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Maye:

Surely there is a made-for-TV movie about a kickboxing romance, right?

Tracy:

If there is, it’s a Vic Webster joint!

The instructor called everyone to find a spot in the middle to begin the warm-up. She cranked up the music and began yelling commands. Maye was shocked at the change in disposition, and quickly complied out of fear of being called out.

For the next six minutes, Maye jogged, jumped up, panted heavily, planked, pushed up, coughed, sprinted in place, wheezed, perspirated, and then collapsed onto the floor. She was already drenched in sweat and out of breath, and they hadn’t even started the workout yet.

“Don’t worry,” Maye heard a familiar voice as she was bent over, waiting for her heart rate to settle. “You’ll make it. Sometimes the warm-up is the worst part.”

Maye looked up to see Tabby, barely glistening.

“Okay, class, let’s get ready for round one!” The instructor shouted. “I want all first-timers in the front row so I can keep an eye on ya!”

“Better get going,” Tabby said, offering a hand to help Maye up. “She doesn’t like to wait.”

The Instructor spent the next few minutes introducing the front row to the proper stance, how to keep their hands up and elbows in, and how to properly jab, cross, and hook. The rest of the class began an impressive routine of combinations that the instructor called out.

“Jab, 1! Cross, 2! Hook, 3! 1, 1, 3! 30 seconds! Go!” she yelled, and then the back rows ran through the combination.

During one of Maye’s breaks, she looked back and was impressed with how precise and forceful Tabby was executing the combos. Tabby raised a gloved hand and made a determined expression. Maye raised a gloved hand and nodded. This tiny bit of encouragement gave Maye a push to jump back into the workout.

After another couple of rounds of introductory instruction, the whole class was performing the same combinations together. Romantic opportunities were the farthest thing from Maye’s mind. Her endorphins were surging, dopamine was popping, and she was pushing herself to keep up with the instructor. By the end of the class, Maye was confidently jabbing, crossing, and hooking, and looking forward to signing up for round two.

By the end of the week, Maye was exhausted. It was a combination of trying to find frustration in situations so she could get through the anger phase, being sore from the complimentary first kickboxing class she took advantage of, and rejecting Chris’s ideas for movie plots for her to try. Apparently, he asked Jayce for her number, so he started peppering her with ideas via text the night of their conference call. When Friday night rolled around, all Maye wanted to do was crash on the couch and fall asleep to some brain-numbing reality shows. Instead, she turned on her TV just in time to catch the end of the movie before the Friday night feature premiere.

“Up next,” the TV announcer’s voice said, “Christoffer Robert R. Walker stars in the new late-summer Friday night feature: An Outpouring of Love and Outburst of Anger. A volunteer counselor at Summer Champs Summer Camp reunites with Henrik, Jack, and Stacy, the kids he’s spent the last four summers with. Stacy, the quietest and most nervous kid at camp, has since come out of her shell and become one of the spunkiest kids in her bunk. When the summer heat becomes too much to handle, all the parents are invited to join their kids at Summer Champs. Our volunteer counselor quickly develops a close bond with Stacy’s mom. When Stacy finds out, they all have to navigate anger issues and jealousy.”

“Ugh,” Maye groaned.

“But first,” the announcer continued, “the conclusion of An Appalachian Trail Proposal.”

“Are you kidding me right now!?!” Maye shrieked.

Maye sat down with fresh popcorn and a box of Buncha Crunch just as An Outpouring of Love and Outburst of Anger was getting started. She was appalled at the plot and couldn’t resist letting Chris know.

Maye:

You hook up with a summer camp kid’s mom??? What the heck, dude?

Chris:

I’m not going to spoil the end, but I will just say that some valuable lessons are learned throughout the process. You’re doing your homework. I like it!

Maye:

The Summer Champs shirt looks comfy.

Chris:

Suuuper comfy. You can almost see how the camper’s mom fell for me, right?

Maye:

Almost. Your character’s name tag says Drew R. What’s the R stand for?