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76. Taming the shrew
“Hi, Elen. Did you finish your dinner?” Jo appeared at the door from the corridor.
It looked like she was ready for the photo session. She was dressed comfortably in black leggings, a loose white T-shirt and a big beige hoodie.
“How are you, Jo? I am done, but it’s still too early to go to the sports club.” Elen tried to convince her. She wouldn’t mind having another portion of Matthew’s chocolate cake with ice cream; she just kindly waited for an offer of an extra piece.
“I need to be there as soon as possible.”
“As far as I know, there is kickboxing training and some defence courses before the kendo one. We won’t be able to go inside.” Elen explained.
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The Bet 77. Kendo
They entered the gym before one's time, but some people were already dressed. They chatted happily and waited for the rest to arrive.After quickly greeting everyone and presenting guests, Nick went with Jo to the corner where he set her tripod. Soon another guy joined them with a camera also.Elen was happy that she could watch the show and didn’t have to assist Jo. Being by her side, when she was taking photos was a nightmare. If she could skip it, that meant a real stroke of luck.Mike sat in the corner on the bench and made himself comfortable. That was a good spot because he could observe both duels and Jo.As soon as Matthew saw the distinctive kendogu used in kendo fencing, he got very emotional.
The Bet 78. Sparring
Mike was silent about the insult. He was no compulsive gambler, but he believed in his friend's skills.Elen watched the training but had no clue what was going on. She was bored, and was waiting for the end of it, checking her watch every now and then.All she could see was a bunch of disguised figures hitting each other with bamboo sticks.“Do you know what it is all about, Mike?” She asked just to fill the boredom, not from curiosity.“The goal of the fight is to hit the opponent in one of the places provided for by the regulations.” Mike explained, looking seriously at her.He wondered if she was interested in the martial art or was just looking for any conversation.
The Bet 79. John Kelly
Jo knew that there would be a real storm in a few minutes. This time she wasn’t counting on any miracle. She was blown away, and it was only a matter of time.“Good evening, kids. Sorry for being late.” A familiar voice broke her out of her thoughts.When she looked in the direction from which that voice came, she was exceedingly happy. She was saved, she thought.At the entrance of the gym, appeared a very tall, well built man. He had a storm of grey hair on his head. Despite his old age, he looked very handsome; there was no wrinkle on his face. The only thing that could tell about his date of birth were his grey hair.The visitor was wearing dark green pants and a khaki shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows revealing the beautifully carved m
The Bet 80. A lecture
Jo and Matthew had trouble finding some empty chairs. They were late, so nobody expected them to come.Seeing this, without making unnecessary noise, Nick got up and went out. After a while, he returned with two chairs that he quickly tucked between his and Patrick's.The participants of the session were perplexed by the confusion that had arisen, but waited in silence for everyone to sit comfortably."We have to talk." Patrick whispered in Jo's ear as she finally sat down.“Sure, Pat." She patted him on the shoulder with her orthosis.“Damn! It hurts, girl.” He hissed.“Children, can we continue?” Mr. Kelly spoke, amused by the view he was witnessing
The Bet 81. Plotting intrigues
“My head is going to explode!” Matthew complained. He was not the type to grumble, but the whole day was full of total misunderstandings. Even the toughest guy would go mad and his patience was already badly damaged in dealing with two injured friends. “What the fuck was that stupid session?” He questioned Nick. “That should be our lecture about the psychological aspects of negotiating with emotionally unstable individuals, I mean potential suicides.” Nick played idiot. He had a headache himself too. “That was dud!” Matthew criticized openly. “I didn’t expect such a brain drain to be performed by this legendary man.” “Yeah… so much crap.” Nick admitted. “I noticed a strange familiarity between Mr. Kelly and Jo’s fr
The Bet 82. Intruders
In the morning Matthew and Mike decided to go out to buy some fruits and vegetables, instead of shopping online.She supposed they just wanted to talk without any onlooker, somewhere away from her or any witnesses. It was fine with her.Jo was happy that she finally had a moment of peace away from those two. As soon as she heard the door close, she ran to the kitchen. She could safely drink and eat whatever she wanted.She made a strong coffee and looked for any snacks temporarily forbidden by Mike. She was over the moon when she found a bag of meringues and a big box of macarons.‘So much sugar!’ She thought, looking at the colourful sweets. ‘I had no junk food for the past few days, so I can be excused.’ She justified herself promptly.
The Bet 83. Jealousy
When Mike and Matthew entered Jo’s apartment, they heard a few people singing. The sounds were coming from the kitchen. It seemed like she had a great time without them.“I’m looking for love all around me; Looking for love to surround me. The love that I need; To rescue the state of my heart.”“Definitely someone has a better voice than me.” Matthew summed up honestly. He dwelled upon who that voice belonged to. He had no doubt that its owner had taken voice lessons from a real professional.Even Jo was really great in that song.“I agree with your statement.” Mike said, putting a few bags on the floor in the corridor.He
The Bet 84. Secrets
The scenes Matthew had just witnessed didn’t move him at all. He had his thoughts and some assumptions, but he didn't want to disabuse and correct Mike.He realized that he even enjoyed watching him being in pain and jealousy. He hoped something would get to him eventually, and most of all the fact that he shouldn’t play with anyone's feelings, because it might turn against him.Mike had needed a lesson for a long time; some kind of painful pensum that would teach him humility and respect for the feelings of others. Once, he completely messed up his life, consciously and deliberately, or only by accident. He never found out.‘I had a broken heart, because of that dude, who used to be like a brother to me, but he betrayed me.’ Matthew remembered his painful memories. It took him a long time to
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