NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74: Working out…
After putting on the black crop top Melody tossed me, and before I had a chance to look at myself in a mirror, Melody grabbed my arm and dragged me out of her room along with the orange duffel bag hanging over her left shoulder, stuffed with more clothes—probably to dress me in—and her camera. Shortly after, with my exposed belly shivering in the cool air, we were outside and Melody was staring at her phone to figure out the way to the academy’s rec center, which is what it's actually called apparently.
I guess it’s more all-encompassing than a boring old gym since it has actual courts for games and, according to the pictures online, a rock wall, which is pretty cool. I climbed a rock wall… maybe… once ten years ago? I distinctly remember it being fun though. Then again, basically everything is fun to an eight-year-old.
The rec center formed a rough triangle with the collection of dorm builds and the food court so it didn’t take too long to arrive. The outside of the giant structure of course mirrored the theme of the rest of the campus, wooden everything, but there were way more windows than most buildings. The entire right two-thirds of the building was basically just windows with a bunch of gym equipment facing outside and a few people exercising. However, the left third was basically just wood for whatever reason.
Entering the compound at the intersection between the glass and not-glass walls, we were greeted by a spacious lobby with some colorful seating scattered about, a small juice bar on the left and a circular reception desk in the center. It was also pretty busy, there were a few people sitting around, a couple ordering drinks, and some walking around. The right side had a couple large screens displaying some dates of events or whatever and beside that, a gate that opened into the long but relatively narrow row of gym equipment that we saw from outside.
There was a variety of big black metal contraptions that could probably be used as some sort of bondage or torture device, but the only one I can really name is a treadmill since… well… I haven’t really been into a gym for like, ever? Also I really want to be tied up and turned into a pony girl, wearing a harness, gag, and a nice armbinder as I’m forced to walk in high heels for an hour straight—wait, what?
That right side also had some doors along the back wall that probably led to more equipment rooms or locker rooms or I don’t know, something. The left side led directly to court areas for various sports and the sign beside the waist high gate to enter also listed a swimming pool, although I couldn’t see anything resembling that—the courts had glass walls so some were visible.
Ignoring the reception desk, Melody took me straight to the right, where we went toward one of the gates in the divider thing, similar to the one in the food court, and we scanned our cards on some black pillars, which opened up the gates to let us through. Makes sense. Student ID. Academy facility. Yeah. I guess it also logs the time we spend here.
Now that we were actually here though, standing on the gym area’s black mat things, Melody stood still for a while, until she finally asked. “Do you ever workout?”
“Uh… no…” I replied honestly. I should probably start working out though. Might make me look hotter to Melody… maybe. Or… maybe she likes me weak? Easy to abuse? Maybe… I should ask her? Yeah no. Nope. Definitely not.
“Okay,” Melody said, walking toward the windows and some unoccupied treadmills. “We need to warm up and stretch a little before using any of the other equipment, so…”
Melody went over to a treadmill, setting her bag down in front of it where it faced the windows, then took a look at the screen in the center, without actually getting on the treadmill, to figure out how to use it. After clicking some buttons, it started up at a slow pace. Then she turned it off and repeated everything, but actually walked on the treadmill. Once she was settled, she pointed to the left at the neighboring treadmill. “Hop on that one, the UI is self-explanatory. We can just jog for a few minutes to warm up.”
Following her instruction, I climbed up. The treadmill looked and felt just like you’d expect. A black belt for your feet and two black metal poles coming up from the front holding a bar with a screen at the center. After tapping the screen it lit up and had a few buttons, a couple were for the speed and incline, there was a display of distance ran, and a wireless syncing option for a heart rate monitor I guess? There was one strange option though, at least I feel like it’s strange for a public gym space. A media button. But I ignored that for now, instead adjusting the speed to… “What speed?”
“Whatever’s comfortable,” Melody replied as she adjusted settings on her own treadmill. “You could start at three miles per hour, around walking speed.”
I did just that, and the treadmill slowly sped up until it hit the target, which was a slightly slow walking speed. After a minute of walking, Melody spoke. “Can you hear this?”
“Hear what?” So no. I can’t hear whatever she’s asking about. Which reminds me… the media on the treadmill?
“Music,” Melody replied, returning her vision to her control panel. “They have directional speakers, whatever those are called.”
“Huh.” I guessed correctly. I’m so smart.
