Rise and Fall

“Somebody get me through this nightmare. I can’t control my- AHH,” I screamed, jumping a mile as someone tapped on my shoulder. I took off my earbuds and paused my iPod and turned off the vacuum, glaring at a snickering Rob. “You stupid asshole,” I said and that only made him laugh even harder. “Sorry Jules I couldn’t resist. You’re an easy target,” he beamed. I stuck my tongue out at him and rolled up the cord to my headphones knowing it was useless since they’d get tangled up anyway. It seriously was the eighth wonder of the world.

“You’re home early. Surprising Shelb,” I asked. “We’re going out to dinner tonight. Fancy shmancy. Shelbs told me you had class tonight. Glad you liked it,” Rob said. “Yeah. Kind of nervous actually,” I said. Not really about the class, more about seeing Shadows again. “You’ll be great. Don’t be too hard it’s only your first class. Shadows is probably teaching it. Shelbs says he’s great,” Rob said.

“Yeah. I’m sure the entire female population would agree that he’s great,” I said, rolling my eyes. “He’s good looking,” Rob asked, quirking his left brow up. Shelby apparently had neglected to fill him in on this. “I guess. His personality is… nonexistent so I could care less about his looks,” I said and Rob smirked. My mind quickly flashed to those bulky arms and those gorgeous tattoos but I pushed it away. “Go get him tiger,” Rob grinned.

I quickly changed into a pair of gym shorts and the white shirt that Brian had given me after the intro class that read Daddis Fight Camps in bold black letters. I quickly whipped my long brown locks back into a ponytail and drove over to the gym. The parking lot was filled so I told the cabbie to park next to the curb and paid him slightly extra to come back in an hour to pick me up. I walked in and signed my name at the front desk.

Brian must’ve had off today because it was someone different. It was a guy with spiky hair, green eyes, and snakebites. “Ooh fresh meat,” he said, eyeing me with a smirk. “Hi to you too,” I said and quickly scribbled my name down. Were all the guys that worked here this repulsive? Well, Brian being the exception. The green eyed man chuckled and leaned back in his chair, staring at me. I ignored him and walked through the door to the girl’s locker room. Locker room was an over statement. They had partitions on wheels for walls for us to get changed behind.

I got out my newly purchased hand wraps, gloves, and jump rope. I remembered that jump roping was first so I only put my hand wraps on. Grabbing my water bottle, I stepped outside and people were all over the place, waiting for the next class to begin. I literally crashed into someone and it caused my water bottle to go flying. “Sorry,” he said and picked it up for me. I gave him a small smile and he returned it. I found a spot by the wall and dropped all my gear down as I put on my wraps.

People from the previous class were clearing out from the mats, although some of them remained. Overachievers. “Muay thai. Line up on the mats,” Shadows bellowed. Everyone standing around trotted to the mats like an army of soldiers lining up for boot camp. People with white shirts were in the back, and I mimicked them. “You stand in line according to your ranks. White, blue, purple, brown, and black. Let’s Wai in, Wai meaning respect in Thai. Now spread out for jump roping,” Shadows said, moving to the clock to set it for three minutes.

I found an empty spot down to the far right end and stared at him. I was surprised to find him staring directly back at me with the sour expression firmly planted on his face. “Begin,” he said and the clock began counting down from three minutes. I started out slow, wanting to save my energy. People around me were going extremely fast. Some were criss-crossing, jump roping backwards, shuffling their feet. Show offs. I continued my steady pace, skipping my feet. I tried shuffling for a little bit and to my complete and utter humiliation, I ended up not only tripping over the rope but falling flat on my face.

I groaned and quickly picked myself up, praying that no one saw me. Shadows was looking in my direction but when I glared at him, red faced, I thought I saw the ghost of a smile before he looked away. I went back to skipping rope but picked up the pace a bit, angry with myself for making a fool of myself in less than three minutes. The clock beeped, letting us know that thirty seconds remained. “Pick it up,” Shadows ordered. With all the might I could muster, I pushed myself to jump rope even faster. I could hear the swishing sounds of all the jump ropes around me.

Once the clock beeped, everyone hit the mats and began counting out ten push-ups. I was about ready to give up after five but pushed myself to do all ten. The sit-ups and jump squats weren’t too bad. Next was shadow boxing. This was where you took what you learned so far and pretended like you were fighting someone and punched the imaginary opponent in front of you. I practiced the punches Brian showed me, one by one. Then I tried putting some of them together in different combinations.

“Make sure you’re not just standing in one place like a sitting duck. You’ll make yourself an easy target and get knocked out immediately. Circle and move around the gym,” Shadows said. I felt like he was talking directly to me because that was exactly what I was doing. So I took it up a notch and after punching combinations here and there, circling and moving. I did a nice cross hook combination, fantasizing that it was hitting Shadows. I smirked to myself and continued punching. The clock beeped again and Shadows told us to throw fast straight punches, jabs, crosses, and uppercuts for the rest of the time. I did so, gritting my teeth at the pain and exhaustion I was feeling. My arms were going to hurt like hell tomorrow.

