Welcome to Gaia! ::

Elysha was leisurely heading back to her apartment after going for a walk at the nearby park. This was part of her route commuting to work, so it was among the more familiar places here in Destiny City to her so far. However, it never ceases to amaze her how she can discover new details about familiar surroundings that she hadn't realized she'd missed altogether before.

Her steps slowed in front of a gym and she wondered if it was new or probably the case was she just didn't see it until now that she's paying better attention while passing this particular location. Well, she decidedly entered the establishment and found her gaze drawn to its offerings on a propped up sign. Only now, for whatever reason, it was one of the listed items that got her especially curious this time: Boxing.

"Hello?" She stepped up to the presently empty counter that she assumed the staff manned to answer questions, give directions, and so on. Perhaps they had stepped away briefly to attend to something and so she thought to wait here and see how soon someone may be back for her to address with her query.

With a slight backward step, Elysha took in a sudden intake of breath when her vision caught sight of someone who had unexpectedly appeared where he had.

In following the silent release of the bit of breath she hadn't realized she had held, she gave her greeting and query to him with a relieved smile. "Um uh, yes, hi," she waved with the hand occupied by her water bottle as she endeavored to quickly sort through her jumbled thoughts, "I saw boxing on the sign's list." Her waving hand being closest to the aforementioned sign then transitioned to briefly gesturing to it next to her before returning to her side. Her gaze darted from meeting his gaze to his gloves then back while she had gone on to ask, "I am interested in boxing lessons, are they offered by this gym?"

As she listened along with the words he was speaking in answer to her query, Elysha gave a nod here and there as she comprehended and further processed the information in her mind to an extent.

She has been wanting to learn and become skilled in a medium of a combative nature. Boxing looked to her from a distance so far to fit the bill and be great exercise, and thus, she has been wanting to seek out and receive instruction to get the basics and hone her competence of it from there.

Elysha smiled warmly to him also as she responded to his next queries, grateful for the information she'd been given in answer to her question, "Thank you for addressing my question. I would be a newbie. I have no boxing experience as of yet but I want to learn. And I have no preference on trainers." Inwardly, after voicing her responses she took a moment and admitted to herself that she likely might not have understood his latest question exactly. Her interpretation of it was that there might be subdivisions to boxing that can be trained for and so she based her answer to that question with this consideration in mind and at that moment had opted not to ask for clarification of her probably incomplete grasp of the concept. She then went on to add a mental note to look up a search engine input of boxing subdivisions at some point and see what turns up in the event that this may be what he was referring to.

Her eyes moved to watch his tapping fingers for a moment and wondered how a gym staff member would process the responses she had given him to his inquiries of her. Then her gaze was back to meeting his as he began to address her again. Not expecting his sudden demonstration, her eyes widened slightly and as he continued to speak, she attempted to wrap her head around his words more in thoughtful silence, considering how to reply. However, she was largely puzzled by his mention of combo, which she attributed to her newbieness. Perhaps it was one subdivision of boxing.

She listened to his next words. And when he smiled again, she found herself smiling back. She heard the saying that laughter's contagious and thought that smiling is, too. However, another thought that crossed her mind is that not just his smile but his whole character was quite disarming in presence, whether intentionally or not; and it was this thought that reminded her to not forget to be mindful to keep her wits about her when interacting with good-looking men.

She had no reason to doubt his credibility as a personal trainer, thinking that if he assessed her at sight to be more than fit based on his athletic opinion, then from her likely less athletically experienced sight and opinion he was far, far more than fit.

She was looking forward to finding out how this gym fits with her as she contemplates the possibility of coming by periodically to work out here. Since she was a child she found sports and athletics to be fun-filled boosts to her being more out-going and confident.

And so, she recalled the gym business hours she saw posted on the way inside the building then gave a nod, "Yes, I would like a bit of practice. So, if it's possible to get started with you today, I would like to, please. Um, shall I fill out any paperwork and is there a leaflet or directory of prices I can refer to for availing of personal training?"

"Okay," she gave a nod as her smile gradually transitioned to a grin upon further confirmation that she would be receiving her training session and instruction for boxing.

"Elzo, thank you, you've given me so much help already," she beamed, "My name is Elysha."

She sent her surroundings a quick sweeping glance curiously as she wondered where they would proceed to warm up and go about the training here in the gym before her gaze returned to him.

Then it occurred to her to ask, "Is my attire okay for today's training session?" She was wearing a black shirt, black hoodie, grey sweatpants, and her basketball shoes.

