I twisted my long hair into a sloppy bun at the top of my head and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. My feet shuffled over to the equipment in the right corner, and I drifted towards the elliptical. Maybe this is the best choice. All the other ones scattered around the gym were filled up with slightly overweight women trying to lose weight. I was kind of scared of one of them trying to tell me I should leave because other people need this equipment more. That has happened at the other gym I was signed up for. They were probably jealous I could wear bikinis.
I stepped on the kind of bulky piece of machinery and put my feet in the right places. My fingers ran over the keypad and I clicked the plus sign on the level. Maybe I should try the hardest possible. I contemplated it for a second, but then pressed the minus sign a couple times. My legs pumped and I clutched the handles. This is going to be a good day.
The thought that briefly flickered in my mind quickly vanished when a middle aged women got on the elliptical beside the one I was using. She sent me a smug smirk as she started swinging the handles and sending her feet in a wild frenzy. Suddenly pulling headphones out of nowhere, she popped them in and bobbed her head. I pulled my own iPod out and listened to a play list I had specifically set for the gym.
Every couple of minutes the lady would glance at me with a proud smile on her face as she barely raised her heart rate. In the meantime I was already soaked with sweat as my legs moved slowly. It wasn’t easy to keep up this level, but I pushed on. My songs switched between loud rap music to soft piano music. The lady squinted at me and grinned. A little bead of sweat ran down her temple, and I almost clapped for her. I can just imagine what is running through her mind.
Jeez, these two days of the gym has really paid off. I’m going faster than this teenager, that’s pretty sad. Hehe. Oh, I like this song.
Yeah, I mentally sent back, that’s why I’m running like I’m in freakin’ syrup with sweat just pouring from my face. She sent me a sweet smile and I just stared back at her. What is it with these women? I stopped the timer I had set for twenty minutes and stepped off. This lady was annoying me.
I walked over to the locker room for members and opened my locker, 325. My towel was sitting alone with just my water bottle to keep it company. I snatched it up and padded my neck and forehead. After I opened my water bottle and gulped down the remaining drops. I’ve been here all morning, and my mom wanted to make some nice lunch for the family and my grandparents were coming over. Great.
I closed the top of my bottle and looked at my magnet frame. It was a wallet-sized picture of my brother Will and me after we had hiked the trail in our back yard for the first time. Will was clutching my shoulder and had a huge smile on his face. The dimples on his cheeks were prominent as well as freckled. My four-year-old self was looking at the camera seriously, for a reason I can never figure out. The picture was the only thing I actually kept in the locker semi-permantly.
I slammed the door and walked out as an old women walked in. She sent me a sincere smile before slightly wrinkling her nose. I probably reeked, but I skipped out on the showers. I could just take one at home. I passed the woman who thought it was an epic elliptical competition and she smirked back at me. Whatever. She’s just a human.
My house was only a couple blocks away so I just walked here. My visits to gyms had become a daily thing so I wouldn’t be the runt of the family. My brother was 18 and had humungous biceps. Daddy dearest owns a gym out of the state, but still works out here. I can’t use that gym, it’s only after you go through the change, and at the moment it was a pretty hard thing to do. My mom jogs in the forest before breakfast, and for the past two weeks I have been joining her.
