After lunch, it was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Austin ordered hand to hand combat, which immediately shifted the mood of the field. No running. No obstacles. No pretending exhaustion did not exist. This was personal.
We were told to split into pairs. One girl and one guy. One on offense. One on defense. We were to rotate roles throughout the session and go hard. No holding back. No mercy unless someone was injured badly enough to stop.
I was paired with Noah.
The moment Austin said our names together, Noah cracked his knuckles and shot me a grin that promised pain.
“Well,” he said, rolling his shoulders, “I’ve been looking forward to this. Call it payback.”
I knew exactly what he meant.
I had kicked him hard during my first day. Hard enough to drop him. Hard
