Effie's destiny
Chapter 1
30th August 2011
Kensington High Street, London
Payne's Boxing and Fitness Studio
We could feel it was the end of the summer and for once it had been a one in London. The streets were busy again, teenagers moodier in the perspective to going back to school, adults depressed to be back in their routine: work, eat, sleep. However it is Effie’s favourite time of the year. She always looks forward to going back to school and doing what she loves the most. And this year is extra special as she has been admitted at the London College of Fashion for her final year in fashion and this year she was specialising in fashion contour or more precisely underwear design. She has worked so hard to get there and finally after two year she has been accepted and she is thrilled to be in the capital after two years in the north of England, in Newcastle.
Putting her phone and her keys in her bag Effie waves goodbye at the doorman of her building then starts walking down the street putting her sports bag across her thin body. She has always been very lucky when it comes to money and she is happy to say that she leaves in an amazing loft in central London on Earl’s Court Road. Her parent both architects from very famous families are extremely wealthy and have always spoiled their children and more particularly their only daughter, Elisabeth Una Parks, born in the summer of 89. They were working crazy hours when she was little but Effie remembers her parents being here to educate her great values like respect, modesty, generosity, kindness and selflessness. Don’t get it wrong, she is not this kind of goodie goodie little rich white girl who has seen and done nothing in life but more on that later.
Walking down Kensington High Street Effie finally saw the place she was looking for, “Payne’s Boxing and Fitness Studio”. She stopped a couple of seconds before finally pushing the door and making her way to the counter. For a fitness and boxing studio in the most expensive area of London it was much bigger than she expected. The counter was quite high but was nowhere near as tall to cover the tall man that was behind it. He seemed to be looking at something on the computer and after less than a minute he finally acknowledged Effie.
Suddenly very self-conscious the young girl pulled down her simple black tee-shirt to cover her thighs a little more. She was wearing simple skinny jeans but couldn’t help reacting like a teenage girl. This young man had unruly curly brown hair with deep green eye. He was wearing a tee shirt that was showing some tattoos on both his arms. She couldn’t exactly see his bottoms but could guess it was some sort of long boxing shorts.
“Hi, welcome. Can I help you?” said the young smile that showed a dimple but she couldn’t help focus on his very developed biceps.
“Yes sure, I would like a membership for a year please” simply replied Effie with the same smile he addressed her.
“Of course. What are you looking for? We have several programmed: toning, slimming though you don’t seem to need it, we also have just classes like yoga or bikram and dancing” said the young man taking leaflets and spreading them in front of Effie.
“Don’t you have boxing classes? I was told about your club and I’m here for boxing” asked the young girl surprised not to be offered what she came for.
The look on the man’s face was priceless but didn’t make Effie laugh, far from it. She see surprise but mainly mockery.
“We don’t train girls here. You should stick to yoga miss” said the boy with sarcasm.
“Oh please spare me the misogynist shit. Plus b the look of it I’m sure I have more abs than you! I was sent to this club because you supposedly are the best of London but it seems I made a mistake…”
“Liam!” shouted the young man Effie was talking to.
“Harry… I have a class in 10 minutes what do you want?” says a young man coming from a door that seems to be leading to the training room.
“This young lady here would like a membership…”
“Seriously man? You bothered me for…” said the young man named Liam.
“A boxing membership mate!” interrupted Harry with a smirk closely watching Liam’s reaction.
“Ah ah funny. I have work to do…”
“He is serious. I have been advised to come here but it seems I was wrongly guided. Sorry for the trouble” finally said Effie grabbing her bag and making her way out.
“Liam, mate, don’t you have a class in less than… Effie? You came?” said a young man with light brown hair and blue-green eye while also coming from the fitness room.
“Yes Louis but I’m leaving. They don’t seem to accept girls willing to box. I’ll see you later” said the girl with a disappointed look and gave Louis a quick kiss on his lips.
“Wait babe, just wait 5 minutes” suddenly said Louis grabbing her wrist.
“Why?” she said but seeing a glance she finally sighed and said, “ok but I’ll stay outside, I don’t want to stay near this bunch of machos”.
