Preparing for the worst

Rebecca was even shorter than Jessica but weighed only half a kilo (1 lb) less than me: for those of you who don’t wrestle, let me tell you that this is one of the worst matchups you could ever have.

With Jessica by my side, Laura spent as much time as she could giving me advice on how to take her on.

“From what I can tell, that girl wants to kill you,” Jessica told me, snickering as she ate popcorn.

I couldn’t concentrate; I was still exhausted from my earlier match, and Isidor had won his so quickly that he hadn’t even given me time to recover, while Rebecca had had her last match almost half an hour ago.

She was tired too, but I was completely wiped out. I had no energy left.

For the first time, I ignored Coach Laura and decided I’d do it my way—go all in right from the start.

When I stepped onto the mat, I was more nervous than ever. Everyone was watching us, but I was only aware of Isidor’s gaze; it was the first time I had to prove myself to him against another woman.

Rebecca was very pretty when she wasn’t angry. She was a petite muscle girl, just over a meter sixty (5.5 feet), with long hair tied back in a single light brown ponytail. She had thick and sharp eyebrows but a round, gentle face, currently marred by her angry frown lines. Her dark complexion and features revealed her Latin American heritage.

“That would explain her temperament,” I said to myself.

We approached each other in fighting stances, crouched low, with the referee waiting for us to exchange greetings.
I extended my hand, knowing she wouldn’t return the gesture. After a few seconds, the referee realized there was no point in waiting.

“Fight!”