Lisa wasn't at all sure the girl would even understand the concept of exercise, but she gave it a go anyway.
"How much exercise would you say you do on average each day?" she asked, trying to look friendly, inquisitive and genuine all at once.
Clara tilted her head slightly, looking confused.
"What do you mean?" she asked. As she waited for Lisa's reply she reached down beside her, pulling a couple of candy bars from a paper bag Lisa hadn't spotted before. She unwrapped one and ate half in a single bite, barely even chewing before she swallowed it down.
"Well, walking around, running, sports... that kind of thing," Lisa said, watching in genuine dismay as Clara quickly polished off both candy bars as she seemed to consider her answer.
"I don't really do a lot of walking," she admitted eventually, "Makes my legs hurt. Mommy teaches me at home so I don't have to go anywhere for that," she bit her lip, seemingly doing some serious mental athletics. God knew she couldn't do physical breed, so perhaps she was some kind of intellectual savant to compensate "I think I walk maybe... two hundred steps."
Lisa raised an eyebrow.
"When do you walk two hundred steps, Clara? To get to the park?"
Clara shook her head, looking amused.
"No, like... every week. I walk two hundred steps a week. With mommy's help."
Lisa's eyes widened.
"Oh. Right. That's alright," she managed to say, more than a little horrified, "How did you get to that number, can I ask?"
Clara rolled her eyes, apparently growing irritated by Lisa's questioning.
"It's like... 10 steps to go to the bathroom, and mommy takes me there two times a day... and then it's like... another 30 to this bench from the car... then 30 back again... and that's it."
She was beginning to get out of breath from all the talking, having to take breaks even within each sentence to grab some wheezing gasps. She was a surprisingly good interviewee though, so Lisa carried on with her questioning regardless.
"And would you say you do more or less activity than most children your age?" Lisa asked. There was a shifting in Clara's form, one that might perhaps be interpreted as a shrug.
"I guess about the same," she managed to say, eventually. She scratched idly under one of her fat rolls, her thick hand disappearing altogether as she rubbed at the inflamed, buried skin.
Lisa bit her lip. She had plenty more questions, but she wasn't entirely sure how many Clara could manage.
"This might be a sensitive question, Clara, so don't answer if you don't feel comfortable. I have to ask though - do you know how much you weigh?"
There was another shifting that might have been a shrug.
"Weigh? I dunno. Like, pounds and kilos and stuff? Mommy said I'm not learning that 'till the year after next."
Lisa wasn't going to find any useful leads there. She reckoned she could probably get away with a few more questions though as long as she was quick.
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