The Tough Girls Club

Chapter 4: Fight Club

There was really nothing extraordinary about this morning. I woke up, I ate, I left. But if I knew what I'd be doing that day, I wouldn't have worn jeans.

Once I got there, the first thing I noticed was no one else but Kelsey and Alana were there. The second thing I noticed was there was a mat set up in the center of the room. I suddenly had a feeling that today wouldn't be as pleasant as the others. In fact, it wouldn't be pleasant at all.

"Hello," Alana said, stepping out of the shadows with a sly smile. "As you can seem I have dismissed everyone but Kelsey. This is my personal favorite day of initiation. Now put these on," she said, tossing me a ratty old tee shirt and shorts," and then we will start the fighting."

"Fighting?!?!"

"What's a tough girl if she's not tough? Now put those clothes on and then we can begin."

I walked over to the corner, faced the wall and changed into my fighting clothes. Although they were too big and had a billion holes, they were better than the lacy top and colored jeans I had on.

" Sorry," Kelsey muttered to me, " but you're in for a hell of a rough time."

"Great."

(Sarcastic.)

"Alright, come to the middle of the mat and face me," Kelsey said,"Now put your hands in a fist and put them in front of your face. You always want to protect your face. Pay attention to your opponent. Are they slower or faster? Do they rear up before they kick? Do they punch more often? Do they make the first move? Now, on punching..."

She continued on like this for about fifteen minutes, with Alana smirking in the background, as if a kid she didn't like got caught passing notes in class. Finally, it was time to fight. Honestly, I wasn't so anxious to fight. My insides felt like a lava lamp and I had a feeling I'd be down in under thirty seconds.

"First you'll fight with Alana. I'm a trained expert, although she is very, very good. "

Alana stepped up across from me, snarling like a pitbull," I'll go easy on you kid," she said, throwing her head back in spiteful laughter.

Suddenly, a fire of anger lit in me. It wasn't fair that she treated me this way. I was a person too, wasn't I? Suddenly I was reminded of the scene where Tris takes on Molly and a wave of fear washed over me. It's okay, I told myself.

I put my fists in front of my face, ready to fight.

She was lanky and tall, and I realized I could use that to my advantage, but she could use it much more. I punched and she dove, sending a punch to my stomach. A searing pain rushed through me, and I realized that this would be harder than it seemed. I need to think, I told myself. She punched, but this time I was ready for her. I deflected her punch and pushed her backward. She reared back, and then threw a punch to my face, causing blood to course down my face, filling my mouth with it's salty taste. She threw another punch to my stomach and I fell to my knees, clutching my stomach in pain.

"Get up, kid, or leave and never return, " Alana said, almost spitting in anger.

I got up. I got back in position, hands in front of my face. I kicked her leg, wiping it out from underneath her. She fell flat on her bum and I tackled her, throwing punches to her stomach and face. Her expression was of pure shock. But then she turned over and several sharp pains coursed through my body until I was screaming in agony. I could taste the blood in my mouth and suddenly everything went black. The last thing I saw was Alana standing over me, laughing.

"I thought you were going to beat me for a minute there. But, really, you're just too weak."

I woke up to see the late afternoon light streaming through the floorboards above. A terrible ache pounded through my body, like I was sleeping on a thousand needles. Even worse, I had a migraine. I lay there, unable to move, until finally I worked up the strength to get up and look around. I gave a groan and sat up. Kelsey was sitting in a chair nearby and she noticed me and walked over. The late afternoon sun streamed through the floorboards above. Alana was gone,and I assumed she had left right after I passed out.