the way. As James ploughed into the floor for the hundredth time that morning, Gabrielle ripped the ball out of reach.
She managed three gangly steps, before coming under attack from two boys who’d started from the other end of the room. One hit Gabrielle head first, butting her in the stomach, while the other slid in with a two-footed tackle. Gabrielle groaned in pain as she hit the deck, but managed to hold on to the ball by tucking it under her chest.
The boy who’d butted Gabrielle tried to lever her into an arm lock, but caught a padded elbow in the face for his trouble and crumpled backwards in a heap.
While battle still raged over the first three balls, Miss Takada tossed in two more. James was exhausted, but the prospect of laps around the dojo gave him enough motivation to spring up and take a lunge. This time he judged it right and plucked the ball from between his legs without breaking stride.
James was thrilled to see less than fifteen metres between himself and the archway into the boys’ changing room. He leapt over a flying kick, picked up speed and could almost taste a cooked breakfast in the campus dining room. But three paces shy, the dream was shattered by a bulky sixteen-year-old called Mark Fox.
Mark had ham-sized fists and a twenty-centimetre height advantage over James, who got bundled into the padded wall before spinning out and adopting a fighting stance. It didn’t seem fair facing off an opponent who was so much bigger, but advanced combat training was meant to be realistic and the real world isn’t fair either.
James tried to visualise himself as the plucky underdog, who could come off best like in some kids’ movie. But the illusion didn’t last. Mark moved ruthlessly, spraying James with flying sweat as he landed a left-right punch combo, followed by a knee in the ribs. James crumpled up as Mark tore the ball from his grasp.
‘Later,’ Mark grinned, looking smug as he swaggered towards the archway.
The padded blows had only knocked the wind out of James, but he’d landed awkwardly and bent back some fingers. He stood as soon as he’d caught his breath, but his face was screwed up in pain. Six kids had now made it into the changing rooms; three more were almost there with no opponent in sight. That left James and two girls fighting over the last ball.
Dana Smith currently held it. She was a fifteen-year-old Australian, about the same height as James, muscular for a girl and an excellent athlete and swimmer. Gabrielle O’Brien had just turned fourteen and was the youngest on the course, but she could hold her own and had Dana penned into a corner looking for a way out.
James positioned himself a couple of metres behind Gabrielle. He figured Dana would make a break for it. Hopefully, Gabrielle would take her down and he’d be able to wade in and grab the ball while the girls tangled on the floor.
But Dana showed no sign of moving and Miss Takada was growing impatient. She had a queue of red-shirts outside, waiting for their beginners’ Karate class.
‘You got one minute, or all three of you run,’ Takada said, drumming on the face of her watch.
Gabrielle backed away from the corner, trying to lure Dana out. James was backing up too, as Dana made her move. Gabrielle lashed out, but Dana dropped down and skidded beneath the flying kick on her knees, sweeping away Gabrielle’s leg in the process.
James sensed an opportunity to snatch the ball, while Gabrielle was falling and Dana was on her knees. He ploughed into Dana, grappled her around the neck, ripped the ball out of her hand and clasped it to his chest, ignoring the pain in his fingers.
Dana yelled as she broke out of the choke hold and flipped James on to his back, before straddling his waist. She pinned his shoulders under her knees and batted him across the face. As she did so, James’ weakened fingers lost their sweaty grip on the ball. It bounced between his legs and began rolling across the mat.
Gabrielle spotted the ball and dived in. By the time Dana realised that James had let go, Gabrielle was sprinting triumphantly towards the girls’ changing room.
James was still pinned to the floor as Miss Takada made a circular motion with her finger. ‘OK, you two. Round and round, twenty time. You know the drill.’