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 Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 1:42 pm
The weight room was full of burly dudes.
Castille shivered and held her water bottle a little tighter, feeling severely out of place. Normally she would be doing her toning exercises at Meadowview, but construction displaced her to the All Day Fitness a few miles out of the way. Moonlighting as a senshi certainly kicked her butt, and between that and volleyball practice, she was feeling sluggish. So she hit the gym three times a week, hoping to build some muscle. Her eyes narrowed unconsciously. Then maybe those Nega baddies wouldn't have such an easy time with her...
The small girl standing in the doorway was starting to get stares from guys that looked like they could break her in half. She picked a machine that was far from everyone, against the wall near some floor length mirrors where people were doing various crunches and clean jerks. It was a bicep workout machine, with handles that she had to pull in an upward motion.
She set the weight to 25 pounds, and began a set, her Ipod set to fast paced music.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 10:55 pm
xxxxxTalia breathed in and out quickly. Thirty minutes of straight running was taxing after awhile. She slowed her treadmill down for a moment to wipe the sweat off her forehead and chug about one forth of the water in her bottle down her throat. As she breathed in heavily and fixed her ponytail, she noticed a girl walk in, but didn't think much of it.
xxxxxUnfortunately, the girl chose a machine directly in front of hers, so she couldn't do much watch her. Talia shook her head and tried to focus on her running. After all, since the school year was almost over, so was tennis season. Which meant she had to stay in shape through her own means. She put her towel back around her neck and tried to focus on running as much as she could.
xxxxxTalia couldn't help it any more. The stranger that had just graced the gym just looked so helpless and lost at first. Not to mention she was using the bicep machine rather awkwardly, and put the weights on the incorrect side. Perhaps it was just on accident, but Talia wasn't the type to just leave others be. She jumped off the treadmill and pretended to refill her water bottle at the fountain conveniently located right next to the bicep machines.
xxxxxAfter standing there drinking water for a moment or two she said, "Ah ... I think you have your weights on there wrong. Do you want me to help?" she asked sincerely. She wasn't trying to come off as a gym guru; Talia honestly just wanted to help.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:40 pm
Castille looked up quickly, and her heart slowed from its adrenaline rush as she realized that it wasn't a burly dude coming to talk to her, but a girl about her age. She inhaled deeply and looked at the weights, realizing that they were put on quite wrong indeed.
She laughed. "I guess I do have them on wrong. The weight room at school has a lot simpler machines." she explained, getting up from the machine and starting to take some of the weights off. "That and I'm not usually surrounded by big giant guys that look at me like I'm not supposed to be here." Though they had gone back to their weightlifting, Castille still felt as if their eyes were on her. She didn't like the spotlight.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:45 pm
xxxxxTalia smiled in that sort of "awww she's cute" way. She picked up the weights and set them on the correct rack for her machine. To test it, she pulled on the arm hold once, and then nodded. "There you go! All set" she said triumphantly. She sat down on another machine next to the girl, but didn't start working out quite yet. "Don't worry about it, this gym's machinery is actually pretty confusing. Don't make me begin about my school's gym!" She laughed, showing she was joking. Her school was very nice.
xxxxx"If you don't mind me asking, what school do you go to?" she questioned politely. Oh God Talia, way to come off as a total creeper she thought to herself.
xxxxxLuckily, the girl had already changed the subject. Talia giggled a sort of light bell-sounding laugh, and said, "These guys? Tough?" She gestured to one of the "tough" men in the corner. "That's Larry. He does pottery for a living, and that man," she interrupted to gesture at another man across the room, "Is Thad, he runs a doggy daycare." She leaned back on laced hands behind her head and finished, "And I, Talia, am a high school girl. You have no need to be worried at all!"
xxxxxShe took another deep breath and another swig of her water. Talking after working out for so long sort of took it out of her. "So, what brings you here? I haven't seen you before..." What an awkward way to start a conversation.
