Chapter One: Boxing

1. Boxing

MY brother Cam makes a quick noise of pain before he hits me in the face and then steps back on the mat. The room only spins for a second before I regain my balance and see that Cam is blocking his face. I feel the anger build in me and try to control it so I can focus. I let the hate drive me. It fills my stomach until I am in that perfect place of controlled wrath. Keeping my hands up, I punch to the left side of his face so I can get low and jab in the gut. He backs up bouncing on his feet.

“You can do whatever you want Cam, but I always win,” I say.

That saying began a long time ago when I became undefeated in our small group of boxers. I try to think that no matter how much life sucks, somehow I will find a way to win in something.

No matter how hard I get thrown on the mat, I promise myself that I will get back up.

I hit hard once with my right, see he is off balance and then hit again with the left. I rapidly move my arms making contact with his

1

Brittany Noël Bostic sharp jaw line. That is one of the few physical differences between my brother and me. “I would like to have a little face left when we are done here,” Cam says when I rest with my hands in front of my face. I see he is bleeding from his mouth, which is nothing new to us. But I know he will try to get me back for that one. I might always win but he sure does put up a hell of a fight. After I get a few more blows to the jaw I decide to end this with my signature punch-kick combo that sends him flying to the ground and begging to stop. I don’t normally like to do that unless I don’t have other options because it hurts like hell for a rather long time and there is a good chance that I’ll do it wrong leaving myself wide open for him to hit me in the chest. Now that hurts the next day. “And Tommie Randall wins again!” I scream and raise my arms in the air. I make a noise with my mouth as if there were an audience cheering me on. One day maybe there will be. I take the gloves off and help Cam up. “Damn it, Tom. One day you’re going to freaking kill someone with that move,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. He carries his gloves over to his bag. I grab a water bottle, squirt some of it into my mouth, and spit it in the trash. Cam does the same but it’s mostly blood. I put my gloves back on for a quick cool down routine hitting the punching bag. “You were off your game tonight, Cam,” I tell him. “No I have had the pleasure of fighting the weakest link all week. Meaning I have gotten nothing but wins against Mary,” he rebuts and I laugh. Kickboxing has been my life since I was seven. That also happens to be the age my parents lost interest in me. I started with my older brothers. We were young. Our team is called the Panthers, Bryce came up with the name; he’s my oldest brother. He says that panthers are mysterious. When they attack they are vicious. I went everyday after school to the gym we have at home. Cam and I do it to get away from our parents and blow off steam. Sometimes we go to the gym at school 2

The Fight if we know they will be home early just so we don’t have to argue with them. They work at an international bank here in DC. I hate it. They are never home. When they are home they are too stressed to pay attention to us. Sometimes we do stupid s**t just to get noticed by them. Our parents normally don’t get home until after six sometimes later. The late days are the most fun because we watch movies in the living room. Both of our parents are high-level managers and therefore have keys and passcodes to the secure areas of the building. They even have the key to the vault. They use this as an excuse for their stress. I am supposed to pretend that I don’t know. I don’t care enough to tell anyone. It’s not something that I would brag about anyway. I stand punching the bag and focusing on the spot in the middle. I often pretend it is someone I don’t like. Bryce tells us it is a good way to release anger on people without actually hurting them or ourselves. This time it was my math teacher. I heard someone walk behind me. The cool breeze the person created made me smile because it was so hot in this room. I looked back toward the distraction. “We should get home,” Cam says to me some of the blood still on his mouth. I pick up my shirt from the ground and slip it over my camo sports bra. “Mom and Dad are going to be home by now,” I complain and stomp my foot. “Well aren’t we being a negative Nellie?” he jokes. His dark brown hair is almost black where it falls along his face from sweat. Mine looks similar. I pretend to laugh at his joke. “Come on.” He motions toward me. He throws his black tank top over his shoulder and instead of putting it on he just wipes his sweat with it. Most girls would find sweat gross but I find it satisfying. As we walk outside I notice it is still slightly warm, and I get no relief from the heat. I catch up to Cam who is looking down pleased with his stomach muscles. I can’t say that I haven’t done the same thing. It is the end of May, dry, beautiful and warm. That unmistakable city smell fills our noses. The city lights are so pretty at night. It is never 3

