The afternoon sun bathed the school courtyard in a warm glow as I made my way to the gym. The place was much quieter than I expected, the football tryouts were supposed to begin today but the deserted surroundings suggested a delay or some unexpected turn of events.
I scanned the hall looking for Andrea, she was sitting across from where I stood, engrossed in a book, her gaze fixed on the pages.
We had met very briefly on Tuesday, both expressing our mutual dislike for the arrangement made by the principal.
"I can only commit to two sessions, boss. I have other significant obligations," she emphasized.
"Alright, let's schedule the second session for the same time tomorrow, then?" I replied attempting a joke.
"The second?" She seemed a bit puzzled initially but eventually caught on, offering a wry smile. "Well, it's your loss. 3 pm, don't be late," she said as she walked away.
Well, It isn't 3 pm yet, I thought, returning to the present, and I do have some calculus to catch up on. I looked around for a comfortable spot to sit, I would head on over when it was time, I concluded.
I must have been studying for about 30 minutes when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Are you here for the tryouts?" he asked.
"No" I responded, returning to my work.
My phone began to vibrate. It must be time already I thought. I looked over, Andrea was still perfectly fixed in her spot.
"Robo-Cop." I muttered as I got up to pack up my bag, chuckling at my joke.
I started to walk over, maybe a bit too quickly. I turned around to examine the gym. I had only now noticed that there was a group of 3 students gathered by one of the corners setting up what appeared to be a trampoline from where I was now standing.
I turned to face where I was heading, there was someone right in front of me all of a sudden. I couldn't stop in time, we collided. It felt like I had run into a rigid structure, like a wall. I fell backwards, my arms were extended straight ahead of me, desperately trying to grasp onto something. Trying and failing.
It was all so loud, certainly the empty gym didn't help hide the kafuffle. I took a moment to gather myself on the gym floor, eyes still instinctively shut, reeling from the pain. I felt sore all over.
I felt a vice-like grasp around my left wrist. It was such a strong grip I felt as though my hand was being crushed, there was a sudden pull to follow, with my legs positioned just well enough to allow me to fly to my feet. I felt a sudden twinge in my left shoulder.
"Arggh" I shouted, my voice just louder than I would normally talk, I was well aware of my surroundings.
"Upsie daisy." I heard a soft voice announce. I opened my eyes immediately.
"You're alright" she declared. Striking my left shoulder with two powerful pats. "Good as new."
"Mm Hmm" I responded trying my best to hide my pain as I pulled the shoulder away.
The culprit was tall and muscular, standing at a height that required me to readjust my head ever so slightly to find her face. She had long, toned arms with visible muscles rippling beneath her skin. Her wild, curly hair was tied back in a ponytail, exposing her strong jawline and high cheekbones.
"Sorry about that…" she said looking intently at my left shoulder. "Uhmm, We need some help hanging the heavy bag." she continued, pointing at the group setting up what I could now identify as a boxing ring.
The pain in my shoulder was beginning to subside. "Is that a boxing ring?" I questioned, still massaging my shoulder.
She nodded yes, skipping over towards the group, and waving me on. "Come on."
I started to walk towards the group. "She looks familiar," I thought. But what was that? "Like a wall or something," I remarked looking back to examine where I had fallen. I quickly stopped and returned my gaze, trying to avoid another unfortunate collision.
"Don't worry, we're all good" she shouted from where she was now standing. Her two thumbs were in the air. "Thanks."
I returned the gesture, lifting my right thumb as high as I could.
I turned to search for Andrea, whom I remembered I was here to meet. She wasn't difficult to find, she was now walking towards me.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"I guess so," I responded.
She placed her hand on my shoulder pressing lightly. I winced. "I keep running into all sorts of trouble," I stated, annoyed at myself. I had definitely hurt my shoulder.
"You should see the Nurse," she said. "Here let me" she motioned for my backpack.
"Thank you." I managed to say.
We had barely taken a dozen steps when we heard three thunderous shots. The sound tore through the room like the sound from an old revolver shot in rapid succession. There was one more, this one not as loud, followed by a grunt.
"Good job, Mikaela!"
"Come on!"
The girls in the distance cheered on as the culprit from before struck the punching bag.
I looked back at Andrea in surprise hoping to see her mirror my expression.
She shook her head. "Mikaela, Kelly and Brooke, Good Boxers," she said, identifying the culprit and her company. "That's how I know that shoulder is going to at least need an ice pack. Come on, let's go."
It was now Friday; the bell had just gone.
"Ok, class, we'll begin with the book 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie" Ms. Amanda announced.
The literature class had just concluded, and my next block was a free period. I pondered the idea of spending it in the gym and utilizing the gym time for the free period. I should begin to at least try to get back in shape, I thought to myself.
"Any relation to the author?" a student yelled from the back.
