spot me on the weight bench.” He slumps against the wall.
“Sounds good, man. Thanks for having me over last night.” I bring myself back into stance and begin throwing punches at the black bag in front of me. Little beads of sweat form along my forehead as I continue to pound away. I need this form of therapy today and it’s working. When I finally step away from the bag, I feel like a huge weight just lifted off me.
Lance is still slumped against the wall, grinning at me. I raise my eyebrow waiting for him to speak. I’ve been around him long enough to know he has no filter.
“You done? I thought you were going to pummel that shit until it was dead. Little punching bag, did he hurt you?” He laughs as he walks over to touch the bag.
Rolling my eyes, I head for the weight benches so Lance can lift. He can spot me after. My adrenaline is pumping and I’m ready to go.
Lance saunters over and gets the weights situated where he wants them. I stand behind him, helping to lower the bar when Howard walks over to me. “Hey, Austin, can I talk to you for a second?”
“Yes, sir.” I place the bar back and give him my full attention.
“I was sorry to see Ruston go. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you ready to step inside the ring?”
My eyes light up. I’ve been waiting for this moment, hoping it was going to pop up, and here it is. “Hell yeah! I mean, I am. Do you think I could be ready?”
“It’s okay.” Howard laughs. “That’s good you’re excited. You’re in the same class Garrett is in, and he’s taking a few more days to stay home with Raegan and the baby so I figured you could take his place and get a feel for why you’re here. I know you’ve had some prior training and you’ve been doing well here so far.”
“I’m ready. When is the fight?”
“At the end of the week. Let’s get you sparring. Lance can do that with you. I want you focusing on your footwork and keeping your hands where you need to. Practice your throws, kicks, everything. You need to make sure you’re fully prepared. I don’t want you to get in there and be surprised because this is nothing like the streets. If you try anything like that in the ring, you’ll be disqualified. Just keep in mind the training you learned back home, and what you’ve learned here, and you’ll be fine.”
“I won’t do anything crazy. You ready, Lance?” I know he wanted to lift weights but I’m so pumped to start sparring.
“I’m always ready.” He grins as he sits up.
I’m still wearing my shirt so I take it off and set it inside the locker where my phone and keys are. I grab my phone quickly to see if Tamilyn has texted me, but still nothing. I shoot her another text asking if she’s okay before I shut the locker door.
Howard stands off to the side of the mats and watches as Lance and I get into stance. My hands are up and I’m watching Lance intently, wondering if he’s going to make the first move, but all we do is shuffle around and I take that as my cue to throw my first hook. He blocks it immediately and Howard calls out, “Be prepared. You have to be a little quicker than that. Your opponent may have been able to sneak a hit on you. Don’t be caught off guard.”
“Got it.”
This time, Lance throws his hit and my hands jolt upward to block it. I sneak a hit in and Lance stumbles back, laughing a little. “Good hit, man, do it like that and you’ll be fine.” I glance toward Howard and he nods. I’ve got this. I can do it.
I’m focused, imagining the bright lights of the ring shining down on me. It’s me, my opponent, and a whole crowd of people beginning to chant my name. Austin, Austin, Austin! It’s like a natural high and I know I can’t let them down. They want to see a fight, so I’ll give them one.
We spar continuously until we’re both breathing heavily. We got a few good hits in on each other and I even managed to drag him to the ground. Howard stood beside us
“Sounds good, man. Thanks for having me over last night.” I bring myself back into stance and begin throwing punches at the black bag in front of me. Little beads of sweat form along my forehead as I continue to pound away. I need this form of therapy today and it’s working. When I finally step away from the bag, I feel like a huge weight just lifted off me.
Lance is still slumped against the wall, grinning at me. I raise my eyebrow waiting for him to speak. I’ve been around him long enough to know he has no filter.
“You done? I thought you were going to pummel that shit until it was dead. Little punching bag, did he hurt you?” He laughs as he walks over to touch the bag.
Rolling my eyes, I head for the weight benches so Lance can lift. He can spot me after. My adrenaline is pumping and I’m ready to go.
Lance saunters over and gets the weights situated where he wants them. I stand behind him, helping to lower the bar when Howard walks over to me. “Hey, Austin, can I talk to you for a second?”
“Yes, sir.” I place the bar back and give him my full attention.
“I was sorry to see Ruston go. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you ready to step inside the ring?”
My eyes light up. I’ve been waiting for this moment, hoping it was going to pop up, and here it is. “Hell yeah! I mean, I am. Do you think I could be ready?”
“It’s okay.” Howard laughs. “That’s good you’re excited. You’re in the same class Garrett is in, and he’s taking a few more days to stay home with Raegan and the baby so I figured you could take his place and get a feel for why you’re here. I know you’ve had some prior training and you’ve been doing well here so far.”
“I’m ready. When is the fight?”
“At the end of the week. Let’s get you sparring. Lance can do that with you. I want you focusing on your footwork and keeping your hands where you need to. Practice your throws, kicks, everything. You need to make sure you’re fully prepared. I don’t want you to get in there and be surprised because this is nothing like the streets. If you try anything like that in the ring, you’ll be disqualified. Just keep in mind the training you learned back home, and what you’ve learned here, and you’ll be fine.”
“I won’t do anything crazy. You ready, Lance?” I know he wanted to lift weights but I’m so pumped to start sparring.
“I’m always ready.” He grins as he sits up.
I’m still wearing my shirt so I take it off and set it inside the locker where my phone and keys are. I grab my phone quickly to see if Tamilyn has texted me, but still nothing. I shoot her another text asking if she’s okay before I shut the locker door.
Howard stands off to the side of the mats and watches as Lance and I get into stance. My hands are up and I’m watching Lance intently, wondering if he’s going to make the first move, but all we do is shuffle around and I take that as my cue to throw my first hook. He blocks it immediately and Howard calls out, “Be prepared. You have to be a little quicker than that. Your opponent may have been able to sneak a hit on you. Don’t be caught off guard.”
“Got it.”
This time, Lance throws his hit and my hands jolt upward to block it. I sneak a hit in and Lance stumbles back, laughing a little. “Good hit, man, do it like that and you’ll be fine.” I glance toward Howard and he nods. I’ve got this. I can do it.
I’m focused, imagining the bright lights of the ring shining down on me. It’s me, my opponent, and a whole crowd of people beginning to chant my name. Austin, Austin, Austin! It’s like a natural high and I know I can’t let them down. They want to see a fight, so I’ll give them one.
We spar continuously until we’re both breathing heavily. We got a few good hits in on each other and I even managed to drag him to the ground. Howard stood beside us
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