The Log

1

When he checked the weight each day as soon as he woke up, Bruce was a disappointed man. It’s been the same for a year, and we are at the end of a summer that promised gym and weight loss. The digital scale read 90 kgs. He was obese.

For a man who wore skin tights and distressed jeans a few years back (he complained about clicking knees because of the now tight jeans), it now seems to a passerby that he is wearing pants that belonged to his teenage days, down to almost half of his buttocks (displaying his buns and sometimes the deep insides beyond his branded underwear making one believe that there are more to the universe being infinite), when he bent to pick up something.

He was therefore, determined. But then, slackness has its own joy.

2

On a fine Sunday morning at Al Nahda, Sharjah, as he was in the queue for a takeaway at Joe’s Grab and Go, he saw Stewart.

He’d known Stewart since University – that pesky kid from Grammar school, fat and farting whenever there was a change in the wind. But, Stewart looked different. For a man at his late 40’s, he’d been fit.

‘If it is not Stewart…?’ Bruce wanted to start a conversation.

‘Yeah, the same old pesky kid, and if it isn’t Bruce the wise?’ Stewart said shaking his hand.

‘Seems like you’d lost weight. What are you, 50?’

’48 last week. And you’ be amused, I’m not dieting or on any fancy pills or gym. It’s just discipline. As simple as that,’ Stewart said.

How long have you been like this? I saw you a few years back at the Dubai Mall and you’d been burly. How, buddy?’

Stewart smiles. There was this charm in Stewart’s smile that one would fall for. Bruce knew that Stewart used it as a tool, especially, when he was all over. And this was one such occasion.

Stewart takes a plastic card from the wallet and brandishes it as if it was a new bill he’d won at a lottery.

‘Take this and read this’ Stewart said making rhyme seems simple.

Bruce had a dubious mind to pick it from Stewart’s hand as if a Businessmen would, when exchanging their cards, standing and holding the card with both hands, looking solemn.

It was a black card with golden letters that read –

The Anti-Slack Brigade,

Room 1101, 15^th Street,

Deira,

Dubai

‘Who are they?’ Bruce asked.

‘Just go there and you’d find out. Trust me, you’d not repent. If I can lose weight, so, can you.’ Stewart said, standing up and placing the wallet in his pant pocket. Stewart did look chick with his new outlook. The determination was back.

But, being Bruce, he soon forgot all about it, and one day, the card fell out from his wallet underneath the study table, until a couple of weeks later when his hips begin to hurt and the scale read 93 kgs.

3

The Room 1101 of the Anti-Slack Brigade, was actually a white house. So white that he wanted to scratch the walls.

The room had three chairs and a neat desk with a receptionist. It seemed to Bruce that Business was lighter than usual.

In a desolate corner, there was a machine that dispensed cans and snacks. Bruce wanted to try some snacks. He had a fudge bar in his pocket for emergency. But he didn’t think it was a Bruce the wise thing to do.  

Hungry, he looked at his mobile and saw that the charge was at a poor 25 percent. He didn’t remember when he’s seen the charge this low. That reminded him of the busy Dubai traffic, with roads representing tree roots that go deep. He had been driving for the whole couple of hours to reach here, and thinking of that made him hungry. The wait for his appointment made him look at the cans.

The Filipino receptionist called his token and Bruce said, ‘a friend of mine recommended me to this place.’

‘What is his name Mr. Bruce Walker and do you have a scheduled appointment?’

‘He goes by the name of Alex Stewart,’ and for one crazy moment Bruce thought if Stewart was gay for that charm of a smile. He continued, ‘No, I don’t have an appointment.’

She hands him over the form for first-time visitors.

‘Fill it, and then, you can meet Al Shamsi, your guide, at the fifth door on your left,’ she said with a smile.

4

The room that was assigned to Bruce was, as expected, a white room and a smaller desk with two chairs on either side. There was a window on the other end which showed minute humans crawling in the streets down below. A white curtain hid a smaller window, and Bruce thought if there was a surprise awaiting.

