How many times do I have to tell you not to bite on every feint? Look how far away she was! Two quick flashes popped inside Roen’s head, both of Sonya executing similar attacks. Learn to recognize it!
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one getting whacked silly.”
Baji must be mocking me.
“Are you all right, Roen?” Sonya picked up the staff and handed it back to him as he scrambled to his knees. “You need to gauge distance better. You’re falling for the same trick every time.”
I rest my case.
“That explains why you managed to hit me in the same place four times now.” He grimaced.
“Maybe you shouldn’t leave that opening for me.” She blew a strand of hair from her face and waved him back. “Let’s try this again, and try to hang on to the staff.”
He could tell her patience was wearing thin as well. The two squared off in the ring and began anew. Roen had finally overcome his self-consciousness and was wearing only a pair of shorts. It had taken him a while to feel comfortable enough to go shirtless. Sonya, as usual, wore a dark blue close-fitting shirt and pants, garments that covered most of her body.
They circled and stalked each other, both looking for an opening. Sonya shuffled her feet, feinted high and then slashed low. Roen managed to block her quick swing as the two shafts clacked with a loud thunk. Sensing an opening, Roen stabbed at her face with the butt end. Sonya moved fluidly and parried, guiding his thrust away from her body. Then she pivoted forward and twirled the staff, striking him on the side of the head. He staggered backward.
Turn right! Roll with the blow. Keep the guard up. An image of a monk blocking a sword flashed in his head.
By this time, Roen was used to following Tao’s running commentary and tried his best to follow the instructions. He felt his back to the rope as he retreated. Sonya gave him no quarter, however, and charged again. He barely dodged another blow as he fell back, hopelessly off balance. She pressed the attack, pouncing on top of him and spearing him in the stomach. She ended the melee just short of a killing blow. Roen groaned and Tao muttered something he couldn’t make out.
Sonya shook her head and offered her hand. “I think that’s enough for the day. You need to get ready for work, anyhow.”
Roen couldn’t agree more. He could see the disappointment in her eyes. The past couple weeks of workouts had been painful. Getting beaten up twice a day was starting to take a physical and mental toll on him. He was becoming discouraged and started dreading these workouts. Sighing, he picked himself up and hopped in the shower. By the time he got out, Sonya had already left. Roen walked up to the mirror and felt his tender ribs. A splotch a nice shade of purple was already appearing. There was a nasty looking welt appearing just above his temple as well. He looked as if he’d just gone five rounds with Mike Tyson.
“No male modeling for me,” he sighed as he got dressed for work.
An hour later, Roen dragged his tired, sore body to work. His coworkers had already gotten over their initial concerns with his bruised and often-cut face. Maybe they thought he had joined a fight club or something. He had become used to it and barely noticed the worried looks on their faces.
Fatigue had become an issue though. Both Tao and Sonya pushed him so hard; he always felt exhausted. Roen desperately wanted to call in sick today after the morning workout, but willed himself to go in. He was determined to finish as much work as possible before the weekend. He sat at his desk and stared at the list of jobs slated for the day: a few script adjustments, some applications to deploy, and several diagrams to update; all in all, a typical monotonous day.
“The world spins despite me, not because of me,” he muttered. Last week, one of his coworkers died after twenty-five years of service. There was an email and eulogy sent by one of the managers – and then a mad scramble by everyone else to loot his office supplies. Roen picked up his stapler and held it over his head, exclaiming loudly. “This is all I’ll amount to. This is my stapler. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My stapler is my best…”
It is not even really yours. If you quit your job, they keep the stapler.
“Hush, Tao. You’re ruining my moment with myself.”
Your moment of self-pity? And yet you cannot bear to quit the job that makes you feel this way.
“Well, when can I quit and get on the Prophus payroll?”
When we can trust you enough to do more than stalk a mailbox.
Roen sighed. “You know, I bet the Prophus have pretty deep pockets. Why don’t you put me on retainer now? My development would be so much faster if my only responsibility was to train.”
Throwing money at you just because you do not like your lot in life? No thanks. We are not your sugar daddy.
“You’d get better results out of me that way.”
Your progress has been commendable enough… wait… scroll back up. I see the problem. Comment that code out and change the global variables.
Roen complied and did as he was told.
Anyway, as I was saying, I am pleased with your progress, maybe even proud.
“Does this bruised and battered face look like something anyone should be proud of?”
I had my doubts at first. You were an out-of-shape man with low self-esteem and underdeveloped social skills. Now you are an in-shape man with low self-esteem and underdeveloped social skills.
“Thanks… I think.”
There has been a marked improvement. Your reaction time has improved somewhat as of late. Now, if you can only stop fighting like a girl.
“What do you expect? You got a girl to train me.”
I take that back. Saying you fight like a girl is an insult to girls everywhere. I bet you would not dare say that in front of Sonya.
“Damn straight I wouldn’t. I still have nightmares about her right hook.”
That is because you never see it coming. You have to read her telegraphs when she feints to your right. It is her MO.
“Oh, I see it coming. I just can’t react fast enough.”
This is serious. If we do not resolve this problem, you will never survive in the field.
Roen finished deploying his applications and crossed them off his to-do list. He opened one of his diagrams and began to make changes. With Tao’s help, his productivity had doubled and the quality of his work had improved tenfold.
By noon, he had finished almost everything, something that used to take him all day to do. Whistling, he locked his computer and grabbed his workout bag. The one redeeming value of the company was the gym located in the basement. While it was unsettling to see his overweight coworkers sweating in shorts, it served as a grim reminder that he used to be one of them.
As he often did, Roen took a detour to the elevator and walked a few aisles out of his way. Sometimes, he almost wished Jill wouldn’t be at her desk. She had been traveling for work this past month, so he hadn’t seen much of her lately. His heartbeat quickened and his palms began to sweat.
Oh come on. You treat her like a Greek goddess and act like a lap dog around her. It is embarrassing.
Today, he was in luck, or not in luck, depending on who you asked. Jill was busy typing on her laptop. Her auburn hair was tied in a bun, and she wore a sharp gray business suit, along with her cute nerdy glasses. Roen sucked in his breath and felt his heart skip a beat. He slowed down and stood there silently, not sure what to do now that she was there.