Junior Year Box Set

I was impressed that neither Paul nor Jane laughed at me, but at the same time could tell they didn’t believe they had anything to worry about. I thought they were being silly because, at six-four, I had reach on both of them.

“We should even up the odds and let you use batons against this young buck,” Fritz said to his staff, and then smiled. “Two on one.”

“Don’t you want in on this?” I asked Fritz.

“No, I promised Cassidy that I wouldn’t spar with you while you’re in LA. I’m afraid of what she’d do to me if I broke my promise.”

“Alrighty, then,” I said as I smiled back. “I take it I can make them cry.”

“I’m counting on it,” Fritz said.

Practice batons sting when you’re hit with them. I wasn’t looking forward to this. I knew that Fritz wouldn’t have put me on the mat with these two if he didn’t believe I could hold my own.

Fritz ran us through some forms to warm up. I watched both Paul and Jane move, and I could tell that Jane was better than her male counterpart. Cassidy had taught me not to underestimate a girl. I would be wary of Jane.

When we got on the mat, I made some showy moves that labeled me a complete rookie.

“You about done showing off?” Fritz asked.

I rotated my head back and forth like I was a boxer and started to bounce on my toes. I expected that they would both attack me at the same time. When Fritz signaled for us to start, I exploded towards Paul, dropped down, and slid past him. His baton barely missed clipping my head; I actually felt the breeze from it. I popped up and kicked him in the thigh from behind.

That hurt like crazy. I knew because Cassidy had used that little move on me any number of times. I watched as Paul said some choice words and limped off the mat.

“Get him, Jane!” Paul shouted.

My little maneuver had her reevaluating me as an opponent.

“You wouldn’t hurt a girl, would you?” Jane asked.

“I think you can handle yourself,” I shot back.

Jane launched herself in a controlled attack designed to test my defenses. I surprised her when I took a hit to get under her guard and tossed her cute butt halfway across the mat. Jane tucked, rolled, and popped up, ready to go again. Fritz tossed me two batons, and Jane and I tried to kill each other. You could hear the staccato clap as our batons came together.

It came down to me having the longer reach and better stamina. I tapped Jane’s forehead and then smacked her butt when she lost her concentration. I guess that made her mad because she dropped her batons and attacked me. Silly girl. I still had mine and proceeded to spank her as I fended her off.

“Fight me like a man!” Jane taunted.

I recognized what she wanted to do. Jane had military training and wanted either to get me into a submission hold or to throw me. I bowed my head and tossed Fritz my batons, then waited to see what Jane planned. It was all I could do to hold back when she came into my body and prepared to toss me. This was the same throw that Coach Hope had tried when I pile-drove him into the mat. Jane’s feet were suddenly up over her head. She was light enough that I just held her in the air.

“I give!” she shouted.

I flipped her around so her butt was on my shoulder.

“Do I get to keep her?” I asked Fritz.

“No, you better give her back,” he said.

I put Jane down, and Paul joined us on the mat.

“I’ve been telling you, you need to train harder,” Fritz began.

He had our attention and began to run us through drills. It felt good to be in the gym. Both Paul and Jane had moves to teach me. When we were done for the evening, I was sore and hungry. Where Cassidy was quick and deadly, they got up close and personal. They were much more physical and tried to pound their opponent into submission. Cassidy would just dislocate something and be done.

Before we left, Fritz made everyone promise not to tell Flo about my skills. He planned a similar lesson for tomorrow.

◊◊◊

When we returned to the house, I took a hot shower and then let Rosy feed me. Caryn and Rita were nowhere to be found, which left Halle to keep me company as I ate.

“I think you’re sweet on Rosy,” Halle teased me.

Rosy was at least fifty, short, and plump.

“If you’d learn to cook like she does, I would be sweet on you.”

“Hurry up and eat. I want you to meet some of my friends.”

When I was done eating, we walked out the front gate and down the street to another mansion. Halle knew the security code, and the gate opened to let us in. She walked in the front door like she lived there.

This was a bad episode of 90210. There was a bunch of high school kids trying to act way too cool. It reminded me of when I’d gone to the party Harper invited me to that her old classmate threw. I was in a house with kids who had too much money and too little common sense.

Halle introduced me to most of her so-called friends, and when we’d get a moment, she would tell me the horrible things they did to each other. I wasn’t sure whether they were really anybody’s friends. I suddenly missed home.

After about an hour, Halle turned to me.