Louis went back inside. He was not happy and when Louis is unhappy quite often hell breaks loose. He sometimes can be quite harsh in his words and attitude and that’s why boxing his perfect for him. He has been working in the studio for 3 years and hasn’t been involved in a fight in a night club ever since. He stopped in front of his friends, Liam and Harry who were still smirking and honestly quite full of themselves.
“You idiots! You just lost one of the clients you could ever have” said Louis harshly.
“Oh come on Lou! She’s a girl! A girl!” replied Harry now laughing. “A girl doesn’t fight, a girl doesn’t do uppercuts, a girl is not strong enough for boxing…” he continued proud of his little speech.
“Seriously? You’re full of shit Harry! Fuck… She’s gonna hate me for that but… wait a second, I’ll be back” said Louis running to the office.
He came back a minute later holding his phone, skimming through the photos before finally finding the one he was looking for. He put it in front of Harry and Liam who had just come back from getting covered for his lesson. He couldn’t let this discussion finish without him, it’s his club after all.
“Look at this photo, does it seems familiar?”
The photo was a simple shot of a 16-17 year old girl. She is smiling shyly at the pictures, hiding herself from the objectives. Her eyes are brown and show great distress as if she is scared of having her photo taken even if she seems to be in a very calm environment.
“Damn it! Is that…” said Liam.
“Yes. It’s Effie, she’s my childhood friend” said Louis flatly.
“But she’s like 90-100 pounds heavier on the photo” eventually dared saying Harry.
“110 to be precise. She has nearly lost 110 pounds in almost 2 years and now she has more abs than you Harry” said Louis with a smile on his face.
“What the hell? Leave my abs alone, she’s a girl!”
“You really don’t get it, do you? She has lost all this weight in less than 2 year, she has taken more than a couple of kicks. She can handle your training Liam, she is not a quitter, she will not give up I swear” added Louis now trying to convince his friend.
“Well… I give her one month. If she gives me shit I stick her to yoga…”
“I don’t disappoint you I swear” said Effie who had made her way back inside the studio.
“Sorry about the photo babe but they didn’t really give the choice” said Louis apologetically while resting his hand on her hip.
“It’s alright. At least it has worked. So… When can I start?” asked the pretty brunette facing a Liam who still couldn’t believe she was the same girl as the photo.
Kensington High Street, London
Payne's Boxing and Fitness Studio
We could feel it was the end of the summer and for once it had been a one in London. The streets were busy again, teenagers moodier in the perspective to going back to school, adults depressed to be back in their routine: work, eat, sleep. However it is Effie’s favourite time of the year. She always looks forward to going back to school and doing what she loves the most. And this year is extra special as she has been admitted at the London College of Fashion for her final year in fashion and this year she was specialising in fashion contour or more precisely underwear design. She has worked so hard to get there and finally after two year she has been accepted and she is thrilled to be in the capital after two years in the north of England, in Newcastle.
Putting her phone and her keys in her bag Effie waves goodbye at the doorman of her building then starts walking down the street putting her sports bag across her thin body. She has always been very lucky when it comes to money and she is happy to say that she leaves in an amazing loft in central London on Earl’s Court Road. Her parent both architects from very famous families are extremely wealthy and have always spoiled their children and more particularly their only daughter, Elisabeth Una Parks, born in the summer of 89. They were working crazy hours when she was little but Effie remembers her parents being here to educate her great values like respect, modesty, generosity, kindness and selflessness. Don’t get it wrong, she is not this kind of goodie goodie little rich white girl who has seen and done nothing in life but more on that later.
Walking down Kensington High Street Effie finally saw the place she was looking for, “Payne’s Boxing and Fitness Studio”. She stopped a couple of seconds before finally pushing the door and making her way to the counter. For a fitness and boxing studio in the most expensive area of London it was much bigger than she expected. The counter was quite high but was nowhere near as tall to cover the tall man that was behind it. He seemed to be looking at something on the computer and after less than a minute he finally acknowledged Effie.
Suddenly very self-conscious the young girl pulled down her simple black tee-shirt to cover her thighs a little more. She was wearing simple skinny jeans but couldn’t help reacting like a teenage girl. This young man had unruly curly brown hair with deep green eye. He was wearing a tee shirt that was showing some tattoos on both his arms. She couldn’t exactly see his bottoms but could guess it was some sort of long boxing shorts.
“Hi, welcome. Can I help you?” said the young smile that showed a dimple but she couldn’t help focus on his very developed biceps.
