Alex knew that she was going to be late again for training and Coach wouldn't be happy. She had a scheduled fight in two weeks and already, she's been late to practice twice. While Coach was more forgiving since he knew Apinya, Alex knew that she was standing on thin ice. If she was anyone else, she would have been dropped and Coach would have moved on to the next fighter. As she ran to the gym, Alex could see that Coach was standing outside waiting for her. He had the same annoyed look as last time. Slowing, Alex walked up to Coach and bowed her head. "I'm so sorry, Coach. School got busy and," Alex tried to explain before she was cut off by Coach.
He was not a large man and wasn't exactly impressive, but anyone could tell that he was not someone to mess with. "I don't want to hear it," Coach began as he held out his hand for her belongings, "give me 20 sprints." Immediately, Alex gave Coach her backpack and her guitar and began to run. She knew he wasn't happy because he never made her do that many. As she ran, Alex felt his eyes follow her every movement. Part of her wanted to ditch training altogether, but knew that she'd never forgive herself if she did. Alex ran and by the time she was finished, she was covered in a light sheen of sweat. Handing Alex her bag, Coach turned around and said, "Get your gloves on." Alex fell into Coach's rhythm as she followed him inside the gym.
Taking a locker in the girl's locker room, Alex immediately put her hand wraps on and gloves as she met Coach near the bags. She knew the drill. 20-20s. She was to do twenty kicks on each leg then 20 push-ups then 20 sit-ups. Without Coach having to say anything, Alex started the reps. She'd do the 2 reps, equaling 40 of each. As she kicked, Coach watched and yelled at her if she slacked on technique. Despite the torture Coach put her through, Alex was thankful to have him. He was hard on her, but he truly cared for her. Since her personal life was always checked at the door, Alex never had any real indepth conversations with Coach which kept their relationship stable.
After she finished, Alex moved onto mits. Coach went through different combinations and techniques, making sure to cover anything and everything that Alex might experience in the ring. Keeping a steady and powerful pace, Alex trained.
By the time she returned home, dinner was on the table already. Alex smiled as her mother finished placing the different dishes on the table for everyone. There were four seats; one for her mother, one for her, one for her step-father, and one for her step-brother. Without saying a word to her mother, Alex disappeared upstairs for a shower. It wasn't a long hot shower that most teens her age took, rather it was a quick cold shower that was strictly business. Getting dressed for dinner, Alex prepared herself for the uncomfortable conversation at the table, which would most likely involve politics, religion, and whatever her step-father wanted to complain about. Her mother would ask questions, but it was obvious that Robert didn't want to hear them. While she was grateful to Robert for providing for her and her mother as well as loving her mother, Alex despised the man. Not only did his beliefs clash with her own, but his attitude towards arts people drove her up a wall. Tonight he droned on about how America had a Muslim problem and how they need to get rid of the immigrants.
When dinner was finished, Alex washed the dishes with her younger brother before locking herself in her room where she could study and listen to music. With the mute on her guitar strings, Alex began to go through warm-ups before digging into her favorite songs. Alex couldn't sing for shit, but she enjoyed playing along to the songs. Pretending that she had an electric guitar, Alex played along to music videos and rocked out. For a moment in time, Alex forgot all her troubles and lost herself in the music. This was quickly mitigated by a loud knock on the door. When she opened the door she found her younger brother standing there. Giving him a look, Alex waited for him to say something. "Dad wants you to stop playing. He says it's late and to go to sleep or study," Ryan informed with a sad face.
"Thanks for telling me, Little Dude," Alex replied as she messed with his hair. This made him smile before leaving for his own room. Alex sighed behind a closed door and returned her guitar to its case before plopping into bed. Thoughts swirled through her head as she tried to forget about everything so she could sleep. After a good two hours of mindless thought, Alex finally fell asleep.
