Chapter 1B (Ethan)

Ethan stood in front of his gym, a big sign above it “Easy E’s Gym.”

Ethan: “She left this morning… didn’t even wake me up. She always wakes me up. She’s still upset. Yup. One hundred percent. Definitely. Probably. Maybe… No, definitely. I gotta fix this. Well new day, time to grab it by the horns or how they call it. Yup, this is my gym, we're no A.K.A, but hopefully one day, build it with my own two hands, from different jobs… Everyone that comes is like family, been up for two years now, the same people, rarely getting anyone new…”

Ethan walked into his kickboxing gym, loud stereo music playing one of J Cole’s albums.

Bernie (jumping rope): “Yo! Coach! How you doing this fine morning?”

Ethan:“Bernie!—” He squinted around. “Drop the rope. Where’s fat Billy? He's firefighter tryouts are next week.”

Bernie: “I don’t know, coach, I’ve called him 3 times, no response…”

BrownBob: “Hey! Bernie, what are you doing? Why aren’t you training, you black cunt? I’m on me own here… “

Bernie: “Did he just call me a black cunt?”

Ethan: “Yes he did.”

Bernie: “He can’t do that, that's racist…”

Ethan: “But you are black and you are a cunt, those are the facts, I don’t think BrownBob cares what race you are…”

Bernie: “The fact that I’m black has nothing to do with the fact I’m a cunt…”

Ethan: “He didn’t say black people are cunts, Bernie, he was being specific to you, one has nothing to do with the other, and I’ll go a step further, it was a term of familiar affection…”

Bernie: “Bob’s a gypsy, I don’t call him a thieving cunt…”

Ethan: “Why not he might be very understanding. Only if it comes from a place of heart of course, now back to the issue at hand, where’s fat Billy?”

Bernie shrugs.

Ethan walked to the stereo, slammed a button, and the music cut. The gym fell dead silent.

Ethan: “Does anyone know where Billy lives at?”

????: “Yeah coach, he’s at—” he gives the address like reading it off Google Maps.

Ethan: “Bob, car keys.”

BrownBob: “My locker coach, black bag…”

Ethan snapped the music back on—J. Cole resumed yelling about taxes, women or trauma—Ethan headed for the locker room.