by Claire Adams
He started weaving the cotton wraps over and over on top of each other, until he made a thick blanket of them. He proceeded to place that tiny blanket over my knuckles. When he was done, he taped them down. After that, he taped until my hand was as secure and safe as it could be inside my glove. I would not be breaking my hands that night. He did the same with the other hand, and I thanked him.
“Okay, Jet, let's get these fighters ready to go.”
Chapter Seven
Natalie
My day had gone terribly. I was thoroughly exhausted from working on my writing project that day. It was more tiring doing a mental project than going to the gym for an hour. All I wanted to do was relax at home for the evening, but that wasn't what life had in store for me. No, instead, my wonderful photography class was meeting at the gymnasium that night for a live project. I couldn't imagine what it was all about, but either way, I wasn't looking forward to it. I was finishing a cup of tea at the kitchen table when I pulled out my digital Canon SLR. I wanted to make sure it was clean and ready to go for the project. I made sure that there was nothing obstructing the lens, and I blew inside it to make sure there were no dust particles. I cleaned the front of the lens with special cleaner, and put the lens cap back on. I had purchased the camera used at a pawn shop when I started school, and it had been perfect. I had fallen in love with the images it provided, and it was one of my most prized possessions.
I checked to make sure that the battery was fully charged, and that I had an extra one in my bag, just in case. I doubted I would need it, as I would only be out for a few hours, but I wanted to be prepared for anything. I finished my tea and went to get ready to head to the school.
The gymnasium was far crazier than I expected; it was no random basketball game playing that night. It was the big MMA fight that Jet had been preparing for. To see what a big deal MMA was to the school was a shock to my system. When I walked in, I saw that they had transformed the gym into an arena for the fights. I barely recognized it. You would not know the difference between a fight there and a live UFC event, except for the amount of people we could fit in our gym. I panicked briefly, because I wasn't sure how I was going to find my class in all the madness. I could feel the charged energy emanating from the room, and I could almost smell the bloodlust in the room. It was kind of exciting being in the middle of it all.
One of my classmates waved to me from the front, near the octagon. I hurried over, and took a seat beside Brenda.
“Oh my God, I had no idea the fights were on tonight.”
“Natalie, you need to get out more. Even I knew your boy was fighting tonight.”
“He's not my boy.”
“Well, that's a crying shame.”
I nudged her with my elbow. “These are great seats.” We were essentially right beside the octagon, and would have a great view of the fights.
“Yeah, the professor spared no expense. We couldn't exactly do our project properly if we couldn't see anything.”
I knew immediately that I would need to change my aperture and shutter speed to allow me to stop action. I did that while I had a spare moment. I looked around the room to see if I could see Jet, but he was nowhere to be found. They probably kept him hidden until the last moment. Our professor arrived, and did roll call to make sure we were all present.
“Alright guys, as I'm sure you have guessed by now, we are here to document the fights for the school. They want to be able to post these pictures on the website, and I'm sure the fighters themselves will want images as well, so make sure you do your absolute best. Try to look for unique angles, kickass techniques―the kind of photos that make people gasp. That's just one aspect of the job tonight. I want you to also keep in mind while you are shooting photos that you will need to submit eight pictures capturing live action, so again, submit your best pics of one fighter in particular. The rest you can give to the school for their purposes. All students will be paid a fee for helping the school capture this event, so lucky you!”
The class cheered; nothing was better than getting paid for work you had to do anyway. I already knew which fighter I was going to use for my live action shots, and I thought the whole experience would also work really well in my story. I was so excited to get to see his fight now. I planned on taking some pretty kickass shots.
It wasn't long before the fights got underway, and I was surprised at how loud the arena became. People got pretty fired up when it came time for a fighter to come out into the cage. I watched a few of the fights with growing interest. I could pick out some of the techniques that Jet had shown me, and I smiled as one of the school’s players won his match.
I took a long intermission, and went to find something to drink. The fights were longer than I had anticipated, and I was thirsty. I recognized a guy over at the drink area, and went to say hi.
“Hey, Brian, how are you?”
He turned, and his face lit up when he saw me.
“Hey, Natalie, nice to see you. I'm surprised to see you here, actually,” he laughed. “Are you here to see Jet fight?”
“Ahh, no. Well, I guess, but I'm here because my photography class is here to take the event pictures for the night. I didn't even know the fights were on tonight,” I blushed nervously.
“Oh, cool. Well, I'm glad to see you.”
“Thanks. Are you fighting tonight?”
“No, not yet. I'm preparing for my first fight, but I wasn't put on this card. Jet is actually the last fight after this one.”
I nodded. “Oh, I see.”
“Would you like something to drink?”
“Sure, a bottle of water would be great.”
He grabbed me one, and handed it over.
“Thank you.”
I stood there and chatted with him for a while until the fight ended, with Craig losing his fight for the night. It made me feel bad for him. It couldn't be easy facing your corner and teammates after losing a fight you spent months preparing for.
“Well, I better get back over there, so I can get these photos taken and go home.”
He smiled. “Okay, well, I'll see ya around.”