Brittany Noël Bostic quiet. The sound of the police cars is constant because here in DC. Somebody always has to get into some sort of trouble. Then there is the sound of gunshots, which we don’t normally hear, but I have to say I have heard it a few times. Of course, the normal classic sound comes from the mouths of the people. There is yelling, talking, and arguing. I look over at Cam who walks swinging his arms with his shirt in his hand now. We are only about two blocks from our house. The blood from Cam’s mouth is still on his chest. “Cam you are gross,” I say to him. “And whose fault is that?” He laughs and nudges my shoulder so I get off balance for a moment. Then he wipes his hand off on his shorts as if I am that sweaty; which I am. “You’re one to talk.” He adds. As we walk I look around the city. It isn’t dark outside yet. There is still some light in the sky. I know Bryce will be waiting for us when we get home. He is a Marine but he got to come home for a week. He makes me think of the times we used to spend together. When it comes to kickboxing, I’ve gotten a lot better. Cam is stronger, and bigger then I am. But sometimes that means he just falls harder. He doesn’t have the stamina my small body does, so he can’t fight for as long as I can. Kickboxing has come easier to me. I don’t have the strength that his muscular body has, but I am getting closer to it everyday. Our sport was much easier then anything else, including school. School is so frustrating and tedious. It is easy to remember footwork and where to place your hands then the quadratic method and the area of a triangle. Who goes to work and calculates the area of a triangle? Someone with a lot of cats and tearstains on their pillow, I can guarantee you that. All of us were never that great in school even Bryce. But he wasn’t terrible. He joined the Marines when he was just eighteen out of high school and has been with them for a year. Cam and I plan to do the same thing. Don’t dare tell our parents that though. They don’t particularly like that Bryce chose this way and if their daughter chose the same I don’t know what they would do. 4

The Fight Of course I always looked up to him for more than just his ability to defy our parents. I guess not having an older sister meant that I did a lot of boy things. I didn’t have anyone else to follow. He was good at everything in my child eyes. Actually he was better. Better then anything. If the older boys wore camouflage then I would too. I wasn’t a follower to anyone but my brothers. I wanted to look like my brothers. They were all I had to look up to. I have to admit that I haven’t changed much. But now I do things because I want to and not because they do them. Fighting was a way for all of us to learn off of each other. No one ever expected me to be good at it. I suck at everything else so I suppose it’s good that I have this skill. Once we arrived at our house, Cam knocked on the door and Bryce opens it right away. I guess Cam forgot his key or he was too lazy to use it. I walk inside to our large entryway. There was a small desk to my right that no one ever uses. It was just for looks. We weren’t even allowed to touch it as kids because we could knock something off of it. We live in a neighborhood with a lot of large houses. We each have our own bedroom but our friend sleeps on the couch in our living room when his parents are away. He has been doing this for years and our parents haven’t noticed it yet. If they had they hadn’t mentioned it. Our house is basically open spaced. When we first walk in there are stairs in front of us but then open flooring. There is a kitchen down a hallway to the right and a living room next to the kitchen. We all hang out in the kitchen when our parents aren’t home and we aren’t practicing. Then again we’re teenagers. We like to eat. Where else would we go? Of course our favorite place to be is the basement! That is where all of our boxing supplies are. Across from the kitchen to the left is a library with tons of books. It’s our dad’s library and we aren’t allowed in there either. I think I went in there one time while my parents weren’t home and it was boring anyway. He didn’t have any good books, not that I like to read. All he had were books on banking, manuals, houses, and gardening. What does he think he is a 50-year-old woman? He yelled at us if we were found anywhere we weren’t allowed (we were very limited). 5

Brittany Noël Bostic We all stand in the kitchen for a while. I take some soda out of the refrigerator and I drink half of it down in one gulp. Cam did the same thing and then let out a huge burp so I clap for him. “A six.” I decide. “Only a six? That was better then that. Right Bryce?” Cam protests. Bryce turns around to see us. “Dude she was being generous I would have given it a five. And anyway I thought we says no soda after boxing?” Bryce says taking the can out of my hand. “Calm your shaved head.” Cam jokes. “Hey I like my Military head.” He rebuts. Bryce has very short hair and a beard and mustache like some Military men do. He looks good with it. He has always had short hair unlike Cam and I who tend to keep it a bit longer. “How was kickboxing?” Bryce asks after dropping the past subject. “Good. I won again.” I say as I watch Cam discard the can in the recycling bin. “Of course you did, baby sis.” Bryce says. Cam walks over to the refrigerator grabbing the milk. He drinks straight from the carton and then with ease lifts himself up onto the counter with one arm, still shirtless. He is very strong, girls at school are attracted to him but he doesn’t pay any attention to them, other then me. I wonder why, an eighteen-year-old boy should want nothing but to be surrounded by hot girls with long hair but he doesn’t. He says he has two really cool chics in his life and that is enough. He always tells me I’m his favorite girl in the whole world and I believe him. Cam is like my best friend too. Some people wonder how siblings could be so close. I guess I just got lucky because I have really cool brothers. Sure they are annoying sometimes, Cam is argumentative, and Bryce is bossy but I love ‘em. “You couldn’t just drink water?” Bryce asks as Cam chugs down every drink we have in the house. “I could...but I won’t.” he answers. I pick an ice tea out of the fridge and lean back on the counter. 6

