In this scene from A.T.X.D. Stealth Angel (Book 3), we see Laney for the first time in her athletic attire. It is here that I rely on her clothing preferences to help convey an aspect of her character (Inspiration through Fashion), and I wanted to see if the way I describe it is concisely showing and not telling how said choices (particularly her choice of trainers) exemplify parts of her character.
>>>>>>>A.T.X.D. TRAINING CENTER<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>9:05 AM<<<<<<<
With almost prompt haste, Laney quickly swapped out her one-day-old tactical uniform for her athletic attire, which included her gray Marines athletic shirt, black Nike shorts, tall white socks, and a pair of white, chunky-soled New Balance trainers. Rather than choose sleek running shoes, Laney had an admiration for old-school tennis shoes with the retro thick soles because she felt they gave her more height, greater comfort, and like her short tomboy hair, they served as another visual deterrent to bullying by making her look dashingly tough. However, she hated platform shoes that she felt were more about form than function and were thus useless for her athletic needs and casual interests. In another five minutes, Laney returned to the gym to meet Ashley, who appeared ready to give the ex-Marine the A.T.X.D.-variation of gym class as she stood firmly on the mat in her own jersey, shorts, and stealthy-aggressive black and white Nike Tanjun trainers with her hands on her hips and a steady expression on her face.
“First things first,” Ashley replied, “If you’re going to get in, we need to do a bunch of warm ups. This is going to be very similar to a regular S.W.A.T. Team, so if you got by on doing the minimum to get into the Marines, that won’t cut it. Perform higher than the quota if you really want to impress me. You got that, Davidson?”
“Understood, ma’am,” Laney replied.
Ashley first took her to a bar and requested, “Give me twenty pull-ups, Laney. Twenty. Go!”
Without gritting her teeth, Laney quickly hauled herself up and down the exact number requested before Ashley took her to the mat and ordered, “Alright Marine, hit the floor. I want sixty sit-ups. Go!”
Laney quickly got down on the floor and, to secure her position for the exercise, Ashley gently stood on her recruit’s toes before giving her the okay to go.
“Excellent,” Ashley replied as soon as Laney completed 63 at a reasonable pace. “Next, 50 push-ups. Go!”
With her trainers freed, Laney rolled over rapidly. Having received the green light, the ex-Marine dug her toes into the mat and started putting her biceps to work, pushing up and adding a clap of the hands at the height of every fifth push-up while Ashley counted out each. As soon as she completed 52 within a reasonable time, Ashley let Laney take a brief break before they resumed with the next stage of the exercise.
“Now Davidson,” Ashley challenged, “let’s see if you can carry up to 60 pounds on that sturdy Marine body of yours.”
At this, Ashley retrieved from a side shelf what looked like a dense, bullet-proof vest that stretched almost the length of Laney’s thighs. The vest’s weight felt a little excruciating on Laney’s shoulders at first, but after grimacing briefly and readjusting her shoulders, she got herself into a more able position to hold the weight. Ashley then guided her over to a treadmill and instructed Laney to run on it for up to three and a half minutes. And it was only once she had reached an ideal speed that Ashley started the stopwatch and watched as Laney’s feet pounded the belt and her arms came up to her ribs before rotating back and forth.