CHAPTER 1 — “Maybe Just Train.”
The gym went silent.
Not gradually.
Not naturally.
It was the kind of silence that seemed to arrive all at once, as if someone had reached up and turned the entire building off.
Only seconds earlier, Champions Elite Martial Arts had been filled with noise.
Bare feet slapped against blue mats. Heavy bags swung beneath fluorescent lights. Coaches shouted combinations from across the room. Teenagers laughed between rounds, water bottles cracked open, and the occasional thump of someone being taken down echoed through the dojo.
Then Tyler Cross laughed.
Loudly.
He stood in the middle of the blue mat wearing a black rash guard and black shorts, his muscular arms folded loosely across his chest. At seventeen, Tyler was already the gym's most celebrated young competitor.
Three regional championships.
Two state titles.
A wall full of medals.
Hundreds of thousands of views on social media.
His nickname, “The Titan,” was printed across his training shirts.
Tyler loved every bit of it.
He loved walking into tournaments while people whispered his name.
He loved coaches introducing him as “the future of the sport.”
Most of all, he loved being better than everyone else.
And right now, he was looking at someone who appeared to be the complete opposite of him.
A little girl.
She stood several feet away.
She was Black, small for her age, and dressed simply in a white T-shirt and black training pants. Her braided hair was tied neatly behind her head.
She didn't look nervous.
She didn't look excited.
She didn't even look particularly interested.
She simply stood there.
Quiet.
Still.
Watching Tyler.
One of Tyler's friends nudged him.
“That's her.”
Tyler looked at the girl again.
Then he burst out laughing.
He threw his head backward and laughed so hard that several students turned around.
“You want me to go with her?”
The girl didn't react.
Tyler wiped his eyes.
“No way.”
A few teenagers laughed with him.
His friend grinned.
“Coach said she's your partner.”
Tyler shook his head.
“She can't be serious.”
At the edge of the mat stood Coach Marcus Reed.
Marcus was a former professional fighter who had spent nearly twenty-five years coaching athletes. He was usually patient, even with Tyler.
But now his expression was unusually serious.
“Tyler,” he said.
Tyler looked over.
“What?”
“Enough.”
Tyler shrugged.
“I'm just surprised.”
Marcus pointed toward the center of the mat.
“Get ready.”
Tyler walked toward the girl.
The closer he got, the more ridiculous the situation seemed to him.
He was nearly twice her size.
She looked like someone who should have been practicing beginner drills with children several years younger.
Tyler lowered himself into a wide grappling stance.
His face came close to hers.
He smiled.
It was the smile of someone who believed the outcome had already been decided.
“I'm not gonna hurt you.”
The girl stared directly into his eyes.
No fear.
No smile.
No hesitation.
Then she said quietly:
“Maybe just train.”
Tyler's smile disappeared.
Instantly.
His eyes narrowed.
For a moment, he didn't understand why those three words had bothered him so much.
Then he heard something behind him.
A soft laugh.
Someone had laughed at him.
Tyler slowly stood.
The girl hadn't moved.
Marcus folded his arms.
“Begin.”
Tyler took one step forward.
The girl shifted her weight.
It was barely noticeable.
A tiny movement of her left foot.
But Marcus noticed.
So did another man standing near the wall.
His name was Daniel Hart.
Daniel was one of the gym's senior instructors, though he rarely taught the children's classes.
He watched the girl's feet.
Then Tyler's.
His eyebrows lifted.
“That,” Daniel whispered.
Marcus glanced at him.
“What?”
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
The girl adjusted her stance again.
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“She knows.”
Marcus looked back toward the mat.
Tyler was still smiling.
He hadn't noticed anything.
“Knows what?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“How to wait.”
Tyler suddenly rushed forward.
The first exchange happened so quickly that several students didn't understand what they had seen.
Tyler reached for the girl's shoulders.
She stepped aside.
Nothing dramatic.
No spectacular move.
Just one clean step.
Tyler grabbed empty air.
He stopped himself.
The gym remained quiet.
Tyler looked over his shoulder.
The girl was standing behind him.
Exactly where she had been.
Except now she was closer.
Tyler's smile returned, but it was tighter.
“Lucky.”
The girl said nothing.
Tyler attacked again.
This time, faster.
He reached for her arm.
She withdrew it.
He reached again.
She moved.
Again.
Again.