"Think fast."
Oh, sure. Easy for her to say.
Laurel stretched, just barely arching over the bar. Her hands gripped the next and she swung down underneath it.
Training was always the worst.
Picture this: standing in an empty gray room, with white and dark lines snaking up and over the walls. You can't tell how large it is- the tiles seem to extend forever. There's no one else but you.
Ok, your coach is there too, but you can't see her. Or him. Whatever. Then a voice comes out of nowhere, giving a command. And suddenly, the room comes to life.
Right now, they were working on Laurel's flexibility and core strength. The object of this exercise was to reach for the beams; to swing from them and get to the top of the room. Obviously, no flying was allowed. It hadn't sounded that hard at first. But Brook hadn't told her the beams would not already be there.
No, they all pushed out from the other wall. If you weren't watching, you'd get hit.
Did I mention that they're made of titanium?
These thoughts were all suddenly pushed out of Laurel's head as soon as the bar below her shuddered and began to retract. She pulled her hips up and over the beam to avoid the other bar catching her feet, before casting off to another. It was time to stop playing around.
Green eyes flared and she gazed upwards, plotting a course across the room. Now, to put it into the action.
Jump higher! Catch- no, let go. Gotta avoid getting hit. Ignore the bruise; it'll go away eventually. Brace yourself. Wait. Now, now, now!
Laurel was at the top. The world turned upside down, and Brook was there, standing with a clipboard in her hand. "Good job, kid. You're getting better." She said, not taking her eyes off of her papers.
"That's all you have to say?" Laurel jutted her hip out and rested her hands at her sides. "You could try giving me a full briefing of the exercise next time."
Brook blinked and looked up. "I did."
Oh.
So that's what that chattering in her ear had been before…