The Fight “Doesn’t anyone drink water anymore?!” Bryce looks up as if asking the sky. I just laugh. He shakes his head silently. “You have a tournament coming up soon, right?” Bryce asks. “Yeah, in two weeks. You won’t be here for it though.” Cam answers with a frown. We all really wished Bryce would be here for it. Cam takes another gulp of the milk and sets it on the counter beside him leaving the milk mustache on his face. I don’t understand how he can drink that stuff. Ew. “Win for me, okay? We have to keep the legacy going.” Bryce puts his hand on my shoulder, looking at me with his blue eyes that remind me of moms. Though I don’t like that thought, I smile and respond. Of course I will win. Even when I lose...I win. “I always win.” I tell him. Bryce showed me our little hand signal we exchange. He put his pointer finger and thumb together in a circle and then kept his other three fingers up. Bryce picked the symbol. We show it to each other so that we know we are ok. We do it after a fight too. It was like shaking hands. Saying that we are both even though one person won. I show it back to him with my left hand. I walk upstairs to my room before my parents came home or came out of hiding. My room is the first one to the left followed by Bryce’s and then Cam’s. Our parent’s is across from mine. I hear the door click open and see the yellow room in front of me. I sit on my full sized bed looking at the carpeted floor. The carpeted floor was white at one point but it’s tanner now from wear and tear of the years. Even our housekeeper can’t make it perfectly white again. I reach for the brush on my nightstand when I hear the door open and close again and wonder who could be here. “Tommie!” Bryce calls. “Yeah?” I call back as if it was easier to yell to him then to just go to the top of the steps to talk to him like a normal person. After all I am a teen and I don’t feel like getting up. “Mary is here to see you.” “Tell her to come up.” 7

Brittany Noël Bostic A few seconds later, my best friend Mary walks up the stairs and comes into my room. Her dirty blonde and pink hair is pulled to the side. She is wearing pink shorts and a flowered tank top. She can wear just about anything and still manage to look pretty. Mary lives two houses from the gate of the neighborhood and she likes to spend time at my house because of her annoying older sister. “Hey who is that boy with your brother?” She asks. We don’t even bother to say hi to each other anymore. I saw her a few hours ago. The longest time we go without seeing each other is for sleep and then we don’t know we are apart anyway. “I didn’t see anyone with him.” “There is a cute boy, the one that lives in that poor neighborhood behind us.” She points to her left and plops down onto the bed with me. It was sort of rude to say that the neighborhood behind us was poor but it was compared to the massive houses we live in. They are unnecessary. Everyone wants to live in a big house but it is not all that great. Those people in the poor houses behind us are happy, they’re all together on Christmas, they don’t forget their kid’s birthdays and they care when their kid wins an award. Most of the people in these giant houses don’t do all of that. Not to say they all don’t. But mine doesn’t... “Oh! That must be Lucas. Bryce told me about him before.” I say with a grin. I have never seen this kid and all I have heard is from my brother. He isn’t very good at relying the cuteness factor of his friends. I tell him to rate him on the sexy scale from one to ten and he tells me to never refer to his friends as sexy. Whatever. I did learn that he met Lucas in basic training. He lives close to us and must have come over for a visit. I drag Mary to my window that overlooks the front. I can see him shaking hands with Bryce before he walks out of view. Lucas was a tall boy with blonde hair. He is kind of skinny but is fit and muscular too. He is cute and I could tell Mary agrees. I knew her too well not to think that. Her smirk gave it away. She tells me everything anyway. I have a good idea. Mary looks at me with a sideways smile and I think she might have the same idea. It seems she likes Lucas. And who 8

The Fight am I to stop her? And since I am her best friend it is my duty to get her an introduction. “Come on, I have binoculars.” I say grabbing them from under my bed. I have a lot of things under there that my mom doesn’t know I have like two pocket knifes, an extra pair of boxing gloves, one throwing knife, and a months supply of peach rings (my favorite candy). “For what?” Mary asks she clearly didn’t under-stand my plan. “To see Lucas from up here, duh. Where is your sense of Bourne Ultimatum today?” The Bourne movies were some of the best action movies of all time. They star Matt Damon, who plays a trained killer trying to escape his way of life. Mary and I watch them together. We watch movies like every weekend and that is one of the top picks. They are so detailed. You have to be smart to watch them because if someone has to explain it to you then you clearly don’t have Bourne Skills. That’s what Mary and I call our special set of skills. They make us want to do everything like Jason Bourne. Of course there are many other references that we use on a regular basis. Not to mention the fact that Mary is in love with Matt Damon. I am in love with Taylor Lautner. We have our differences. (Yes, I am one of those Twilight girls despite my level of extreme coolness). Haters gonna hate. Action movies are sort of my thing. I like thrillers too and I don’t mind the occasional romance. But most comedies make me want to vomit. There is a lot you can learn from Bourne. What can you learn from a dumb romantic comedy? I pull better jokes out of my a*s. Now actual funny movies are different, but those are not something you want to watch on a first date. Not that I have been on one of those... We walk out of my room and go halfway down the stairs where the railing starts and the wall stops. I look through the binoculars but only see a blurry image of the clear glass door. If we look to the left we could see Cam eating the worlds biggest sandwich in the kitchen. Giant sandwiches are his specialty. He basically just puts whatever we have in the refrigerator on it. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s nauseating. 9

