Discoveries

14

 The first week was a hell.

Bruised and sore I fell into bed, bruised and sore I dragged myself out of it. My stomach seemed to have tripled it's size, and I gobbled up any food in sight.

I needed to.

The training required a lot of energy. Like, all my energy. There wasn't really time for friends, except in the evenings, when I'd go over to eat with them before plonking into bed, exhausted. The food was always healthy, otherwise – with the amounts I was eating – even with all my working out I would be gaining weight.

Probably not. But whatever.

Slowly things began to get a little better. My muscles were catching up a bit, and, at least in my imagination, I was starting to get the fighting. I was probably still the weakest and worst fighter there, but it helped my morale and motivation to think I was improving. Not that Sabrina was impressed. Every day she challenged me to get her to the ground somehow or other, and every day I failed.

About three weeks after my first attempt, I finally succeeded. I tricked her, so it wasn't really fair, but it had never been a fair fight anyway. During training I suddenly said, "Wow, what is that," and pointed behind her. She turned her back to me for only a second, but that was enough. Boom, there she lay. In my pride and glory I forgot one thing, and boom, there I lay.

Sabrina didn't help me up. "Remember what I told you just the other day? An enemy on the ground is not a dead enemy. Stay focused.

"You are far from ready, but we can add something to your training now. Don't eat breakfast tomorrow, and avoid any apples. You'll be sick of 'em soon enough."

Curious.

The next day a basket of apples stood before her.

"Take one," she demanded. I picked a large one, red and shiny. She took a tiny green one and placed it in her right hand.

"Now, follow me. When I say left, it's your left, my right. Get it?"

I nodded.

"So, left, right, left, right, right, left, left, right, left, left, right left right, left, catch!" Her apple hit me square on the nose. Concentrating on not dropping the apple was hard enough, but having to catch a second...

"Eat the apples. The more often you drop them, the less tasty they'll be. So don't drop 'em. That was a test round. Now we go to the stone. That'll make 'em even tastier if you drop."

The stone was a flat stone – didn't see that coming– on which we stood for apple training. Keeping up was difficult, catching was hard.

Breakfast that day didn't taste nice.