Hit Like A Girl

19 - Greer

Greer
((btw the picture above is how i picture Greer but w/o the septum piercing))

"Why do we jump rope?" Dave's voice echoed through the gym. His feet popped back and forth on the ground, the rope hitting the ground beneath him every second.

I was towards the back of a small group that came to learn from Dave. There was about 6 people in front of me, all adults, yet they varied in age. Most of them were new, maybe one or two had been to a few classes.

I was back in New York, which was incredibly diffuclt for me because I've been living alone in Oregon for the past 3 years. I was recovering. Trying to anyway. I've only seen my parents twice since I've been back, and both of them are obsessing over me and missing my brother like crazy. I didn't have much time with them. Currently, I was living out of a hotel just a few blocks away from Foley's.

Dave offered to let me stay at his house but I could use the privacy and the quiet. I didn't have Atlanta with me, and that sucked more than anything. But Jamie was sending me updates about her every day, and had been for the past 2 weeks. I hadn't even seen Hudson since Orlando, which also sucked.

"Cardio?" a young girl from the front of the class asked. She was probably just a year or two younger than me, this being an adult class and all. These classes were for amateurs, I was only here to get over my injury.

"Nope," he shook his head and the buzzer rang. We all dropped, did 10 push ups, and jumped back up at the sound of the second buzzer. Our ropes began whipping the air again.

"Greer," Dave looked at me, "Tell us why we jump rope."

I looked up from my shuffling feet. About half of the class had slowed their jumping, or stopped completely, to look at me. A lot of people came to Foley's because this is where the Greer Steel trained. And trust me, Dave loved to acknowledge my presence during a lesson. I stopped jumping and took the hood off my head so the rest of the class could actually see me.

I jumped right back into jump roping, "To keep us on our feet."

"Thank you," he winked at me and continued to teach.

At the end of the class, while I was sitting on the steps to the ring and wrapping up my hand wraps, Dave started converstaion with me.

"There's a small fight tomorrow here in New York. It's kinda to rank some of the fighters that didn't get to complete their fights, or they want a chance to be boosted into the higher rankings before Australia..." he trailed off. "And you never quite got the chance to finish your fight in Orlando."

I nodded, "Well it's hard to do so with about four broken ribs."

Dave laughed, "You only broke three kid."

"That's about four," I smirked.

"So I'm assuming you're fighting tomorrow?"

"Well," I shrugged, "If I want a chance at an actual good fight in Australia, then I should."

"Are you sure you're ready to fight again?"

"I have to be. I've been hiding out in New York for two weeks, Dave." I dropped my wraps into my bag and tossed it over my shoulder, "I'm assuming you'll be there to coach me?"

"I don't think you're ready," he avoided eyecontact by looking everywhere in the gym except my face. "I don't want you to fight again too quickly and get hurt. I wasn't even there when it happened."

It was really quiet for a long time. I thought about the round up fight tomorrow and the entire MMA Tour. Australia is what I've been training for all year. Before I could come up with a decision for myself, Dave spoke up again.

"But if not now, when?" Dave looked at me. "Right?"

I just stared back at him.

"Hell ya kid," he pulled me into a hug, "I'll be there to coach you."

*

I sat in the airport waiting to board the plane from Oregon to Australia. Dave sat on one side of me, and Atlanta sat on my other. Jamie was somewhere in the search for good coffee while we were waiting for Hudson and Spencer to meet us here.

In bigger news, I took second place in the roundup fight yesterday. Honestly it was a lot easier than I thought it would've been. Dave was very quick to remind me that that the competition in Australia was going to be ten times more fierce though.

"Check this out," Dave handed me his phone. Across the screen in bold writing it read;

Steel Disappears for 2 weeks, Shows up taking 2nd in Roundup

"Oh my hell," I laughed and handed Dave his phone.

"This shit is a lot bigger than you think, kid."

"Apperently so," I spotted Hudson and Spencer walking towards us. My stomach fluttered when I saw Hudson smile at me. I couldn't help it. Nothing happened at the hotel in Orlando, we just slept, then got up insanely early to fly home.

Hudson made eyecontact with me from across the airport and he smirked a bit, a small smile. His eyes flickered to Atlanta as she stood up. Everything happened almost all at once: Jamie came back with her coffee, Hudson and Spencer greeted us, and our flight was called to board.

On the flight I was stuck in a window seat, sitting next to two strangers. Dave got sat with Spencer and I have no idea where Jamie was. Hudson, however, was sitting in the aisle across from me. He was sitting next to two strangers as well but we made small eyecontact every few minutes.

Ezra Morgan:
Hey, im on my flight out. do you want me to book you in a room with me at the hotel?

Greer Steel:
Oh no thank you, Im rooming alone. But ill definitely drop by your room to hang out!

It was over an hour into the flight and for the past twenty minutes I had been listening to my headphones. I was scrolling through my phone when I saw movement to the left of me. My eyes flicked up to see Hudson standing in the aisle, talking to the man sitting next to me.

I pulled my headphones out of my ear in time to hear the last part of what he said, "Yea she's my boss, I just need to discuss the week with her, we tried getting seats together earlier."

The man next to me, who was aged somewhere in his mid-thirties, nodded and took Hudson's seat.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I haven't seen you in two weeks alright Rocky," Hudson said and smiled.

"Rocky huh?" I asked and leaned up against the window so I was facing him.

"Yea," he shrugged, "You're basically a mini Rocky."

We just spent the rest of the flight catching up with eachother, and running over the past two weeks. He spent his time fixing an old car his grandpa gave him years ago. I didn't even know he was into stuff like that, but it was good to find out. I told him about the classes I was taking from Dave, and how awful recovery was. I also told him about seeing my parents and missing my brother. Which was the first time he had ever heard about Phil. I guess we were both learning things about eachother. The conversation stopped when the other passengers on the plane began to sleep, and I myself got tired. Eventually, I drifted off with my head leaning against the window. Australia was going to be amazing, and it was only hours away.