turned out to be a total psycho. She was the most obsessed Nadine that Julien had encountered to date. Not only did she claim to have the name, but she spent the whole class speaking with a French accent. That wouldn't have been so bad, but halfway through the class, he heard her tell the girl she was grappling with that her last name was LaBelle. Of course, LaBelle was Nadine's last name in the book.
Julien couldn't wait until she was asked to fill out paperwork, because that little charade needed to be stopped. He was okay with a girl claiming her name was Nadine, but using the whole name and speaking with a bad French accent was headed toward freaky.
It was an hour-long class, and the girl who called herself Nadine left as soon as she bowed off the mat. Julien figured it was better that way. She seemed like a nice enough person, and Julien hated to see her embarrass herself. Oddly enough, he was a bit disappointed because she was a cute one.
John David gave Julien a knowing smile when he came into the front office after coaching women's class.
"She said her last name was LaBelle," Julien said.
"She told me that too, but I didn't want to say anything," John David said. He gave Julien a confused loo k. "I can't imagine she'd think she could sign up without showing some kind of ID."
Julien shrugged. "I'm sure she won't be back. She left as soon as class ended."
"Too bad," John David said, shaking his head. "She was cute."
"I guess," Julien said as if he hadn't noticed. "The name and accent are a little overboard, though."
"I know," John David said. "I saw the last name when she signed the waiver, but I didn't recognize the accent."
"That's because she's terrible at it."
"No, it's because she didn't really say much."
"Didn't you ask her any questions? Talk to her about the gym?"
"She talked to Brad. He just asked me to get her a waiver and walk her back."
"I don't know why you don't have to get their license when they come to a trial class."
"Yeah, I should just act like we need a license right off the bat when a Nadine comes in. I didn't realize the impersonations were bothering you, sir Julien, I'll just stop them all at the door and ask for ID from now on."
"Shut-up, you know a fake accent is a little scary."
John David looked at him like he was being a little dramatic. "I thought you were a pro fighter now. You tellin' me you're scared of a little girl? She's harmless."
"She's not a little girl. That's the thing. The other Nadines have been girls, but this one seemed a little different—she looked different, at least."
"Brad said she was nice."
"Nice?" Julien said. "What's that mean? She thinks she's a character from a book. She came here with a fake name and accent. I'm sorry, but it takes a certain level of crazy to do that."
John David shot Julien a look that said he could see the logic in that before turning to shift his focus back to the computer screen. "I'll ask her for her license next time," he said.
"It doesn't matter. I'm sure she won't be back."
"There's always the ring girl," John David said, never taking his eyes off the computer.
" Jesus, you know about that too? I need to see this photo Carlos posted. Is that what you're talking about?"
" Yeah. You can't really see her face in the picture, but Carlos commented that she was smoking hot and that y'all were getting friendly."
Julien went to the back office to grab his stuff. He opened his duffel bag, got out his phone, and opened Instagram. Carlos had posted several photos the night before, a few from the fights and a couple from the Fast Eddie's. Julien found himself staring at the one of him and Raven, and even though the photo didn't show her face that well, it was enough to remind him of what she looked like. He smiled, remembering the kiss they shared. She wasn't necessarily the type of girl he wanted to have anything long term with, but she was extremely easy on the eyes, and he thought that he might just look her up next time