Poor Reflections

RACHEL

The late afternoon traffic thickened as Rachel skateboarded downtown. A quick glance at her phone told her she was running a little late, so she skated towards one of her favorite shortcuts, Adams Park.

The park was mostly just an open concrete plaza spanning half a city block, lined with evenly spaced benches and tree planters. A large stone fountain served as its centerpiece. It was a favorite destination of local business folk for their lunch break, as there was always a reliable selection of food carts. Rachel spied a hot dog stand and toyed with the idea of grabbing an after-school snack.

Before she got close to it, a police officer stepped up to place his order. Rachel frowned briefly, then smiled again when she realized who it was.

“Hey, Officer Stone,” she sing-songed, voice cracking with youthful enthusiasm, “awesome weather we’re having, huh?”

The police officer seemed to deflate with a groan. “Hello, Rachel,” he monotoned, “and how many laws have we broken so far today?”

Rachel made a show of putting a hand to her chin and thinking as she skated in a wide circle around the hot dog stand. “Hmm, can’t think of any off-hand.”

“And I don’t suppose that sign serves to refresh your memory?” Officer Stone jerked a thumb at a signpost near the street that read:

ABSOLUTELY
NO BIKING
NO ROLLERBLADING
NO SKATEBOARDING
AT ANY TIME

She dismissed the sign with a wave of her hand. “Pfff, please, city ordinances don’t count. Besides, this place is one of the fastest shortcuts across downtown, there’s no way you can stop people from using it.”

A bike messenger whizzed across the plaza and banked into traffic amid a chorus of blaring car horns. Rachel crossed her arms with a smirk, chin jutting forward, as Officer Stone rubbed his tired eyes.

“Look, Rachel, just because a law has trouble being enforced doesn’t mean it’s okay to break it. These rules are in place to help keep people safe.”

Rachel laughed as she continued her circle, rainbow hair fluttering in the breeze. “Dude, who are you trying to kid? People are going to hurt themselves all the time, whether the law says it’s okay or not. There’s nothing you can do to stop that.” She pushed once to maintain momentum. “How many times do we need to have this little talk anyway? Aren’t you tired of this song and dance?”

“You have no idea,” he said with a sigh. “You do know the rules apply to you, too, Rachel, whether you like it or not.”

“Nah. They were made by people less awesome than me, for people less awesome than me. I’ma keep doin’ my thing; you just need to lighten up.”

Officer Stone’s face darkened into a deep scowl. “Some days it’s pretty tempting to just taze you and haul your ass into juvie and be done with it.”

Alone.

Rachel felt her smirk tighten on her face, but she couldn’t let him see any sign of weakness. A bank clock on the far side of the plaza politely reminded Rachel that she was running late, so she reluctantly backed down. “No time for love, Doctor Jones,” she called as she broke the circle and shoved off deeper into the downtown district, leaving Officer Stone behind.

From the outside, Sullivan’s Gym didn’t look like much – which was fitting, considering it didn’t look like much on the inside, either. The puke-orange carpet was thin, dusty, and in rather desperate need of replacement; the geometric paint job on the walls would have been considered garish in the ‘80s. Still, the equipment was in decent shape, the ring that occupied the center of the gym was sturdy, and the patrons were serious about what they were doing, so Sullivan “Sully” Pelagius (owner and manager) continued to provide an environment where aspiring boxers and MMA brawlers could practice getting their teeth punched down their throat.

Sully, a squat balding man with curly black hair hanging off the sides of his head, looked up from his desk through the front office door as Rachel came in. “Ah, hey kid,” he called in a nasal voice, a thick Brooklyn accent betraying his out-of-state origins, “c’meah.”

Rachel obliged. “Hey Sully, what’s up?”

“Chahlie cawled in sick t’day, so dey ain’t gonna be any lesson dis aftanoon.”

“Aw, man,” Rachel whined as her face fell, “I was hoping to get one more good session in this week.”

“Yeh, I know, but tha stomach flu comes for us awl evenchulee.”

“Ew.”

“Right? I tol’ him ta take his time.” He gave her a wry grin, then went back into business mode. “Still, a deal’s a deal, so I c’n ashully pay ya in full fuh ya time t’day. Hell, if ya want ya c’n stay fadda resta tha day, I could use tha help, wat wit Chahlie gone.”

This brightened Rachel’s mood considerably. “Hell yeah, Sully, I can always use the extra money!”

