"Filler" Chapter, It's exam season again (help please!!!).

  There are important things for the plot, but not much actual development.

  Enjoy.

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  The tornado wind had somehow damaged the electrical system in our neighborhood enough that we didn't have electricity for the rest of the week.

  Since everyone's refrigerators in the neighborhood obviously weren't w, a lot of meat could spoil, and if there's ohing I learned from Texas, it's that nobody would allow that to happen. As a result, unal barbecue dinners became a regur thing during those days. Strangely, so did the "programming" to watch the "show" that Case and I put on daily.

  At first, it was very awkward to practice ground teiques with Case while people watched, but as the days passed, I found it quite amusing. The neighborhood women's petition for the "best seats" and Case's disfort with the way they stared at him became a highlight. Thanks to Geie and Meemaw, I also learhat people were betting on how many times I could tap Case out during practice, which motivated me to try even harder. By the end of the week, the pathetiumbers had improved, at least a little.

  Over the weekend, I went with Mom and my siblings to the shopping area, mainly to do a load of undry at the undromat. While the washing maes did their job, Gabe and Teddy we door to the movie rental store to see if there was anything iing.

  Meanwhile, Mom ran into other women from our street arently had the same idea, and she happily chatted with them, leavih nothing to do.

  When I left the undromat intending to find my siblings and look for some iing movies with them, I bumped into Randy, the guy from the boxing gym who would make up anatomical parts to scare people into buying equipment, carrying several cardboard boxes in his hands.

  "Randy," I said, greeting him. I remembered how much fun it had been to mess with him when I first met him.

  "You've got the wrong guy. I'm not Randy," he said, suddenly stopping, bang the seemingly empty boxes in his hands to keep them from falling. He was obviously lying and oddly nervous.

  "Wha–" I tried to say.

  "Does this 'Randy' owe you money?" he interrupted, cutting off my question.

  "No," I replied slowly, watg as Randy's worried expression immediately returo normal.

  Did he owe moo someone?

  "Great," Randy said, nodding, clearly relieved, and began walking again as if our iion had never happened.

  "Okay," I said, amused as I watched him carefully walk toward the door of his gym, trying not to drop the boxes.

  When Randy tried to open the door to his pce, he dropped all the boxes stacked in his arms. It was an incredibly funny sight. pletely flustered, he picked up the boxes one by one from the ground, only for the door he had mao open to close agaihen began trying to open the door with the boxes in his hands once more, dropping them again.

  "Let me help you," I said, both impressed and amused, watg Randy repeat the cycle. Walking over to his side, I held the door open while he picked up the boxes again.

  "Thanks," Randy said, for some reason surprised, as if he didn't uand the cept of kindness.

  "Don't mention it," I replied, watg as Raered the pce, which, upon closer iion, was pletely disanized. "What happened here?" I asked, surprised. I had seen the pot too long ago, and now it looked pletely different.

  "The owner closed the pce," Randy expihrowing the empty boxes onto the gym floor, once again oddly avoiding the fact that he was the owner.

  "Closed it?" I asked, fused.

  "Yeah, he's going to sell it," Randy replied as he began pag things into the boxes.

  He definitely owed someone money, probably someone dangerous… wait.

  As I processed his words, I gnced around the pce. It ossibly a little rger than the paved area of the vat lot we used for training with Case. The walls were lined with gym equipment—far more than Case had and in much better dition.

  "How much?" I asked, refog on Randy, who was still pag things into boxes.

  "What?" Randy asked, fused, frowning.

  "How much do you want for the gym, Randy?" I asked again, pnting the idea in my mind that I could finally get a break from Case's grueling training sessions.

  "I told you, I'm not Randy," Randy quickly said, "and I don't have time fames," he added irritably, probably assuming I didn't have the moo buy the pce.

  "I know someone who might be ied in buying it," I quickly lied, trying to get his attention. "Stop pag and wait here for ten minutes," I added, ign any further questions Randy might have as I rushed out of the gym.

  Telling Mom I'd be back soon, I grabbed her car keys ahe shopping area.

  "Where are you taking me?" Case asked curiously from the passenger seat of Mom's car as we headed back to the shopping area.

  "I told you, it's a surprise," I said, cheerfully imagining what it would be like to finally have some peace at home.

  We finally arrived at the gym. "Ta-da!" I said, opening the door to the pce, grabbing Randy's attention as he tinued folding and pag everything he used to scam people.

  "I told you I don't have time for—" Randy started saying when he saw me but immediately went silent when he saw Case. He was clearly terrified.

  "A gym?" Case asked, looking around the pce.

