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“Beat me and I’ll tell you.”
    We
began.
    I
went with Kung Fu, which was obviously most familiar. I crouched low, my legs
spread wide and my arms strong and poised like a cobra waiting to strike. Some
of the spectators whistled and laughed. Liz cocked an eyebrow but said nothing.
She planted her foot back. One of her big toes was missing.       
    She
had backed away, fists up in a style almost mirroring boxing. She jabbed. It
was focused and unwavering, but nowhere near my speed. I swatted it away. As I
did I felt the urge to perform a jiu jitsu hold I had just learned. The
transition seemed easy, like I was meant to use them together. Just like kung
fu, I had instantly mastered another fighting technique and started integrating
it into my own style.
      Liz punched a few more times, each aiming
for a different part on my body. Testing me. I let her. I could have won in a
snap, but I enjoyed fighting, enjoyed fighting her. It was the experience more
than the victory that was worth it.
    We
circled each other. Liz had dropped her pose and instead seemed to be searching
my defense for a weak spot, like a tiger pacing her cage, looking for an opening.
    “Wrap
it up, people,” Darian called. “Come on.”
    Liz
jumped at me then. I sensed, rather than saw, her muscles tense the moment
before she moved. I planted my body and shifted back.
    Like
she had telegraphed, her punch came at my chest. I sidestepped. The urge to
follow through with the move came again and I didn’t suppress it this time. I
gripped her arm, thrust my body as leverage under hers and, using her own
momentum, tossed her like a sack of rice.
    Liz
thudded to the ground. A sympathetic ‘Ooooooo’ went through the bystanders. Liz
pounded the mat and looked up at me.
    “I
see you have no problems with hitting a girl.”
    “None
whatsoever.” I helped her up. “Your name, please.” Liz brushed herself off.
“Elizabeth Coltrac. And you?”
    “Drake
Sinclair.”
    “Fine,
Drake. I won’t take it easy on you next time.”
    “I
can’t wait.”

 
    “Same
time next week,” Darian told me once the class was over. “You pick those moves
up naturally.”
    “Thanks
again.” I shook his hand and joined Cody and Matt on the sidewalk. I had tried
to find Liz afterwards but she must have left already. I felt only a little
disappointment. Really.
    “You
looked like you were having fun,” Cody said as we started walking back towards
campus.   
    “It
was fun,” I agreed. “More than I thought it would be.”
    “The
fighting or the girl?” I shot him a dirty look as an answer. Cody held up his
hands in mock surrender.
    “Just
asking. So you’ll go back?”
    “Yes.
For both,” I added.
    “No,”
Matt said. I noticed him massaging his chest. “Never again.” Cody rolled his
eyes.
    “I
only dropped the bar on you once, Matt. I’m sorry.”
    We
turned the corner. It had grown dark while we were inside. The buildings around
us hampered the last of the sunlight, making it seem darker than it should
have.
    “We’re
lost,” Matt said. I looked up from the sidewalk. Nothing around us looked
familiar.
    “Backtrack,”
I said. “We only took a couple turns on our way here.”
    “Four
turns, Drake buddy,” Cody said.
    “Three,”
Matt said. We headed back towards the last road. As I looked around, my mind
played through free-running routes and courses I could create out of the
infrastructure. Fire escapes were jungle gyms; rooftops were high wires, light
posts were gymnastics bars. The danger of it all never crossed my mind as my
imaginary self deftly leapt and flipped ahead of us.
    “Drake.
Earth to Drake. I asked you a question,” Cody said.
    “Sorry,
what?”
    “He
wanted to know your thoughts on the level of chemistry between him and
Melan—”
    “Stop!”
Cody said, his face growing red. He shuffled his feet a bit. “Geez, Matt. But…
yeah, I—I was kind of wondering, you know…you have any idea…if Melanie
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