"Is that all you're having?" Harper threw her a disbelieving look. Beka smiled at him.
"I'm not really that hungry," she lied, "besides, salads are good for you." Harper shook his head as if she'd gone mad.
"You've gone mad," he said and tucked into his thick steak. Beka giggled at him, and slowly nibbled on her salad. It didn't satisfy the hunger cravings in her stomach, but it satisfied something else. She felt good about herself, she felt she was accomplishing something.
"This will fill me up," she thought sternly to herself, and took another bite of lettuce. "And then I can get thinner without being hungry." She took one last bite and pushed the plate away. "Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not going to eat this. Never mind, being a bit hungry never killed anyone." Harper gave her a quizzical look.
"You already done there?" he asked. Beka nodded.
"I told you, I'm not really hungry. Besides, I've got things I have to do," she said, quickly getting up to leave. Harper shook his head and returned to his steak and sparky.
****
Beka returned to the Maru to change into workout clothes. She was planning to have a jog around the corridors. She never normally jogged, but figured it was something she could do to burn off fat without building too much muscle. After all, it was lightness she was after, wasn't it? When she'd taken her clothes off she stopped to look in the mirror before putting her other clothes on. She grimaced at the mirror image. She'd never thought of it before, but now that she really looked, she did look a bit chubby.
"And to think I went around showing this off with short tops and tight clothes," she thought to herself, puzzled as to how she couldn't have noticed before. She opted for some more covering workout clothes instead of the normal tank top and shorts before leaving the Maru. When she came out she was surprised to see Trance standing there, not appearing to be doing anything special.
"Oh, hi Beka," she said absently, "going to work out?" Beka nodded slowly.
"Yeah...why?" Trance shook her head.
"Oh, nothing. Mind if I come?" Beka smiled.
"No, of course not." They started running down the decks together.
****
Trance tired quite quickly and retired to the hydroponics garden, but Beka wanted to keep pushing herself. She kept feeling it wasn't enough and she should push herself more, until she nearly collapsed. She struggled to catch her breath, and didn't notice someone coming up to her.
"What are you doing Beka?" a voice said, and Beka looked up.
"Dylan! Oh....I just....thought...I'd take...a jog," she said, still attempting to catch her breath. Dylan smiled.
"Don't push yourself too hard Beka," he said, "go back to the Maru and have some rest." Beka nodded and looked at his back as he walked away.
"I will," she mumbled, "but you never told me what way to go." And she started running again.
****
About 15 minutes later, Beka stumbled into the Maru, gasping for breath. She quickly grabbed a glass of water which she gulped down in only a few seconds before collapsing in the pilot's chair.
"Once I've done that a few times it should get easier," she thought, but she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. Her belly was rumbling as well, but she tried to ignore it. She'd only had that tiny bit of salad so far, but she wasn't going to give in to the cravings. She closed her eyes and soon fell into blissful sleep.
