The next day, Ryan also decided to join a gym, because he knew that powders alone wouldn't help him get big and strong. He hopped in his old car and headed to the other side of town, where he was sure that he wouldn't run into any classmates, and parked in the lot of The Weight Room. It was an older gym that had clearly seen better days, but because it was run down it was also more affordable for a high school student like Ryan.
He entered the front door and headed for the check-in desk. Nobody was present, so he decided to ring the bell on the counter. As he reached for it, he heard a cheery voice behind him say, "Hey there."
Ryan turned to find another young man standing there, but he looked vastly different than Ryan - this teen was tall, about 6'3", had short blond hair and blue eyes, and clearly had been working out hard for quite a while. His white t-shirt and blue athletic shorts looked like they had been painted on, and their canvas was the most muscular body that Ryan had ever seen.
"Did you want to join the gym? Or are you just looking for a guest pass?"
"Um...um...um...," replied Ryan as he started to tremble with fear. All of the jocks he had ever known had picked on him, so he was instantly terrified of this gym employee.
The young man sensed their might be some sort of problem, so he reached out his hand and said, "My name is Tim. And you are..."
"R - R - R - Ryan." He held out his hand gingerly, and the two shook.
"Hey, Ryan, nice to meet you. Are you interested in joining our little family?"
"Y - Y - Y -Yes?"
Tim went to the water cooler and poured a small cup, which he then handed to Ryan. "Here, drink this. And come sit over here."
Ryan took a set near the check-in desk and drank the water, and Tim sat down beside him. "Feeling better?"
"Yes."
"Good, so what's up, Ryan? Why do you want to join this gym?"
Suddenly, the floodgates opened and Ryan spilled out all the reasons - the bullying, the teasing, and the girl.
Tim smiled. "Well, I can help you there, Ryan. When I started lifting, I was about your same size. But my father, the owner here, showed me all I needed to know about lifting weights, and soon my body went from little," he said as he flexed his right bicep, "to b-i-g."
Ryan's eye grew huge when he saw Tim's massive muscles. "You would do that for me?"
"Well, Ryan, I am the head trainer at this gym, so I promise to help you attain whatever goal you want."
Ryan thought about for a half-second and agreed. The pair went into the office and Ryan signed up for a three-month membership.
"OK, little buddy," said Tim, "I want you to come back tomorrow morning at 8:00am ready to work out. Eat a good breakfast, and bring me some of that weight gainer powder you bought - I want to check it out to make sure it is the right kind of stuff. If not, I have some free samples here you can use."
"I will, Tim. Thanks!"
"No problem, Ryan. Oh, and one more thing, so that I can design the right program, I need to know how big you want to get - are we talking swimmer's build, young jock, linebacker, or massive tank?
Ryan replied...