Chapter 72

The evening of that day was not as eventful as I thought it would. I got back home, and I took a shower and a cold bath. Throwing my used clothes into the laundry, I was free of doing anything for a while.

Annie felt it when I fought, and now that all the nervousness finally was washed away, she was fatigued mentally. That's why she went to take a short nap. Feeling that it was actually a great idea, I took a nap as well.

When both of us got up, it was dark outside. We went after groceries, but instead of cooking, Annie simply stuffed everything into the fridge and went after the laundry. When I asked if she needed help, she simply shook her head.

With nothing much to do, I went after my pc, and after starting it up, I began compiling my schedule according to the info I had.

Not so long after that, Greg returned with a few plastic bags full of takeouts.

It was mostly sushi and other Asian cuisine dishes.

When I asked him why he got it, he answered that he heard that sushi was a celebratory food. After we had a hearty dinner together, they went back to their room while I went back to mine.

Continuing to fill up my schedule, I was consecutively called by Jessie and Rose. We talked a bit about the fight as it was followed by something unimportant. Remembering something else from these calls, I called Elle and asked if everything was alright.

After finishing all the talking, I was getting ready to go to sleep. Brushing my teeth and drinking a cup of instant tea, I changed into my sleepwear, which basically consisted of my underwear only.

I've already put my phone to charge when I had one last call, it was from Mara.

"You are ready for tomorrow night?" I heard her voice.

"Why ask today?"

"Duh, it's because you had a fight today."

"Oh, you know this, why am I not surprised? Yeah, I'm feeling great."

"You still need to visit the doc back at our Birchland High."

"Are they working?"

"Yeah, you can ask for their attention. After all, you paid for all of this."

"And then you will get me in the evening, right?"

"Pretty much like this."

"Good night then?"

"Sleep well."

With Mara wishing me a good night's sleep, I plunged into my bed and soon dozed off.

The next morning started with a family having breakfast together. I talked with Greg about the fighting in general, and Annie interrupted us every now and again. Voicing out her opinion.

By the end of the breakfast, I told them that perhaps today I might come home late, as I will hang out with some friends.

Greg didn't like it at first, however after Annie whispered something into his ear, he relented.

I went to the college's doctors and got myself checked. Luckily I wasn't injured and was in perfect condition. Returning back home, I holed up in my room as I continued drafting my schedule. And as soon as I was getting tired, I read the notes I took while listening to the lectures on Friday.

Alternating between these two actions, I didn't notice how fast time flew, and it was late evening already.

One dinner with the family later, I walked down the street looking for the familiar black SUV. Getting inside, I've put my bag that didn't have much in it beside me.

"It won't be good if someone sees you getting inside of a supposedly random car, right?" I was still making myself comfortable when I heard Mara's voice.

"What's up with this sudden tone?" I turned around and froze up for a second.

She again dressed up rather scantily, to say the least. A slip dress with a gaudy coloring. It was WAY too cold for her to walk around like that. But on top of her shoulders, she had an oversized fur coat. A stiletto shoe on her feet.

A long necklace with some gems in it was hanging around her neck. Diving right into the valley of her breasts. Speaking of which, there was not so much I could say about her cleavage. Her breasts, after all, were almost nonexistent.

"Are you done savoring the view?" With her arms and legs spread apart, she sat lazily, a smile dancing on the corners of her lips.

"Where else should I look?" I shrugged, but my eyes moved upwards, and I looked at her face. Her hair was gathered in an extremely high ponytail. It was held together with a sort of elastic band. At least she didn't have excessive make-up this time, and her piercing was gone. I think the only thing that was standing out was her eyeliner. It was thick, covering half of her eyelid, and stretched almost to her temple.

"Huhuhu," She laughed languidly, "You can look all you want, you know? It's not like I'm against it?" She leaned slightly forward, accentuating her collarbone. The lightning in the car was somewhat dimmed so that It made every nook and cranny of her body look more pronounced.

"I would prefer not to."

"You know, you need to work on your style a bit."

"I do?" I looked myself over. It wasn't exactly the most stylish clothes. A simple pair of straight blue jeans, my sweater, and a trusty jacket. I ass well p[ut on mid-season sneakers that were warm to wear.

"Yeah, if you want to be welcomed to where we are going, you need to work on your style. We can't let you go like that in your everyday life as well."

"Didn't you tell me that I need to be low-key?" I raised my eyebrow.

Mara snorted. "I said low-key, not looking like a beggar. In a way, it's as eye-catching as wearing expensive clothing."

"I don't have the money, though. And I can't go after money fights because of my need to be low-key, huh." I threw my hands up. "What can I do in this situation?"

"Aren't you going to get money where we are going?" She rolled her eyes. "Use your brain a bit."