"None at all, George. Although I do contemplate the idea of being a West African author. It keeps me up at night if I'm being honest." She joked.
The class let out a hearty laugh.
I smiled, reaching for my bag.
"Eddie," I heard a familiar voice call out. When I turned around, it was Mikaela. She was donned in a green oversized T-shirt that accentuated her eyes, paired with black combat trousers. Her boxing gloves were hung from her bag, swaying by her side. "How's your shoulder?" she inquired.
"Much better now, thank you," I replied. Wondering how she knew my name.
"How do you know…" I attempted to question.
"…So, I need a favor." she interrupted. "Go on then" she continued realizing she had cut me off.
"After you." I insisted.
"Are you free now?" she asked, tilting her head to examine my phone. The wallpaper was my schedule which I was still trying to memorize.
I noticed she spoke freely as if we had been acquainted for longer than we had actually been. I wondered why she wasn't dressed in uniform. "Do you need something?" I asked.
"Yeah-yeah. A sparring partner!" she confirmed.
"A sparring partner?" I responded a bit surprised, not at the fact that she had made the request, it wasn't a particularly strange request to make in boxing, I had seen male and female boxers spar several times, at least at the amateur level. What was surprising was the fact that she seemed to know a lot about me, or at least just enough to know about my boxing history.
"Do we know each other?" I pressed.
"You don't remember me?" she remarked.
I saw right through the pretense. "I don't know you to begin with" I confirmed, I was certain now. I switched my focus to my bag.
"I know you though. Tell you what? I'll trade you that information for one session. Four rounds, nothing too serious."
I looked up, staring straight at her. "Thanks for the offer, maybe next time," I replied standing to walk away. I had just gotten outside of the class when I noticed my pocket felt a bit light.
My phone! I had left it on the desk. I hurriedly retraced my steps to the class.
Mikaela was sitting by the door, "Don't you need to be part of a club or something anyway? Newbie." she remarked, standing up to hand me my phone.
"Thank you" I said letting out a sigh. She didn't let go of the phone, we were now both holding onto the phone. I looked up at her, she was looking right back at me with a serious gaze, a very stern disciplined look, face emotionless. She let the phone go suddenly. I staggered backwards struggling to gather my steps.
"I'll be in the gym." She announced, zipping up her bag and walking away.
She had me. Up until this point I had been bottling emotions, acting with caution, and taking everyone's nonsense. No more! she had done just enough.
Anger, I felt it, overwhelmingly. "She hadn't done too much," I tried to rationalize "Lets just let this one go, Eddie," I told myself.
I loosened my clenched fist. The tight clench had allowed me to forget the phone i was holding onto. It dropped to the ground.
I picked it up quickly, checking for any damage. I noticed there was a packet on the floor next to where her bag had been. It had written on it "CPHS Boxing". I felt something on the back, it was a sticky note. "Get changed, good luck!"
Oh, she was getting a sparring session. She was getting a sparring session right now!
I made my way to the boy's locker room quickly changing out of my uniform. The sound of punches rung out, leather striking leather, it resembled gunshots. It grew louder as I approached the gym. Unwrapping the gum shield, I thought to myself, "Gonna have to do much more to scare me."
"You made it" she said seemingly surprised, sweat dripping down her face, her braids now packed neatly in a bun.
I was surprised, there were about sixteen individuals in the room altogether. Had she called in these people as well? Hoping to embarrass me maybe. What was her problem with me anyway? I asked myself all at once.
I was interrupted mid-thought by a crashing sound. She had thrown a pair of gloves directly at my face, but they hadn't made it the entire way, stopping just by my feet.
I looked up at her, she was smiling through her gum shield, waving me into the ring with her left hand.
I put on the gloves, fourteen ounces each. It had been a while since I boxed, I admitted realizing how much time it took me to put the gloves on unassisted.
I hope this isn't a trap, it was certainly a bad idea.
I touched my forehead a couple of times checking for any discomfort in my hands. It's only sparring Eddie, use your feet and you'll be in the library in twenty minutes.
I stepped into the ring, immediately starting a sideways jog, familiarizing myself with its entirety, all the corners.
I came to a stop at the corner closest to the door, closing my eyes for a brief second, and settling my thoughts.
Someone else stepped into the ring and was now walking towards me. I opened my eyes, it was one of the other girls from Wednesday, Kelly or Brooke, I couldn't tell which her name was. As she got closer, I could smell a hint of sweat mixed with her perfume, a sweet and floral scent that reminded me of the spring. Without uttering a word, she began to apply Vaseline to my face, generously covering my forehead, chin, and cheeks.
I instinctively closed my eyes again. "Good luck!" she announced after a while, almost outside the ring by the time I had opened my eyes again.
Mikaela was no longer hopping in place. We both nodded at each other, almost in perfect synchrony.
It was go time.