New Hobby?

Rock5 Gym.

Kyle's eyes brightened. He had never done such a thing before and it looked quite interesting. Furthermore, he reasoned that it would be good practice as well since he hadn't been going out for any missions lately. Training and exercises were as normal, but it couldn't beat the thrill of scaling walls. The adrenaline rush was amazing.

As he walked through the door, however, he suddenly realised his dressing. His jeans, though comfortable, would not be suitable. He smacked his forehead and asked the girl at the counter, "Do you have any loose-fitting clothes for sale? Or maybe rent?"

The girl - who looked to be about 14 or so - didn't say a word as she stared at him but she did manage to shake her head.

"Darn it," Kyle cursed under his breath, "Okay, nevermind. Just give me a locker first, please."

The girl nodded, turned and gave him a key, citing the price as well. Kyle paid and took the key, then headed to his locker. The girl watched him go away and the moment he was out of hearing range, she squealed and crouched on the floor, beating her chest.

That guy was just so dang handsome! And when he looked at you with those striking blue eyes, all manner of voice just left her. She barely managed to tell the price. And he was coming back! Oh! Oh! Just thinking about it made her squeal again and she started stomping the ground with her feet - softly, of course.

Her co-worker passed by then and stared at the girl crouching under the counter while patting her chest and just running on the spot while sitting down. His eyes widened. Just what the heck was going on?? He opened his mouth to ask, then shook his head and decided it was best to just ... walk away...

Kyle placed the shopping bags into the locker and after a thought, his outer denim shirt. He walked out to head to the nearest shop to buy proper pants, clad in his form-fitting white T-shirt that showed off his muscles and slim jeans that accentuated his long legs.

The counter girl that had finally got herself under control got up, just in time to see this vision pass by her and she fell back down onto the floor. She was SO glad that her parents made her do this job part-time. They told her that she needed to be more involved in family affairs and not be so spoilt.

She had been grumbling and unhappy, as she had to spend her weekends at this boring place. Now, though, she thanked them profusely and thought of ways to get that guy to come regularly. She stood back up, startling a new customer that just walked in and proceeded to work more seriously.

The unaware Kyle was happy to find that the shop next door was LumberSea*. Quickly choosing one navy blue cargo shorts, he paid for it and changed into it immediately. Kyle eagerly entered Rock5 Gym again, dumping his jeans into the locker.

This time, he went to the equipment rental counter and saw that the girl from the reception counter was there this time. She was giving him a huge smile.

"Is this your first time here?" she asked politely, a huge change from the earlier frozen state.

"Yes," Kyle replied, giving her a smile. If Beatrice was around, she would have discovered yet another type of smile and would have probably named it the Sweet Smile. It was slightly below the Colgate Smile, meant to lull the person in front to think he was a nice, sweet person.

Well, he was a sweet guy at the moment since he wasn't trying to get anything. Kyle felt that the girl in front of him was probably affected by him, so he didn't want to appear too aloof by not smiling yet not give too much a dazzling smile that it makes her freeze again.

Kyle laughed at himself when he thought of that. He's truly becoming such a narcissist. There was a fine line between knowing how good looking you are and using it, and one who is so engrossed in their own looks that they're enthralled by themselves. Well, he had to admit seeing his face everyday made the girl in him squeel but he didn't get lost in admiring himself all the time. It did, however, mean he knew how to use it against girls.

"What sort of equipment would I need?" Kyle asked, taking his thoughts back to the present.

The girl took a laminated pamphlet and showed him several items. She explained to him the need for each type of equipment, which could be rented. There was the harness, shoes, belay set, chalk bag, and lead rope. The helmet was free and optional but highly recommended for beginners.

"Of course, you can bring and use your own equipment as well," she said as she finished.

Kyle was wondering about the equipment. He wasn't a beginner at scaling walls, but he definitely had no experience or knowledge about indoor rock climbing. He supposed the basics were the same and he used less obvious footholds when doing missions. His shoes were also of a special kind that allowed him to feel the holds yet protect the feet.

"Can I do it barefoot?" he asked instead.

The girl blinked. Barefoot?

"I'm sorry, no," she said, "Our gym does not allow it for hygiene and safety reasons. Also, for the first time, it's advisable to get used to doing it with your shoes rather than barefoot. The shoes provide better traction."

Kyle nodded and rented all that he felt he needed. No helmet, of course.

"Which route would you like? As a beginner, I recommend the Novice ABC Wall. It's a 9.5m top-rope wall fitted with ground-anchored belay system."

Kyle shook his head, "Do you have pictures of your walls?"

"Yes," she replied and gave him an album. Going through it, Kyle's eyes brightened and he pointed at one, "I want this one."

The girl looked at it. It was the Lead Wall, one of their bigger wall and meant for more experienced climbers. It was 15m and spans the left side of the main hall and it had everything from slab to steep roof sections and even overhangs of up to 7m. Wasn't he a beginner? Why didn't he choose the easy Novice ABC Wall that was completely vertical and even had ropes to help?

Whatever. The customer is always right, right?

"Would you like to be a member? There are discounts each time you use this gym," she said.

Kyle thought about it and said, "I'll like to try it out first. If I like it, then we'll talk about it."

"Our Gym is the biggest indoor rock climbing facility that you can find. I hope it meets to your expectations," she said with a smile.

Right after he left, she quickly told someone to take her place and she rushed over. This was something she had to see for herself. He didn't even know what were the basic equipment needed and he wanted to go on the expert course?

Kyle headed to the area that he was directed to. Upon reaching the Lead Wall, Kyle couldn't help but let out a low whistle. It certainly was impressive. Standing at 15m tall, it spanned the left side of the wall. There were many overhangs and places to put his feet. No ropes were around, indicating that they had to scale this wall using their skills on the footholds.

Kyle was getting excited. It looked great. Why didn't he ever think of doing this before?

A rather gruff man came over and sized up this kid that looked like he won the lottery. The kid looked so excited as his eyes darted to the Lead Wall in front of him. He even felt that the kid would most likely run ahead if he could. He studied the kid, noting the lean muscular frame and the arm muscles. He stroked his beard, wondering who this kid was. He had never seen him before and he had always been keeping an eye out for any talents. Did he just move here?

Just then, a girl came by next to him.

"Cathy," he said warmly, "What are you doing here? Didn't Mom tell you to man the counters?"

"Yes, Dad," she said excitedly, "But do you see that guy over there?"

"You mean that kid who looks like he entered a candy store?"

Cathy nodded and said, "Get this. He is a complete newbie ..."

"WHAT! Then why did you give him the Lead Wall?"

"Calm down, Dad. Sheesh," Cathy complained, "Let me finish. He chose it himself."

"He did? Then why did you say he's a newbie?"

"Because he had absolutely NO idea about the basic equipment. He even wanted to know if he could do it barefoot!"

Cathy looked at her dad and could see the serious contemplation in his eyes, "Do you mean to tell me that he normally does outdoor rock climbing without equipment? Bouldering?"

"I don't know! I just suspect it. That's why I'm here. I want to see if he's as skilled as he appears to be," Cathy said in excitement.

They watched as one of the staff hooked up the harness on Kyle. They could see from his expression how he didn't like the harness on, but it was a safety precaution. All climbers needed to wear it. If they should miss and fall, they'd just swing away from the wall rather than down. Then the staff would either bring him up or down, depending on how high one had climbed the wall.

Kyle stood there patiently as the harness was put on and he wore the gloves that he got earlier. The chalk bag was hooked behind him and he eagerly went to the wall once the harness was secured. He had already observed all the footholds and had the route in his mind already.

Before that, as impatient as he was, he needed to do some warm-ups.