Fight Night

New Faces

"Beautiful Patri! That was a good execution" Tony yelled in approval. I was back in the gym only this time in the octagon or should I say cage. We were having a 1 to 1 sparring session working on new fighting techniques, moves and combinations.

"Ok so 1 is a straight punch or quick jab 2 is a body shot kick and 3 can be a knee to the body or elbow to the face, I'll call out the numbers you do them in order" Tony instructed, "ok I got it" I nodded back in response. "1" *punch* "1" *punch* "1,2" *punch* *kick* I hear the gym door creak open and slam shut.

"1,1,2,1" *punch* *punch* *kick* *punch* "1,1,2,3" *punch* *punch* *kick* *knee* an average sized woman walks behind the side of the cage Tony's back is facing so she's right in my peripheral view I'd say around 5"7 tall something along the lines of that. I hold eye contact with her as she sits down on the bench and observes me as I train.

"1,1,3,2" *punch* *punch* *knee* *kick*
she had dirty fur coloured hair tied up in a messy-ish bun, it wasn't dark but it also wasn't very light either. Her eyebrows were a dark shade of brown and contrasted perfectly to the colour of her hair and she had nice bright blue eyes, it almost looked satisfying.

"1,3,1,1,2" *punch* *elbow* *punch* *punch* *kick* She wore black and white reebok UFC branded joggers and matching zip up jacket along with a white cotton t-shirt with a red UFC logo stamped on underneath. Was she a board member sitting in on a session to make sure I wasn't doing anything illegal. Nah that couldn't be it, she would be wearing more formal attire if that was the case.

""1,1,3,1,3" *punch* *punch* *elbow* *punch* *knee* sweat was now trickling down the exposed parts of my body that weren't covered by spandex or sports bra, that was the usual fighting gear I'd wear. Tony stood up straight and took the pads off "alright Patri that's us done for today" he walked over and unlocked the gate prompting me to follow him out of the ring.

"This right here is Aspen" me motioned to the mystery girl with his hand and she stood up abruptly. "She is our new physician and is on hand for if you have any problems concerning your physical wellbeing" he took a drink from his water bottle.

She fumbled with the clipboard and pen that her hands had a deathly grip on before setting them on the bench and holding her hand out.
I took a firm hold of it and gave it a light shake "Patri Munez" I gave her a welcoming smile.
"Uhh, Aspen Schrader" hmm nice to put a name to the face I guess.

"Aspen will need to do a physical examination so she's up to speed on where you're at so I'm gonna head on out and leave you guys to it" Tony headed for the door. "Later Patri" "Bye Tony" I yelled back.

"I can call you Aspen right?" "You don't go by anything else" I questioned her. She shook her head "Aspen is fine" she gave a slight smile which caused me to smile as well. "We can go into the back room over there it's got all the medical equipment inside of it" I pointed over her right shoulder.

"Yeah, lets get this done so you don't have to stay here too much longer and can be on your way" she gave a tight lipped smile. Her smile lines became more defined and accentuated her sharp facial structure.

"If you could just stand on the scale and call out your weight to me please" she nodded to the digital scale that was planted in the corner of the room. I looked down at the reading "124.6lbs" I called out before stepping off.

Picking up the clipboard she held moments ago she started to fill in her data sheet. "And if you could just stand over here for me, keep your feet planted firmly into the ground, back straight and head facing forward" I stood under the contraption that measured your height.

Aspen stepped forward and pulled the plastic marker to where it was placed softly on the base of my head. "5"10 your a tall one" she laughed before writing it down. I smiled "tall to some".

"I've already been given your diet and hydration plans so I'm up to speed on that I just need to know about any serious past injuries" she looked up from her clipboard and held eye contact with me.

I got lost in my own thoughts and didn't realise I was staring. "Hellooo Patri" her hand waved in front of my face a couple of times before I snapped out of it. I shook my head, "Oh Umm yeah sorry about that, let me think".

Once we discussed the details and filled out many forms that was us done. "For a fighter your list of major injuries is the lowest that I have seen" she sounded pretty impressed.
"I guess you could call it luck" I shrugged my shoulders in response.

Aspen shook her head and smiled "or maybe it's the fact that you're a good fighter and dish out the beatings instead of taking them".
"Oh Aspen, it wasn't always like that" I laughed at the past memories.

"But I'm still young and although my record may be straight wins right now I can't say that it will stay like that forever, all it takes is one slip up and your on the back foot, next thing you know your knocked out cold trying to figure out how many fingers are being held up and what day it is" I chuckled and Aspen laughed with me.

"I should let you go though, I've kept you here long enough" she said gathering her things before she ushered me out of the medical room and into the main gym, I grab my bag and we head out together.