The Next Round

“IT’S AN ARM BAR!!” The commentator screamed as all the nerves in Katie’s arm lit up like a firework. A roaring cacophony rose from the thousands of people packed around the octagon and a sickening sense of hopelessness filled her chest. The pain was so intense and focused that her eyes started to blur out, but she wouldn’t tap out. If there was ever a fight that she wouldn’t tap out of it was this one. Her legs writhed and she cried out. Gathering the reserves of her strength, Katie pulled hard in a last, jerk effort to break free from the iron grasp of her opponent. A move she instantly regretted as she heard, seemingly louder than the cheering and yelling of the crowd, a loud crack in her arm and it was over. The fading sound of the match being declared over, filled her ears as she blacked out.

“Kelly, the Killer, Henderson has won this match… third round… knock out!

Katie fidgeted in the clean, quiet, stillness of the hospital room. She was used to the constant thudding and pounding of her training gym. This place where people were treated so delicately and fussed over made her irritated. But when she moved even the slightest bit, the pins in her elbow reminded her that she needed to be there. The surgery went as well as it could have and she would be going home soon, but the idea that she was delicate now, was driving her crazy.

She pulled out her phone and hit a few buttons, then put it up to her ear.

“Mom--? Yeah, It’s over. I’m going home soon don’t worry about coming to visit me… No, I’ll take a cab don’t bother… Thanks... Yeah, bye.”

She closed the call and immediately navigated to the next contact. A brown curl of hair fell in front of her eyes and she puffed at it with her breath. When it fell right back where it was tried to move it with her good arm. It repeated kept falling back into the same place and she swore angrily, when she heard a faint, “Hey, Katie,” from the speaker of the phone. She quickly left off the annoying piece of hair and answered,

“Jacob! Hi! I’m out of surgery.”

“Good to hear. How are you feeling?”

“Well, frustrated. But I’ll stick with my core and cardio training despite this, and hopefully, be back in the cage before the end of the year.”

“Katie…” Jacob’s voice came disapprovingly across the line, “This wasn’t a little bump on the head. We’re going to keep you out indefinitely.”

“What!? Jacob, come on! I’ll get better. I’ll come back stronger.”

“I’m sure you will. But, we aren’t going to rush it. Give your body a break.”

“I can’t just sit back and let Kelly get that much farther ahead of me!”

“Speaking of Kelly, the media wants to do a dual interview with you both.”

Katie hung up.

46...47...48… Katie’s whole tanned body glistened with sweat as she tucked her legs in and out, balanced on her tailbone in the red and blue padded gym. She grimaced as the movements jostled her cast and the still injured elbow throbbed... 49...50. She dropped down to the floor and her chest heaved up and down as she breathed heavily. The physical strain was nothing compared to the pain in her arm.

I won’t be pushed aside.

She kicked the sandbag with her shin. 79, 80, 81, 82…

I won’t be pushed aside.

She ran along the river, eyes locked in front of her. Mentally reciting her mantra:

I won’t be pushed aside.

Ten weeks later, Katie sat, free of her cast, in her manager’s office. Jacob wore a blue dress shirt with no tie and Jeans. Having been a fighter himself, he stayed in shape and his large muscles made the fabric of the shirt pull slightly against the buttons. He had thick hair except for a balding spot on the very top of his head where it had thinned out from wearing a cap too much. The cap was sitting on his desk along with scattered magazines, papers, and little knick-knacks.” Long time no see Katie.” He breathed with a slight air of exasperation. “How’s the old arm?”

“It’s fine. I’m ready to get back to work. I want a revenge match with Kelly!”

“Well,” Jacob murmured as he shifted his way around the desk and stood in front of Katie. He took a big hand and gave her a strong whap on the arm saying, “I’m very glad to hear that!”

Taken off guard, Katie let out a yelp and brought her good arm quickly up to cradle now throbbing injured one.

“You’re bullshitting me, and you’re bullshitting yourself kid.” Jacob sighed as he moved back into his chair and plopped down. “I understand how losing that match could make a lot of rage well up in ya, but there’s no way you can fight like this. The training by itself will tear you apart if you don’t let yourself heal properly.”

Small tear droplets started to well up in the corners of Katie’s eyes and she silently listened as he continued. “There’s plenty of doctors and shit if you need to work stuff out, but if you just need to relax.” He pulled out a ziplock bag with some dried, brown, fibrous looking stuff in it.