Al Shamsi was an enormous man. He looked very serious, but also courteous.

‘Mr. Walker, how nice to meet you?’ handing him some more papers to sign.

Bruce did a thorough scan of the pages.

‘You can call me Bruce,’ he said with a smile.

‘Right Bruce, what is your malady?’ Al Shamsi asked.

‘I have a scale that reads I’m obese. I want to counter that.’

‘People often overlook this factor. I’m glad that you are a 10 percent of who attempted to reach here.’

‘It’s by chance, Mr. Shamsi,’ Bruce jested as if it was a joke.

Al Shamsi just smiled.

‘You look excited that Mr. Stewart has lost his weight and I believe, you too can follow suit,’ Al Shamsi said.

‘Absolutely, and I mean it.’

‘We are pragmatists Bruce, and if you have an intention to continue with us, not just for a month or two, but, for an entire year, then, we too mean it, you can better Mr. Stewart,’ Al Shamsi said with a pride.

‘I like this pragmatist attitude of yours, Mr. Shamsi.’

‘Thank You. And now that you have signed the papers, let me ask you a few questions you might not deny. We need transparency?’

‘Sure, go ahead,’ Bruce said.

‘Are you married, Bruce.’

‘Yes.’

‘And you love your wife?’

‘Yes.’

‘What’s her name?’

Bruce had a feeling that he was being traced.

‘Maria. But, why do you ask?’

‘No questions please. Do you have a child?’

Bruce had one child, or rather an half. A sort of retarded kid and Bruce loved him.

‘Bruce. Where does he study?’

‘Enough! Why do you need all these details.’

‘It’s a part of the contract you’d signed,’ Al Shamsi said coldly.

‘No, I don’t want to tell you my son’s name and I wont tell you where he studies. Would you mind opening the door. I need to exit this stupid place of yours.’

‘Relax Bruce. As I told you we are pragmatists. And we know our work here. Our results are accurate and there is only 0.2 percent of chance it might fail,’ Al Shamsi said.

Bruce knew that he was hooked.

‘Okay, what next?’ he questioned.

‘Please hand me over the fudge bar that you have in your pocket.’

Bruce expressed his surprise by asking, “How did you know that I’d had one?”

‘We know our job Bruce. I’d been handling such cases and you are not the first one.’

The moment Al Shamsi took the fudge bar, he used his huge hands to fold and crush it. Bruce could find his eyes swell up with tears. There was a tiny piece of chocolate bar that stuck out of the now destroyed fudge bar.

Al Shamsi smiled and disposed it to the bin. ‘Now, this is what we do when you have a craving.’

‘How nice of you,’ Bruce said.

‘Al right sir, if you want to reduce that pot belly. Then, you should understand. You cant have your emotions run riot,’ Al Shamsi said.

Bruce considered this.

‘I believe you are hungry and what you displayed was a hunger panic,’ Al Shamsi said with a smile.

‘You seem to study your subjects well.’

‘Right you are, and I’d advice you to cheat your meals today for one last time. Enjoy your meals and then, for the next year and maybe forever, you might not get a chance to cheat yourself,’ Al Shamsi said with a wink.

5

The next day, was less busy than yesterday. Bruce had a spark of hatred towards these guys but he wouldn’t show it. However, he was determined to try.

He was escorted straight to the room, where Al Shamsi was cleaning his spectacles.

‘Good Morning Bruce,’ he said without looking at Bruce. ‘I knew you’d be here. Or else, what would your son Edgar say. He might become mentally fit in a couple of years only to see a sloppy father, aint it?’

‘You bastard, you were spying on me?’ Bruce looked upset.

‘It’s obvious and a part of our contract. You see, if you do not control your urges…’

‘I’ll grab a snack right in front of your organizational eyes and litter your floor. You’d see,’ Bruce interrupted.

Al Shamsi sighed. ‘Then, we do stage two of our process. You see that window out there. Come, let me show you something,’ Al Shamsi said.

