Grunts

Grunting echoed down the hallway, the guttural sounds bouncing off the walls and smooth polished floor. Ethan the intern nervously fixed the collar of his shirt as he walked briskly toward the source of the noise.

The sound grew louder, the sound resembling a gorilla trying to break free from a cage or the sound of fighting to the death. Ethan was the lowest ranking employee and he was told to investigate. The poor soul knew the source of the sounds and shivered at the thought of it.

The grunting grew louder. The grunts were joined by the sound of clanking metal and a deep thud of the floor. Ethan grew more worried. The specimen sounded very large and Ethan knew he didn’t stand a chance if the situation turned hostile.

Ethan walked down the linoleum hallway, the smell of floor cleaning invaded his senses. ‘Lemon Fresh’ shook Ethan by the shoulders and demanded to be noticed. ‘lemon punched in the face’ would have been a more aptly named product.

Finally Ethan reached the large double doors and pushed one open. He entered into a large room full of people. Ethan looked and saw the source of the grunting, a large man lifting weights. Ethan nervously shuffled over to the man. Ethan straightened up his back, summoned up his courage and said “Excuse me sir, you have been, erm, grunting too loudly. It is bothering the other members” Ethan used his most official voice. The man looked embarrassed “Hey, sorry about that. Making noises helps me lift heavier weights” Replied the man. Ethan was surprised by how polite the grunting gym member was. “No problem, Sir. Just please keep it down” Ethan replied, then briskly walked away.

Ethan had never worked at a gym before and never once in his life did he think he would have to ask someone to stop grunting loudly. The situation turned out much better than expected but he suspected this wouldn’t be last time he had to remind someone not to grunt so loudly.