With a groan, Shalina sat down hard on the bench, slumped against the wall. Ten minutes on the treadmill and she was already exhausted? Damn! She loosened her hijab a bit and sipped from her water bottle. Just a quick break to rehydrate, then back on the treadmill.
She made an effort to stand up, but her legs were still jelly. Fine, then. One more minute couldn’t hurt. Another sip from the bottle, and then, as she reached down to set it on the floor the slump turned into a slide as she toppled over and lay on her back on the bench.
Two. Two minutes. No more.
She lay back, staring at the lamps in the ceiling when suddenly a large shadow descended on her. A massive rear end, dressed in sweaty training pants planted itself on her face and she let out a shriek, flailing and kicking.
The rear end quickly removed itself and Shalina lept to her feet, bristling with anger.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” she screamed at the chest and belly in front of her, shaking her fist. The lumbering colossus of a rhino looked at her sheepishly.
“I’m sorry” he said with a voice deep enough to make the floorboards vibrate. “I didn’t see you there. Are you hurt?”
He tilted his head and looked so genuinely worried about her that she couldn’t be angry.