She Stayed for the Whole Class

Called in sick to my office job so I could cover a Pilates class. Before anyone asks, no, I didn’t need the money that badly. I wanted a permanent slot at this studio and the owner said covering at short notice was how you got one. Told my manager I’d been up all night throwing up. She said feel better.

She was on reformer 4 when I walked in.

I hadn’t checked the booking list. She hadn’t checked the substitute instructor. We looked at each other and then I started class because there were 11 other women lying down waiting for me to tell them what to do.

For 50 minutes I had to be her instructor. Corrected her foot position. Offered her a lighter spring. Told her she was stronger than she thought. At one point she said she couldn’t do another rep and I said yes you can, which felt like something I’d be hearing about later.

She waited while everyone else left. I kept wiping down reformers hoping she’d get bored. Eventually she asked whether I wanted to explain. I said the studio had been desperate for someone to cover.

Got fired the next morning. Tried pointing out that she’d also been in a Pilates class during work hours. In retrospect, not a great strategy.

The studio owner texted later saying she’d heard great things and wanted to offer me Tuesdays permanently. 75 a class. I asked how many classes I’d need to teach to get health insurance. Can tell you there aren’t enough classes in the day to make that happen.