Summer Solstice

A Learning Experience

The field was deathly quiet as Konai stepped into the ring. He took off his light jacket and tossed it out of the ring. His dark red flannel shirt was unbuttoned and his white tank top showed off the muscles of his chest. His khaki pants were already grass stained and covered in dirt from sparring before we'd arrived, and his boots were caked with mud. His stance spoke of years of practice, and I stood there, my hands limp at my sides, my shoulders slightly slumped, one foot resting on the toes of my other foot. A completely relaxed, uninterested pose.

Konai glared at me, "Go ahead, move."

"No, that's okay, you wanted to teach me something, so I'll just observe." I looked casually at my nails and then back up at him. He tilted his head, obviously thinking, or maybe he was just confused. No, I wasn't going to act scared. Forget that. I glanced around the playing field and nodded at Kaida, who did not look happy, not in the least. I turned back to Konai, and for one moment he stood there staring at me, and in the next he was lunging forward, twisting, his arm swinging around.

Before he could make contact, I struck my pose, the same warrior pose he'd taught all the other boys. The same pose I had seen them practice so many times. I leaned back, turning sideways, and sidestepped. Missing his target, he dug his heal into the ground and pivoted quickly. He looked at me with a mixture of surprise and confusion. Of course he had no idea that Kaida had brought me to watch these matches, he probably thought she met me at my house afterwards, just before we headed to school. But I'd been with her, and now it was easy to mimic the moves I'd seen the boys practice so often. The sparing match continued, seeming so much like a dance.

Now I could thank Kaida for all the times she'd dragged me through the woods to watch Little Joe. I smiled and jumped out of the way as Konai reached to grab me. I avoided him easily, not bothering to attack him outright. Months of dance lessons helping my feet to barely touch the ground before I could dodge and move again. The match continued, neither of us gaining or losing any ground. I almost smiled in satisfaction as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

Game over. I knew he would wait until I was distracted to lunge at me, so I steadied my stance and paused. He positioned himself in front of me and took a deep steadying breath. No, I wasn't athletic, but I could move like it was nobodies business. He hadn't had a chance, I had a much quicker reaction time.

Strands of his hair had come loose from its band, and tendrils clung to the sides of his face, wisps blowing softly in the early evening breeze. His eyes were bright and focused. He was gauging my next move. But I wouldn't be making the next move, he would. His fingers twitched and I heard Kaida suck in a breath. I let my attention avert to her, knowing what was coming. The moment my eyes moved his body snapped forward.

I anticipated the lunge, and jumped back, leaning as far as I could backwards, and he sailed over me, reaching for my shoulders. I grabbed onto his. Kicking my leg back down, I shoved hard against the ground and changed our momentum. In the next instant we were twisting in air. He gasped and landed on the ground on his back, his head and shoulders outside of the circle. I laid across him for only a moment, then sat back on my heals, straddling him. I threw my hands up into the air and whooped. I couldn't contain the happiness I felt at winning. I smiled widely and looked down at him, surprised to see no emotions on his face at all. He seemed stunned, but also.... something else.

The whooping behind me had me rising to my feet and walking back to our group. Kaida had an absolutely astounded look on her face, but she was smiling, her eyes wide. The boys were giving each other high-fives and smiling at me. I couldn't have been happier in this moment if I tried.

"Konai, NO!"

I turned in time to see Kaida's face contort into anger, then spun around just as Konai slammed into me.