His face had changed.
"You knew her?"
Nathan shook his head.
"I knew the record."
Tyler looked at Ursula.
"You're a fighter?"
Ursula answered quietly.
"Was."
Tyler laughed nervously.
"You never told anybody."
"Nobody asked."
The words were simple.
But they landed heavily.
The Second Round
Tyler wanted another round.
Everybody could see it.
Gregory Palmer could see it.
Nathan could see it.
Delores Wilson, the receptionist, could see it.
Even the students could see it.
Tyler's pride had been injured.
And injured pride rarely accepts thirty seconds as a final answer.
He wiped sweat from his forehead.
"That was luck."
Ursula looked at him.
"No."
Tyler laughed.
"You caught me off balance."
"Yes."
"Exactly."
He pointed toward the mat.
"Again."
Gregory stepped forward.
"Tyler, enough."
Tyler ignored him.
Nathan spoke.
"You're not fighting her again because you think she's unskilled."
Tyler turned.
"Then why?"
"Because you can't accept what happened."
Tyler's jaw tightened.
"I can beat her."
Ursula shook her head.
"You don't need to."
That irritated him even more.
"I need to?"
"No."
"Then why are you acting like you're better than me?"
"I'm not."
"You just threw me."
"You asked me to fight."
"I didn't ask you to embarrass me."
Ursula looked at him.
"I didn't."
Nathan stepped between them.
"Tyler, this is over."
But Tyler had an audience.
And an audience was exactly what his ego wanted.
"One real round."
Nathan frowned.
"No."
"Three minutes."
"No."
"Full rules."
"No."
Tyler turned toward the audience.
"She won't do it."
Ursula watched him.
She could see something in his eyes.
Not confidence.
Fear.
He was afraid of what thirty seconds had revealed.
So she made a decision.
"Three minutes."
Gregory stared at her.
"Ursula."
She raised one hand.
"I know what I'm doing."
Nathan looked concerned.
"You don't owe him this."
"I know."
"Then don't."
Ursula looked toward the young students watching.
Some of them were staring at Tyler.
Others were staring at her.
She remembered being twenty-two.
Angry.
Confused.
Looking for someone who could teach her that strength wasn't the same thing as aggression.
She stepped forward.
"Three minutes."
Tyler smiled.
This time the smile was forced.
They put on gloves.
The bell rang.
Tyler came forward aggressively.
He threw a combination.
Ursula blocked.
He kicked.
She checked.
He attacked again.
She moved.
Thirty seconds passed.
Tyler's breathing became heavier.
Ursula's did not.
One minute.
Tyler threw a powerful roundhouse.
Ursula caught the leg.
He tried to pull away.
She swept his supporting leg.
Tyler crashed onto the mat.
He rolled quickly and stood.
The crowd was silent.
Tyler charged.
Ursula stepped aside.
He missed.
She touched his shoulder.
Then his ribs.
Then his thigh.
Three clean strikes.
None powerful.
All precise.
Tyler stopped.
He looked frustrated.
"You've done this before."
Ursula nodded.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Sixteen years."
He laughed.
"No."
"Sixteen."
"You haven't fought in sixteen years?"
"Not competitively."
Tyler looked confused.
"Why?"
Ursula's eyes softened.
"Because I got tired of proving myself."
That sentence followed him for the rest of the fight.
Tyler attacked again.
Ursula moved like water.
Every time he committed, she was already somewhere else.
He threw combinations.
She read them.
He tried to change rhythm.
She adapted.
He tried to overpower her.
She redirected him.
With forty seconds remaining, Tyler was breathing hard.
Ursula still looked calm.
Then Tyler made his biggest mistake.
He became angry.
He attacked without thinking.
Ursula stepped inside.
One short movement.
One controlled sweep.
Tyler fell.
She immediately backed away.
The timer sounded.
Three minutes.
The gym erupted.
Tyler remained on the mat for several seconds.