During training, I noticed some of the other boys watching me. At first I tried to ignore it but at some point they started talking about me. I didn't understand everything they were saying but most of them wondered who I was. When the training was over, I was overcome with relief. There were a lot of things I hadn't quite got used to since I stopped living in seclusion. Being in the spotlight and being watched is definitely one of them. As training was over and I had achieved my goal for the day, I wanted to go home and went to the changing room. There was still a lot to do, such as deciphering the first letter. After all, I didn't want to put all my hopes in accidentally finding the people John had planned for me. After I had changed and left the club, two boys came straight up to me. I'd already noticed them at training because they weren't exactly talking about me quietly either.
"Hey bro, it's really cool what you did to Alex earlier," said one of the guys enthusiastically.
"Ehm, thanks," I replied, slightly surprised. I don't quite know what I was expecting, but not something like that.
"How long have you been boxing that you're so good?" Another asked.
I don't know exactly because I started when I was a kid, but I'd say about 12 years.
"My name is Ali, by the way, and this is Brian. What's your name anyway?"
"My name is Blaze"
"The name suits you. You know, Ali here didn't believe in you, but I thought the boy could do something from the start," said Brian.
"Didn't you think he'd go down against Alex in the ring today?" replied Ali.
"Blaze my friend don't listen to the haters. People like Ali will always try to talk you down but you have to stay focused" Brian said to me as he put his hand around my shoulder.
"Sorry my buddy has a slight chip on his shoulder as you can see"
"No problem. I don't want this to come across the wrong way, but do you two want anything in particular from me?" I asked as politely as I could.
"Well, the reason we approached you was because we noticed that you seemed to be new here. We thought it wouldn't hurt if we were the first people you met here," Ali said.
Your first day here and you're already a legend. I just had to talk to you" said Blaze.
"I see, that's really cool of you. You're right, I'm new here and it's good to get to know a few people already."
"You know Blaze, I already like you, why don't you come with us to Brockwell Park?" said Blaze excitedly.
"Brockwell Park?" I asked again, slightly confused.
"It's where most of the local kids hang out and where most of the guys from the club hang out after training," Ali replied.
"As a club member, you actually have to come. A lot of girls hang out there too and after tonight's fight, everyone will just be talking about you" said Brian.
"Why not? It wouldn't hurt to meet a few more people from the area," I said. My answer made Brian so excited and Ali seemed to be slightly pleased too and we set off towards the park. It wasn't a lie that I thought it would be nice to meet more people from the area, but that wasn't the only reason to come along. If a lot of people from the club got together and talked to each other, I might be able to find out more about AJ's work. For one thing, I need to find out exactly what kind of dirty work the guys from the club are doing and I need to find out which one of them is involved. One thing I noticed at the club today is that it's a normal fight club and not everyone knows about AJ's business. There are a lot of guys and I think Ali and Brian are among them who just want to hang out with other guys from the neighborhood. As we walked towards the park there was already soft music that got louder the closer we got. I had expected around 30 people here, but it was more like 300. There were several crates of beer lying on the ground and anyone who wanted one could take one. There was a lot of conversation and some people even danced to the loud music. The atmosphere was exuberant and it felt like it was just getting started. Roughly summarized it seemed like a huge party.
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"And they do this after every training session?" I asked the boys.
"There's always something going on here, but it's only as busy as it is now at the weekend," Ali replied. Brian didn't answer, which was apparently because he had already set his sights on his first target. A group of girls a few meters away were standing under a tree away from the commotion and talking to each other. I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying to them from here, but I didn't need to. He pointed his finger at me and made it clear with a hand gesture that me and Ali should come over. At that moment, I wondered if Brian had invited me here just for the girls. When Ali and I agreed to join the group, I realized that I already knew one of the girls.
"Hey Jane, so you're here too" I said.
Blaze? I didn't expect to see you here" she replied.
"Hey Blaze, I thought you were new to the area, how come you already know one of the girls here?" Brian whispered to me as he tapped my shoulder with his elbow.
"I met Jane by chance when I moved here"
"Yeah, he had some questions about the fight club around here"
"Are you going there too?" One of Jane's friends asked me. A brunette with long hair and a serious look that looked like she was analyzing me for weaknesses in a fight.
"No, Blaze isn't one of them," Jane defended me. Which put me in an awkward situation.
"Uh, to be honest, I joined the club today," I said, embarrassed.
"Seriously?" she said, visibly disappointed in me. It must seem pretty funny to Jane that I joined the club anyway, even though she warned me about AJ. After all, she told me something personal about herself and her brother so that I could really understand why I should stay away from them. I was just trying to explain the situation to her with an excuse when Brian walked between us.
Yes, seriously! It was his first day and he immediately challenged Alex. By that I mean Alex Sokolov the semi-pro and do you want to know how it ended? He knocked him out in the last round and he didn't even break a sweat," Brian told us enthusiastically. He was exaggerating the situation a bit, but in the short time I've known him now I realized that this was just his hyper nature.
"Is that true? It's not," said the girl standing next to Jane and her other friend. Until now she didn't seem interested in the whole situation but now she suddenly seemed to be on fire.
"Brian was your name? How long have you been training? What kind of fighting style do you use? Are you a Southpaw? She bombarded me with questions and practically didn't give me a chance to answer.
I'm sorry Brian, you have to know Lisa does martial arts herself and she loves it. As no girls are allowed in AJ Club, she even drives 40 minutes to the nearest club every day." Jane explained. Lisa's enthusiasm for martial arts got our conversation going again. Even Ali, who seems to be the shy type among girls, talked enthusiastically about his last vacation in Japan. The atmosphere was great and Brian, in particular, was totally up for it, even if he slightly overdid it with his alcohol consumption towards the end. Some time passed and the party slowly broke up. At first, six of us went home as a group, but one after the other, someone said goodbye. The group got smaller and smaller until it was just me and Jane left. The conversation in the group was lively but now that it was just the two of us it got quiet. I didn't know if this was the right time but I didn't want us to say goodbye to each other like this. We hadn't known each other long and I didn't have to answer to her but it just didn't feel right.
"Hey Jane about the fight clu-"
"All good Blaze. From what I've heard you seem to have a real talent for fighting so I can see why you joined the club. It's not like just because you're in the club you have to be involved with AJ. I hope to see you again soon Blaze" she said with a smile and said goodbye to me. Her words made me feel relieved but also worried. If I was to work for AJ in the future it would probably be better to hide this from her as much as possible. On the rest of the way home, I thought about today. I had made a good first impression on AJ and made a few new friends. It was the first time I'd done anything with people my own age. So this is what it feels like to do something with friends.