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Cassidy, Brook, and I drove to the dojo after football practice. Brook wouldn’t give me a clue as to what Beth had told her. She would just give me a mysterious look and make vague references that I’d find out soon.
When we entered the dojo, I spotted Fritz, Rita James’s security person. I had directed him to the dojo so he could train. He came out with Shiggy.
“This is my best and her student,” Shiggy said. He introduced Cassidy to Fritz and then went to teach his beginners class.
“I’d like you to spar with David so I can get a feel for you,” Cassidy said.
“Are you sure he’ll be okay?” Fritz asked.
“Just don’t do any permanent damage,” Cassidy said, which had me worried.
We got on the mat and Cassidy ordered us to begin. Fritz was sneaky-fast, and I think I surprised both him and Cassidy because I surprised myself when I survived his initial attack. Cassidy had drilled me on how to protect myself, and I was enough of an athlete to move out of the way. On the second pass, Fritz upped his game, and it was obvious he outclassed me by a wide margin. He had years of experience on me, whereas I had reach on him and was a little quicker than he was. I also had better stamina. If I could keep the match going, I might have a chance. Cassidy stopped us.
“I think we need to equalize the two of you a bit,” she said and handed me a baton.
I dropped it and looked awkward. Fritz smirked and attacked. It was really his fault. I just tried to defend myself, but I knocked him out with the baton.
Cassidy and I looked at each other. Of course, the beginners liked to watch us, and when we got too rowdy, Shiggy would have to make us stop. I guess their gasps had Shiggy running to us as soon as Fritz hit the mat.
Fritz had tried to do a leg sweep, and with my extra two feet of reach with the baton, I attempted to block his faked punch. As he dropped to do the leg sweep, the baton had caught him in the temple. If it had been a metal one, I might’ve killed him. That would leave a mark.
Shiggy sent Cassidy to his office for his first aid kit. She quickly returned with the kit, and Shiggy got a small plastic pill and cracked it. It was smelling salts; he put the pill under Fritz’s nose. Fritz came to and tried to sit up.
“You’re okay. Just give it a minute,” Shiggy said.
Fritz said something in German that was probably a cuss word. Shiggy helped him sit up and then Fritz looked for me.
“I haven’t been knocked on my butt like that in over ten years. That’ll teach me to be overconfident.”
“I’m sorry I hit you so hard,” I apologized.
“No, that was on me. I got too eager and made a dumb move. I’d like to work with you two and get back to fundamentals. I’ve let my training slide.”
“What do you think, Cassidy?” Shiggy asked.
“No. David isn’t ready. I would ask that either my dad or Coach Zoon join us to spar with Fritz. If David and Fritz spar, we can expect more of the same.”
Cassidy left to make a phone call, then came back and she and I began to work with batons while Fritz watched. I respected that he never made a comment while we were sparring, but would discuss moves with Cassidy when we took a break. About thirty minutes into the class, Coach Zoon showed up. Cassidy took the lead and directed us in what we were learning.
Coach Zoon and Fritz took each other’s measure, and I was glad they were there. Watching the two of them showed me what I might be like if I worked at this for many years. They were never out of position, and they were so powerful when they struck. I could see where I held back, afraid I would hurt Cassidy. These two warriors trusted in their training and went full-tilt on each exercise. I really wasn’t ready.
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When we got home, there were a lot of cars at my house, so I had to park on the street.
“Go take a shower and then come down,” Brook told me as she and Cassidy went into the house.
After I took my shower, I walked in the back door to see my house filled with girls. The first person I saw was Pam, who met me at the back door.
“What’s going on?” I asked her.
“Beth is getting everyone organized,” Pam said.
“What do you mean?”
“They told me Tracy had a calendar that they scheduled dates on. This way you won’t have to worry about anything,” she said.
That was not happening. I walked into the kitchen and saw Mrs. A and my mom talking. I gave Mom a hug.
“There’s a chef’s salad in the refrigerator for you,” Mom said.
I pulled it out and found some ranch dressing. Cassidy smiled at me, and I made plates for her and Brook. Mom had made homemade chicken noodle soup, so I threw that into the microwave. I sat down with the two girls at the kitchen table and began to eat. Beth walked in, and I got up and kissed her. She sat down while we ate and talked about her classes at Purdue. The guy Beth had dated last semester had gone back with his ex-girlfriend from home over the summer, so she was single again. When we were done eating, she took us into the living room. Besides the four girls from this morning, there were Tracy and Mona. Beth got up to talk.
“During David’s freshman year, there were three of us that dated him regularly. We found that the best way to handle everything was to schedule it,” Beth started.
“No,” I said.
That simple declaration caught all the women and girls off guard. Mrs. A and my mom had big smiles on their faces. Beth and the other girls seemed confused. I think they were all used to dictating my every move, and that I would go with the flow.
“What do you mean by ‘no’?” Beth asked.
“Beth, I love you to death, but you misread what I wanted you to do. It’s not your fault, because I was used to being led around like a love-sick puppy,” I said and looked around the room at the confused faces. “I guess I better tell you all that I care about each and every one of you. It wouldn’t be a leap to say that I love each of you.”
Then I remembered that my mom and Mrs. A were in the room. It might be best not to go into specifics. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to organize my thoughts,” I said. Beth smiled at me, and I felt her love and support. She gave me the courage to go on. “Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a chance to really examine myself. What I found didn’t make me happy, and it showed me that I have a long way to go before I become the man I want to be. My uncle helped me create a set of goals to live my life by. Before football started, I’d hit a low point. I’d just lost my best friend to an accident, and I’d put myself out there once again, only to find that the other person wasn’t ready to commit.
“I think Tami knew I wasn’t really ready. The curious thing was I looked at my goals, and nowhere was there finding a life partner on the list. Uncle John told me that my goals would change as I grew up. All I have to do is look at my brother and see how true that is. I’m a junior in high school, and I’m supposed to be learning about love and heartbreak. I’m also supposed to have fun.
“I have so much going on in my life right now it’s ridiculous. Heck, last Friday night I shot myself in the foot by setting some stupid record. Because of that, Governor Higgins is giving me some award at our pep rally on Friday,” I said.
“Did you just say you’re receiving an award from the governor on Friday?” my mom asked.
I rubbed my forehead to stave off the headache that was sure to develop. This was the first the cheerleaders had heard of this, too. They had to get ready for a pep rally, which got them all talking at once. I finally whistled very loudly to get them all settled down.
“I’m not sure if I was supposed to tell anyone about that yet, but I’m sure you can all keep a secret,” I said, which made everyone laugh because there was no way to keep this quiet. “There’s more. Wednesday there’ll be a big press conference to talk about the record. Because we did so well, ESPN has hijacked our last game of the year, and we’ll be playing some nationally ranked team at a neutral site.