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Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:20 pm
Castille looked at the machine, trying to memorize how she had put the weights on correctly, so she wouldn't make a fool of herself next time.
"I go to Meadowview." She said, pulling on the machine once to test it out. The weight seemed to be fine, so she started her reps. "The gym is under construction. Adding in some mirrors and putting in some new flooring I think. So I'm kicked out of my usual spot for a few days."
She looked at each man Talia pointed out, and giggled. "That very large guy did pottery? "I guess it would take a lot of muscle control to be able to make really good stuff." She said, finishing her set. She paused, taking a couple deep breaths and a swig of water. "And I'm Castille." She said, leaning forward to extend her hand with a smile. "Also a highschool student."
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 2:29 pm
xxxxxAhhh that would explain why she didn't know how these high tech machines work. She went to Meadowview. Talia didn't mean to show a bias, but somehow she couldn't imagine Meadowview having a more extensive gym set than Crystal Academy. Still, this Castille girl seemed to have a good head on her shoulder. Smiling she said, "Ah, I go to Crystal Academy. No wonder I haven't seen you. She noticed the girl started working out, but Talia wasn't quite ready to hit the machines again.
xxxxx"Ooh under construction? It must be nice getting new things for your gym. Too bad you had to come out all this way," Talia babbled. Was she being too forward? Didn't seem like it.
xxxxxShe giggled alongside the girl and said, "Yup, he's made a few unicorns I've heard." She really had seen him make unicorns too. Talia was a friendly sort, so she loved talking with people regardless of if they wanted to or not. His pottery shop was a cute little roadside place, nothing commercial or huge, but it was quaint and Talia liked it quite a bit.
xxxxxAwkwardly, Talia stuck out her hand and shook it. "Are you training for something specific?" Talia herself was trying to keep in shape after tennis season ended. Though, for Talia, tennis season never really ended. She was constantly going through lessons and classes arranged by her father, so she didn't really have a choice in the matter. Sighing, she began to work on the machine next to Castille. Might as well do upperstrength now.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:28 pm
"Luckily it's only a couple miles outta the way. Nothing too big unless you gotta have your dad drive you like I do." She made a face as if she had eaten something unpleasant. "One more year though, and I'l be able to drive myself!"
She really wasn't very excited to get her license, though she pretended to be to avoid weird looks from kids her age. With her ability to drive came her sister begging for rides everywhere. And that was something Castille was NOT excited for at all.
"Training? Well.." She trailed off. Yeah, I'm building muscles to help me climb buildings while I moonlight as a Sailor Senshi. "Volleyball." She said, starting another set. "It's long over, but gotta keep up the training or my serves will be way off."
Nice pause.
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Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 3:08 pm
xxxxxAt the mention of Castille's father, Talia's thoughts immediately fled to her own father. Somehow, she couldn't imagine her father happily driving her to the gym, while they talked about all of the gym's facilities. It just wasn't like her father. Of course, she didn't show any of this on the outside. Externally, she just said, "Haha, well I already drive. I have a pretty civic." Talia jiggled her hands as if she was holding an imaginary set of keys.
xxxxxVolleyball, huh? Castille sounded a tad unsure, but then again, Talia was here for the exact same reason. To train for a sports season that wasn't in season at the moment. To move conversation along, she said, "Ah, me too! I'm training for tennis. Then again, I sort of never stop training for tennis..." How awkward Talia.
xxxxxShe began to push the bars ever harder, despite her muscles complete resistance. "Hey, do you at least live around here? Maybe I could drive you home?" she suggested. Oh God Talia way to be a ******** creeper! she thought. Seriously, could she be any more awkward?
xxxxxQuickly diverting from the question she said, "Ahhhuhh ... So what are your plans for this summer?" Talia prayed that the girl didn't hear her first question.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:33 pm
Castille was amused by the little bit of awkwardness that seemed to seep into the conversation. "I don't really mind what kind of car I get when I get my license. Just as long as it's red." To match, well, everything of hers.
