May It Be Forever

TRAINING

We put on our coats and gloves again. The bleachers were packed. It looked more like a soccer field, only without the grass; instead, it was a blue tatami mat, and right in the middle, it was red.

Above the ground, there were two huge screens, and the score was zero to zero. Music played in the background. The crowd buzzed with happy and exciting conversations.

Group One sat down, and then after a few minutes, the entire crowd sat down and fell silent. A short man entered the center of the room and began speaking into the microphone.

"Good afternoon, my young warriors!" he exclaimed. "Now you are about to witness three great fights... Pay close attention, because in a few months, you will be the ones fighting HERE!"

I leaned to my left and whispered:

"Guilherme, when will these tests be? Neither Fabio, Leonor, nor Ben had mentioned it."

"Fabio is the one who will decide. There is no set or specific date; it will be a surprise."

I was stunned. I swallowed hard.

"And now...?"

"Don't worry... As Marcus just said, it will be in a few months. Fabio is always fair. He will give the appropriate time for you."

Six men entered the center of the hall.

"Those six over there are policemen," he mentioned, pointing.

"The first two who will fight: Miguel against Hugo!" Marcus exclaimed.

And the fight started. The score was zero to zero. They were good, but the two always came out level with each other, until the taller one punched the short guy in the stomach, which made him fall, and then he kicked him in the face, knocking him unconscious. Hugo: 5 and Miguel: 4.

"Come closer!" said Marcus to the other two fighters.

They got into position, in a defensive stance. Until one threw the first blow, but the other remained firm in his base. This time, he threw a punch right at the throat, and the other fell but got up immediately.

"They're good," I murmured to Guilherme.

He laughed.

I looked at him, not understanding.

"They're just kidding. This isn't a serious fight. They'll wait about three minutes for the real fight to start."

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "I thought they were already fighting for real."

He snorted.

And the minutes were going by, and there was no sign of either of them falling or getting hurt, as far as I could see...

"This is it!" he muttered.

Until one jumped up and brought his leg up to the other's head, landing a blow on him. The one who delivered the blow kept bragging and asking for applause from the audience, but to his surprise, the other fighter got up, kicked his leg, and punched him in the face, causing blood to spill out. The fighter fell and didn't get up again. Everyone stood up and started to applaud him. The crowd was shouting: "John! John! John!"

The last fight was discouraged and ended quickly.

"And the winners are Hugo, John, and Heitor! Applause, people, applause!"

"You better go home, take a shower, and have a snack. Dinner time is at seven o'clock, don't be late!" Guilherme began. "Group One, over here! Everyone... You can only stay awake until ten, after that the lights will be turned off, and TVs and computers will be turned off. If you want to sleep earlier, you are free to do so. Tomorrow the day starts early at four-thirty in the morning, without fail. I want everyone to be up."