Under The Lights (republish Challenge)

*This has not been edited for publication*

RJ just stood there. His mouth had dropped; his legs were shaking; his

heart was hammering inside of him like a carpenter. He had never been

on the other side of the ropes before. He had never had anyone else

strap on his gloves. The same question kept blocking his focus. It

rattled inside his brain and stole his attention completely. The question

was, “do I belong here.” The bell rang with a stinging sound that

echoed throughout the hall.

He never even heard it though. Everything swirled around him, as he

stumbled and fell against the outside of the ring.

“ Hey RJ, your up.”

Eight weeks before, RJ had once again signed up for the Florida 14-16

Dou martial arts season. He only signed up because his best friend

Thompson Banks needed a partner to qualify. The deal was that

Thompson would start the first four of eight rounds and win the fight

before RJ ever had to take his turn. This was really not that

improbable, because Thompson was by far the greatest fighter that the

league had ever seen. He was the reason they started buffing up on their

protective head gear. The year before this had been easy, Thompson

had made his way through the season almost untouched and won the

championship in the second round. Everything should have been the

same this year, but something was different. Travis Field, that is what

was different. He hadn’t taken many belongings to Florida, but he

brought plenty of trouble. He was the only fighter anybody in town had

ever seen that could go toe to toe with Thompson and last four rounds.

Travis had his little brother as a partner, and he was almost just as

good. Jackson had been fighting all his life. When the final fight, the

league championship came around, Thompson needed to win, and fast!

Unfortunately, that just didn’t happen, The first round had dragged on

and Thompson had taken a beating. The second round was better, but

Thompson still lost points. In the third round, Thompson had hung on

for dear life, and had tied his opponent in that round, but he was still

down an overwhelming amount of points. In the fourth round, the old

champion made an incredible comeback. It was a sellout worthy

performance. The crowd had gone wild as he tore the new kid to

pieces. It wasn’t enough though; right before the knockout blow, the

bell sounded. Thompson was forced out of the ring despite his constant

begging for another round. Now everything rested on RJ’s shoulders,

which were already sagging from fear and weakness. It is true, RJ had

wanted to be a fighter all of his life. He had trained hard. His heart

burned for this moment, but when it finally came, the lights burned

hotter. He stepped out into the ring, and watched the arrogant younger

brother strut around the ring. He was clearly begging for attention.

This was the moment of victory that he had always wanted, but did

victory want him?

Part Two

RJ never even knew what hit him. He never even noticed that the fight

was going on before he found himself kissing the canvas. His head

swam as he fought to get up. He knew every second he was down

meant more points for his opponent. Jackson came in hard and

delivered a combo to his rib cage and then his face. RJ crumpled again.

The smaller boy was still in shock as he climbed to his feet. Jackson got

lazy and took a wild and obvious pull back swing for RJ’s head.

It was a miracle for RJ that the shot was evaded> The two competitors

circled each other. Jackson faked a low kick and stung Rj on the nose,

but the kid didn’t go down this time. Rj took his first swing at Jackson

and missed.

CRACK!

Jackson had followed up and drilled Rj on the face after blocking a

weak swing. The boy had stumbled back into the ropes and fallen. Now

RJ was upset. He raced to the middle of the ring and swung a wild and

random group of punches. Th flurry lasted about five seconds and

ended with RJ flopping on the ground holding his rips tightly and

gasping for air. The first round continued in this fashion and ended

with RJ having only landed one punch, and Jackson scoring 8 jabs, 6

hooks, and one cross.

“Are you ok man?”

“umm, I guess I’m alright”

“It’s okay, you can make up for the loss after some rest.”

“think so?”

“Sure, you can take him. Stay on your toes more, and don’t wind up before you swing. Just let one fly quickly before he knows it’s coming.”

“Thanks”

“No problem RJ; I believe in you. We can still win”

After RJ had his two minute break, he climbed over the ropes again and

entered the ring. He still wished he could just go home. He knew He

wouldn’t win. He also knew that Thompson didn’t really think he

would win either. The referee started off the second round of the

second round, the fighters met in the middle. Jackson toyed with RJ

and waited for a response.

“ what’s the matter? You scared to fight? Just stay on the floor a little

while and you can go home without a scratch.”

RJ remained quiet, but delivered a combo to Jacksons face. Jackson

blushed a ripe red color and swung a low kick for RJ’s knees. Before he

knew what had happened, Rj was diving backwards uncontrollably.

THUNK!

RJ got up again. This time it didn’t take quite as long. Jackson danced

around him and faked a jab, but took a shot at RJ’s knees again. It

worked, and once again RJ was forced to have a little conference with

the floor.

“I would ask you if that hurt, but I’m sure your used to it by now”

jeered the confident opponent. Again, RJ made no reply. Jackson

became bored and threw a whirlwind of punches from every angle until

his heart was bolting out of his chest and he was exhausted. An evil

smile crept across his face as he saw the smaller boy tripping backwards

and falling into the ropes. RJ had protected himself from most of the

swings, but had taken one or two powerful hits. The rest of the second

half was not incredible for the underdog. He took his fair share of this

and left the ring panting like a wild dog.