“I thought that might be ya ansuh.” He hauled himself to his feet. He was only a few inches taller than Rachel was, and Rachel was pretty short for her age. “Let’s hop to it, yeah?”

“Righto, boss.” She went to the supply closet and grabbed a can of compressed air and a dust rag.

Rachel went about her responsibilities – keeping the training equipment clean and dust-free, keeping the free weights organized, mopping the floors as necessary – without complaint. In exchange for her services helping to keep the gym running smoothly, Sully paid her under the table half minimum wage, applying the rest of her wages towards her mixed martial arts lessons. It had been Rachel’s dream since she was very young to fight in the MMA, and every week saw her get a little closer to that goal.

It also helped that Rachel had lied through her teeth about her age when Sully first hired her.

So when a scrappy college sophomore, fresh from out-of-state, showed up with a saunter in her step and a duffel bag on her shoulder, and said she wanted to spar with the best fighter in the gym, Sully sized her up, gave her a smirk, and said, “Hey Rachel, c’meah.”

Rachel had been whistling tunelessly to herself as she mopped the floor nearby. She looked up with a start and wandered over. “Yeah? What’s up, boss?”

“Rachel, this is Lisa Dunn. She wants ta join owa gym, and ta prove her woith she wants ta fight tha best man heah.” He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye. “Go getcha geah on.”

She gasped as a huge grin flashed across her face. “Really? Omigosh, yeah, totally! I’ll be right back!”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Lisa said, hand raised. “Your best fighter is a fifteen-year-old girl?”

Indignation was an old friend to Rachel in conversations like this. “Hey! I’m not fifteen!”

“Fourteen, then,” she scoffed, disdain dripping from her voice. This elicited further protest from Rachel, but Lisa ignored her. “C’mon, Sully, I’m being serious.”

“So am I, kid. She’s the best fightah inner weight class atta gym t’day, an’ onna tha best besides. You wanna fight ta prove yaself, she’s ya patnah.”

“Pfff, forget this.” Lisa turned to leave.

“What, you chicken? Scared I might muss that pretty blonde pompadour of yours?”

Lisa stopped her dead in her tracks. “I’m not a chicken.”

“What’s that? I don’t speak chicken. That just sounded like “bawk bawk ba-kawk” to me.”

“Somebody needs to teach you some manners, little girl,” Lisa seethed.

Sully scoffed. “Wat, you gonna volunteah?”

Lisa stared at him as Rachel grinned cattily. “Fine.” And with that, she stalked towards the locker room.

Sully slowly shook his head as she left. “Ya can take ‘er quick, if ya play it right,” he mumbled as he walked past Rachel towards the ring.

Rachel hurried off to don her sparring gear as well. This is gonna be fun!

Ten minutes later the combatants were facing each other in the ring. Rachel wore a sky blue sparring helmet and gloves over a loose white t-shirt and grey sweat pants; Lisa wore bright gold gloves and helmet with a lime green sleeveless shirt and baggy green shorts. They glared at each other from opposite corners of the ring.

Sully called from the side of the ring, “Let’s keep this thing civil, yeah?”

Rachel grinned. “Let’s keep it interesting instead; fifty bucks says I can lay you out in less than a minute.”

Lisa scoffed. “Don’t be insulting, brat.”

Rachel tapped her chin with her glove in a pensive pose. “Hmm, you’re right. Thirty seconds.”

Lisa’s hackles rose. “You’re on, little girl.”

“Shake on it,” Rachel said as she stuck out her right glove.

The older girl hesitated, then shook Rachel’s glove with her own.

“Witness,” Sully called, and he pulled out a stopwatch from his shirt pocket as he rang the bell hanging from the side of the ring.

Immediately Rachel hopped back and forth from foot to foot, comically gyrating her fists around each other. “C’mon, ya big palooka, put up yer dukes!”

Lisa stared blankly at her for a pair of heartbeats. Her shoulders slumped as her arms fell to her sides. “This is so stupid.” She turned to Sully as she pointed a glove at Rachel. “Sully, what the–”

That was as far as she got before Rachel’s fist pounded into her temple. Caught completely off-guard, Lisa couldn’t react as Rachel spun and sent her right heel directly into her solar plexus. All the air in her lungs rushed out in a single gust as she toppled to the mat, and Rachel had her in an armbar before all of her limbs finished hitting the ground. Lisa tapped out with a grimace a few seconds later, and it was over.

