Once she was seated Peggy began to speak. “So you want to become a boxer? May I ask why?”

Tina shifted in her seat then rubbed the back of her neck slightly. “I’m from a small town in North Carolina. It is the Bible belt state. My father was a pastor and my mother a teacher.”

Tina smiled while thinking of her parents. “They wanted my brother to become a teacher and I to become a pastor. But my brother’s dreams were to become a boxer after we had watched Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner. Ali scored a 15^th round knockout just 16 seconds from the final bell. Caleb, my brother, begged my parents for a punching bag. They had said no saying not to pay attention to that barbaric behavior. So one day, we had found a sack and filled it with sand. We then took a rope from our father’s garage and tied the sack to a branch on a tree in our backyard. We would both sit there every day and punch at it until it would get dark. That was until…um…my brother had passed.”

Tina didn’t want to elaborate on his death clearly looking distraught. Peggy noted it looked as if Tina was hiding something.

Tina continued, “Well after his death I decided I’d fulfill his dreams. So, I saved up what money I could so I could move to L.A. I found your gym online being ranked the third best in the country. The hard part was telling my parents. They…uh…”

Tina’s eyes welled up with tears, “They kicked me out. They were very disappointed I’d choose boxing as my career. I found the nearest homeless shelter where I stayed for two years until I finally saved enough money up from waitressing and cleaning people’s houses. I hopped on a train never looking back.”

Tina looked down at her hands then back up at Peggy. “I’m begging that you train me because boxing is all I know. I’ve got nothing else to lose.”

Peggy studied Tina’s face then reached down to the drawer on her desk sliding it out and grabbing a couple sheets of paper. Peggy looked back up at Tina. “Alright, I don’t train but have trainers here that are the best of the best. “ Peggy handed over a form. “We need your information just like any application you would fill out. Also, we will be giving a health physical to determine your class and trainer.”

Peggy stood up. “We do have a fee of $25,000 a year. But we can set up a payment plan.”

Tina’s eyes became huge at the price stated. She knew she needed to find a job pronto if she planned on being trained. Tina grabbed the form and filled it out to the best of her knowledge. She handed it back to Peggy who was standing by the window overlooking the gym. Peggy grabbed her glasses of her desk putting them on then began to skim the form. She made a couple of hm’s and oh’s. She finally looked up at Tina taking her glasses off. “We will do your health physical tomorrow at 10am. Please bring $1,043 as a deposit. The additional $1,043 you can pay at the end of the month.”

Tina smiled glad to know she was in. “Thank you so much!” She shook hands with Peggy once more before walking out. She descended down the steps with a big grin on her face like the Cheshire cat.

Bette Porter had been training a boxer when she caught a certain blonde from the corner of her eye. She peered over noticing the smile on her face and how she had a bounce in her step. Bette felt as if she was looking at an angel.

She was so lost in the site she was drinking in that she didn’t notice the glove that slammed into her chest. She grunted stumbling back.

Dana Fairbanks quickly moved to Bette. “Oh my god! Are you okay? I’m so sorry!” She rambled out.

Bette laughed in pain. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Once she recovered she looked back to where she had seen Tina but she was gone. Bette shook it off laughing to herself about what had just taken place.