She opened her eyes, looking completely and utterly defeated. All the earlier determination, even the frustration, seemed to have evaporated, leaving behind only misery. The chasm between her elite, specific Judo strength and her current general cardiovascur fitness and muscur endurance was brutally, starkly apparent right now. It hit her like a ton of bricks.

  James just watched her for a beat, a knot of concern tightening in his own stomach. He could see the physical exhaustion, sure, but more importantly, he saw the deep, crushing discouragement clouding her eyes. That initial motivation – impressing some guy – felt miles away now. That kind of motivation is flimsy; it shatters easily when faced with this level of physical discomfort and perceived failure.

  He knew, with absolute certainty, that pushing her any harder right now would be the worst possible move. It wouldn't build resilience; it would just reinforce the 'this sucks and I quit' narrative building in her head. He needed to switch gears, fast, from trainer mode to supportive friend mode. Damage control was critical.

  "Hey, Dipa," James said gently, crouching down on the grass nearby so they were closer to eye level. He kept his voice soft and calm, deliberately dialing down any intensity. "Listen to me. That is absolutely enough for day one."

  " Seriously. We're done. You pushed hard, maybe a little too hard for the first time out." He held out his water bottle again.

  "Here, take this. Sip it slowly."

  He waited until she took it, her hand slightly trembling. "The first day is always, without fail, the absolute hardest. Always. Your body is basically throwing a massive tantrum right now, going, 'What the heck was THAT?! You never make me do this stuff!'"

  " It's a total shock to the system, completely normal."

  He gave her a moment to just breathe and sip. "It honestly gets so much easier from here, I absolutely promise you. Like, exponentially easier. Your body is amazing at adapting, way faster than you think."

  " You just gotta get over this initial hump." He tried to inject confidence into his voice. "For now, your only job is recovery. That's it."

  " When you get home, if you feel up to it ter, maybe do some super gentle stretches – think rexing, not straining. And seriously, drink a ton of water today and tomorrow. Flush everything out. Maybe try and get some protein in ter too, helps the muscles repair."

  He was trying to give concrete, helpful steps, something positive to focus on instead of the current misery. "You did good showing up and giving it a real shot."

  Dipa managed another weak little nod, but her gaze stayed fixed on the grass in front of her, deliberately avoiding his eyes. The mix of exhaustion and embarrassment was palpable. She took the water bottle, her fingers curled tightly around it, and took slow, tentative sips. That fiery spark of determination he’d glimpsed yesterday when she’d enthusiastically agreed to this whole crazy pn?

  Yeah, that was completely gone, repced by a heavy bnket of sheer depletion. She looked like she just wanted to disappear, or maybe curl up right there on the grass and sleep for about three days straight.