"So you want me to buy some clothes with my prize money?"

"A haircut would be appreciated as well."

"Hah." I shook my head. "I've already made plans for this money, and I don't think of these clothes as terrible. So let's talk about this later."

"Pfff, whatever. Boys are just…" she pursed her lips in exasperation.

We talked about the upcoming event for the rest of the ride. From Mara, I knew that she would have a fight there as well. Today wasn't a tournament. It was an event consisting of several different fights.

We arrived at our destination with a slight delay. Yet, there was still a valet greeting us as we were taken to the balcony Mara used.

Walking towards one of the armchairs, she stretched, and the fur coat she wore fell down. Now her shoulders and legs were on full display.

"Ugh, finally, we're here. I've got sore all over." She turned over. "Won't you help me?" Her eyes twinkled but seeing my expression, she pouted.

"Stop with this, please?" I bent over the railing and saw the ring. The crowd was already roaring, and someone was talking over the speakers, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

"If you say so." I heard Mara's voice from behind. "Oh, you know, I've remembered something interesting."

"Hmm?" I turned to look at her and saw how she filled the wineglass with some beverage and sipped a bit.

"One of my people, he actually caught someone sneaking behind your back." She took a bite off a canapé.

"You mean…" I walked closer to her as my eyebrows furrowed.

"He was sniffing around you. It's not someone dangerous, though. A private investigator." She showed me her pearl white teeth with an innocent smile. While extending a wineglass filled with the same beverage back to me.

Taking it, I looked through the white, translucent liquid and contemplated. Was it Reid's doing?

No matter what, at the moment, I couldn't do anything against it. Swirling the content of my wineglass, I drank a mouthful and immediately put it down. A mixture of a bitter and tart taste was not to my liking.

"Anyhow, I'm going to go there soon." Mara took another canapé.

"Just like that?" I cast a dubious gaze.

"Yeah? Any problems with it?"

"Aren't you going to change?"

"That's why I'm going out ahead of time. By the way, your fight would be shortly after mine. So get mentally ready, mkay?"

Soon after she said this, we heard a soft knock on the door, and Mara waved at me as she went somewhere else.

I immediately went towards the railing and leaned forward in anticipation. I've remembered that Paul spoke highly of Mara, and I knew she was doing taekwondo, but I never actually saw her in action.

Well, apart from that time when she kicked the bound thugs a month and a half before. I was too self-absorbed to actually look into her.

Now that I think about It, I needed to get to know Reid better as well. Not as a person but as a fighter. Also, I need to look into Jessie.

With such thoughts, I finally heard music playing when a guy entered the ring from the side. From up here, he looked like a spitting image of a fighter. Not overly tall, not excessively ripped as well. Good body proportions overall.

I didn't pay attention to his name, nor did I pay attention to the roaring of the crowd. That is until I actually heard the crowd getting quieter. Even those below were unnaturally calm. They were there mostly for the entourage, but they went still.

Then I heard the sound of music slowly getting louder in the speakers all around. And I had a feeling I knew that song. Yet until the very first verse began, there was no one coming out. And as we heard the first words coming from the lead singer, I saw Mara coming from the opposite direction.

She was still in her slip dress, but now she was barefoot. Slowly making her way, she spread her arms wide. From afar, I saw her having a savage smile. Her hair that was still gathered in a ponytail would probably be a hindrance for her.

Finally entering the ring, she gracefully slipped between the fourth and the third ropes. Spinning around a few times, she suddenly held the ends of her dress.

"Oooh!" The simultaneous exclamation of almost everyone left me speechless.

She swung her hips left and right, invoking a few more shouts when she suddenly pulled her dress up and threw it away. Now I saw why she said she didn't need to change. Underneath the dress, she had a strapless, wide bra and skintight shorts. Those shorts looked more like male boxer briefs.

As the music finally ended, she demonstrated monstrous flexibility. Lifting her leg up in the air, Mara did a vertical split and even more as she bends sideways. It's like her joints were able to twist in every direction as much as she wanted.

As soon as her dress was thrown away, she had a fervent expression. I couldn't make all the small details, but she exuded pressure with each action.

Even that simple stretch was slow and pronounced. It was followed by a single leg motion as Mara drew an arc, the same, slow and pronounced way. Yet, it was obvious that she didn't do all of this for show. Her positioning, her breathing, posture. Everything gave a feeling of danger.

"We're in for a treat ladies, and gentlemen." The usual overhyped tone of the announcer was somber. "As all of you know, our great friend and benefactor were disappointed with us, and thus she left us for some time. But not so long ago, we started getting back on track as she decided to return." What was he talking about?

"And now, our great benefactor will grace us with her own performance, so let's relish this present!"

And before he could finish, the fight had already started.