"I'm fine, I swear."
"Everything's good."
"I'm okay."
The words just slide out anytime people ask her. But in truth, quiet teen Patience Phillips is finally tired of lying....to herself, at least. Tired of the constant abuse, sick of the fear, disgu...
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My friend Trey, and I met up after school to take a ride to Buff's Gym, my side of town. As seedy as the name is unoriginal, it's essentially the bread and water of my life.
No gym equals no practice, and no practice equals me laying limp on the floor of a ring after taking a strike I wasn't ready for. Far from a perfect life, but it is what it is.
Getting to the gym this time took some convincing for Trey, though.
I needed a spotter today, but the guy's got a long-standing gripe against the place. He's never liked it, considering Hassan --the gym owner-- isn't exactly known for kicking out trouble makers. As long as you pay and don't theaten the establishment itself, things are very much 'anything goes'. It's not like it's any gym owner's job to police their patrons; but Hassan's still alot more liberal than others. He just wants the dime in any pocket that will open.
Not Trey's cup of tea. And he hit his limit when things almost got nasty once with a rookie fighter. The dude wasn't a regular, but he was an old opponent of mine that's known to have a sore spot for losing. A trust fund kid who got bored and decided to play 'streets' for a while. I'd knocked him out once in front of some chick he was trying to impress during a match, and instead of taking it like everyone else, he was one of the few that follows you around and throws a tantrum like a snot-nose toddler, demanding a rematch. I ignored him --always do with those types-- but Trey, despite it not even being his problem to handle, got fed up with the foolishness. He looked the idiot dead in the eye and threatened to, I quote: "cut out your intestines, shove them up back, then leave them hanging so your girl knows she sucks dick for a weak-tail pussy. Disgusting, but effective, and exactly the kind of thing only Trey would come up with. We caught him trying to mess with my tires in the parking lot once after that, and i very nearly would've killed him for that had Trey not stepped in first with a glare and a 5-inch pocket knife that sent the whimp running for the hills. Never saw him again from there, but Hassan's lack of action throughout the process put a bad taste in Trey's mouth.
He's big on people having 'character', and prefers places where your dollar pays for more integrity than you tend to find find here. Like it's a must in life. I consider that a luxury. If you have zero expectations, you'll rarely be disappointed.
Long story short, Buff's is my gym of choice. Everyone stays out of my business, it's close to home the regulars here don't like cops.
Which is incredibly convenient when you're part time high school student, part time underground MMA fighter.
Trey's the only one in my life that knows. He's certain it's going to get me put in a wheel chair someday soon, but he's given up hounding me about it.
He knows why I have to.
After walking through the old steel and glass doors, we head for the area of the gym where most members practiced martial arts. Tonight, I have yet another fight to get ready for. Who I'll be facing is beyond me, but regardless, my job is to just be prepared.
