The chance didn’t present itself, as Jeremy’s mother dropped him off and left right away, and I ended up helping Uncle Magnum with the class. I liked working with the kids and so did Uncle Magnum. He always tried to make it fun for them, except when they got too rowdy and then he would lay down the law. All of his classes were like that. You could joke around and complain all you wanted, but you had to follow his instruction and you had to give your best effort.
After assisting him with a few classes and running another on my own, I joined the advanced class to get in my own training. Uncle Magnum continued my instruction in armed combat and we sparred with staves. I’d always enjoyed all of the weapons, but the staff was the first one that I learned, and I still loved it. While the other students were working on improving their Dragon form, Uncle Magnum and I donned some safety gear and tried to bash each other with big sticks.
We started off slowly, getting a feel for the rhythm of the battle before Uncle Magnum launched his attack. I’d practiced with him all of my life and I was ready for this sudden shift. I blocked and parried and dodged and twisted like Daffy Duck, only without hitting myself in the face, and soon I counter attacked. Each blow and block sends vibrations up your arms to your shoulders and it takes some getting used to. You have to hold the staff correctly for it not to get to be too much. In a very short time, I tuned out everything but the battle and got lost in the rhythm of attacking and counterattacking. Every move we made set up the next move and we flowed from one attack to another, neither getting an advantage. To anyone watching, it would look like a choreographed dance.
We went on like that for awhile before Uncle Magnum overextended himself and I saw an opening. Without thinking about it, I went in for the leg sweep and only realized that I’d been set up when his leg wasn’t there. What I’d seen as an over-extension was actually an intentional lunge that would bring him past me as I went for his leg. He was now behind me and could attack me anywhere along my back or my legs. As I turned to try to block, knowing there was almost no chance, I tensed for a blow and instinctively sent my field outwards a few feet out from my body. I felt the staff pass through my extended field at shoulder height and I adjusted the angle of my staff up just in time for the block. With the field about twenty-four inches from my body, I’d had enough warning, without actually seeing the staff approaching me.
After the block, Uncle Magnum really was off balance. He had been positive that he was going to get a hit in and he relaxed a bit in his overconfidence, leaving his arms in his final blow position for a second too long. I took advantage of his surprise and gave him a quick jab to the side.
My hit ended the fight and we saluted each other. That’s when the cheering started. I was so caught up in the moment that I hadn’t realized that everyone in the class had stopped their forms to watch us.
“Way to go Abby! That was awesome.” That was from Francis, one of the 5th Dan’s.
“Good job, Abby.” Uncle Magnum gave me a quick hug. “I have no idea how you managed to block my hit without even seeing it, but it was well done.”
“I just got lucky.” I hated lying to Uncle Magnum, especially because I knew that he would really love knowing about the field and he’d be a great help in getting me to develop it.
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He gave me a skeptical look. He wasn’t buying my ‘luck’ excuse, and he wasn’t going to let me off of the hook so easily. “Well, it looked completely intentional. Your block wasn’t hesitant at all and your follow through for the hit shows that you were anticipating making the block.”
With no better explanation, I just shrugged and went to put away my staff. Looking at the clock, I was surprised to see that our fight had gone on for longer than I though and that class was just about over. Uncle Magnum led us in our sit-ups and we did our final salute.
The ride home was quiet. I was thinking about how I’d instinctively expanded the field and was planning on trying it again as soon as I got home. I didn’t know what Uncle Magnum was thinking so hard about, until we got home and he let me know.
“I keep thinking about your block, Abby. I’ve seen people make blocks like that before, but not in the same way. You can see that they’re guessing. It’s in their eyes. They know that they’ve been caught out of position and they panic a bit and they’re scrambling to do something. If they manage to make a successful block it’s clumsy or weak. Even if it’s a good block there’s always surprise or shock in their eyes and they pause for a second. Kind of like I did when you made the block that you shouldn’t have been able to. But you weren’t shocked or surprised Abby. I saw it in your eyes. You knew where that staff was going to hit you. You weren’t guessing. Your movement started unsure and then it solidified with knowledge. I’ve been your Uncle for your whole life and your teacher for the past 12 years. I know how you fight. I know all of your moves. I set you up and knew that you’d take the bait when it looked like I’d overextended myself. At your level, you shouldn’t have been able to do what you did. I realize that it may not seem like a lot to go on, two moves, but imagine how it would look to you if you were sparring with Jeremy and he suddenly hit you with a perfect spinning roundhouse kick to the head. You’d know that something was up. That kick would be way above his level and his ability. So what gives, Abby?”
Shit. I’d only had my abilities for a few months and I was already being found out. And it wasn’t as if I’d disappeared into R1 or anything. Uncle Magnum had picked up on the very smallest of clues and found me out. Superman puts on a suit and a pair of glasses and he’s not recognized as Superman for over 50 years. I block one hit and the Kung Fu detective is breathing down my neck. What the hell? I know that life isn’t a comic book, but this was seriously messed up.
I wasn’t going to tell him the truth. That was not going to happen. Maybe at some future date, but definitely not now. That left me with a few options. I could pretend not to know what he’s talking about and stick with the whole ‘luck’ thing, but he didn’t buy that excuse last time.
I thought about going on the attack and accusing him of not giving me enough credit and then getting all huffy with him, but he didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. No. There was only one way to make this go away pleasantly. Uncle Magnum may know me very well, but that goes both ways. I knew his weaknesses too. He couldn’t resist a good laugh.
“It wasn’t me.”, I blurted out while smiling.
Uncle Magnum just looked at me. Totally stunned.
“What?”
“It wasn’t me!”, I repeated.
“Really? That’s your answer. I pour out a masterful observation of deductive reasoning and you’re seriously going to go with the Shaggy defense?” Uncle Magnum finally smiled back. “Fine.”, he sighed.
“I saw the block to your shoulder.”, he sang.
“It wasn’t me.”
“I felt the swing with your power.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“I even caught you on camera.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Abby came in and she caught me flatfooted just when I had her beat…”, he improvised.
We both laughed and he shook his head. “I never should have introduced you to that song. Anyways, get inside. Nice deflection for tonight. We WILL talk about this again, but I’ll give you some time. It’s obvious you don’t want to talk about it yet.”
Breathing out an audible sigh of relief, which I supposed didn't help my case much, I bade him goodnight, and went inside. That was close. I’d almost been found out, but would it be so bad? Why wasn’t I telling him about my abilities? Why wasn’t I telling Dad?