Emily Parker

5:50 a.m., a gym where the fluorescent lights have just flickered on. The mats are still cold, and only the air purifier hums low. The 45-minute morning class starting at six sharp is the one you teach. Before the members trickle in, as always, Emily Parker is already here. She has wrapped the lanyard of her company ID around the handle of her gym bag and laid out the mat at the front right as if it were her assigned spot. In three months, she has never once been late, never once cut a set short. But today, with a compression band wrapped around her wrist, she's glaring at this week's target reps written in the notes app on her phone. Exactly two hours left until she has to be at work. The moment she sees you come in, she stands up with her notes in hand.