A study in human behavior. (A bunch of people)

[Annabella Rae]

Bell normally wasn't here, normally she didn't really need to work out, but then this morning she stepped on the scale and saw that her last month of doing nothing but eating, studying, eating, sleeping, eating, reading, eating and writing had ended with her gaining a little weight. She didn’t want to have to go up a size in her wardrobe and have to buy a new closet, so she decided she might as well up her activity level and stop constant snacking. So far she was almost back to her original size. Only a few more pounds and she could stop this annoying “working out thing.”

So here she was on one of her least hated machines. It was the bike one, the one with the peddles and you’d sit there and peddle and try your best not to feel like a hamster on a wheel. But that was hard to do, if she had a real bike she would use that. She hated just sitting there for hours and hours spinning constantly.

The worst thing was starting, she was beginning to sweat, she hated sweating. She also hated the looks she got in her shorts and tank tops. She tried not to think about it, instead she consider what color to die the streak in her hair next. She had purple right now, but what should she do now?

[Cole Kessler]

Beads of sweat slid frictionlessly down his face. A hard and heavy workout was exactly what Cole wanted and it's what he wanted. Lifting was one of Cole's favorite activities. His fitness was a priority to him, especially considering his smoking and playing video games.

He laid back on the bench and lifted the 275lbs barbell off the rack. As he brought it down to his chest, his arms bulged, a low grunt escaped his breath as he pushed it back up. The grunts grew louder as he lifted more and more. The reps finally starting to hurt, he racked the weight and sat up.

He nursed his right shoulder as he stood from the bench. It pulsed with the beat of his heart, but something felt wrong in it. Maybe it was just in his mind, though. He rotated his arm in a big circle multiple times before the pain actually went away. After he rid his body of the feeling, he grabbed his towel and through it around his neck.

His shirtless torso gleamed in the light as he took up his water bottle, trying to cool himself down and lower his heart rate before leaving. He noticed a young woman get on thee excercise bike and start he workout. He walked over and stepped on the treadmill. He set it at his usual pace. He removed his earphones and looked over at her as he started jogging. Her frame was small and delicate, her green eyes seemed to shine in the lighting, the purple streak through her red hair complimenting them even more. Finally, not wanting to creep her out, he spoke, "If you want a workout on that thing, I'd recommend setting the tension to at least a seven." He laughed as he continued jogging, eventually quickening to a bare run and finally bordering a sprint.

[Elva Ire]

Elva walked in with a sports bra and shorts that went to her knees. She wasn’t very athletic, but she loved working out. She walked in with her ever present black towel hung on her shoulder with her Nano blaring some music in her ear. She put the towel on one of the racks and went over to the treadmill. She noticed two other people, but really didn’t pay attention to them.

She started out on a low speed to warm up, her feet pounding in rhythm with the music that played in her head. She had her red hair in a high pony tail and she could feel it bounce every time her foot hit the machine. She kept her green eyes ahead, looking at the white wall that was devoid of any decoration.

Her heart pounded in her ears along with the music and she increased the speed wanting to sweat. She didn’t particularly like sweating, but she knew that it would mean a nice warm shower in her room after it was done. She checked her watch, it had only been five minutes and she was sweating like a dog, she needed to get more exercise cause that was ridiculous.

[Sam Mercer]

Sam walked in to the gym his slender fit body clothed in a black tank top and a baggy pair of jeans. He wore a simple pair of black skate shoes and his hands were tapped up like a boxer before a fight.

His ears were consistently pounded by the music that came through the ear pieces in his head. The rhythmic pounding of the bass flowing through him his heart almost falling in beat. He plucked the two pieces of plastic out of his ears as he spotted the others.

He lightly laughed at them thinking of how much they looked like rats in a wheel. He walked over the the pull-up bar but did something strange. He swung up locking his legs over the bar. Sam hung completely upside down and started doing crunches.

Sam spoke as he softly grunted with each crunch.

"So how is every one doing today?"

[Annabella Rae]

Bell looked between the two guys, then to the girl who seemed to be the only one who was kind enough not to say anything. She was starting to like this girl. "I'm good with the tension like this, I want a light work out thanks." She said, peddling. She was in rather good shape usually. As long as she didn’t go on one of her writing binges in which case she tended to gain a few pounds. But she would later work to get her weight back down. Then there was a play or musical season, in which case she became so obsessive she looses a tun of weight. She just simply forgets to eat, until her stomach was about to turn its self inside out and began to eat itself.

Bell looks over at the guy doing sit ups while hanging upside down. Was he trying to show off? Or was he just doing what he always did in the gym? It was slightly impressive, even she had to admit that. She hated having to admit that, especially if he was just showing off. She didn’t like show offs. “I’m good thanks, and you?” She said in a uncaring tone.

[Elva Ire]

Elva looked behind her to see Cole, another red headed girl and Sam. Sam was hanging upside down and she had seen his lips moving, but heard nothing. She glared at him and went back to facing the wall. It seemed to her that the only way to get him to give up was to ignore him and that’s exactly what she planned to do even if it took forever.

She stopped the treadmill and got off, grabbing her towel and rubbing her forehead. She took her earphones out and the silence was huge. It was louder than her music and made her own ears sing.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole had seen Sam and Elva walk in, but continued his running. His legs burning more and more with each step. Finally, he breached into a dead sprint. He hair bouncing up and down at his back. His breathing in and out rhythm with each step. At last he reached his goal. As the timer hit ten minutes even, the treadmill belt slowly decreased its speed until it came to a stop.

He grabbed his half-full water bottle and knocked the rest of it back with three large gulps. A violent and satisfied sigh escaped his breath as he finished the weather. He gingerly walked to the bar Sam hung from and took hold of it with his hands. He bent his legs at the knee and momentarily hung motionless before raising his legs to make it look like he was sitting down. He began to pull his body up until his chin touched the bar and lowered himself back down. He held himself just above his rest position, shimmying his body to readjust his hands every now and again.

After about thirty reps, he dropped from the bar. Finally, he realized that Sam had addressed the lot of them and Elva had removed her earpieces. He finally did the same and turned around. He rolled his neck to pop the compressed areas out of discomfort. Before speaking he dropped back to his knees and bowed his head, saying a short prayer for the recovery of his muscles that were torqued and pulsing at this moment.

When he stood back up, he looked around again. All of them were still in the room, "Now, that," Cole said with a chuckle, "Is what I'd call a workout. Not to mention it was just what I needed."