Steve Rogers is on your left. (notmyfuture) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-05-20 17:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, melanie stryder, steve rogers (captain america) |
Who: Steve and Melanie.
When: A weekday afternoon.
Where: Steve's work.
What: Melanie is curious about her career options.
Rating/Warnings: Low/None.
Status: Complete.
Melanie’s professor had suggested she visit the wellness center when she had admitted she was still unsure about what to do once she graduated in a few weeks. In truth she wouldn’t have thought of it, she’d visited some local gyms and the like but this place was a bit different.
Entering the building she looked around and wondered who on earth she should ask and whether they would be able to help her or not.
Steve was just finishing up with a client. He walked them out to the main door, then smiled at the young woman standing in the entrance.
“Hi!” he said, enthusiastically. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Oh hi” Melanie said smiling at the happy man, “I...well... I’m just finishing my degree and my professor suggested I visit this place to get an idea of possible jobs. I don’t really know exactly what I want to do yet” she admitted.
Well, Steve knew all about that. He wasn’t too long out of school himself, either, and he’d definitely started one path before deciding to go down another.
“Oh, well, that seems like a great idea,” he said. And he meant it, too. Steve was always sincere like that. “I have the rest of the day pretty much free if you wanted to come look around and stuff. I’m Steve, by the way.”
Melanie smiled, “I was really worried people were going to think I was weird” she told him, “Thank you, that’s really kind of you. I’m Melanie” she held out her hand, “So what is it you do here Steve?”
“Nah, you’d be surprised how many people do it,” he assured her as he shook her hand. “I’m an athletic therapist, but I did my original certification in just personal training. Which I still do, you know, if I need to. It’s good to be well-rounded, I’ve found.”
Melanie felt a lot better knowing she wasn’t the only one. “I’d like to be like that. Have different options if I need them I mean” she said, “I don’t think the medical side of it is for me but personal training could be interesting or maybe running some classes”
Steve nodded as he lead her by the main desk, down towards where everything actually happened. “Yeah, at places like this, wellness clinics, we have masseuses, chiropractors, trainers, nutritionists - it’s all about helping people feel good and live better lives, you know?” He gave her a smile. “But there are always openings for personal trainers at most facilities.”
Melanie nodded, “I like that” she said considering, “Maybe not full time but personal training somewhere like this and then running classes at gyms or something?” she was basically thinking out loud but smiled at Steve, it was thanks to his comments that she was forming more of an idea. “How did you decide working here was for you?” she asked curiously.
Steve shrugged, smiling in a modest sort of way. “I guess I just wanted to help people. I like training, but when I heard about athletic therapy, it seemed like a really great way to do something I already like doing, but with a bit more purpose? Not that there’s anything wrong with normal training,” he added, quickly.
Melanie laughed, “You’re nicer than me” she teased lightly, “I like working people hard, making them sweat and use muscles they never knew they had”
Steve laughed, too, shrugging. “Yeah, I’ve been told I’m too nice sometimes. Hey, have you ever thought about maybe doing a private practice or something? Once you get your career going, and stuff.”
“I’ve definitely never been accused of that” she grinned, “You mean like my own gym or something?” Melanie asked intrigued and a little intimidated by the idea.
“Yeah. Or partner up with a gym but market yourself separately. Like, you know, manage your own clients and have them pay you directly, not through another organisation. That’s what I just started doing, actually. Especially here in California, lots of people want to keep on top of being in shape.”
“Oh I see” Melanie nodded, “I quite like that. Freedom but security too” It was definitely something to consider once she had more experience under her belt. “Yeah I started a hiking group a while ago and its been busy everytime. And people seem to like doing classes or things that are a little more fun than just your regular gym sessions”
“Yeah, see?” he agreed, excitedly. “It’s a great field. There’s always so many options with what you can do.” Steve pushed open a door and showed her in. “This is our gym. It’s small, but we do more focused one-on-one stuff so it’s nice.”
“Oh, it’s a lot nicer than some I’ve seen” she said nodding as she looked around, “Some places have so many machines crammed in and televisions blaring that the whole atmosphere is terrible”
“Yeah. I always thought exercise should be a time for reflection or something. You know. Personal time? Crowded gyms and the TV thing weirds me out.” Steve blushed a bit and shrugged. “I try to pass that on to my clients. It’s good if they have that positive spin on it.”
“Oh I agree” Melanie rushed to say, noticing his blush, “It’s a nicer way of thinking about exercise”
“Yeah.” Steve’s watch went off and he blinked, looking at it. “Oh - Gee, sorry. I need to start getting ready for my next appointment. Here, let me show you out.”
“Oh no problem,” Melanie replied, “Thank you for showing me around, it was really nice of you”
“No worries!” He grinned and walked with her back to the door. “Oh, hey, you mentioned a hiking group, right? I’d really like to go along some time. Is there a good way to get a hold of you about it, or?”
“Oh sure” Melanie dug in her bag for her notebook and wrote down her contact details. “You can contact me using those email or cell phone is probably best, and I try to remember and post on the net when they are so keep an eye out there too. It’d be great to have you along”
“Great!” Steve looked enthused as he took the paper, carefully tucking it into his pocket for safekeeping. “In that case, I’m looking forward to seeing you again. And good luck with school and all. It sounds to me like you won’t have any problems figuring out what to do once you’re ready.”
“Thank you” she smiled brightly, “Enjoy the rest of your day. See you later” she waved as she pulled open the door. She felt better about her choices and she’d made a friend. It had definitely turned out to be a good day.