Lost in the Love Letter

ch. 12 - a glimpse of the past

*Reminder: Mandy is occasionally referred to as Amanda

Hunter: "I'm glad you showed up."

Mandy: "Did you.. do all of this?"

Hunter: "Yes, I've actually been working on it the whole summer before school started. After our instructor shut down his studio, I was determined to open one here."

Mandy: "Wow... it's so... perfect. It feels just like home."

Hunter: "I bet the adjustment must be hard for you. Are your parents still gushing about the new town?"

Mandy: "Unfortunately. I hate how much they love this crummy town - oops... sorry."

Hunter: "No you're good. I remember you always struggled with your parents obsessing over moving."

Mandy: "Yeah... *she continues to look around* So, is is open yet?"

Hunter: "Nope, but I just spent the day bringing in a bunch of new gear. There's still a few things to be done before opening though."

Mandy: "Oh, that's why you were gone, I was worried it was because of-"

Hunter: "That little ASB nerd?"

Mandy: "Hey, watch it."

Hunter: "Amanda, you may think you know him, but underneath his shell, he's deceitful and-"

Mandy: *growing frustrated* "Stop. You can't say that. It's getting all of us worked up for nothing. And for the record, my relationship with him is none of your business." *she began to head for the door*

Hunter: *he muttered* "Well your little letter said otherwise."

Mandy stopped in her tracks and turned bright red. She slowly turned around, trying to remain cool.

Mandy: "I don't... want to... discuss that. Can you just forget about that stupid letter and stop using it to throw me off? I just don't want to talk, I'm not ready." *she turned back around and continued to walk to the door*

Hunter: "Then don't talk it out with me, fight me."

Mandy, once again, turned around and folded her arms, looking puzzled.

Mandy: "What? Are you high on bad weed?"

Hunter: "We're in the perfect place, aren't we? I told you to come here to have some fun. Plus, I need someone to break in the fighting grounds with me. C'mon, you and me in the big ring. Like old times."

Mandy: "I can't fight in my outfit."

Hunter: "I've got a gi in the back for you."

Mandy: "Don't you think we've had enough fighting recently?" *referring to the Mason situation*

Hunter: "We used to train 3-4 times a week. Looks like someone's lost their special touch... such a shame... the best in our class won't even join a friendly fight, with her old partner."

Partners. That word made Mandy's heart tingle. It was a gateway to all of her memories in her past. It used to just be Hunter and Amanda, and nothing else. They were the most iconic duo in their Martial Arts school. Hearing that word again couldn't help but make Mandy long for a glimpse of the past.

Mandy: "I- *she gives into her desire* Fine. But only one match. Just to prove that I am still better than you."

Hunter: "There's the girl I know."

He went to the back to grab her a plain black shirt and pants, just like his. She went into an empty side room to change, and threw her other clothes in her car.

Mandy: *as they were getting their gear on* "Let's discuss the rules. What kind of match is this?"

Hunter: "Kickboxing."

Mandy: "Okay, takedowns, or no takedowns?"

Hunter: "Takedowns. But no ground and pound."

Mandy: "Got it... now, how hard are we going?"

They both paused and looked at each other long and hard. Hunter smirked and lifted his right eyebrow.

At their old studio, the instructor had a set of levels to explain how hard to hit in a match. 1 being light-feather taps, 3 being pretty light but still lucid punches, 5 being fairly hard, 8 being even harder but still controlled, and 10 being absolutely everything you got. The average level their instructor usually had them fight at was a 3, but back then, of course, Mandy and Hunter would always exceed that, out of their spite.

Hunter: "How about...5. Is that okay?"

Mandy: "Like Martial Art Innovations 5? Or Amanda and Hunter 5?"

Hunter: *he looked down and laughed* "Definitely not Amanda and Hunter style. And you better not go all 'Amanda' on me."

Mandy: "We'll see." *she smirked*

They both had boxing gloves, shin guards, and mouth guards. When they were younger, they used to additionally where head gears, but for now they chose not to wear those.

Before starting, they both stretched. Mandy took those moments to get into the mindset of Amanda.

Finally, they walked over to the big ring.

Hunter: "Oh, here do you need a step-stool?"

Mandy: "Shut up."

She did a box jump up onto the ring; Hunter saw, and did the same. They took the corners opposite of each other, the same corners they used to take when they were younger. Hunter headed over to the timer in the corner of the ring. He set it to 2 minutes and 30 seconds. He looked back to Mandy, and they exchanged a nod. The timer started.

And so it began.