Janie Celebrates

Janie threw her arms in the air as soon as she got to her feet.  

“YES!” she screamed.  “Finally a victory!”  So what if it was her first and only of this tournament.  So what if it was against the weakest fighter in the league.  So what if she labored to get it.  She had won.  She wasn’t last.   More importantly, it boosted her confidence to a much higher level almost immediately.   Her hard work was beginning to show in the ring.   Mistress Kimiko would be at least a little proud, she was certain.   She used this sudden haughtiness to look down at Holly and taunt her just a bit.

“Ha.  Anytime you want to go again Im ready, Honey.   You aren’t now and never will be a match for me.  No matter what you had today I was superior in every way.  You just say the word.”  With that she strutted, yes strutted ,her way to the ropes.

For her part Holly laid on the mat and just took it, her head in her hands.  She had fought hard, as hard as she could.  She had given it her best effort, arguably her best effort of the tournament, and still come up empty.  She would finish last.  She knew going in this was where she was probably going to end up, but now that it was here she felt sort of empty.  No wins, nothing even really too close. Still she proved to herself that she could get into a ring, overcome the fear of being humiliated in defeat, and find the courage to fight again.  She found herself clinging to that thought and it brought a little smile to her face.  She really had improved a lot in the last 7 weeks and, surprisingly, she had a lot of fun doing it.  She picked herself up off the mat and headed for the locker room, gratified of what she had accomplished.