I tapped the media button on my screen and it loaded up another array of buttons. There was a built-in media section, and then a few different streaming sites. I clicked the built-in media since dealing with logins for streaming is too much work right now and I definitely can’t remember any of my passwords. Not because I’m dumb, because they’re secure. I use a password manager! It’s all special characters and not the same phrase for everything, I swear.
Scrolling through the song library, it was a bunch of slightly outdated pop music and some classical pieces, which is to be expected if there aren’t ads or anything. Regardless, I tapped the play button on a nostalgic pop song from my childhood and glanced over at Melody, who didn’t react at all. I guess she really can’t hear it. That’s so weird. “Can you hear my music?”
“Nope.” How the hell do these speakers work? And it sounds like it’s coming from all around me. Maybe it’s above me? Would I be able to hear that well though? Having it not really go into my ears? I don’t know. Maybe something to research later. Right now, I should pay some more attention to Melody and maybe up this treadmill speed a little.
Nothing much happened for the next fifteen minutes. Just Melody and I jogging, until I turned down the speed to a walking pace because I’m a frail old lady. We chatted about having shower thoughts about how people come up with shower thoughts then got off the treadmills and Melody dragged an already sweaty me over to one of the rooms along the back wall which was thankfully not covered in windows, although there were still a bunch of people.
The room we entered had a bunch of not very surprising wooden walls, with wooden beams on the ceiling backdropped by black, forming a grid of sorts with lights in every cell. It was also filled with equipment, as expected, and I, as expected, couldn’t name a single thing. The far right corner of the room, which had some equipment that looked like a weird chair tilted back forty-five degrees so your legs would be pointed up towards a big black metal plate that presumably has weights, was empty so Melody decided that was where we would go. Once we arrived, she set down her bag, but decided to unzip it and take out her handheld camera. “Time for some real working out.”
“Uh…” I stood still, glancing around at the… eleven other people currently in the room. Should we really be taking photos so obviously? With other people in the same area, I mean, the closest person is like ten feet away. “Won’t they notice?”
“Nope,” Melody shook her head, bringing the camera up to her face and snapping a picture of me, and I suddenly blushed, feeling way more self-conscious than I should because I’m covered in sweat in a crop-top in a public place wearing a short skirt and now Melody’s staring at me. Ignoring my sudden shift, or maybe just not noticing, Melody continued, “People don’t really pay attention to other things in gyms. I hope.”
“You hope?” Wow. That’s confidence inspiring. Not that it really matters I guess. The whole X tier thing. And her family name. Although maybe this could be used to blackmail her? Probably not. Just having some info isn’t really enough since she could just like… kick you out of the country or something. And who would believe you? An heir of the prestigious Celestria family taking pictures of some gravure model. Impossible. Secret lives are so hot…
Taking a step back and tapping her hand against the seat part of one of the machines, Melody replied. “Yep. Now, this leg press machine is perfect for skirts. Hop on and I’ll teach you how to use it.”
Oh fuck. I have a skirt! A leg press, so like, bending your legs, that’s just going to push my skirt back, and then gravity won't be there to shove it back down, and then Melody’s totally gonna force me to not fix it—ah, screw it. Hopefully Melody wasn’t wrong about people not caring. Taking a deep breath, I walked over, and took a closer look at the device.
There wasn’t much to add to my earlier description. The main plate for feet to be placed against had some attachment mechanisms for weights, a few of which were on some holders on the lower parts of the machine where they wouldn’t affect anything. There were also a couple handle bars to grab on to with your hands for some reason. So you don’t push yourself? Is that even possible? I don’t know. Not having something to put your hands on would feel weird though. Maybe they should be tucked away. Behind your back. Cuffed and chained in place. Although then you can’t work out alone.
Eventually, I decided to actually get on, and took another deep breath, then… how the hell do I get on this thing? The seat is pretty low and… well… not flat. I guess I just… step over it. After placing a leg on either side of the cushioned seat, I squatted down and landed my butt onto it, then brought my legs in front of me, bending my legs a little and placing my feet against the contraption.
Seeing me in my proper place below her, Melody walked behind the metal plate and snapped a photo, then chuckled, whispering, “I can see your panties.”
“Shut up,” I aggressively whispered back, extending my legs to at least partially block Melody’s view of me. Ah—wait. That was stupid. I can’t say things like that… I need to remember to call her Mistress. Shut up, Mistress. Yeah. Much better.
