It should have been the most important day in Laura's life. After years of training she finally got to fight the world championship in a boxing match. But what was supposed to be a friendly competition became a fight for life and death.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Something like a lightning strike startled Laura.
She was lying in bed. Her eyes wide open.
Now wide awake, she looked at the clock next to her bed. 4:38 am. Even for her, that was too early.
But today was not a normal day for Laura. Today was the day she had worked so long for.
She stood up, no sleepiness left, and looked out of the large window next to her bed.
It was dark, but there was no sign of a thunderstorm. "Was it just a dream? Everyone knows the feeling of falling in a dream and suddenly waking up, but I don't feel that was it.", she thought.
The sky was dark but the city was brightly lit. She was in a hotel in Las Vegas. Laura lived in Germany and could not get used to this sight. Lights of hotels, big signs and casinos illuminated the night. It was true what was said about Las Vegas. The city that never sleeps.
In the reflection of the window she saw herself. Her blond, shoulder-length hair was tousled after the short night. Her blue eyes and her rather serious manner earned her the nickname Ice Princess. She didn't like the name, but she was a professional fighter. It was good for her to have a nickname.
In the distance she could see the lights of the Grand Garden Arena. That's where she was going to have her first title match today.
Her opponent was the Russian boxer Anastasia. Her nickname was Red Queen, and she was undefeated for many years. Anastasia was Laura's idol. They had met many times in the past, just never in the ring. The first time they had a sparring match in preparation for one of Anastasia's many title matches. Laura lost badly. But it was a good experience for her because on that day she became aware how far the top boxer was ahead of her. There were several friendly talks after that. They became friends and chatted a lot. Every time after a match they congratulated each other.
And today was finally the day. Finally they would both face each other in the ring. She had waited many years for this opportunity. The world title match she had worked her whole life for. Laura had fought on big stages before but this time was different. Now she would fight at the top for the first time. She was excited.
Now it was time for her guilty pleasure. She had dedicated to her strict diet, daily training and her whole life to boxing. But there was this one thing she would not give up. A cigarette and a coffee in the morning. Her trainer would kill her for it if he ever found out. But it was part of her daily routine for a long time now and she didn't want to miss it.
She was about to stand up as,
ring ring
She looked at the display of her phone.
Her manager Donald called her.
She wasn't in the mood for a conversation with him because she knew why he wanted to speak with her. But if she just ignored the call she would have to listen to it over and over again. In that case he was like a child. But it worked.
