Best of the Best

Chapter 1: Knockout

Camila huffed as she threw one last, tired kick. Panting she blew a drip of sweat off the tip of her nose and adjusted her soaked ponytail. She would definitely have to get the AC going before she opened the doors. Having students pass out during class wouldn't be the best start for a new business.

She loosened the drawstring of her white uniform pants and headed for the water fountain in the corner, splashing her face and taking a drink. Turning to look for her towel, she chuckled as she spotted the face of a young boy pressed up against the glass of the large front windows.

His nose was squashed flat, and his curly hair was going every which way, but his big, green eyes were watching her every move. She smiled and waved at him, before performing an acrobatic series of jumps and kicks. Her smile grew as his face lit up in amazement.

Camila was soon left in her own amazed stupor as a stunning woman, the most stunning woman Camila was certain, came and shooed the boy away from the window. They started down the sidewalk and Lauren ran to the front, hurdling a pile of paint cans and supplies to catch a glimpse of the boy and woman before they disappeared. She found them hand in hand as they waited at the crosswalk. The little boy bounced on his toes, looking up at the woman Camila assumed was his mother. He was talking animatedly, the woman nodding as she listened. Something the boy said made the woman smile, and Camila felt like she took a roundhouse to the gut.

"Wow."

---

Camila poured some fresh paint into the tray and smiled at her sister. "Thanks for coming to help."

Sofi dipped her roller. "Sunday's our day, and you're paying for pizza tonight."

Camila nodded. "Absolutely."

"You think you'll be ready to open in a couple weeks still?" Sofi asked, rolling more paint on the wall.

Camila chewed her lip, as she got up on a step stool to paint the edge along the ceiling. "Should be. This is the last wall to paint. The bathrooms and changerooms were finished Friday. The guy's coming to put in the mats on Tuesday, which is gonna make practising so much easier on my feet, and I called the air conditioner company and they'll be here Thursday. I think the signs are coming at the beginning of the following week. I do still need to go to Ikea though, and get some furniture for my office, and some shoe racks for the front. Then it's just little things and hanging pictures and stuff."

"Gonna hang your medal?"

Camila blushed. "Nah. Maybe just some trophies or something. The medal's a little too much I think."

Sofi rolled her eyes. "No it's not. You're an Olympic champion. You were on the Wheaties box. You should hang it on the wall with pride."

Camila shrugged. "I don't want people to think I'm showing off."

"This martial artist humility shit really pisses me off sometimes. Put it on the damn wall okay? If anything it'll be good for business."

Camila nodded, knowing better than to argue with her sister, especially when a certain tone of voice was used. "Okay."

"We've got an audience."

Camila turned towards Sofi, looking past her to the window where her little friend from yesterday, again, had his face pressed against the glass. She waved, and paintbrush still in hand jumped backwards off the step stool, performing a flawless backflip.

"Yeah, not a showoff," Sofi muttered.

Camila just rolled her eyes, and performed another series of acrobatics. Pretending her paintbrush was a sword earned her the biggest smile yet. Just like the day before the stunning woman, in another beautiful dress, came and shooed him along, though today she looked briefly through the window and offered a small smile that left Camila stunned once again. They were gone a moment later, but Camila remained in place, as stunned as the day before. A roundhouse to the head.

"What the fuck was that?" Sofi asked, dropping her roller, and crossing her arms.

Camila rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh, that? That's my new fan. Cute, right? He...uh peeps through the window."

Sofi raised an eyebrow. "And the hot lady?"

Camila fidgeted with her brush, smearing paint across her t-shirt as she rambled. "Hot lady? Was she hot? I didn't notice. Didn't really get a good look."

Sofi shook her head, but went back to work. "You're an idiot, and this isn't over."

---

Camila was thankful her week was busy. There had been people and workers coming and going, enough things to do to provide an adequate distraction. Distractions from the distraction. But it was Saturday again, and she sat on her couch eating Rice Krispies and wondering if she'd see them today. She convinced herself that spending the afternoon downstairs practicing was about thoroughly testing the new mats, and had nothing to do with making sure she wouldn't miss them walk by.

She was setting up targets when she heard a slight thump against the front glass. She immediately looked over, stifling a laugh as her newest fan struggled with his baseball cap, the brim preventing him from pressing his face to the window. He pulled it off and dropped it in time to watch Camila turn to her targets and perform a spectacular series of combinations. Dropping into the splits at the end earned her another big smile, of course it was just the moment she decided to step into view.

Jeans. She was wearing jeans today. Tight jeans, and when she crouched to pick up the boy's discarded hat, Camila was very grateful the air conditioning was up and running. She would have scrambled to her feet if she was capable of moving, but she remained on the floor, blushing and stupefied while the woman looked in.

She tilted her head, appraising Camila with a smirk and a wink, and Camila felt a blow powerful enough to send her to the mat. A one-way trip. Knockout.