"Tennis is fun." She said, releasing the machine. Her sets were done on this one. She stood and picked a different machine that was still within speaking distance of Talia. This one was for her legs, a machine that required her to lay on her back and push upwards with her legs. But she could still look back over her shoulder at Talia, and responded to her next question. "I live over by Meadowview actually. Close enough to walk to school every morning. If you wanted to give me a ride, I could always call my dad and tell him not to come." She liked this girl. She seemed very real and kind.
"Well." she continued on "I plan on doing some camp counseling actually. There's a place called Camp Larkspur that I'm going to for a couple weeks. Gonna teach some kids some volleyball and not to eat bugs and the like." She chuckled. "It should be fun! What about you?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:42 pm
Red was a nice color. Talia preferred neutral colors for her cars; anything show offy was just annoying. Still, red could be nice ... in moderation. She nodded sagely as if approving her choice on some silly test.
"Oh Tennis is the best! I'm still waiting for Crystal to get off their lazy butts and start an official team," Talia moaned bitterly. There were a group of rogue tennis players that all played after school, but no real team had been established yet. It was so unfortunate. Why couldn't others see the beauty in tennis?
Talia watched Castille carefully as she switched machines. How awkward would it be if she got the weights on wrong again? If Talia had to correct the girl again, she would just seem like a busybody. Luckily, Castille put on the weights correctly, no problems. A little sigh left Talia's mouth as a potentially awkward situation was avoided.
Talia's eyes were wide with terror when she realized Castille did hear that comment about driving her home. Luckily, Castille seemed to take it with warm enthusiasm, not vaguely creeped out apologies. "Sure I'd be happy to. My mom probably won't care, and my dad's out like always. Sounds like a date!" As soon as the word "date" left her mouth, Talia immediately wished she could reach out and shove it back in her mouth. It was a forcive habit from her mom, who always said, "it's a date." After an offer to drive a stranger home, it couldn'tve been used at a worse time.
However, Talia just decided to carry the conversation. The show must go on, right? "Camp Larkspur?" she said with surprise, "I'm going there too! I'm going to be running sports, maybe I'll see you there?" Talia pondered a moment about the rest of her summer. "Well after Larkspur, I'll be going on my annual Fourth of July beach trip with my family ... going to visit relatives and all that. Afterwards, I don't know, I'd need my calendar in front of me!"
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 11:32 pm
Castille paused for just a moment in her set when she said "It's a date." It was almost imperceptible, her pause. But it was definitely there. Castille though that was a strange way to offer a ride to an almost complete stranger, but she decided that the changes of Talia being a creeper were low, seeings how she was the same age and not that much bigger than her.
"Crystal doesn't have a tennis team?" She said disbelievingly. Tennis was such a renowned sport! How can a school not have a team? "Meadowview does, though I haven't been to a match so far."
The awkwardness seemed unable to dissipate. It seemed like every time they jumped into a normal conversation, something would happen and then it was back to awkward silence. Talia chose to continue on in the conversation though, and Castille smiled widely when she said she would also be at Camp Larkspur. "Oh that's great! " she exclaimed, releasing the weights. "I love camp! Have you even been before?"
"I think after camp I'll be mostly around here." She said, visualizing her calendar. "I might leave town for a couple days to visit my grandparents, but nothing super exciting like a beach trip!"
She hoped that Talia didn't decide to invite her to that as well. As nice as she was, that would be strange!
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:24 pm
Talia paused for a moment. "Okay well Crystal does have a tennis team," she admitted, "But it's totally drab, all of the girls who play suck." Now she was gossiping, but a little gym gossip was always fun, "One girl showed up to try outs without a racket. I mean who does that?" She shook her head as though the girl was right in front of her.
