Fuck You, Mate

I

Alice's POV

Six Years Ago...

I stared him down. I didn't think 'The Punch', as he called himself, was going to get back up after I dislocated his knee with my purposely aimed foot, but he had- barely. I dodged his pathetic attempt at hitting me in the jaw with his weak punch, before letting my fist connect with his nose, for the second time tonight.

He fell to the ground unconscious and the ref held my hand up as the winner. I moved the hair out of my face that had fallen out of my braid, and moved off as The Punch was helped up by his corner men.

"Dude you got beat by a girl!" I heard some guy say. He was new to the area, The Punch, and his buddy who tried to beat me.

"Not a girl, The Girl." I called over my shoulder and his buddy laughed again as Punch scowled.

He wasn't even close to a challenge, although he thought so. Boys.

They always think they can win because I'm a girl, at least the newbies think so, but the ones around here know not to mess with me.

I've been fighting at the gym since I was thirteen, training for a couple years before that. I have great reflexes, speed and strength, especially for how lean and small I am. I accidentally ended up in the ring one night and ended up taking down Reggie. I had been training at a gym, which Reggie's dad owned, but not with the intention to fight here. It's something you have to focus while doing, your mind can't wander. You're all there, the whole time. It's like a release, a time away from everything. Almost like a high, I depend on it to let go of my anger and... I don't even know. I just need it. The older I got, the more I relied on it. Now I don't know if I could ever stop. Not that I want to.

"I bet you could've taken him down in three strikes," Reggie said. Yes, after I beat him at thirteen, we became friends.

"I give him until two."

We both snorted as The Punch limped out of the ring. He was new around here and bet a couple grand on himself. Needless to say, I made a couple grand tonight. Nice chunk of cash in my pocket.

"You went easy on him." Reggie said with a light punch to my shoulder.

"Yeah, last fight of the night, thought I'd kill some time." I shrugged.

"Like usual. Night Girl." Everyone here called me The Girl, or just Girl. They didn't know my name when I started, and I liked it that way. They found it out after I switched to their school, but Girl seemed to stick.

Thank goodness.

Especially since mine is so prissy. I can't imagine walking off the ring to hear, 'Way to go Alice!' That would be a laughing fit every time. I used to go by Ali but with all the switching, I just decided to ignore it. Correcting people is a nuisance and honestly, I like blending in. Although I don't tend to blend in underground. Being the only girl makes you stand out no matter what you do.

I nodded to Reggie before heading into my change room.

Since I was the only female fighter this place has ever had, I have my own room. It's actually just an old office the owner, Reggie's dad, changed for me. He changed it after I agreed to fight, not that it was a hard decision after the first one. I had already gotten addicted to it.

My change room was plain; a locker, bench, and shower. It was like my second home though. Almost like what I'd imagine most people's bedrooms are like at their homes. Except mine was my change room in my gym.

I walked home to find only Wendy up, she was in the living room so I headed up to my room. My ribs took a couple hits tonight, but like normal, they were fine by the time I got home.