Then Ryan Cole had asked her to choose an opponent.
And suddenly, the past had come rushing back.
A Message from the Past
Thomas opened the first notebook carefully.
The cover was cracked.
The pages smelled faintly of old paper and dust.
Inside were handwritten notes.
Training methods.
Observations.
Student names.
Mistakes.
Lessons.
Thomas turned several pages.
Then he stopped.
A photograph had been taped inside.
A younger Thomas stood beside a teenage Maya.
Between them was Anthony Bennett.
Ryan looked over Thomas’s shoulder.
Thomas read a passage silently.
Then he laughed.
“What?”
Maya asked.
Thomas looked at her.
“Your father wrote about you.”
“That does not narrow it down.”
Thomas read.
“Maya has more talent than discipline.”
Maya nodded.
“Fair.”
Thomas continued.
“Thomas has more discipline than talent.”
Thomas looked offended.
“That’s rude.”
Maya smiled.
“It’s also fair.”
The students laughed.
Thomas turned another page.
Then his expression changed.
“What is it?” Maya asked.
Thomas handed her the notebook.
Anthony’s handwriting filled the page.
At the bottom was a short message.
Maya read it silently.
Her eyes softened.
“What does it say?” Derek asked.
Maya looked at Thomas.
Then she read aloud.
“If Thomas ever forgets what martial arts are for, remind him.”
Thomas stared at the floor.
Maya turned the page.
There was another message.
“If the students become more interested in winning than learning, remind them.”
Ryan’s face turned red.
Maya turned one final page.
The handwriting was shaky.
Anthony had written it near the end of his life.
“And if someone walks into the room believing a black belt makes him important, sit him down.”
For three seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Derek laughed.
Caleb followed.
Soon, half the gym was laughing.
Ryan covered his face.
“Oh, come on.”
Maya closed the notebook.
“My father had a sense of humor.”
Thomas looked around the gym.
At the trophies.
The belts.
The banners.
The photographs.
Northgate Martial Arts had become successful.
Maybe somewhere along the way, it had also begun forgetting why it existed.
Thomas looked at Maya.
“Stay.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Teach a class.”
“No.”
“Tomorrow.”
“No.”
“One class.”
Maya picked up the cardboard box.
“Absolutely not.”
Ryan suddenly stepped forward.
“I’ll come.”
Maya stopped.
“What?”
“To the class.”
She studied him.
Then smiled.
“Now that sounds like ego.”
Ryan looked away.
“Probably.”
The First Lesson
The following evening, Northgate Martial Arts was unusually crowded.
Nobody wanted to admit why.
But everyone knew.
They wanted to see Maya Bennett again.
Thomas stood near the entrance.
Derek stretched beside the mat.
Caleb sat quietly against the wall.
Ryan arrived twenty minutes early.
Maya walked in ten minutes before class.
She stopped.
The gym was full.
“You people are ridiculous.”
Ryan shrugged.
“You’re the one who embarrassed three black belts.”
“I did not embarrass anyone.”
Ryan looked at Derek.
Derek looked at Caleb.
Caleb shrugged.
Maya sighed.
“Fine.”
She stepped onto the mat.
No dramatic introduction.
No speech.
She looked at the students.
“Pair up.”
Nobody moved.
Ryan raised his hand.
“Are you teaching?”
“Yes.”
“What are we learning?”
Maya thought for a moment.
“How to stop being stupid.”
The room erupted with laughter.
Ryan looked offended.
“That’s very specific.”
“Yes.”
The first hour was difficult.
Maya corrected footwork.
Balance.
Distance.
Timing.
Posture.
She stopped Ryan six times for dropping his right hand.
She corrected Derek for relying too heavily on strength.
Then she turned to Caleb.
“You wait too long.”
Caleb frowned.
“I’m patient.”
“You’re hesitant.”
“That’s different.”
“Sometimes.”
Caleb thought about that.
Ryan smirked.
“Did she just insult you?”
Caleb looked at him.
“Quiet.”
Near the end of class, Maya asked everyone to sit.
They formed a circle.
Ryan spoke first.
“So what’s the point?”
Maya looked at him.
“Of what?”
“All of it.”
She understood.
The belts.
The tournaments.
The fighting.
The training.
Maya thought about her father.