Unfriendly Aftermath

Max sent Gia home for the day, scolding her the whole time, meanwhile Tyson and Duke helped me get back on my feet and walked me to the locker room to clean myself up.

“What the hell, man, what got into you?” Tyson said, confused and almost annoyed.

“Seriously, you let yourself get knocked out by a punch from the first girl who comes along? We’re the bad boys, man—we’ve got a reputation to uphold.” Duke was clearly upset about something.

“It’s not that—I was distracted and…”

They both stopped and sat me down on a bench in the locker room.

“Listen, man, don't let your fantasy run wild. There are already two of us trying to get Gia’s attention. If you get in the way too, we’ll knock you down to Rank 700 with all the punches we’ll give you,” Duke threatened. I didn’t think he was serious, but his face and Tyson’s were extremely tense and scowling.

“She’s all yours,” I said with a sigh. What a bunch of shitty friends. “Can I take a shower and get changed now?”

“Go ahead, loser.” And they left me alone.

After my shower, it was Max’s turn to come give me a lecture.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” He shouted so hard it scared me and made me almost fall while I was getting dressed.

“Hey Jack, I’m glad you’re okay,” I said sarcastically, correcting Max.

“No, man, seriously, what’s going on with you? First you get beaten up by some mysterious low-rank idiot, and now you get knocked out by a girl? You’re supposed to be the strongest among us, and instead you’re making us look like total idiots!”

“I don’t know, man… Maybe Gia really is that good?” I said sarcastically, trying to change the subject. “Listen, I’m not exactly in top shape right now. Why don’t we talk about it tomorrow?”

“Fuck you!” Max was angry, but in a different way than Duke and Tyson. He almost seemed sad, as if I’d betrayed his trust or something like that. “I don’t want to see you at the gym until you’re ready to fight, and I get to pick your opponent. So if you don’t want to make a total fool of yourself again, you’d better clear your head of all the shit you have in there. Until then, I don’t want to see your loser face anywhere near my gym. Now get dressed and get the hell out of here, asshole.”