Brittany Noël Bostic Sometimes it’s turkey and sometimes it’s week-old beans. You do not want to be around him when he makes one of those. I look through the clear glass door and try to find Lucas. He just came in a few minutes ago where could he be? First on these kinds of missions we have to identify the room: cameras, objects, threats, and anything that moves, that could be harmful just so we know what were in for. “Two cameras north of the stairs, one camera northeast of location, an alarm on the door alerting us of any newcomers. Chow Hall is west.” I say. “Operation Find Lucas is a go.” She says. I gave her the binoculars. We lay against the ground on the steps looking out of the glass door and around the entryway. I see a small black movement across the door. “Movement at ten o’clock.” I tell her and she moves her binoculars there. “That’s a bird, dumbass.” She says. “Copy that.” I tell her. Though I am not looking I can tell she was rolling her eyes. We look for a while longer, staring in a few different places. “Hey guys.” I hear a voice behind us. “Mission failed. Return to the base soldiers.” I whisper to Mary beside me. I turn around slowly and as Mary does. There a very tall, skinny Lucas stands over us eating an apple. I smile at him as best I could without blowing our cover. Apparently we were just caught. I don’t know what to say. What I thought about saying was not something great for a first impression. “What are you doing?” he asks us taking another bite of the apple. He had a nice smile. He has one of those smiles that made you think he knew more then you did. We both scramble to sit up and Mary sets the binoculars down. “Bird watching.” Mary concludes. I look at her with a confused expression, opening my mouth and pulling my eyebrows in. “From inside?” Lucas asks just as confused as I was. He might not have heard we were looking for him but he did know that we were 10

The Fight looking for something or someone from the top of the stairs inside. Now we both look like freaks. Great. “No silly. That’s what we have the binoculars for... so we can see out the window.” Mary’s tall tale was just getting worse. She used to be so good at lying, what happened? “Right.” He doesn’t believe the story any more then I do. “We have to go.” I say and pull her back up the stairs and into my room. I shut the door behind us and lean against it. I hear footsteps and then Bryce cracks up over something in his bedroom next door to me. He must have heard us. I bang against the wall with the side of my hand and he stops laughing. I rub my fist and then focus my attention on Mary. It was obvious what we were doing and clear he had heard it all. That was not a Bourne moment right there. That was the opposite of a Bourne moment. That was pathetic. “Bird watching?” I ask, shocked. “You couldn’t have said we lost an earing?” Or we were researching the zombie apocalypse? Or even counting dust mites?” I was exaggerating but all of these things sounded just as stupid as two teenage girls bird watching from the top of the stairs inside a house. We’re weird but we’re not that weird. “I don’t know. He is cute, more then cute even. I don’t know what happened. That just came to my mind.” That was a lame excuse. She is always on her game even around cute boys and very prepared. Though she does lose when boxing me, I’m stronger then her. I have more muscle mass, built like Cam, and more core strength. Though girl has an arm on her! But I am more agile despite her long legs and my short ones. I tried to agree to her stupid defense. If this was going to be an everyday thing I wonder what is to come. “Do me a favor, if we ever need to lie to an attractive soldier shooting at us...let me do the talking.”

Author's Note

This is the first chapter of my book, The Fight that is going to be published in a few weeks. It is written from the perspective of a fifteen year old girl involved in a terrorist act against an international bank. The way it is written is not only because of her inexperience with life but also because of her hate towards school. I hope you enjoy this sample chapter and that you will want to read more. I will keep everyone updated on the release date.

Reviews

[KeithEBaucum]

I'm happy that you're a published author. This book sounds like it's worth it's money. This book is a book I'll buy.

[Brittany Bostic]

So glad to hear it! Let me know what you think! Love to hear from the readers!

[Philip Muls]

You accomplish good flow and interesting wording. It is intriguing and wants me to continue reading. Good stuff.

[Brittany Bostic]

Thank you so much! Check it out on lulu.com to read more!