At The Beginning...

Chapter 2

~3 years later~

 Beep Beep Beep*

I groaned as I stretched out my right arm to turn off my alarm clock that woke me up from my dream. I hadn’t had that dream in three years since I left that god awful town. Three years…I can’t believe so much time had flown by and how much I have changed.

I sat up and looked at the time, the red numbers glared into my dilated eyes. “2:00 a.m.” I yawned sleepily, but jumped out of bed. Today was the ISF and I wasn’t going to miss it for the world. I walked over to the bathroom being careful not to walk too loudly in case I woke up my guardians. I flicked on the lights and peered in the mirror and smiled at my reflection. In the last three years not only had my personality and attitude changed but so had my appearance. No longer was I that pathetic weak fourteen year old girl who let people walk all over her. No longer was I malnourished and stick thin. My body had filled out in all the appropriate places giving me a beautiful slender yet curvy body that I knew most girls would kill for. My amber locks grew past my shoulders and down to my waist in beautiful wavy ringlets. My indigo blue eyes were fierce there wasn’t a single hint of them ever being dull or lifeless. My muscles were well defined and toned, because of the intense training I undertook from my guardians. The most important thing I gained back was my self esteem. It was a very slow process but the walls I had managed to erect were stronger than ever before. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to bring me down again.

I want to say I picked up and moved on with my life smoothly after I left town. Found inner peace and lived like a rock star. But sadly, life isn’t a story book and reality smacks you in the face before you can even have a decent cup of tea. The prick of a mayor decided to cancel the plans he had to send me to an orphanage after I “showed attitude” the night he told me I was to leave town. So I ended up on the streets of LA with nowhere to go. I spent two months on my own staying at different homeless shelters trying my best to stay unseen. Until, I found a newspaper stand that allowed me to work there in the evenings after school. This gave me enough money to get a room at a cheap motel. Needles to say I was a mess and luckily fate was finally, on my side and I happened to run into a boy and his mother one night as I was making my rounds. The boy’s name was Tristan and his mother’s name was Lily. They took me in for the night and introduced me to Tristan’s father Maurice.

When I told them my problems they decided to unofficially adopt me. I was extremely grateful for this chance to live a semi-normal life and agreed to participate in Maurice’s intense physical training. He believed that no girl should be unable to defend herself in the streets of LA and I agreed even though I knew there was a slim chance I could fight, due to being a complete klutz.  Fighting was tough work and you needed great physical stamina and strength to even be considered a decent opponent. I obviously, had neither and Maurice was afraid I would break in half if he put me through his usual training sessions. I was put on a strict diet to help gain all the weight I never had and each day we slowly, built up the amount of exercises I had to do before I could call it a night.

Needles to say, ever since I found Maurice and Lily Dainton my life had changed for the better. They had helped repair my broken and battered soul and helped me become a strong, independent and fearless individual. Even though I would forever live with the scars of my past I no longer let them hold me back. I lived for myself, I stood up for myself and I learned to love myself.

My phone next to the sink buzzed and I picked it up to see who texted me.

Hey Ace, the fights gonna start soon better get your hot ass over here! ;P –Nic

I texted back, Don’t let them start without me! -Ace

I chuckled and tied my hair up in a high ponytail and washed my face. When I started getting really good at fighting, Maurice who happened to be a trainer for the CIA realized that fighting was my outlet.  I would constantly, start friendly but highly competitive fights during the practices I went to with everyone he trained. In two years I went from being the worst fighter, who couldn’t even defend herself from a measly punch, to the star fighter in all his classes. So he suggested that I find a place that hosted fights weekly and since I didn’t want to be considered an easy opponent for being a girl. I created an alias for myself Ace whichis derived from the ace in Tracey. I rimmed my eyes with some black eye liner to make my indigo irises stand out, coated on some mascara and lip balm then retied my ponytail. I then slipped on a black tank top that revealed my butterfly tattoos that were just below my left shoulder blade.  I got five of them. The first and the biggest one represented my transition from being weak to strong.

 The second one represented my strengthened soul.

 The third, time, which heals wounds.

The fourth one, lightness, from being unchained by my past.

 And the last one represented hope.

I paired it with black skinny jeans and black combat boots and donned a well worn leather jacket because I could tell from the cold air filtering throughout the room that it was a chilly night. I then slipped on my mask that covered the area around my eyes. None of the street fighters knew how I looked like besides Nic and I wanted to keep it that way. I put on my lucky charm that was given to me by Lily for my seventeenth birthday. It was a simple white gold chain necklace with a tiny star shaped pendant, pretty and dainty is what Lily called it when she had put it on me. I turned towards the long mirror and assessed how I looked. My 5’9” frame reflected at me, I looked dangerous with all the black and I loved it. My reflection smiled and my eyes twinkled with delight. I now understood why Lily had constantly begged me to be her model for all her fashion designs I looked stunning, and that knowledge made me feel good. Tonight was a night for winning and I planned to be the star.

I grabbed my keys and a bag with a change of clothes and made my way down the stairs two at a time with a big smile on my face. I could finally drive my baby! For years I’ve been saving up enough money to purchase the car of my dreams and even though I knew I would be inheriting a big sum of money at eighteen I wanted to earn the money I used to buy this beautiful car. Plus I wouldn’t be eighteen for another whole year and I couldn’t live through that. However, due to only having minimum wage jobs I barely scratched the amount, I needed to buy the car and I sadly had to put that thought aside. That is until Maurice brought me out to the garage last weekend and gave me the best birthday present I ever had in my entire life. This is another reason why I had to win today’s competition. I wanted to pay him back and the prize money was $100,000 which was a huge start.

 I ran into the garage and pulled off the car cover that was keeping the dust off it and my smile grew wider. Here it was, my Ascari A10 with its sleek exterior not a single hitch in its beautiful black coat. I climbed in and started the car, the sound of the engine purring to life sent adrenaline rushing through me and I sped off to the arena.

~~

Hi Everyone, 

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. It really means so much to me and I would love hearing your feedback on what I have written. So if you like what you are reading feel free to vote and comment. I promise I don't bite. Constructive critism is apprecitated :)).

~Tiffany