She had been starting to think that the chances would be that she wouldn't get to learn boxing like she probably wouldn't learn to ride a motorcycle since she didn't even know how to ride a bike. And it was a similar case for her being drawn to the consideration of learning to play a drum set; that it may continue to be the case that she'll just be a fascinated spectator. But now that this chance to get started on training sessions for boxing had presented itself, she certainly wanted to take this opportunity.

Thank you, the two words remained stuck in her throat somehow as she blushed around her unchanged smile. She could say likewise about how good-looking she found him, but kept such thoughts to herself by refraining to express them verbally. Then when she considered herself staring at Elzo with too much focus at the moment, she diverted her eyes to looking at the strings of her hoodie that she was fiddling with between her hands, suddenly nervous. Had she succeeding in stopping the blush she suspected she had now? Remember why you're here, she told herself with a mental shake. When he spoke again seconds later, she look back up to him and then gave a bright nod in understanding with regards to his advice about her hoodie.

And then wow was she amazed by the gym as she followed him. She gave a wave in greeting to the staff members along the way. She found herself wanting to know what all the equipment around were meant for, especially those less familiar than others.

Then, she turned her awed gaze to Elzo, and beamed as she responded, "Yes, Elzo?" She gave a nod in response when he informed her of what he forgot, "Okay, shall I wait here while you go back for it?"

"Sure," Elysha had then resumed sending her gaze around her to take in her surroundings during the little wait.

And when she received a towel from Elzo, she took it gratefully. "Thank you and okay," her words were followed by the removal of her hoodie, then placed in one corner with the towel on top of it before returning a number of steps beside Elzo to join in getting some stretching in.

Elysha brought an arm across her chest and then did the same with the other arm. She followed some of Elzo's stretches and included stretches she remembered from participation in team sports in high school and college and ballet lessons growing up.

She couldn't put her finger on exactly why, but she had a recollection of a previous occasion while they went about stretching.

It was of the time that she believed a fellow university student she befriended in the beginning of their first semester when she said she has seven children and keeps them fed and happy with her cooking. It was somewhat hard for Elysha to initially believe that, seeming to be so young, her friend already had seven children. But then, Elysha had gone on to ask for cooking advice upon remembering her friend mention cooking for her children. And then the following semester started, and it was only well into that second semester together that the hilarious conversation of 'oh I really don't have any children yet' happened to clear that up.

Perhaps a part of her was wondering a little now if Elzo was really a staff member here, which might explain her thoughts going to that memory. She has also been told one thing during a number of occasions and had had to be told 'I'm joking' before being aware of those jokes. Yes, she was a very gullible individual. And though she would note such occurrences as these with her current record of them happening from time to time and has told herself about them that she should make at least gradual, steady improvements not to get so dangerously so, it was certainly a work in progress for her to improve and an ongoing task for her to maintain.

Or maybe her thoughts were being paranoid and over thinking the situation. She found Elzo to be conducting himself professionally. In addition, there are others here in the gym, too.

A smile crossed her features again as she remembered once more the amusement she shared with her friend about that previous occasion. Hopefully, she wouldn't push her luck excessively with how gullible she is. But if some good friendships arise with such times, she wasn't opposed to such occasional happenings of being easily fooled by fairly harmless jokes. And with an inward reminder that she may be getting carried away with her thinking, she compiled more of her focus again on what was going on here and now.

Upon his leading, Elysha followed Elzo's movement and also reached down to touch her own toes. When he spoke next, she found herself experiencing difficulty to a certain degree in initially wrapping her head around the sudden new development. After staring at the card Elzo showed her as though her eyes' gaze was glued to it for several seconds, she then moved into the familiar roll of her body attained from now many dance lessons she lost count of to an upright position again.

And then Elysha's jaw did an odd number of starting to open to speak but then in hesitation, began to close again before next having expressed another abrupt change in state of mind. When finally getting out of being momentarily speechless and getting words out at last she said, "I-it, t-this is a shock to me yes, but I am thankful this wasn't a more dire circumstance and my shock has a lot to do with my appalling tendency to be gullible."

She next found herself laughing as well for a moment, lightly and with evidently amazed embarrassment as she rubbed one palm across her forehead briefly before tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear which had fallen in front of her line of sight. "I-I, though this is quite awkward, I also believe it is certainly thanks to you I have more of an idea of what being a gym member and availing of services here is like, Elzo, and I am very grateful for your help," she added next with a meek but gentle and genuine smile before finding herself with a blank moment for words yet again. But while she was speechless again now, her mind was taking this moment in time to continue to buzz with thoughts that seemed to be going a thousand miles per second.