Prodigy (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Two

The more time Alex spent with her mother, the more she was learning from her. In addition to building her physical strength, Alex was building her strength of character as well. The young prodigy was quickly absorbing a lifetime of lessons from Mara.

“No, keep your hands like this,” Mara said, correcting Alex’s form. “Good, now try to hit me.”

Alex threw a punch and Mara ducked out of the way and tackled Alex to the ground. Alex secured Mara’s wrists, quickly pivoted her hips, and locked up an armbar, forcing Mara to tap.

“Excellent. Well done,” Mara applauded. “Never give up, there’s always a way out.”

Alex nodded.

“Let’s go again,” Mara said, as they touched hands, signifying the start of another sparring session. They began to circle each other, which caught the attention of some other inmates and prison guardians on the field, but everybody knew they were just practicing.

Mara lunged forward with an aggressive attack, but Alex was quick to react. She dropped down a level and wrapped her arms around both Mara’s legs and took her down with ease. From there, Alex swiftly moved into a full-mount position and playfully began raining down punches.

Just when Alex thought she was getting the better of her opponent, Mara reversed the position and trapped Alex’s arm behind her back forcing her to tap.

 “See, you thought you had me and you let your guard down. If you do that in the real world, it could cost you more than a limb. Let’s go again.”

“Why don’t we call it a day? I’m kind of tired.”

“Alex, the reason why we drill over and over is so these moves become instinctual. When you’re in a fight, you find out what you’re really made of. You cannot think, you can only react. Now let’s go again.”

“Okay,” Alex huffed as she sluggishly picked herself up.

“This is how you build character, Alex,” Mara said as she circled around. “There are many skills in life one cannot simply learn by downloading them into their brain. There are no shortcuts to success. If you want something, you must work hard, be disciplined, and be focused.”

Mara charged forward unpredictably, but Alex quickly stepped out of harm’s way.

“You must train your body as well as your mind. This is how champions are made; this is how you become a great leader.”

Instead of being on the defensive, Alex launched an offensive attack of her own. She distracted Mara with a simple leg kick, then moved in for the finish. Alex got a hold of Mara and hip-tossed her to the ground. Within seconds, Alex had Mara wrapped up like a snake and secured a deep choke that restricted her mother’s breathing.

“Excellent job, Alex. See, all these lessons are paying off. You’re becoming a fierce warrior.”

“Thanks,” Alex said gleefully, feeling happy she was making her mother proud.

“We have about twenty minutes before yard time is over. Let’s finish it off with some laps then we’ll hit the showers.”

***

The next day Alex was in line at the cafeteria to receive her food. With her tray in tow, she navigated through the rows of tables and sat with her mother.

“Didn’t you get a piece of fruit?” Mara asked.

“They ran out.”

“Here, you can have mine.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Please, I insist,” Mara said as she placed her orange on Alex’s tray.