He pulled the curtain that hid the small window. Beyond the window, there was a rabbit, eating a tiny piece of cabbage in a snow-white room. Bruce was feeling disgusted with all this whiteness that he felt it was a way of torture.

‘Do you see that rabbit? How smooth and tender. Now, see this?’ Al Shamsi seems to act like a kid showing a new toy to his dad.

He pressed a tiny white button.

The rabbit seemed to jump frantically away from the cabbage and run hither and tether. The hairs on its body seemed to be standing up.

‘Is it electrocuted?’ Bruce asked.

‘Yes, of course. But its just mild and the rabbit could survive that.’

‘What do you mean?’ Bruce asked.

‘You see, if you happened to break the contract, then, you would find your wife instead of that rabbit. I promise you it would be mild for the first two times.’

‘What?’ Bruce asked looking at this weird man speaking with so much conviction.

‘And what if I break my fast with a third attempt?’ Bruce questioned.

‘Then, it would be your boy’s turn. We don’t electrocute your family. We’d only punish you in breaking the contract. If you object further, then, both gets a beating and further act of cuteness, will result of braking your boy’s hands.’

Bruce was enraged. He made a fist and had a go at Al Shamsi. But Smasi moved so swiftly that Bruce was surprised that a gigantic man could move so swiftly. Shamsi punched Bruce in his stomach. Bruce fell down to the floor.

He was lifted back to his chair.

‘Look Bruce. We promise you by the end of the year, you would be as fit as Stewart. And we bill you after one year. That’s a promise.’

Bruce was exhausted.

‘And if I fail?’

Al Shamsi opened the drawer of his desk. He showed him a revolver.

‘Then Bruce, you join the elite 0.2 percent, who didn’t disappoint us in any means. You see, as per the contract, you never quit. Do you get it?’ Al Shamsi said with a smile.

Bruce understood and he wanted to kill Stewart instead of Al Shamsi. The son-of-a-bitch put him into all these. He remembered Stewart talking about discipline, but, he had not mentioned about the damned contract.

‘Curse you Al Shamsi. You will go to hell.’

Al Shamsi sighed again. ‘If every curse carried money, then, I’d plan an early retirement Bruce.’ Then, he said, ‘Welcome to the Anti-Slack Brigade’.

6

There were times when Bruce would crave for a cheat day. But he would resist. What else could he do.

Many times, he would open the refrigerator and just stare at the food.

In a few months, he saw his scale dip. It read 79 kgs. The first time he touched 70s sicne he could last remember. That brought a smile in him. He wanted to celebrate the moment and felt that a midnight snack wont harm him or his family. He would love to cheat a meal but he had to do it in secrecy. Maybe they have spies around in the neighborhood.

So at late midnight, he got up from the bed, went to the attached toilet, and then ensured that the curtains were on, on all windows. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a pudding from the refrigerator, and then ran back to the common toilet and started to eat in the toilet. He was skeptical at first, but, he wanted to try it. He gulped down the content in less than 30 seconds.

Nothing had happened throughout the day and he felt that Al Shamsi was a blank-faced liar. But, before his thought would end, his mobile buzzed.

It was a call from the Anti-Slack Brigade.

‘Mr. Walker, would you mind visiting our office today night please?’

‘I don’t have an appointment until next two weeks,’ Bruce protested.

‘But your mentor wanted to introduce you to someone.’

Bruce froze. He called home, but, Maria’s number wouldn’t ring.

7

At the Anti-Slack Brigade, Bruce had to witness the rabbit show. The only difference being it was Maria, blind-folded and seated on a wooden desk.

Later, he apologized Maria and explained her the entire process.

Maria kissed him and said it was not his mistake, and she was probably glad that he had lost weight.

8

Exactly one year later, Bruce received the consultation bill AS PROMISED, with a congrats note from Al Shamsi. He had reduced a good 68 kgs and importantly, his belly was flat. He was now a proud husband and father.  The bill also displayed the power charges used to electrocute Maria.

DISCLAIMER:

This story is only a fan work inspired by Stephen king’s story “Quitters Inc.” and all rights to the original concept belong to the original author.