A/N: Short chapter, sorry.

I picked Mary Lou up at 10, and we drove over to Eden. It was the opposite of the Rangeman gym, which despite Ella's best efforts, always smelled like stale sweat.

May was assigned to show us around. She was positive and perky, with that glow that comes from youth and endorphins. There was a Pilates studio, a pool, a sauna and free cucumber water. Staff offered wet facecloths to those running on the treadmills. The colour scheme was muted, the changerooms had hairdryers and there were women of all ages and sizes. It was workout heaven, though I hoped in actual heaven, I wouldn't need to work out at all and could just eat what I wanted.

I was fine with skipping the weight machines - they were too intimidating, with too many moving parts. Mary Lou agreed, "We don't need to see these. I want to get slim, not bulky."

May had clearly heard this before and had just the angle, "It's your choice of course ladies – but Adele slimmed down lifting weights."

That was enough to catch Mary Lou's attention. "Seriously? She did that with weights?!" Adele was on high rotation in the Stankovic house.

"I'm serious. The more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate." We must have looked lost because she added, "the more calories you burn just living. It's easier to slim down and tone up with lifting and cardio, than by running alone. It's also good for your bone density, and great for confidence. It's not just for men anymore."

I'd been lied to my whole life. I didn't have to just do cardio? Why had no one told me? Unlike the school track, the weight room was climate controlled. And this particular weight room didn't have 45lb weights I couldn't hope to shift abandoned on the barbells, or men who strutted around grunting. In this weight room, I wouldn't feel embarrassed or totally out of my depth.

She took us through some of the machines and the free weights and left us to our workouts. I pulled out my phone, opened my new app and found a gym based workout that was a mix of cardio and weights. I was exhausted at the end, but feeling pretty pleased with myself. I could do this. We were handed membership brochures on our way out. To celebrate their grand opening, they would waive the joining fee, which still made it…. far too expensive for my budget.

I sighed. It looked like it was back to running the school track. At least I could afford a new pair of trainers. As we exited the building, I nearly bumped into Bobby and Lester, who were leaving the Starbucks next door.

"Hey guys."

"Hey, Beautiful. And the gorgeous Mary Lou!" Not as experienced with Lester's charm as I was, Mary Lou blushed. "What are you lovely ladies doing here?"

"We thought we'd check out Eden. Someone recently pointed out that I might not be as 'match fit' as I could be."

Bobby looked pleased. "Really, Steph? You're joining a gym?"

"Sadly, not this one. I'd have to sell a kidney to afford it and I don't think having one kidney would help with the 'getting in shape' thing."

As I moved to my car door, Lester called out, "So, work tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, Yeah. I'll see you at 9. Snitch."

"Words wound, Beautiful. How did you know it was me?"

I smiled. "I didn't until now. Remember Lester, payback's a bitch."

I dropped Mary Lou home and headed to Quakerbridge Mall. I might not be able to afford Eden, but I could afford new running shoes, a sports bra and some new active wear. If I was running the high school track, I was going to look fierce while doing it.