“How’d I do Thompson?”

“Not bad; you landed three hooks, and four jabs. He landed fives along with two kicks. You still made up for all of the floor time though.”

RJ frowned

“That’s a lot of the point scoring.”

“I know, but you’re getting better. Try to anticipate his hits. Watch him take in a breath and move out of the way before he even swings”

RJ nodded solemnly.

“I’ll try”

RJ was ready now. his fear was gone. He had a passion now, and he was

willing to sacrifice anything to win. He had hung on two rounds and

was confident he could take the win back. For the first time he actually

felt like he wanted to be here. It was no longer a bad dream.

With eyes flashing and heart pounding, RJ stepped out onto the canvas.

Jackson smiled and walked to the center.

“ Just two more hits left buddy. I hit you, and you hit the floor. It won’t take much longer. Don’t worry”

“ I guess we’ll have to see about that” replied RJ, who was comfortable

enough to talk back now. He was not impressed with his opponents

choice of words at all. The ref started off the fight, and both boys

started with a wild volley. Jackson swung hard and fast, but RJ was

dodging and blocking almost everything. RJ leapt to the right to get out

of the flurry and then started breaking on Jacksons weak rib cage.

Another violent attack broke out. This time RJ was doing most of the

offense. Jackson struggled to block and evade the oncoming slaughter.

RJ rained down hits on him like a true veteran. His heart was in the

fight now, not just his arms. The sneaky fighter jumped backward and

stuck RJ in the shin as he advanced on him with a jump-skip. RJ let out

a helpless, pain-filled yelp, as he hit the canvas. The crowd stopped

everything and looked on with fearful silence. Everyone waited for RJ.

His leg had been hit hard right in the funny bone. He could still feel the

vibrations pricking inside his leg. Slowly, RJ crawled to his knees. The

boy let out a painful sigh as the tension died down. The count was at

seven. He had three seconds to get up; RJ lifted one foot, and jerked

himself up all of the sudden with new found strength. The crowd

roared with approval for the underdog who had endured everything so

far. RJ’s eyes blazed with pain as he looked on the awe filled youngster.

Jackson thought he had won. HE never expected that last second push.

RJ smiled now, and gave his opponent a wink. Jackson was started and

gave a confused second look at the boy. He didn’t have long to look

though; RJ landed hook on Jackson strong enough to knock a

mouthpiece out. The bully staggered backwards and then wheeled

forward, as he tried to gain back some momentum. Jackson swung an

uppercut, but RJ dodged and knocked him down. Jackson leapt back

up; his face was flushed with embarrassment. The two boys engaged in

another slobber-knocking volley. Both boys swung with all their might,

and heart. They dodged, they blocked, the doffed each others

arms. They kicked and scratched and jumped and shoved.

They battled on and on, in a heated close quarter shootout. Sweat was

flying off of their backs. Saliva was spilling out of their mouths.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, RJ came out on top.

He stood over Jacksons limp body for a moment, and scanned the

crowd for the first time. Applause erupted from the building, and

everyone jumped to their feet and cheered for the underdog, who had

persevered through the beating. The moment was cut short though.

Jackson was saved by the bell. RJ’s shoulders slumped and his mouth

dropped as he saw Jackson being pulled out of the ring. The bully

would have another shot. The last round was coming up, and the competitors would have a whole five minutes to rest up and get ready.

This would ruin RJ’s advantage of hitting Jackson while he was still

shocked and fragile. RJ took a trip to get a bottle of water from the

vending machine, his mouth was bleeding and he wanted to get away

from the noise so he could clear his mind. He slipped the doller into the

machine and pressed the number. RJ leaned against the wall and closed

his eyes for a second. Everything became quiet. He was all alone,

dwelling in the silence of his mind. There was no noise except the

constant humming of the machine.

“ I finally did it. I entered my first fight, and I could be the one to win

the championship” He smiled to himself as he thought of wearing the

plastic belt around his waist. It may have been a cheesy prize, but

anything with the word “ champion” on it was enough for him.

Then he stiffened, and his smile vanished.

“Stay focused RJ. You still have to survive another round. Get your

head in the game. It’s Showtime.” He stepped away from the wall and

turned towards the machine where his neglected bottle of water was

waiting, but something stopped him cold. Jackson was right in front of

him. The cocky expression had apparently migrated, and the boy looked serious now.

“Hey RJ, how are you feeling”

“Fine”

RJ bent down to grab his water but he felt an arm grab his.

“Look, I know I’ve been a bit of a bully, but I really need to talk to you”

“Well what is it, we don’t have much time so hurry up”

“Look RJ, there’s no reason for us to go out there and kill each other”

“Jackson, what is this about?”

Jackson paused, and answered slowly.

“Not everybody has a life like you RJ”

“What on earth do you mean”

“ I have noticed from school that your parents have a “ proud of you

no matter what” philosophy. Well my dad isn’t exactly like that. If I lose

this match to a little guy like you, It won’t be pretty. I’m begging you,

please hold back. I can’t afford to lose. It would ruined my fathers

views of me. It could ruin everything.”

