Fight or Flight

Chapter 7: Counterbalance

Miguel and Josie were back at the dojo the next day. Johnny said he had a surprise for that days lesson. When they arrived, their was a baseball pitching machine on the mat.

"This will teach you a faster reaction time," Johnny said as he pulled out a bag of protective gear. "There will be baseballs fired at you,  and you need to hit them back."

Josie knew she was going to nail this lesson. After all, she had been a catcher on her old softball team. How different could catching and punching a baseball be?

Miguel went first, strapping a chest protector, hand pads and shoulder pads onto him. The first ball came, and he deflected it, putting a hole in the wall behind him. The next one came quickly, and hit him in the arm.

Josie went next. She mostly dodged the first one, barely making contact. But on the next few, she thought back to her old softball training and remembered to frame the ball. She put her body behind them, and punched them right back at the machine.

Johnny was impressed. "Not bad."

Over the course of a week of daily training, they continued to improve. Their mothers weren't very fond of how much time they spent away from home, but they still allowed them to continue training. Miguel got way better at the pitching machine drill, and was almost as good as Josie.

Johnny also liked to put them in headlocks randomly, saying, "what does a cobra do?"

The first time, Miguel tried to tap out, which Johnny didn't approve of. All Josie could do was try to elbow him in the ribs. They also practiced more one-on-one combat, facing Johnny almost as much as they did eachother.

Eventually, they both never missed a ball, could escape a headlock by "slithering away like a cobra", and had improved their live-combat skills drastically.

At their most recent training session, they had taken turns 1v1ing Johnny. Josie had lost, but Miguel managed to sweep Johnny's leg out from under him. From the floor, Johnny clicked a button on his remote control. A baseball flew from the machine, hitting Miguel on the side of the head.

Miguel collapsed to the floor, clutching his ear. "What the hell? Th-that wasn't fair!"

Josie knew immediately that that was going to bruise, so she hurriedly went to grab a bag of ice from a small fridge in Johnny's office.

Johnny stood up, and Josie heard him say, "You want a fair fight? Dream on. Your enemies won't always play by the rules."

"Yeah," Miguel said, still on the floor, "but my ear-"

"What if that ball was your enemy's friend coming at you from behind? You have to be prepared for everything."

Miguel stood up, and Josie rushed over to check out his ear with a bag of ice in her hand.

Johnny pushed Miguel's hand out of the way. "Let me see."

Miguel uncovered his ear, revealed the start of a bruise.

"Euh," Josie said, "that doesn't look great."

"No, it's fine," Johnny replied, "don't be a baby."

Miguel took the ice from Josie and placed it against his ear, still grimacing.

The door jingled, and a group of women walked in. "Hello," the lady in the front said. They all wore colourful yoga clothes and held exercise bags.

"Aw, shit." Johnny said as Miguel stood up quickly.

"It's 5 o'clock," the same lady said, "twilight is upon us."

"What's going on?" Josie asked Johnny, unsure who these visitors were.