Page 7 of The Life Experiment
And now Saira wanted Layla to showcase exactly how poor her fitness was.Get ready to say goodbye to your spot in the experiment,her brain grumbled.
Silencing her thoughts, Layla forced a smile. ‘Fitness test time it is,’ she replied.
Saira led her out of the assessment room and to the gym. As soon as Layla entered, a woman with the energy of a labrador puppy bounded over. ‘You must be Layla. Hi, I’m Phoebe.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ Layla said, shaking the woman’s hand and trying not to marvel at how perfect she looked. Phoebe had the proportions of a supermodel and the physique of an athlete. Next to her, Layla felt positively grotesque.
‘So, has Dr Khatri told you what we’ll be doing in here?’ Phoebe asked.
Layla nodded. ‘A fitness test, weights, that kind of stuff.’
‘Exactly! The only thing I’ll add is that you need to wear a monitor the whole time so we can track things like your heart rate. Do you consent to wearing it?’
‘I do,’ Layla confirmed.
‘Great! Now, I’m going to need you to strip to your underwear, then I’ll place the electrodes on your body.’
Layla’s blood froze. ‘Excuse me?’
Phoebe pointed to a machine in the corner. ‘To do the tracing, we need the electrodes to access different parts of your skin. You’ll need to be in your underwear so we can reach them. Don’t worry, it’s nothing I’ve not seen before!’ Phoebe explained, but Layla couldn’t muster a reaction that was anything but horrified.
‘You want me to be in myunderwear?’ she said, looking around the room. When she saw the mirror directly opposite the treadmill, she winced.
‘Is there a problem?’ Phoebe asked.
Layla didn’t know how to answer that. Of course there was a problem – did this woman know how unsupportive Layla’s bra was?!
But it was more than a poor choice of lingerie that caused Layla such horror. That honour went to coming face to face with the body Layla did her best to avoid.
Throughout her childhood, Layla had watched her mother obsess over diets and listened to her grandma warn her she was getting‘chunky’. It got worse as a teenager. Friends, complaining about bloating, wobbly thighs and cellulite, pushed Layla further along the journey of being painfully, achingly aware of her body and all that she needed to change about it.
Layla might have buried her head in books and pretended to be immune to the critique, but she was only human. The ever-changing, impossible beauty standards and edited photos on social media still got to her. Even with a list of achievements longer than her arm, in her most vulnerable moments Layla still wished for a magic wand to shrink here and grow there, tweak this and change that.
‘Layla?’ Phoebe asked, butting into her thoughts. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Of course,’ Layla replied, straining a smile. ‘I’m just trying to remember the last time anyone saw me in my underwear, that’s all,’ she joked, but the words made her cringe.
Great, now you’ve admitted that not only are you mortifyingly insecure, but you’re a romantic failure too.
Ordering herself to stand to her full height, Layla looked Phoebe in the eye. ‘Ignore me. I’ll do it.’
Pushing herself to be brave, Layla stripped to her underwear. Under the unforgiving lights, the dimples of her cellulite seemed to glow.
‘Perfect,’ Phoebe said, now Layla was undressed. ‘Let’s get you hooked up to the monitor.’
As Layla approached the machine, with her arms crossed over her chest, Phoebe presented her with a series of wires. Round stickers were attached to the end of them. ‘These pads will be stuck to you throughout your time in here. Try not to interfere with them. I warn you, they’re a little cold.’
Phoebe was right about that. Layla gasped as the first electrode was stuck to her temple. Methodically, Phoebe moved around the rest of Layla’s body, attaching electrodes until she had none left.
When Layla got on the treadmill, Phoebe took her position beside the monitoring machine. ‘There’s a program loaded onto the treadmillcalled “Fitness Test”. Click that and press “Go”. Whenever you’re ready, you can start.’
Layla followed Phoebe’s instructions. Beneath her feet, the track began to move. She set off, matching her pace to the machine. As she stared her reflection down, Layla chose not to look at her thighs or wobbling stomach. Instead, she focused on the fire in her eyes telling her that right here, right now, was exactly where she was supposed to be.
4Angus
‘What are you doing?’
Jasper’s plummy voice tore through Angus’s concentration like a bullet.Great. You’ve fucked up your answers now, his brain scoffed. Stifling a sigh, Angus looked up from the memory test he was working through to find his best friend leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom, chewing a packet of crisps so loudly it sounded like he had his mouth beside Angus’s ear.
