Along the Way

Chapter 15

My heart was racing, my head was throbbing, and I thought I was going to throw up when the announcer said my name. I did my best to hide what I was actually feeling though, walking out towards the crappy ring.

Just like practice, just like practice.

I kept repeating that to myself as I walked towards the ring, down the aisle with Lenny, Alex, and a few other crew members. They were all my corner people, who'd give me water and patch up any cuts in between rounds.

"Just remember kid," Lenny started, practically shouting over all the commotion, "Your kicks are mean and ferocious, use them long legs."
I nod in acknowledgement, making no effort to shout over the noise.
We get to the side of the ring where I'll enter. One of the crew members checks me for weapons, and gives me my mouth piece. I climb under the rope into the ring, opposite of my opponent who's already there waiting.

I bounce around again, staying loose, cracking my neck a few times as well. 

The referee steps into the ring moments later, calling us both to the center of the ring. He explains the basic rules to us, then we 'touch 'em up', or an easier way of explaining it is basically we fist bump, but it means 'no hard feelings, we're cool.' We both proceed to our fighting stances, preparing for the match to start.

By this point, I couldn't hear anyone in the crowd, all my focus was on my opponent, Bellamy. She was really pretty, mid-length blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and lots of freckles. But right now, she looked ruthless. I hope

I looked just as bad, letting her know that even though I may be younger than her, I am not messing around.
My heart rate goes up more when the life changing words echo in my ears.
"Fight!"

We both stayed in our place, trying to intimidate each other. We circled a bit, both of us looking for the right time to strike. I felt like a lion hunting his prey, stalking it, getting ready to pounce. Lenny told me that Bellamy acts pretty quick, trying to make the first move to throw me off, so I was ready.

He wasn't wrong, she threw a punch towards my jaw, but missing as I slipped out of the way, only to counter it with a kick to her rib, throwing her backwards. She bounced back quickly though, as if nothing happened. She faked a punch, and when I went to slip out of the way, she grabbed my legs, pulling them towards her, sending me toppling to the ground. She was now on top of me, but in my guard. My legs were wrapped around her torso as she threw punches at my face and stomach.

I managed to grab ahold of both of her arms as they came at me, pulling them towards my face. She tried pulling them back towards her, making her fall right into my trap. She pulled her arm with much force, only making me take her right arm, using her momentum, and trapping it on the other side of my leg where she can't reach me.

I then elevate my hips, and take her other arm and pull it across her body, trapping it between her and I. Her head was practically against my chest, the only thing not keeping it there was her thrashing. I worked faster, hooking my right foot underneath my knee of my other foot, creating sort of a triangle shape. I then take my hands, keeping my feet in position, and scoot back a bit. I take my right hand and pull her head down towards me, while my left hand helps hold my right foot in place. I then elevate my hips once more, choking her out. All that happens in a matter of seconds, when it felt like an eternity. I can see her face turning bright red as she tries to escape the choke, thrashing her body around. Unless she can break my grip, which is unlikely, she's practically done for.

If she taps, then the fights over and I win. Her face slowly turns from bright red, to a deep purple color, signalling that I'm severely cutting off her air supply. She's practically given up at this point, falling almost limp in my hold. She looks like she'll tap at any moment. After a long moment later, her face starts turning blue, and she can't handle it anymore. She taps the ground three times, and the nearby referee pulls us apart, pushing me away from her a bell is heard nearby, signaling the end of the match. Bellamy's crew helps her walk to her corner as I get up and practically run over to mine. Alex  and Lenny were already in the ring by this point, cheering and smiling widely. I practically run over to Alex, grabbing her into a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you," She speaks quietly in my ear, "I love you so much."

I can tell by the sound of her voice that she's crying now.

"I love you too," I reply, on the verge of tears. I pull out of the hug and wipe the tears off of her face. I give Lenny a hug after, and then the announcer spoke up once again. Bellamy and I were both called to the center of the ring so they could announce the winner. The referee stood in between Bellamy and I, holding both of our hands.

The announcer only talked for a short bit, but it felt like forever before he announced the winner.

"Newcomer Naomi Faye!"
Everyone stood up and cheered as the referee held up my hand. He them let go of Bellamy's and pointed to me with the hand that once occupied hers. I was so happy, at least, I think I was. I couldn't really feel anything by this point. I could feel the blood and sweat dripping down my face as I smiled wildly to the crowd. The referee soon let my hand go and the announcer came into the ring with the microphone.

"What does this win mean to you Naomi?" He spoke, then tilting the microphone towards me.

"It means my friend and I will live to see another day," I spoke, giving a half chuckle as well.

"Interesting. Now Naomi, now that you've had your first fight, do you have an official fight name?" The announcer asked. Surprisingly, Lenny and I actually did talk about fight names before at training a few times.
We came up with a few good ones, but after this fight, only one felt right.

"Yeah actually, I was thinking 'Non Compos Mentis'" I answer. The crowd cheers once again.

"So you're changing it to just that? Not going to put your name in it anywhere?" He asks, a bit concerned about my answer.

"Nope, I guess you could say I'm insane." I wink after my reply, then turn and walk back to Alex and Lenny. We all walk back to the 'backstage' area, and go to sit back down to watch the rest of the fights.

A few more fights later, right before men's fighting starts, I see Bellamy walk in with her trainer and a few other people.

"I'll be right back," I say to Alex and Lenny. They both give a quick nod, not taking their eyes off the screen. I stand up, weaving between people and trying not to get in their way while they watch the current fight.

I can see Bellamy walking towards the changing rooms, alone now, so I go after her.

"Bellamy," I call, walking up behind her.

He turns around, a bit confused at first, I'm guessing she was trying to process who I was. She relaxed a but after realizing it was me.

"I just wanted to say great job fighting," I say, trying not to stutter over my words, even though I was terrified. What is she didn't like me because I beat her? It's supposed to be no hard feelings though right? I hope so...

"Thanks, but you did better. This was your first fight right?" She asked. Being up close, I can see her features a bit better now. She had more cuts on her face, but I could see more colors than just blur in her eyes, like yellow and a bit of green. She held an ice pack to her head as well, and her face was still a bright pinkish-red color.

"Yeah- well my first 'professional' fight," I say, cutting myself off.
She gives a slight 'Hm' and nods.

"Maybe I'll see you around sometime," I say, breaking the awkward silence between us, trying to wrap up the conversation.

"Yeah totally," She replied. I smiled and awkward smile before turning away and walking back to Alex and Lenny.

We got back in Lenny's car after all the fights were over.

"I'll drive you guys to a hotel tonight, then you'll have to walk until we meet again. I have business to take care of, as in other fights. I'll let you know when there's another fight. I'll just drive down 66 until I spot you guys I guess," Lenny says as we get into his car. Alex and I both say 'Ok' in unison as Lenny drives off.

My heart was still racing. I can do this. I did do this. It's all going to be ok. Right?