With November came even more change. First, Mariah found and added her on Facebook, to her surprise and utmost delight. Then they began to message each other and then this turned quickly into texting. The weeks came and went and for Kara, Zumba was the highlight of every one. They began after every Zumba class to walk out together. For a while they would only leave the fitness room chatting, then say goodbye at the grim doors to the outside world. But then, Mariah, as a personal trainer, started to show Kara around the rest of the gym after Zumba, coaching her on weights or squats. Sometimes Mariah would run laps on the track upstairs and Kara would watch and wave from the elliptical she was half-heartedly pumping. Though running was not her thing, she would put up with anything for Mariah, for she enjoyed watching the redhead get in the zone. Eventually they did begin to leave the gym together. The hour or two spent at the rec center did not seem to be enough time to be with each other anymore. They would now go grab food after Zumba or take turns offering up their apartments to study side-by-side on a couch, elbows brushing one another, steaming mugs of tea at their feet.