The Max Effect. 1

Relocation, Rest, Repurpose.

"Is Max up yet?" asked Rob.

"Rob, can't you see? I'm flat-out making your lunch and sorting out the kids. Maybe you could put down your coffee and check yourself?" she had a valid point. The TV was on, the radio blaring out the usual, the kids couldn't find anything, and at that precise moment, Rob was watching his busy wife while sipping coffee. Good morning, chaos.

Rob's sister Maxine was only 19 years old; she had lost her way and was about to drop out of college, not because she struggled with the coursework. Max was smart. Her problem was she went against the system, wanting to do things her way. A typical teenager rebelling against anything and everything, and it changed weekly. There was, however, one thing she was passionate about and had stuck at. Max found peace and focus at the gym. Initially, it was for strength training for the various sports she played, tried and then moved on to the next one.

Max's love affair with working out continued through high school and college, where her connection with the gym grew more intense. She marvelled at the feeling of becoming stronger, seeing changes in her physique, and feeling healthier. Going to the gym after her classes finished wasn't enough. It wasn't long before Max began skipping lessons for workouts. Foolishly, perhaps Max promised her parents that she would win the next All-Star competition and make a career out of fitness. Of course, they had heard those promises before, and it was a pipe dream as far as they were concerned. They didn't believe she could make a career out of bodybuilding and that she was throwing her education away. She was torn between respect for her parents and her dreams. They didn't understand her interest in the gym and weights, asking all the usual stereotypical questions which every young girl/woman encountered,

"Do you want to look like a man?"

"What man is going to want a woman with muscles?"

"Are you taking something?"

"Why do you want big muscles?"

This is where a lot of the arguments stemmed from.  They were usually about the gym and always about skipping college classes. Max's parents got in touch with Rob and voiced their concerns. They chatted for weeks with Rob, their eldest and Max's big brother. He'd been the same and eventually came out the other side. Now, he had a good job, a mortgage, and a family. They hoped Rob could get Max on the straight and narrow. Rob was different, though. Although he hadn't seen Max's physique recently, he believed in her.

When her parents broke the news to Max that she was going to stay with her older Brother for a while, Max initially refused, but the thought of being away from her constantly whining parents might be a nice change. What did she care anyway? She was 19 and had all the time in the world.

"Wake up, Max, It's go and find a job day, wake up," said Rob, banging on the door.

There were a few moans & groans from Max's room. As far as Rob was concerned, he had now completed the task set by his wife and those incoherent moans from inside the room, deep in a duvet, were good enough for him. Now, he could return to the sports section and finish his coffee. Pam shouted further instructions to Rob as she walked out the door, which he didn't listen to and no doubt had forgotten instantly.

"Bye, honey," said Pam as the door slammed shut.

Rob had no idea what he'd been instructed to do. As usual, and like most men on planet Earth, he would bluff his way out of it later.

There was a noise upstairs, and the door opened.

"Omg," said Rob...
"It's up, it's the Walking Dead...it's risen", he laughed at Max.

"Shut up, Rob, you douche" mumbled a just-woken-up Max.

Max had made it downstairs and started fixing herself some breakfast, and she grabbed a jar of spread.