I don't know why, but today I woke up very early.
I only wake up early on school days, but today was an exception.
At 1 pm, my grandparents will be there, and I am very nervous about it.
I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling,
with countless thoughts putting a dark cloud over my mind.
"I need to go for a walk..."
I said while finally getting up.
I took my wallet and went out to the convenience store.
...
As I entered the store, I heard a faint laugh, but it was mostly empty since it's early in the morning.
...
"Oh, there it is!"
I said with a slight smile on my face.
I was holding a pack of strawberry-flavoured gum.
Whenever I'm stressed, chewing helps me put my mind at ease.
"Johan?"
I flinched.
It was 8 in the morning, I was shopping in my local convenience store, and somehow somebody recognized me and even called my name!
"Oh, it's really you!"
she said.
I looked at her and froze.
It was Lisa...
"Oh-um, hello-hi?"
I said.
Lisa looked happy.
She was wearing a long white dress and looked magnificent.
"What are you doing here?"
she said.
It took me a few seconds to regain focus, and I finally answered.
"G-gum, I wanted to buy gum,"
I said.
Since it was early in the morning, I didn't bother to dress up well.
I was only wearing shorts, my dad's slippers, and a T-shirt with a huge alien head on it.
"Lisa! We're done here! Where are you?"
The voice came from very near. Probably from the aisle next to us.
Shortly after, a tall woman appeared and was now looking at me.
"Oh, hello, Mom!"
said Lisa while looking at her.
Fuck, out of all the days where I could meet Lisa's mother, it had to be today...
"H-hello,"
I said while stuffing the pack of gum into my left pocket.
"Mom, this is Johan. He's the friend I told you about!"
she said proudly.
"Oh, Johan... So you're Malik's friend,"
she said while scanning me from head to toe.
Because of the clothes I was wearing, I felt out of place, and I think I left a very bad first impression—
"Hey kid, do you mind stopping by my gym?"
she asked.
"Sure— I mean, what?"
She was wearing tuxedo trousers and a shirt,
and had shoes that looked very expensive.
I didn't expect her to speak so informally.
"My mom and I are going to the gym right now to meet some guys for a sponsor offer. That's why we're dressed like this!"
she said while smiling at me.
To be honest, I was curious about the gym, and Malik went there regularly, so I didn't see any reason to refuse...
"Well, ok, I'll go with you,"
I said.
"Very well! Malik told me all sorts of things about you. I can't wait to see you in action!"
said her mom.
"In action? What do you mean?"
"Alright, kids, let's go now or I'm going to be late!"
she said.
I went to the counter to pay for my gum and hopped into the car.
It's still early in the morning, so no matter what happens, I should be back home before my grandparents arrive...
...
When we arrived, Lisa's mom asked us to wait in the car.
She went ahead first to greet some people who were standing in front of the gym.
They were all wearing suits except for one who was dressed informally, but I assume those people were the sponsors Lisa was talking about.
Lisa's mom approached the car and knocked on the window.
I couldn't hear well but i managed to read on her lips...
"Johan, roll down the window,"
she said.
...
"Alright, you can come out now. Malik's already inside, so he will guide you, and Lisa has today's program,"
she said.
I'm not sure about the program she's talking about...
Lisa and I came out and followed her closely.
...
When I entered the gym, there was a strong breeze, almost as if the room was filled with air freshener.
I looked around and saw a lot of people—way more than I imagined.
They were doing all kinds of warm-up and training drills.
And at the center of this large room was a large cage.
When Malik told me about the gym, he always said that his favourite part of the sport was whenever he entered the octagon.
He said that when you enter it, you feel different, as if you were phasing into another world...
I realized that people had stopped training and turned in our direction.
"Good morning, coach!"
they said in unison.
"Keep up the good work, guys. Thanks to your efforts, we will reach the big stage soon!"
she said while waving at them.
"Anyways, kids, I have business talk waiting for me. Lisa, show him around for me, will you?"
She tapped my shoulder and left.
All the looks switched to me as soon as she left.
I hate being watched...
"Hey, Johan."
"Johan!"
Lisa was whispering to me.
"Don't worry, there's another room at the back. We will do tests there. No need to feel pressured,"
she said.
It's almost as if she was reading my mind...
Or Malik probably told her that I didn't like crowded places.
As we arrived at the door, someone violently opened it...
"Fuck, where is that guy? And isolated training as well, so suddenly? What's up with coach today?"
he said.
He walked out and finally saw us behind the door.
"Oh, hello Malik, here is the tryout I told you about!"
she said.
"Huh—Johan!?"
I waved at him.
"So you really came after all! Come on in, I'll show you around!" He said
He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the room.
It was even slightly smaller than the other one, and it was different too.
There were various machines—these must be the tests that Lisa's mother talked about.
"Welcome to the tryout room!"
said Lisa.
"Oh, just so you know, I'm not signing up for anything, right?"
I replied.
"Yeah, don't worry, it's just a tryout after all!"
she said.
"Don't think about it too hard, just try to have fun!—"
"—Fun? Haha, by the end of this I'll make sure your whole body is screaming in pain, Johan. You can count on me!"
said Malik.
"Uh, Malik... I thought you said we were even!"
...
"Alright, first things first, let's weigh you."
"Get on the scale."
said Lisa.
"U-uh, recently my family had a lot of parties, so I gained some weight. But it's fine, really!"
I said as I stepped on the scale.
"Urgh, shut up, Johan,"
said Malik.
"Fuck you, dude!"
I said as I looked at the scale's display.
"73 kg. Hm, you're in the average. Not too heavy nor too light,"
Lisa said.
"What's up with that T-shirt?"
asked Malik.
"Give me a break!"
I replied.
...
"Alright, next up is the height measurement!"
Lisa seemed to enjoy herself, so I tried not to make my dissatisfaction too obvious...
"Johan's not too far off me. He might be around 180 centimeters,"
said Malik.
"182!"
"Yeah, that's what I figured,"
he added.
They don't seem too disappointed for now.
I think I'm doing quite well so far.
"Hm, what about his wingspan?"
Malik asked.
"Right!
Johan, lift your arms—they have to be parallel to the ground,"
she said.
She took the measuring tape and measured from one tip to another.
"193!?"
"That's long as fuck!"
said Malik.
"Uh, is that good?"
I asked.
"Hold on, he kind of fits the profile,"
she said while looking at Malik.
"Yeah, he's the same height, similar weight, and he even has a longer reach than him,"
he replied.
"Wait—who are you talking about?"
They both looked at each other, and Malik began to speak.
"Ahem. So basically, in this gym we only have two members that are under 16, including me..."
said Malik.
"And one of those two guys injured himself and won't be able to attend his next scheduled fight..."
she added.
"Wait, what does that have to do with me?"
"Well, Johan, I need your help. If you could please, just fill in for him,"
she said.
I looked at Malik.
"Don't worry, man, it's not a big fight or anything. There's just some guy from another gym who's coming here with his coach. It's a friendly matchup! And you will rock his ass anyways!"
he said.
sigh
"Please promise me that you will never ask me this again..."
"We promise!"
they said in unison.
"Fine, so what next?"
I asked.
"We gotta check out your skills, of course!"
said Malik while smiling.
"Come on, gear up!"
he said with a smile on his face.
At this moment, I realized that our truce was only temporary.
I willingly entered Malik's domain, and I will probably regret it.
...