𝐄𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖓𝖆𝖑 𝐋𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊

【 Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ３ 】

I quickly swallow the last of my lunch and quietly rinse my dishes. I then thank my mother for the meal as I discreetly slip on my coat.

"Where are you headed off to so quickly, Anne?" She questions me, putting her hands on her hips.

I promptly tie my shoes as I explain the reason for my haste, "JoJo wants me to see him do some boxing by the local ring. He says he's been practicing and that he's gotten real good since the last time I saw him."

       She quirks an eyebrow, "The boxing ring again? That sounds a little dangerous."

       I purse my lips, then seeing as she isn't changing her mind I let out a sigh of disappointment, "I promise I won't fight anyone this time. I'll only watch."

At this she visibly relaxes. "Good. I give you permission to go," She grabs a plate of shepherds' pie and hands it to me, "Please take this down to your father."

       I take the plate, giving a small nod before I turn around to leave.

       "But if I catch you in that ring again, your workload will be doubled. Understand, young lady?"

I furrow my brow, "Fine. But if they challenge me, they're fair game." I say, chin held high as I enter the narrow stairwell, closing the door with my heel on the way out. I hear my mother's muffled protest as I rush down the stairs and into the bookshop. I'm careful not to bump into any customers while I make my way to the front desk. A smile grows on my face when I see the owner of the store, sitting in his worn leather chair, a stack of books on his desk.

"Annie, where are you headed off to today?" My father asks as he stamps one of the books.

"I'm going to cheer JoJo on as he kicks someone's arse in the boxing ring!" I say with enthusiasm.

He frowns at me, "Anne. I told you not to say things like that in public. Someone might hear you,"

"But the guys say it all the time! How about I just don't say it around adults?" I plead with him.

       He lets out an exasperated sigh, "Oh alright. Go and have fun with your friends,"

I grin at him as I push open the front door to Primrose Books, hearing the familiar chime of the bell as I do so. My father is pretty lenient when it comes to me, except for when we're under the gaze of the public eye. Because of this, all adults see me as a well mannered young lady; refined and polite. My peers however, see me in a totally different light.

I jog over the last gradual hill and see the wooden boxing ring—more accurately a hexagon—in the shallow dip between the other hills. JoJo is waiting with anticipation for his next turn.

At the sound of my heavy footfalls as I run down the hill, Jonathan pulls his attention away from the fight at hand to see me. "Annie! There you are! I was wondering when you'd get here."

"Sorry about that, my family had a late lunch. Have you gotten a turn yet?" I ask, catching my breath.

"Yeah. My last match was with that guy over there," he points at a guy across from us with a few other guys around him cleaning him up.

"Oh wow, you really did a number on him. I'm guessing you won?" He nods, looking a little guilty.

The two guys in the ring continue to shuffle around each other, both exhausted from the duration of the fight. Finally one of them lunges at the other. He tries a lazy attempt at a dodge but fails to evade the attack as a right hook connects with his jaw. The punch may have been a weak one, but the referee said that one hit to the face ends the match, so now the fight is over.