Word Count: 821

Today was one of those days that Camilla switched out her dresses and leggings for a t-shirt and shorts. There was really no chance of people she knew seeing her dressed like that, so she didn’t really care that the shorts might have been a bit too short and the shirt just a bit ragged. It’s not like she needed perfect clothes to go to the gym.

“I’m going to be sweating in these anyways… What’s the point of buying a fancy outfit just to get dirty in?”

Camilla was walking down the street towards one of the gyms her parents had used before. She had been there before with them and they knew of her. She would feel at least somewhat safe there and not intimidated by the few that went there. “Thank goodness for small gyms,” she thought to herself with a sigh.

This was the first time Camilla was ever going to a gym. It never occurred to her pre-awakening, and only really came up after her training with Painite. Because of that night, Camilla knew that she could think properly when needed and what she needed now was to build up more strength. Being able to hit where she wanted to hit didn’t matter if it didn’t have the force to hurt someone.

She swung open the door where Camilla smiled and greeted the receptionist. Digging through her bag, she pulled out the money necessary for a month’s membership and walked into the woman’s locker room. Before hiding her bag in one of the lockers she made sure that no one was looking.

Camilla knew that she had to be careful. She knew that leaving her Henshin pen in her dorm room was dangerous, but what about in a secure locker? At least, the locker seemed secure. She was also afraid that there would be a time she needed to power up but didn’t have the means to power up. Sure, she could run and hide since she wouldn’t be attacked as a civilian, but Camilla was slowly realizing that joining the fray was more fun than standing scared on the side lines. It was safely tucked into her bag, wrapped in some clean clothes.

When she put the bag into the locker that was now ‘her’s’, Camilla pushed up on the lock hard then pulled down on it, making sure it was securely closed. “I am not about to lose the one thing that ties me to a purpose,” she thought as she walked towards the exercising areas.

Lined in front of her were a few treadmills as well as areas for working out her muscles. Part of her wanted to go to the treadmills, but knew that with her running and mirrorwalking at night, her cardio workouts were more than enough and didn’t need to extend to the daytime. That is when Camilla turned towards the dumbbells.

“Hm… Which one should I work with?” Camilla looked at them, thinking that she could handle a 5 pound ones. Instead, when she tried to lift it up, she realized that it was a lot heavier than it looked and well… She had hoped she wasn’t that much of a newb, but in this case, she was. With a sigh and sort of disappointed, Camilla picked up a 2 pound weight and started working on her arms.

She was glad that there were different posters on the wall that told her different exercises. If there wasn’t, Camilla probably would have wasted more time there trying to figure out what to do than actually exercising. When she started to feel the burn in her arms and forearms, Camilla was happy. She was doing a good job. “I think I might have to delay going out and getting energy for a day though.. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be more than sore tomorrow.”

It was really her first time working out and the probability of being sore was higher than not.

After her arms, Camilla worked on her legs. Then it came to her abs and back. A few hours passed and Camilla was sweaty and sore. Despite that though, she was happy.

Camilla treaded back to her locker and spun in her combination. The first thing she did was to make sure her Henshin pen was still safe. “Phew… Maybe I was just worried about nothing.” There was the possibility that even if someone found it didn’t mean that they’d know how to use it. It scared her more though, if someone on the Order or Chaos side found it. Never know what they might do.

Ready to head home, she decided not to change into her clean clothes. It wasn’t like she was planning to stop anywhere besides back to her dorm, so she could shower and clean herself there. The showers at the gym didn’t seem very clean. “Next time, I’ll just bring some body spray.”