“Sure,” I waved as I walked away from him. Brian seemed like a really sweet guy. I continued on down the aisle until I found my seat. I squeezed back in beside Brenda, and got my camera ready for the last fight of the night.
“Are you excited?” she asked me.
“Yeah, of course. This is crazy fun.”
“Are you going to make Jet feel better if he loses?” she cackled after she said it.
“Forget that, Brenda. He can lick his own wounds.”
“You're no fun.”
An announcement was made that the final card was ready to go. When they announced Jet's opponent, the crowd went wild. I couldn't be sure if he was receiving cheers, or if they all hated him. It was hard not to get pumped up with all the action going on around me. The fighter headed to the octagon, where he briefly met with his team, and then went inside the cage to wait for Jet.
New music started to play, and Jet's name was announced. The screams behind me were at an all-time high. The lungs of the women behind me had to be close to bursting as they screamed Jet's name. I almost turned around to glare at them, but then I deemed that behavior inappropriate. They were just anxious to see him come out and head to the cage, and I was kind of excited to see him come out, as well. I had never been to an event like this, and knowing someone who was involved in it made it all the more interesting. It was really exciting when he burst through the curtain and started to make his way toward the octagon.
Someone screamed, “Jetttt!!” At that moment, everyone got up from their seats as he made his way down, and the high they had for him was addictive. He had a killer smile on his face, and he headed down with a cocky look on his face. The crowd screamed even louder; there were definitely a lot of fans there to see him. I watched as he met with his team and got ready for the fight. He tore his shirt off and tossed it aside, which made the ladies in the
crowd go wild. He turned and smiled at the crowd, and it was then that he caught my eye. To say that he was stunned to see me in the crowd was the understatement of the year. A slow smile played on my lips, as my heart was beating furiously in my chest, like a cage full of wild horses. He turned away from me quickly, and I couldn't read the expression on his face. I suddenly couldn't breathe, and held my breath until the bell rang and the fight began. I immediately lifted my camera up to make sure I was ready to catch the shots I wanted.
The opponent’s name was Dillon, and as soon as Jet moved forward, he threw a kick and landed it right in Jet's rib cage. He hit so hard, something that I didn't expect, that it caused me to whisper a silent no at the sight of it. Jet didn’t check the kick―instead he ate it, and I could tell he didn’t like it. He recovered quickly, however, and went in with a four-punch combination that landed wonderfully on Dillon's face, causing his head to snap back repeatedly. Jet's body was strong and flexible, and his movements were fluid―almost like watching a violent dance. It was pleasing to the eye to watch his powerful muscles in action. The crowd started to boo as Jet took another hit to his torso, and I prayed that he wouldn’t crack his ribs.
Dillon followed with an uppercut to Jet's chin. As Jet's head flew up, blood splattered the mat. I was snapping pictures in quick succession, my heart pounding in fear along with the shutter. I couldn't believe the reaction I experienced when he took a hit.
Jet regained his position, keeping his guard up, and moved in toward Dillon. I could hear his corner yelling for him to build up to something. He was clearly a strong fighter, and didn’t seem winded at all while he was fighting. Dillon, however, seemed to be getting tired. He moved in too quickly, and went in for another body shot to his side, dropping Jet down to one knee.
A scream tore out of me that surprised Brenda beside me. “No!” There were screams behind me from the other women whose hearts Jet seemed to have stolen. They were screaming for him to get back up and fight. Jet's eyes flickered toward me, and he got up off the mat and swung, hitting Dillon square in the jaw, pushing him back into the cage walls. Jet took the opportunity to regain his position before Dillon moved toward him again.
My nerves were raw as I continued taking pictures of the scene laid out before me. I couldn't tell how the fight was going, or who would reign supreme at the end of it. I found the experience very stressful, and wished for it to end quickly. People all around started chanting Jet's name in a frenzied sort of way that got my heart pumping.
“Jet! Jet! Jet!”
I looked around the arena, still amazed by how many people had come out to the fights that night. I glanced back at Jet, just in time to see him feint a low kick, only to come spinning around to smash Dillon with a spinning back fist. The movement had been incredible, and I couldn't believe that I had caught it on camera. I almost screamed out with joy. The impact of the hit took Dillon off his feet, and he went flying backwards. He never got back up, and the crowd went insane. Jet returned to his corner while the medics checked up on Dillon. The judges were ready to call the fight, and the two fighters met in the middle of the cage. They announced Jet the winner by TKO, and the crowd cheered madly around me. Jet put his hands high in the air, as if he was proudly accepting his victory. The look on his face was priceless, and it was the last photo of him I caught that night. I was grateful that I had taken so many pictures of him at the beginning of the fight, as I hadn't anticipated him ending the fight during the first round. I watched as he went out of the octagon, and his corner people were all over him with congratulations. I noticed one of the octagon girls heading his way, and when she approached him, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him a little too tightly as she congratulated him on his win.
I turned to Brenda, who watched the whole scene go down as well. “Let's get out of here and grab something to eat. We can compare pictures.”
She smiled sadly at me, but didn't say a thing. She nodded, and we got up and left the fights behind us.