“You want me to take a trip?”

“I want you to clear your head. You’re so angry you’re not thinking straight. If you don’t want this, it’s fine, but otherwise, go get help.”

Katie begrudgingly snatches the bag from Jacob and turns to walk out the door.

“By the way…”Jacob calls after her, “Kelly retired. "

Katie’s hands started to feel clammy, the drugs were just starting to take effect and she sat in her room dazed.

Retired.

The dim lights in the room began to intensify and the sound of the clock began to reverberate through the entire room, like a ping-pong ball repelling off of every wall.

If she retired what am I going to do?.... Focus.

She closed her eyes and the ticking became louder and louder. The arena clock in faded into her mind’s eye and she could see it counting down. All around her a massive crowd of people roared and undulated but they were all in a haze, featureless and incomprehensible. Then she realized that they were water, rolling water crashing about her.

Her breath quickened and she remembered drowning. She had jumped off a small waterfall into a lake and gotten the breath knocked out of her. Words echoed in her memory, “If you copy everything I do you could get hurt.”

The pain in her elbow began expressing itself now. She opened her eyes and slowly bent her arm. The pinpricks of pain began to escape her skin as laser fine beams of light shooting out from inside her. It wasn’t healed because she didn’t let it heal. The regret poured over her and she grimaced, clenching her eyes shut.

“I brought on this pain… I have to deal with it.” She told herself urgently and began to control her breathing.

Focus

Focus

“Your daughter needs to focus on something.” Another memory barraged her mind, “She has too much energy in class.”

Focus

The light emanating from her arm grew brilliantly in her mind and then suddenly, jarringly, she was on the ground. She fell into her memory with real enough impact to give herself whiplash.

A young Kelly Henderson stood over her arms raised in exultation.

“I did it! I threw you like a water balloon! Splat!”

“Shut up Kelly! You got lucky! I’ll get you next time.”

“Sure! Get up.”

Katie’s eyes opened.

Kelly was training with her from the beginning. She looked at the room around her. It was dark, vibrating, and purple. Her body started to relax again. She breathed deeply, thinking of Kelly, their match, and the future. A wave of intense anger began to well up in her, but then she sighed sharply and in an instant a stream of tears replaced it. She closed her eyes and breathed… breathed.

For a moment it felt like she fell asleep, but then she looked up and standing in front of her, hair braided, a flowing red robe, fingerless gloves, and a champion belt on, with an owl perched on her shoulder, was Kelly the Killer Henderson. Katie blinked her tears away and stared bewildered at the awesome figure. Wordlessly, Kelly lifted both her hands up and reached them out towards Katie, in a gesture of sportsmanship.

On the day of their grudge match, Katie had turned away from Kelly at the beginning of the fight, spurning her show of good faith. Now, a feeling of gratitude and remorse washed over her and Katie stepped forward to Kelly. She lifted her hands and very gingerly touched her knuckles to Kelly’s gloves. Suddenly, the owl spread its wings up and flapped causing the two women’s hair to be tossed about, but they stayed, eyes locked on each other. Then, the owl took off in flight and a gust of wind pushed Katie back and caused her to scrunch her eyes shut and raise her hands to guard her face.

When she opened her eyes again, it was morning and she was in her room.

Katie splashed water on her face, stuffed a small croissant in her mouth, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door. She drove in silence with a slight smile on her face. Before long she pulled in front of a white house and strolled inside. Standing in the doorway, she shouted, “Hey mom, it’s Katie!” A short middle-aged woman came from another room and greeted her.

“Oh, Katie, dear! How’s your arm? Would you like some coffee?

They moved to the living room and sat down. Katie silently sipped the warm coffee and then looked up at her mom, about to ask something, when the sound of steps was heard from above.

Katie looked up.

Standing on the landing above them, tousled hair and wearing short shorts stood Kelly the Killer. “Katie?” She said, confounded, and trotted down the steps. She sat down by Katie on another sofa chair and silence arrested them. Finally, Kelly looked up sheepishly and said, “Hey, sorry I broke your elbow.”

Katie chuckled, “It’s ok... Sorry, I took it so personally.”

They stared at each other for a moment.

“You retired?”

“Yeah, I heard they’re not letting you fight anymore… I think that took all the fun out of it for me.”

Katie stared down at her drink.

“Well…” she smiled, and looked up at her sister, “what should we do next?”