After the clock beeped everyone dropped down again for more push-ups, sit-ups, and jump squats. I stood there panting, completely exhausted, and we had barely begun class. “Excellent warm up. Get a drink if you need one. Then we’ll stretch out,” Shadows announced. I quickly walked over to my water bottle and chugged the entire thing. Shit I was exhausted. I was starting to question whether or not I could handle this. I filled up my water bottle in the bathroom and stared at my red-faced complexion, took a deep breath and sighed. I could do this. It was only one kickboxing class. Less than an hour to go.

We did arm and leg stretches for the next five minutes. I was finally breathing regularly. “Partner up. One with gloves, the other with Thai pads,” Matt announced. I looked around the room for a possible partner. I was starting to panic because people seemed to know each other and were pairing off. What if I didn’t have a partner? Would I be forced to work with Shadows? I swallowed hard at the thought. Just then someone tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around and recognized that it was the guy from earlier.

“Hey want to be partners,” he asked and I instantly felt relieved. “Sure,” I grinned. “I’ll get the Thai pads,” he said and I nodded. I went to get my gloves and sat down on the mats next to him. Shadows stood in the center of the mats and we surrounded him awaiting his instructions.

“Today we’ll be working on body kicks. Rear body kicks and lead body kicks. Body kicks are the most important tool in Muay Thai. They do a lot of damage, but they are one of the most difficult things to learn. It takes time and you will constantly be perfecting them. I still work on mine daily,” Shadows informed us. Everyone around me seemed to be drinking up every word that he said. I fought hard to resist rolling my eyes. Leave it to him to start with the most difficult part of kickboxing.

He demonstrated both rear and lead body kicks. He had some kid named Kyle come up to demonstrate. He held the Thai pads for Shadows. The kid went stumbling backwards a few feet after each kick. Clearly Shadows spent a lot of time polishing and making sure his kicks were perfect.

He carefully explained the difference between the two. We had to make sure that we stepped out for the rear body kick, and for the lead body kick we had to shuffle our feet to get into the proper positioning. “Everyone got it,” Shadows asked. “Yes sir,” everyone responded and clapped their gloves and Thai pads in response. I was seriously starting to wonder if this was an army boot camp in disguise.

“I’m Damien,” my partner said, introducing himself. “Julia. Call me Jules though,” I said and he smiled. “Go easy on me. First class,” I added and he chuckled. “How’re you making out,” Damien asked. “I’m still alive so far,” I said and Damien laughed.

Damien held the Thai pads in position for me. I got in my stance, left leg forward, right leg in back, V for victory. I stepped out slightly with my left foot and kicked the Thai pads with all my might with my right leg. I winced slightly. Instead of hitting with my shin, I hit with my foot. I could already see a nasty bruise starting to form by my toes. “Everyone does that at first. Like Shadows said, it takes practice,” Damien said. He was very supportive.

I got back in my stance, ready to do my body kick with the other leg. I focused and shuffled my feet, my right leg now in front, and kicked with my left leg. That one was better. “What kind of name is Shadows anyway? Seriously,” I asked and Damien shrugged as he switched the Thai pads for another body kick.

“It’s a nickname. I’d like to think my mother loves me a little bit and wouldn’t give me something like that for a first name,” a deep and gravelly voice said from behind me. I was mid kick when he said this and ended up stumbling forward and missing the Thai pad completely. I spun around to face him and he was staring at me, his muscular tattooed arms folded across his chest. “Try again,” he said, lifting an arm and making a twirling motion with his fingers telling me to turn around. I scowled and turned back to face Damien who was trying hard not to laugh.

I got back in my stance and took a deep breath. I stepped out and swiftly kicked the Thai pad. I was proud because this time I hit less with my foot and more with my shin. He didn’t say anything and I did a body kick on the other side and turned to face him, waiting for some sort of response.

“Not bad. Just make sure your feet are in a V stance,” Shadows said. “Yeah, yeah V for victory,” I cut him off and he glared at me. Clearly he was not used to being interrupted. “You don’t want your feet directly behind each other, like you’re walking a tightrope. T for trouble. You want V for victory,” Shadows continued, trying hard not to snap at me. His jaw was clenched very tightly.

“Did you come up with that all by yourself? How clever,” I said, unable to control myself. The words were out of my mouth before I could even think. He clenched his jaw even more and stormed off, moving around the room to see how everyone else was doing. “Careful,” Damien warned. “It’s not my fault he has such a temper,” I grumbled.

We continued doing the body kicks on each side and eventually he kicked it up a notch and had us try doing two body kicks on each side. After the clock beeped he ordered us to do ten body kicks on each side. After the twentieth kick, I was back to being exhausted again. Next I had to hold the pads for Damien. I figured this wouldn’t be so bad. It gave me a break from kicking.

Well boy was I wrong. The pads were slightly bulky and my arms grew tired from holding them up for extended periods of time. Plus Damien had a mean body kick and I tried not to wince each time he kicked. I knew there’d be bruises along my arms tomorrow. While I was holding for Damien I felt a presence behind me. Shadows. “Hold the pads up a little more. This way it’s like he’s kicking into you, not up in the air,” Shadows said, gently grabbing my arms and repositioning them. I said nothing and waited for Damien’s kicks.

