Both Members of This Club (Gymnasium Teacher‪)‬

The gym is in the 18th section of Paris, a converted warehouse two floors above a narrow street. I've come here every day for two weeks. In the mornings I take the pink metro line and transfer to the purple metro line and get off at the Jules Joffrin stop. The city is rougher here. From this part of Paris, I can't see any of the landmarks on the postcards. There aren't many men working. It doesn't matter to me. I don't have to watch them because I know what I have to do. I've visited gyms since Billy started fighting and I remember the moves. I'm hitting the heavy bag and making it jump backward. I'm already sweating and my arms and legs still have not recovered from the first day and the second, but the soreness is less now and there's something in the pain that reminds me how strong I'm getting and how strong I'll have to become. I shift to the left, tuck my head, throw a series of punches at the bag.