So Alice had never exactly been the "active" type.
That wasn't to say that Alice was exactly "lazy", she just wasn't really the type to go out to the gym. When she lived in Daven's Port, she had made it a habit to go for jogs around the neighborhood in the mornings in addition to being much more careful about what she ate. She had come a long way from the big-bellied blimp that she had felt like (and in all honesty, had been) in high school, but she couldn't help but feel a little antsy about her weight.
Moving with Zack had been wonderful, and even the less than stellar parts had been at least fun. But living in the Hammond for a few weeks while things settled out with their apartment hadn't exactly lent her any favors. She had felt herself slipping back into that Buttercombe mentality—lay back, enjoy yourself, who cares if that food's a little fatty?
Well she wasn't having it. That was the old Alice. The one that she had left back at Buttercombe.
Even still, she hadn't exactly done herself any favors. While Zack promised it wasn't noticeable, she'd put on about ten pounds since this whole moving business started. The luxurious food that the Hammond had to offer, combined with Zack's lucrative employee discount had made provided quite the temptation; to say nothing of the full spa on the pool floor...
Anyway, it was time to make a change. Start developing some healthy habits. Again. Re-developing healthy habits. Again.
What better place to (re-)develop those habits than the gym?
Fit Life was a nice enough place, after all. It was only one of, like, three gyms in town and the other two were on the east side, closer to downtown where Zack worked. Their website said that they tried to cater to a friendly atmosphere, and Alice figured that gymtimidation was the last thing someone trying to keep her figure needed. It was relatively close, close to campus, and seemed pretty approachable, so why not give it a shot?
Dressed in her tank top, one loose enough to more or less hide her prominent bust and long enough to dangle behind her heart-shaped hips, Alice put on her trainers and made the drive over. It was a smaller place than she expected, taking up two spots in what Alice assumed was a strip mall. It was nestled next to a nail salon and a frozen yogurt shop.
"Hey, welcome to Fit Life!" came the sweet slight drawl of the receptionist behind the counter, "Do you have your membership card with you?"
"I, uh..."
Alice shrunk into herself habitually, twiddling her fingers over her gym bag. She steeled herself. New Alice, remember?
"I don't, actually. My boyfriend and I just moved here, and..."
"Oh well that's no problem!"
The receptionist, her name tag said Marianne, held up her hands in a vague sense of welcoming excitement. She was a bit taller than Alice, and had her long dark hair up in a cute little 'do. Marianne had prominent features, maybe she was Italian? But judging by her perfect nails, her plush figure and wide hips, Alice didn't exactly see her as the "active" type. Not that she had much room to talk, mind you...
"We'll get you all set up with our free 30-day trial period. After that it's ten dollars a month for our basic package."
Ten dollars a month for a gym membership? That didn't sound too bad. Not that Alice was exactly the expert on how much she should be paying to come to a place and use their equipment. But ten dollars—that wasn't bad at all. She might even be able to convince Zack to let her use his debit card...
"That doesn't sound too bad." Alice smiled, feeling at ease, "Just ten dollars a month?"
"Just ten dollars a month." Marianne affirmed with a smile as she slid Alice some paperwork, "We try not to be too... I guess you'd call it clingy? Don't want to scare anyone off, y'know!"
Alice laughed, albeit somewhat weakly (as she was quite scare-offable!) and signed her life away. The contract wasn't anything too intense, and there was no commitment. If Alice canceled, she'd have to pay for the next month, but there were no other cancellation fees. A low pressure environment was just what someone like Alice needed, especially since these little trips to the gym would be coming between (what she expected to be) very stressful courses at ASU.
"Alright, well you're all set up!" Marianne said with a smile as she slid the paperwork back behind the counter, "The ladies' locker room is down that hall, to the left. The weight room is to the right of this room, and any of the machines are up for personal use."
"Thanks." Alice offered a smile as she grabbed her gym bag off the ground, "Is there anything else I should know?"
"Well..." Marianne bit her bottom lip as she rifled through stray flyers and sheets of paper on her end of the desk...
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