“What no sassy comeback,” Shadows asked, clearly expecting some sort of response out of me. I glanced over at him after Damien gave another hard kick. “Come back in five I’m sure I’ll have thought of something by then,” I said. He said nothing and walked away. Damien continued his kicks, shaking his head for the attitude I was giving Shadows. “We’re supposed to respect our instructors you know. That's the purpose of the Wai in the beginning of class. It's a sign of respect towards the instructor as well as the instructor showing respect towards the students,” Damien informed me. “Well he should respect me,” I exclaimed. “He was. He was giving you feedback,” Damien said and I rolled my eyes. “Whatever,” I said and Damien went back to kicking.

For the next drill we added onto the body kick. Before doing the body kick, we would do a punch combination. Jab, cross, hook, rear body kick. Cross, hook, cross, shuffle, lead body kick. I liked this drill. It got me to work on my punches, and each time I felt like my body kick improved slightly. I was surprised that Shadows didn’t come over to nitpick and criticize my punches and kicks.

Soon enough it was Damien’s turn. My arms were throbbing by the end of it. I glanced at the clock and saw that there were only five minutes left in class. Time flew by when you were getting your ass kicked. “Medicine balls,” Shadows said. Damien told me he’d get one. Shadows explained that we’d be tossing them back and forth. It wasn’t so bad. Then for the second drill we had to get in a sit up position, facing each other, and lock our feet and ankles together. Together we would sit up with our partner and pass the medicine ball back and forth between the sit-ups.

I was panting and exhausted by the end of it. My shirt was drenched in sweat and knew I must’ve looked like a disgusting mess. The whole gym reeked of sweat and I wrinkled my nose in disgust each time that I stepped in a small puddle of sweat or spit on the floor. I didn’t even want to think about which one it was. “Good work Jules. You coming to class on Saturday,” Damien asked. “Who teaches it,” I asked warily. “Who do you think,” Damien grinned. “We’ll see,” I said and I could see Shadows standing behind him, his arms folded across his chest, staring at me. “Later,” Damien grinned as he tossed the medicine ball over at me. I grinned and walked over to put the medicine ball back.

“You should take some Ibuprofen before bed. The pain won’t be as bad tomorrow,” Shadows informed me. “Thanks,” I said, taking my hand wraps off. “And welcome to Daddis,” he added. “I wasn’t welcome before,” I asked, staring at him. “You were, but it seems more official now that you’ve survived your first class right,” Shadows asked and I nodded, admitting that he was right. He said nothing more and walked away, leaving me standing there alone. I sighed and gathered up all my gear into my backpack.

I was leaving the gym when Shadows and the green-eyed man stopped talking when I passed by. “Hey princess how was class,” the green-eyed man asked me, looking amused. I saw that Shadows was staring at me too, interested in my response. “Tolerable,” I said simply and they both chuckled. I said nothing and walked out into the cool night air. I couldn’t wait to go home and take a shower.

Shelby and Rob weren’t home. I figured they were still out at dinner. I took a nice cool shower and changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. I decided to relax a little before I had to work tonight. I worked as a bartender at a local bar called Jay’s Elbow Room. Hopefully it would be crowded tonight because I definitely needed the money after buying all the equipment for class. It cost me nearly a hundred bucks for everything. I looked down at my cell phone. It was almost ten. One hour until work. I guess I wouldn’t see Rob and Shelby until tomorrow. I was anxious to tell Shelby about my first day.

I was getting changed for work, a simple black shirt with a scoop neck and a pair of shorts when she came running into the apartment squealing. She came running over to me holding out her hand jumping up and down. “Holy shit you’re engaged,” I gasped, ogling at the ring. Rob certainly didn’t hold back. “Congratulations,” I exclaimed and gave her a hug. “I can’t believe he proposed. I was so surprised,” Shelby said, continuing to jump up and down. I forced my lips to fall in the upright position and smile for her.

Truly, I was happy for her. Shelby and gone through so much abusive shit years ago with her last ex, Nick, and she truly deserved the best. And Rob really was the best. He was constantly restoring my faith in humanity. It just made me jealous because I desperately wanted what they had. And it also sent me into a slight depression because I was starting to think I’d never find that person. It was clear I wouldn’t find that person at my job. Bartending didn’t exactly attract the greatest guys. Mainly sleaze balls. Besides, they were always more interested in the booze than me. Maybe kickboxing would change that. Maybe I’d meet a nice guy in class. Damien was nice. Not exactly my type, but it was a start.

“I’m really happy for you,” I said and she grinned at me. “Have a good night at work, yeah,” Shelby said and I nodded. Giving her the full details of my first kickboxing class had slipped from my mind and clearly she was on cloud nine and it was far from her mind too. She was staring at her engagement ring with a look of complete and utter joy. “Later,” I said and stepped outside to catch a cab. Someday, I told myself. Someday I’d find that person. There were plenty of guys like Rob out there. I just hadn’t met them yet.