Safe (BatBoys)

Fighter

Cora POV:

After me and Damian part ways, I force myself to walk to the Gym he told me to go to. I peer inside.

A woman wearing shorts and a bright T-Shirt stands in the center with a clip board. She looks up and spots me. Her face splits into a smile. Her blond hair bobs in its ponytail.

"Hello, you're the first one here. What's your name?" She says kindly. Her voice is loud.

"I'm Cora, Cora Sanchez," I say. I feel my nerves closing up my throat. She looks over her checklist and nods.

"Alright, Cora. Change rooms are right there. When you're done meet me back here and we can wait for more girls." She says, pointing to the door behind her. It has the label of girls locker room beside it.

"Thank you," I say politely and walk calmly to the changing room. The door is kinda heavy. I change as fast as possible. I like these shorts more than I like the skirt.

I walk out with my backpack. She tells me where to put it and I walk over to her after I set it down.

"Since you're the first one here, tell me about yourself. Do you like any sports?" She asks, barely looking up from her clipboard.

"Um, I like MMA and Karate, do those count?" I ask. She looks me up and down, I can almost hear her laugh.

"Yes, those count. What belt are you?" she questions, turning back to her clip board.

"I'm a black belt," I state, I feel a small swell of pride as I say it. She smirks to herself.

"I think you'll like this class then. The first thing we teach you girls is self defense." She states. I blink at her.

"Why self defense? Is that, normal for a school curriculum?" I ask her. She raises an eyebrow at me.

"You're not from around here, are you?" I shake my head. "Well, this is Gotham, city of crime. The school board thought it would be a good idea to teach students how to defend themselves against attacks, muggings and even kidnapping." She says casually.

I can't help but feel a little excited, despite the reasoning. I'd like to learn all of that, and I knew I would miss training with other people. This is perfect.

"Sounds fun. Are we going to do any of that today?" I ask her. She sighs sadly.

"Unfortunately not. Today I'm just going to do some physical evaluations so I know who to match everyone up with." She states. I watch as a group of girls enter the change room laughing.

"Okay," I say. I'm not sure what else to do with myself. I just stand there awkwardly until the group of girls comes out.

"Have a seat in the circle ladies." The woman says. I walk to the painted circle on the ground and plop down easily. The girls follow suit. I can hear their conversation, but I'm not paying attention.

I wonder what Damian is doing right now. I look towards the divider. It seems silent over there. Do the boys do self defense training too? It would make sense. Most of the people here are rich, so being kidnapped or mugged seems plausible.

I see a girl with bright pink hair walk into the gym, she has tan skin and she's probably just a little taller than me. She walks into the change room silently. She comes back out just as quickly and fully changed.

I watch her as she sits down beside me. She gives me a smile.

"Hi, my name's Riley. What's yours?" She says cheerfully. I smile back.

"My name's Cora. Nice to meet you." I say, her eyes widen.

"Oh my gosh, you're Cora? I heard what happened at lunch. So cool." She says, eyes wide with excitement. I have to resist the urge to groan and hide my face.