I heave a sigh and look around the room for another practice partner, but everybody else is avoiding my eyes. “Hey, Cooling, you’ve been wanting to step onto the mat with me. How about now?”
The 250-pound, 6 foot two bruiser waves me away. “Sorry. I was a little too energetic on the bike this morning.“ He places a hand at the small of his back. “I think I might’ve pulled a muscle.”
“We can practice reaches and lunges.” I swing against the air in a wide arc and advance forward on the left foot and then the right. “That would stretch your back muscles out.”
“I don’t think so.” He looks toward one of the trainers. “Randy, back me up here. I should rest for the day, right?”
Randy hesitates and then crosses the room to climb into the ring. “I think you should go lift or run. The sparring can wait until later.”
I crush my brows together. “Why? I feel good.” There’s a lot of adrenaline coursing through me right now. I could probably fight an elephant.
“That’s the problem. No one here is equipped to take you on when you’re feeling good. You need to dial it down about five notches, and I don’t think you have it in you to do that today.” He grabs the tape at my wrists and starts unwrapping. “So Johnny’s girl is staying with you until he heals up?”
“That’s right.”
“How did you get roped into that?”
“He came by my place probably a year ago and said that he had this important matter that he needed my help with. At first, I told him no because Johnny’s wrapped up in all kinds of shit that I don’t want to be involved with, but he said it was a matter of life and death. You know he helped me break into this business, right? I figured I owed him.”
“Johnny’s a mess,” Randy agrees, “but he’s our mess. We got to support each other because if we don’t, who will?”
I agree with that. The fighting world is small. Everyone knows everyone else. We have our beefs—what group of people doesn’t? But we also stand up for each other because the lifespan of a fighter is short, and for every fighter who makes millions, there are dozens that can barely scrape by. I donate a lot of winnings and endorsement fees to keep this gym open and employ as many of these hopefuls and retirees as possible. While we may beat the shit out of each other inside the ropes, outside the ring we’ve got each other’s backs.
“To be honest, man, I’m kind of out of my depth with this kid. I had to put her hair up in a ponytail, and that shit is really hard.”
“Maybe you should look into getting a person to help you at home,” Randy suggests.
“Seems like overkill. Johnny should be out of the hospital in a couple weeks.”
Randy gives me a curious look. “He’s in a coma right now. They don’t know when he is going to wake up or if he wakes up.”
“Nah, he’s going to be fine. He had one of these episodes four years ago and he popped out of it with no problems.” Randy does not look convinced. “He’ll be fine,” I proclaim, but inwardly, I’m starting to feel doubts. Injuries caused by head traumas are cumulative, which means with each new insult, he can be suffering worse and worse damage. “If I were to hire someone, and I’m not saying I’m going to, but if I were, where would I go?”
“Call the school. They might have substitute teachers or school room helpers who may be available after hours.”
I knock Randy on the head. “It’s a good idea, man. I’m gonna do that right now.”
Chapter Four
Honey
I scroll through all the notes I’ve made for Mrs. Neil. When I get to the bottom of the sixth page, I start to think I went a bit overboard. This is, after all, only kindergarten. A class she’s been teaching for years. I close the document out before pulling up an email to attach and send it off to her. It feels so final.
I know I’m being a bit dramatic with this being my last day here at Hawthorne Elementary, but it feels like I’m once again about to start over. It might not be a whole new city and identity, but it’s all I really have at the moment.
“Honey.” Lori calls my name as she walks through the open door to my classroom.
“Hey,” I call back, checking the time. It’s the last block of the day, and my students are in gym. They should be back any minute now.
“I think I have something for you.” She waves a piece of paper in her hand, coming over to lean up against my desk. Her long dark ponytail bounces the whole way.