towel and the bottles of shampoo and soap she had been eyeing up earlier. ”So the muscle from the short blonde and the height from the tall brunette made me an even better athlete than before...” Now completely lost in thought, Jo’s body entered auto-pilot and she started walking towards the shower stalls. ”And of course Dad was a hell of an athletic and mom was a pretty good athlete herself... Of course mom and Zoe are taller and more athletic... Wait... Zoe exercises now?..” Thoroughly engrossed in the mental slideshow playing out in her head, Jo paid no attention to the other women populating the locker room and as she walked into a show stall and began stripping. ”Thank god I still have Piper... But wait... This is just from the legs and the height I got in the machine room... Then what the hell did I get from Robin?” Jo froze with her hand on the shower knob at the realization that she still didn’t know what attribute she would be getting from Robin the bodybuilder.