Rachel sprang back to her feet as Sully rang the bell. “Time?”

Sully looked at the stopwatch and quirked an eyebrow. “22.1 seconds. Nice job, kid.”

“Yes!” Rachel jumped and punched a fist in the air. “Haha! Personal best!”

Lisa’s chest was heaving for air as she struggled to her feet. “Whu-wait, h-hold on,” she wheezed, “that isn’t... even close… to fair.”

Sully frowned and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Tha bell rang, ya took ya eyes off ya opponent, an’ ya dropped ya gahd. Ya owe the little lady some money.”

“Aw, c’mon, Sully,” Rachel cooed, “look at her poor dumb face. I didn’t exactly fight fair.” She pinched her cheek and grinned as she leaned in. “Double or nothin’ says I can do it again in less than a minute.”

“Oh you little–” Lisa choked back her retort as she shot a glance around the ring, which had drawn the attention of the rest of the day’s patrons. They now crowded around Sully, who wore knowing smirk on his face. In a strained voice, Lisa said, “Fine, you’re on. Double or nothing.” She held out a gloved hand, and they shook again.

“Witness,” Sully called out as the crowd started to clap. Rachel backed away a few steps, Lisa finished getting her feet back under her, and the bell tolled.

This time Lisa didn’t waste any time as she came in swinging. Encouragement was shouted to her from the crowd. “Atta girl, Lisa, keep up the pressure,” and “c’mon, Lisa, you got this!”

Rachel’s eyes were wide, an almost predatory grin on her face as she nimbly dodged around each of Lisa’s swings. Gotta be quick, gotta be patient. She threw a quick jab at her chin to keep her mad. Lisa easily blocked it and countered, but Rachel’s defense was also in place. She continued grinning as Lisa kept coming and threw a pair of roundhouse kicks at her. As Lisa’s foot landed she snapped her body forward and tried to land a brutal cross, but Rachel was already backpedaling and her gloves absorbed the impact instead. She’s strong, and she’s fast – but I’m faster.

Her infuriating grin was working; Lisa swung wildly as she got increasingly frustrated with her inability to land a strike. She was breathing heavily too as she tried to make up for having so recently had the wind knocked out of her. Lisa paused and took a step back to catch her breath, and Rachel did the same, shooting a quick glance at Sully. He quickly flashed his fingers at her, four, then five.

Rachel locked eyes with Lisa, widened her grin, and wiggled her hips.

Lisa howled as she hurtled forward and threw her shoulder behind a right hook. Too slow, Lisa, Rachel thought as she ducked down below it. She coiled her muscles and extended them all in a single line, legs to back to shoulder to arm, and propelled her fist straight up underneath Lisa’s chin. Her follow-through nearly lifted her off her feet, and Lisa was out like a light before she even hit the mat. Lisa’s head bounced once, then she lay still.

“58.9 seconds,” Sully called out as he rang the bell again.

“Yes! Haha!” Rachel planted a foot on Lisa’s chest as she struck a pose.

The crowd, most of whom were used to her antics, was already dispersing, muttering to themselves. “Boooo,” came a single voice from the side.

“Thank you, thank you!” Rachel waved and blew kisses at them as she leaned against the ropes. “I love you guys!”

To her surprise, she heard someone clap. “Woohoo, go Rachel!” Her eyes widened when she saw that it was Twilight, standing at the back of the dispersing crowd.

Rachel stared blankly at her, jaw agape. The hell is she doing here? She stared a moment longer, then scoffed through a sideways grin as she stepped through the ropes and hopped down next to Sully.

He pulled out his wallet and counted out five twenties for her. “Ya winnings, m’lady. I’ll geddit from ‘er when she wakes up.”

“Thank you, kind sir.” She removed a twenty and handed it back. “Your finders fee, sir.”

“Why thanky, young miss.” Sully smiled pleasantly as he tucked the twenty back into his wallet. “Ya know, ya dint need ta fleece ‘er fowah full hunnadollas.”

“I know, it just seemed like the thing to do.”

Sully faked wiping a tear from his eye. “Ah, dey grow up so fast.”

Rachel punched him in the shoulder with a chuckle, then started removing her gear. “Welp, back to work.”

“Yeh, I bettah make shooah she ain’t gonna die ah nothin’.” Sully started to climb up into the ring as Rachel headed back into the women’s locker room.