“Yes sure, I would like a membership for a year please” simply replied Effie with the same smile he addressed her.
“Of course. What are you looking for? We have several programmed: toning, slimming though you don’t seem to need it, we also have just classes like yoga or bikram and dancing” said the young man taking leaflets and spreading them in front of Effie.
“Don’t you have boxing classes? I was told about your club and I’m here for boxing” asked the young girl surprised not to be offered what she came for.
The look on the man’s face was priceless but didn’t make Effie laugh, far from it. She see surprise but mainly mockery.
“We don’t train girls here. You should stick to yoga miss” said the boy with sarcasm.
“Oh please spare me the misogynist shit. Plus b the look of it I’m sure I have more abs than you! I was sent to this club because you supposedly are the best of London but it seems I made a mistake…”
“Liam!” shouted the young man Effie was talking to.
“Harry… I have a class in 10 minutes what do you want?” says a young man coming from a door that seems to be leading to the training room.
“This young lady here would like a membership…”
“Seriously man? You bothered me for…” said the young man named Liam.
“A boxing membership mate!” interrupted Harry with a smirk closely watching Liam’s reaction.
“Ah ah funny. I have work to do…”
“He is serious. I have been advised to come here but it seems I was wrongly guided. Sorry for the trouble” finally said Effie grabbing her bag and making her way out.
“Liam, mate, don’t you have a class in less than… Effie? You came?” said a young man with light brown hair and blue-green eye while also coming from the fitness room.
“Yes Louis but I’m leaving. They don’t seem to accept girls willing to box. I’ll see you later” said the girl with a disappointed look and gave Louis a quick kiss on his lips.
“Wait babe, just wait 5 minutes” suddenly said Louis grabbing her wrist.
“Why?” she said but seeing a glance she finally sighed and said, “ok but I’ll stay outside, I don’t want to stay near this bunch of machos”.
Louis went back inside. He was not happy and when Louis is unhappy quite often hell breaks loose. He sometimes can be quite harsh in his words and attitude and that’s why boxing his perfect for him. He has been working in the studio for 3 years and hasn’t been involved in a fight in a night club ever since. He stopped in front of his friends, Liam and Harry who were still smirking and honestly quite full of themselves.
“You idiots! You just lost one of the clients you could ever have” said Louis harshly.
“Oh come on Lou! She’s a girl! A girl!” replied Harry now laughing. “A girl doesn’t fight, a girl doesn’t do uppercuts, a girl is not strong enough for boxing…” he continued proud of his little speech.
“Seriously? You’re full of shit Harry! Fuck… She’s gonna hate me for that but… wait a second, I’ll be back” said Louis running to the office.
He came back a minute later holding his phone, skimming through the photos before finally finding the one he was looking for. He put it in front of Harry and Liam who had just come back from getting covered for his lesson. He couldn’t let this discussion finish without him, it’s his club after all.
“Look at this photo, does it seems familiar?”
The photo was a simple shot of a 16-17 year old girl. She is smiling shyly at the pictures, hiding herself from the objectives. Her eyes are brown and show great distress as if she is scared of having her photo taken even if she seems to be in a very calm environment.
“Damn it! Is that…” said Liam.
“Yes. It’s Effie, she’s my childhood friend” said Louis flatly.
“But she’s like 90-100 pounds heavier on the photo” eventually dared saying Harry.
“110 to be precise. She has nearly lost 110 pounds in almost 2 years and now she has more abs than you Harry” said Louis with a smile on his face.
“What the hell? Leave my abs alone, she’s a girl!”
“You really don’t get it, do you? She has lost all this weight in less than 2 year, she has taken more than a couple of kicks. She can handle your training Liam, she is not a quitter, she will not give up I swear” added Louis now trying to convince his friend.
“Well… I give her one month. If she gives me shit I stick her to yoga…”
“I don’t disappoint you I swear” said Effie who had made her way back inside the studio.
“Sorry about the photo babe but they didn’t really give the choice” said Louis apologetically while resting his hand on her hip.
“It’s alright. At least it has worked. So… When can I start?” asked the pretty brunette facing a Liam who still couldn’t believe she was the same girl as the photo.
Notes
Hello,I hope you like this first chapter :)
10/4/13