“Yeah right, you just know you’re beat, so you beg me to ease off when

I’m just hitting my stride”

“Look RJ, please I need you. It’s not what it looks like. I’m serious.”

RJ became very proud, and very angry at the same time. He pushed

Jackson aside and strolled down the hall with his water.

“No promises, Jackson. Except the one I’ll make to the School

newspaper giving them a first dibs on the story you just gave me”

RJ laughed out loud as he strutted into the main building and took his

spot outside the ring. The crowd went barbarically wild at the

appearance of their hero. RJ smiled and played it up as he stepped into

the ring. Jackson appeared on the other side. He slowly trudged into the

ring with knees low and head tilted. Confidently, RJ skip-walked to the

center to hear the refs closing remarks.

“you’ve kept in clean so far. Let’s keep this last round clean as well.

No matter who wins, I want you both to know that you’ve put on a

spectacular performance tonight. Now go to your corners and let’s get

it on.” The two fighters took their positions and waited eagerly.

“You got this RJ, show em what you’re made of.”

RJ and Jackson squared up in the middle. RJ weaved back and forth

testing his opponent. He let loose a lighting jab that buzzed Jackson in

the jawbone. Jackson swung a desperate stroke but RJ ducked, and

plowed into him hard. Jackson stepped back, and regained his balance.

RJ shook his head violently and scolded himself for charging into his

opponent instead of punching him. He had become a greater fool than

Jackson. Carefully, the two battlers stalked back to the center to meet

each other. Jackson dropped a few hits on RJ that made him angry.

His rage fueled his punches, and he drove Jackson back to the other

side of the ring. He thrashed Jackson against the wall. Stroke after

stroke he took apart Jacksons tired defense. The bully watched as

Jackson crumpled onto the ground. The arrogant youngster turned to

the crowd. He was clearly seeking attention. It didn’t happen.

Everyone had suddenly become aware of how much hurt Jackson was

going through, as he lay there completely limp. Even RJ’s family was

shaking their heads. His father was the most disappointed.

“This is getting to his head, I’m throwing in the towel”

“Can you do that when he’s winning? Asked his curious but agreeing wife.

“ I think so” RJ’s father got up and jogged over to the ring.

The crowds boos fell to whispers as Jackson struggled to his feet.

It was far from over. Jackson hung on tightly. The two boys flashed in

the middle Jackson’s legs were shaking as he danced with RJ and tried

to find an opportunity to make a connection. A long shootout

commenced. The boys struggled for the upper hand. RJ landed a hard

right hand on Jacksons cheek and stumbled backwards

uncontrollably. Jackson hit the floor hard, and didn’t move.

Everything was silent. Everything was still. Everything was over, or was

it?

“ GET UP JACK! GET UP AND FACE HIM! GET YOUR FACE OFF THE GROUND! MY SON ISN’T A COWARD”

RJ swiveled his head towards the stands. He could see a large man

screaming at Jackson. His mind was racing in all different directions. He

suddenly realized just how true Jackson’s pleading had been. He could

here the whole crowd cheering for Jackson to get up, and he suddenly

realized that he was no longer the underdog. He was the bully.

It was time to make a choice.

“ I can’t blow this win. Augh, I can’t keep doing this though. I’m killing

him whether I know it or not”

Jackson was climbing to his feet. He had barely beaten the buzzer.

RJ looked over at Jackson. He smiled and gave Jackson a wink, but this time it wasn’t the same.

“You can’t stop him. He’s about to win. This is the final fight of the season.”

“This win is going to his head. It’s not healthy for him”

“WAIT, LOOK”

RJ’s dad looked towards the ring where Thompson had pointed.

Jackson was covering RJ up with hits. A leg sweep dropped RJ to the

ground with a plop. The crowd screamed like a house of madmen.

RJ was still, completely still. The noise quieted slowly as everyone

watched in suspense. The referee was making his count.

“THREE,

FOUR,

FIVE,

SIX,

SEVEN

,EIGHT

,NINE

,TEN! THAT’S IT, WE HAVE A WINNER”

The ref grabbed Jacksons hand and raised it high into the air.

The stands exploded with applause.

It felt like the entire earth was shaking. The entire earth was moving

from the buzz of a hundred fight loving fans, who were ready to blow

the roof off. RJ climbed back to his feet. He turned slowly and

something caught his eye. It was his mother, sitting in the stands. She

was looking towards heaven with damp closed eyes. He wondered if she

knew what had happened. He plodded over to the ropes and climbed

over them leisurely. He hugged his dad tightly.

“I’m so proud of you son. Win or lose, that was a great fight. You hung in there”

“Thanks dad”

RJ’s dad wanted a quick word with the victor, so he slipped away for a

minute. RJ turned slowly to see his friend.

With mouth still gaping, there was Thompson standing just

outside the ring.

“You had him. What happened out there?”

“Oh, I guess he must have done something that caught me off guard”

Replied RJ with just a hint of an ironic smile.

This is where the story ends, but only where the questions begin, so I will ask you one thought before you’re departing. Did RJ make the right choice?