Martial Arts Girl

Madi was late for practice. When she entered the gym hall, there were about a hundred kids already doing their warm ups on their mats. A tall boy giving them instructions turn his head and frowned when he saw her.

"You're late," he said, stating the obvious.

"I know. Had to stop by the library to return some books," she said, laying her mat on the floor and copying the exercises the rest of the group were doing.

The boy grunted then told her as if he had just remembered.

"Stay after this. We have to talk."

Madi nodded in response.

She ignored him and the class after this small exchange. Instead, she rolled up her mat and went where the punching bags were located. She needed to practice anyway since the championship was merely a month away. The championship also coincided with her prelims, which means she had to study and practice at the same time. Practice in her case usually lasts for two or three hours on Friday nights and the entire weekends following that.

Although Madi had been studying martial arts since she was three, she doesn't take her skills for granted. Her body needed preparation. Her skills needed constant practice and innovation. Most importantly, she needed to be psychologically prepared for the contest ahead.

She spent the next three hours alternating between small and heavy bags to hone her leg muscles, calves and arms. By the time she finished, the hall was almost empty except for one or two groups still doing yoga exercises on the mats.

She went to the locker room and took a quick shower then proceeded to the admin room tuck a little farther away from the exit. When she opened the door, her team captain, Brie Donovan, was already there, along with five club officers.

The video was already running on a huge LED, showing a young girl of about fifteen in tanks and shorts exchanging flying kicks with a similarly attired opponent.

"What do you think?" Brie said when she saw Madi.

Madi looked at the screen with a very calm expression. Her eyes, however, were glinting with something like excitement.

"She's very good," she said.

"Her name is Samantha Eggs and she's going to be your opponent if you make it to the finals."

Madi's brows rose.

"She's that good?"

"She won the championship three times in the last three years. And she's from St Ignatius."

St Ignatius, St Bart's fiercest rival not only in academics but in sports.

"We didn't do good fighting her?" Madi frowned.

Brie hesitated.

"Martial arts is not exactly an in-demand sport in St Bart, you know. We welcome perhaps four or five dozen students a year but that's it. Our numbers are not dwindling because most consider it exercise but we don't have members who're really into it, if you know what I mean."

"Like me, for example?" Madi stated with a smile.

"Like you, yes," Brie nodded her bright head. "That night, when I saw you, I just know in my gut you were going to be our next champion," Brie gushed like a groupie.

Ah, that night, Madi thought ironically. The night of Jayden's party where she showed eight cocky boys ganging up on her who really was their boss. It didn't even take ten minutes to take them all down. Madi and Drum were about to leave when a freckled face red-head girl chased after them with an urgent shout.

Leaving behind the stunned and cowering crowd, Madi and Drum left the party with the girl who introduced herself as Brie Donovan, the president of the Martial Arts Club.

Madi didn't actually remember what Brie said that evening other than she wanted her to join their club. She vaguely remembered about tuition fee waivers but didn't really pay any attention to it. As soon as she heard there was actually a club for martial artists in St Bart's, Madi was suddenly filled with excitement.

For some unknown reason other than perhaps wanting her daughter to learn how to protect herself when necessary, Nyssa Trent had been adamant in having Madi learn martial arts at a very young age. She was, if Madi remembered correctly, three years old when her mother brought her to a dojo owned by a frail-looking old man who welcomed them grandiosely with a tea brewing ceremony.

The old man seemed to know her mother very well because he didn't ask many questions. Instead, he talked to Madi in a gentle voice, his eyes staring at her young face with an intensity which somewhat frightened the young Madi.

The old master's name was Zhen Huang and he was, as her mother explained it, a childhood friend of her mother's. The two young people got separated when Nyssa's mother's family moved to another country after the war ended. They met thirty years later, having recognized each other despite all the years of separation, in a grocery store where they each were trying to buy a jar of kimchi in an Asian store.

Zhen Huang owns a dojo in the outskirt of M City. It's actually a very popular hangout for movie stars, veterans and championship events. Madi became a regular starting that first day. Even after Nyssa died and when they moved to M City, Adam continued with the lessons, finding a new teacher for Madi in another dojo recommended by Zheng Huang.

When Madi got older though and Adam finally realized how his daughter's unusual skills might hinder the growth of her social relationship in school, he asked Madi to hide her true abilities for the sake of blending in smoothly. Madi was surprised but agreed. Bullying had never been a problem in school before until her so called bestfriend betrayed her just because that hairy thing between her legs started throbbing whenever she saw Jayden.

Madi grimaced. She must be really still pissed off by that incident. Her once quiet life is now topsy turvy thanks to that school heartthrob. But after all, there's only a year left after she graduates. She should focus more on what school to go to this early. And she should really also visit her mother's family in L City. It's been years since she had seen her grandparents. She talked to them constantly via Skype but seeing them in person was still the right thing to do considering it was going to be her mom's death anniversary soon.

Of course, Adam starts to look like a zombie whenever that day approaches. It was a painful reminder her father could do without in his life. Nine years and Adam still misses his Nyssa. He would quietly welcome the day by getting drunk the night before. Then the following morning, Madi would see him with his eyes red and puffy. Then her father would go somewhere and she won't hear from him for 24 hours. She wonders sometimes where he goes and if he ever spends that day with another woman. It can't be good for him still grieving after her mom. What would Adam do if she goes to a college far away, instance. Or if she marries and start her own family. What will happen to her father?

Madi worries. She doesn't show it but she worries about her Dad. So, going to see her grandparents in L City would be a good thing for both of them. Adam had never once visited his wife's grave after she died. There were opportunities to visit his in-laws and his wife's grave in the last nine years but Adam seemed like a sleep tortoise, afraid to even peer out of his shell and accept that Nyssa was really gone. Nine years and he hasn't let go and accepted the fact of her death. This time though, Madi was serious about asking him to finally reconcile with her mom's passing. She was going to college soon. She doesn't know what she'll do if she leaves behind her dad with all this baggages weighing him down. Maybe going to L City was the last chance they need to finally forget the past.

It didn't happen as Madi planned though. Something bigger happened that ran counter to her plans. Something that not only would change her life and her father's but the lives of other people she was destined to meet in the next two weeks.