Chapter Eight
Jet
I awoke the next morning in a fog; a happy fog, but a fog nonetheless. I had been out all night, and had only gotten a few hours of sleep. I was still on a high, however, from the fight last night, and I wasn't sure I would be getting off of cloud nine anytime soon. We had all gone out after the fights and got pretty hammered. That was probably an understatement; we had all been drinking like lushes at the bar. It was that fog that made me still sleepy after waking up―the drunken fog. Maybe I was still drunk; it was hard to say. It had been a great night. Robbie made sure to get some drinks into my system after the attack I took on my ribs during the fight. Dillon had given me a run for my money, and even moving briefly in bed, I felt a sharp pain. I would be sore for at least a week, but I would survive. I would have to take extra care of my ribs for the next little while, so they could heal properly in time for my next fight. I needed to ease up on training in order to let the healing process happen properly.
I rose up from my pillow as slowly as possible, making sure to take care of my rib cage. Wrapping it later would probably be a great idea. Man, was I ever sore. A fight will do that to you, however, in one manner or another. I'm sure Dillon was feeling his own brand of soreness the same morning. I grinned at the thought of him taking that hit, eating my back fist like it was his morning breakfast. He would think twice about coming in close in a fight next time, there was no doubt about that. I was glad that I finished the fight in the first round. He was a strong fighter, and you never knew what could happen in the next round. I sat up and felt the full extent of a headache coming on. I got up quickly to find some painkillers. I went into my bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet, riffling through it until I found some Motrin. I popped a couple of pills and headed back to bed. I lay back down until the pills kicked in.
Natalie came to mind just then. I had been shocked to see her there, and sadly, her presence―just knowing that she was there, had thrown me off my game initially. I took a couple of pretty good hits at first, ‘cause she had arrived in my head and I couldn't get her out. Trying to understand why she was there clouded my thoughts. Was she there for me? That was all I could think about initially. Had she heard about my fight, and wanted to come and support me without me even having to ask her? The thought sent my mind in circles, until I got punched enough times to wake me up. It had been stupid; I should have just ignored it and focused on the fight, but I couldn't. Thankfully, I regained my focus and got my head back in the game, or I would have been done for.
I tried to look for her after the fight, and couldn't find her. She had left without congratulating me, and that confused me even more than her presence at the fight. I was starting to wonder if I had imagined the whole thing. Maybe she hadn't been there at all, and I was just losing my marbles. It could be true; I had certainly been obsessed with the girl for quite a while now.
There had been so many girls out last night. Swarms of them, all over the fighters when we went to the bar. I wondered if I would see Natalie and Julie at the bar, but they never showed up. Maybe she had given up drinking altogether. There had been this very pretty octagon girl who had gone out with us last night, and seemed to never leave my side. I was relieved to find I had not taken her home with me; my bed was empty. Craig had lost his fight last night, so he had been swarmed with extra attention from the ladies trying to cheer him up.
I climbed out of bed and headed out of my room in search of food. Kyle was up making breakfast, which seemed like perfect timing to me.
“Hey, man, why don't you cook me some of whatever you have going on there, too?”
Kyle laughed. “Sure, no problem. I guess bacon and eggs are okay now that your fight is done.”
“Right on; sounds awesome.”
I headed to the fridge and opened it to grab something to drink. Milk looked like a good option, but I worried it would curdle in my stomach from all the drinking. I went for a bottle of water instead, and brought it to the kitchen table to
drink. I downed half of it, not realizing just how dehydrated I really was. I finished the bottle and went back to get another one.
“A little thirsty there, Jet?” Kyle laughed at the sight of me.
“Yeah, I got hammered last night, man. How do you feel?”
“Not bad, just tired mostly. It was a great fight last night; I'm glad I ended up going.”
“Yeah, it was good seeing you out doing something other than playing video games.”
“Ha ha, real funny.”
“Seriously, man, maybe you need a girlfriend.”
“Yeah, right; don't be blasphemous.”
“Would it be the worst thing in the world? All you do is play video games, man.”
“No thanks. I prefer to have my women at night, and then be gone by morning.”
I snorted. Kyle finished up with the bacon, and put it in a dish with a lid to keep it warm. He put butter in a separate pan and melted it for the eggs. He went to grab the carton of eggs from the fridge, and set them by the stove. Opening the carton, he took a few eggs out and cracked them against the side of the pan. I was still thinking about what he said about girls when the eggs started sizzling.
“Hey, man, did you happen to see Natalie at the fights? I saw her just before I got in the cage, but then I couldn't find her after the fight. She just disappeared.”
Kyle was silent as he continued to cook the eggs, flipping them when they needed to be. He hadn't responded to my question, and I was beginning to get annoyed.
“Kyle? Did you see her?”
“Yeah, I saw her, man. She was there with her whole art class or something. I think they were there to take the pictures of the event.”
That made sense―more sense than her coming to see me, that was for sure. I wondered what kind of shots she got with her camera.
“Did you see her leave?”
“Jet, what's with you and this girl? I don't get it.”