"Anyways, point is, all of the real players just stick around after school and play together." More white lies. Only Talia and a few friends stuck around after school, and it was only occasionally, not every day. Not like it mattered, she was probably never going to see this chick again.
This girl loved camp? Oh great, another Griffin. Well maybe that was stereotyping a bit. "I've ah ... I've only been camping twice and ... well let's just say I'm not best friends with nature." The first time she had gone camping she had fallen in mud. The second time she had been mosquito bitten to death. Needless to say, camping was not her thing.
Ah good, another topic. Talia didn't want to dwindle on camp for too long. She wasn't that excited about it, save for all the boys she was hoping to meet. "Where are you headed? That is, where do your grandparents live? My grandma lives with us, so it's not exactly exciting to visit her!" She laughed to show she was joking. Talia really did love her grandmother, a lot more than most people loved their grandparents.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:20 pm
Castille laughed as Talia tried to explain Crystal's tennis team. She couldn't even begin to explain Meadowviews' team.
"I like volleyball better." She said, taking a drink of water. "I feel like I'm more in control of the ball and it's actions, because I'm using my arms, my hands, my body in general to move the ball. If one thing is off, so is my serve. That and it's more of a team sport. Everyone has their strengths and you have to work past them to make a good play happen." Her eyes got dreamy thinking about being on the volleyball court.
Castille shut her mouth quickly though when she realized she had been rambling, and kept it shut until the subject changed to camping.
"I love camping." She said, smiling widely "My favorite part is the marshmallows, and the mornings after sleeping in the tents. It's usually foggy and awesome for pictures!"
"My grandparents live close to an hour away." She continued on "They live out in the country, and have a barn with a couple pigs and chickens in it. It must be nice to live with your grandma though. Then you always get to see her!"
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:31 pm
Talia waved her hand at Castille's assumption. "No way no way! Tennis totally involves controlling the ball's actions. That's like ... the entire game! Your racket is just an extension of your arm, really!" She was not about to get into a debate about why tennis was the best thing ever. It should've been obvious.
The way Castille described camping actually made it seem fun, but as soon as she mentioned tents, Talia's head shook in disagreement. "No way. Tents are the worst. The least I will stay in is a cabin. You could not get me to go camping in one of those ... tarps!" She was very vehement with her bombastic speech. "Same with waking up early."
Talia realized she was pretty much disagreeing with everything Castille said. "Okay, maybe I just prefer a posh hotel to the woods," she stated, giggling a little to show she wasn't being intensely serious.
Talia checked the time. It was almost time for her to start heading home- if she didn't head back soon, her dad would have a cow.
Speaking of cows. "A farm? That sounds so cute! I would love to go to a little country house, get some cowboy boots on and square dance!" she exclaimed. "That's what you do on farms, right?"
At the mention of her grandma, Talia thought for a moment. "Well I do love my grandma a lot. She's more like an aunt though, I swear. She's so young for her age! She dances around the house all the time, and wears this funky old people clothing." She sighed happily with her description. It was true, she really did love her grandma.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:11 pm
She puffed up a big at the thought of tennis being harder than volleyball. You had a whole racket's worth of reach! With volleyball, if you couldn't reach, you didn't have something to extend your arm out. You had to be that much quicker and jump that much farther to reach it. This could turn heated, but Castille kept her mouth shut. To each their own!
"I don't mind tents unless it rains. Then they are awful she gushed, nodding. "Cabins are fun if you have a lot of people. Then it's like a big party!"
Talia seemed to be heading in a negative direction, until she started talking about her grandmother and farms. She almost frowned, wondering where the negativity came from but as Talia described her grandma, Castille laughed aloud at the mental image that popped into her head.
"Well my grandma and grandda don't really square dance anymore." She said, still laughing. "But I suppose they did at one point!" That was part of being on a farm right?
Castille had finished her workout. Now they were just loitering on the machines, though no one seemed to mind. It wasn't busy enough at the gym for someone to be vying for the machines they were sprawled on.
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