  "Not just a gym, a gym for sale," I quickly corrected, trying to sell the idea to Case. "Right, Randy?" I asked, widening my eyes dramatically as I looked at the man on the floor, still pletely speechless.

  "Ye-yeah," Randy replied nervously, standing up. "I'm selling the pd the equipment," he added, realizing Case wasn't one of the people he was so scared of.

  "Well, good luck with that," Case said, nodding, pletely disied, and turning to leave the pce.

  "Wha—Case!" I called out, following him. "It's a great opportunity," I said, standing in front of the muscur man, fused by his attitude.

  "Look, PJ, I appreciate this, really," Case said, raising one of his hands and dropping the frown that seemed to be permaly on his face, "but I lived on that lot for a reason. I don't have the moo pay for somethier, let alone for a pce like this."

  I knew Case didn't have the money. Heck, he charged us for lessons with a couple of bucks and a sack of potatoes. "You didn't let me tell you the best part—I'll buy it," I decred.

  "I'm not a charity case," Case snorted, frowning once again, clearly offended.

  "Charity? No," I excimed, surprised. "I'm talking about a partnership, fifty-fifty. We're going to open a gym," I tinued, smiliedly.

  "A gym?" Case asked, clearly not buying into the idea.

  "Or a dojo, call it whatever you want," I replied. "We'd just o get you more students, because obviously, you'd be the oeag. And we'll set a real fee this time, no more sacks of potatoes," I said, making pns in my head. "We could pete in tours, grow the gym," I tinued. Initially, the idea had e from wanting to avoid mrueling training sessions, but now it was slowly growing into a potential business.

  "It's a great pn, PJ, but you don't have the moo buy this pce, and I'm not going to take advantage of your parents' kindness any more than I already have," Case said, losing his frown and shaking his head slightly.

  Oh, Case. "I have the money," I decred with plete fidence. I still had just over twenty thousand dolrs in my savings at, and if absolutely necessary, I was sure I could get some funds from Warren.

  "What?" Case asked, clearly incredulous.

  "e o's talk to Randy," I said, ign Case as I walked bato the gym, hoping internally that Case would follow. Thankfully, after a few seds, Case walked in behind me.

  Seeing our i in buying his business, Randy immediately, and as I expected, started trying to ihe price, clearly wanting to squeeze out as much as possible—basically, a scam.

  "Randy, I know you're in financial trouble," I said, standio Case, who kept his eyes fixed on Randy, arms crossed, apparently flexing his biceps to intimidate him. "You probably owe moo someone dangerous," I decred, watg Randy's expression of surprise. Bingo! "Fifteen thousand dolrs is the best deal yoing to get for this pd the equipment. I'm telling you, you won't find another buyer willing to take all this equipment," I added, gesturing around the pce.

  Looking at all the bags, even the ring in the gym, I saw Randy processing my words, tightly closing his eyes as he likely thought it over.

  "That's fifteen thousand easy," I said, smiling as I slowly saw Randy's resolution. "You could leave town for a while with that," I added.

  Thanks to my amaziiation skills—aainly not the intimidating presence of Case by my side—Randy accepted the offer after thinking about it for a few minutes. He called his wyer from a payphone, giviime to return home and bring Bob, who was teically in charge of my savings at.

  "A gym?" Bob asked, raising one eyebrow at me.

  "Yeah," I replied easily. "I'd be in a partnership with Case. Basically, he'd do all the work while I get money for doing practically nothing. Don't tell him, but I feel like I'm taking advantage of him," I discreetly told Bob.

  "Are you sure about this? It might not work out as you expect," Bob said, ed.

  "I'm sure," I responded resolutely.

  "All right, it's your money," Bob said as he stood up from the couch, where he had been reading one of his magazines. "And this is your first business. If you do this, yoing to have to work," he decred with a mischievous smile, pg his hand on my shoulder.

  "I 't teach, I'm just learning," I said nervously, following Bob as he got ready to leave the house. I barely had time in my schedule and couldn't afford to also work at the gym.

  "Oh no, there are taxes, registrations, administration, and many other things that don't require you to teaeone how to punch a bag. Yoing to have to work hard," Bob added, amused, as he opehe door to the house and wi me.

  I didn't like this anymore.

  Letting Bob drive Mom's car, Case and I followed him in 'Debbie.' When we arrived back at the gym, Bob took a thh look at everything Randy had shown us, mueticulous than Case and I had been.

  "I don't see any signs of rodents or other pests, but that door's loeeds to be repced, possibly the whole door," Bob said seriously, running his hand over the wooden door in the surprisingly spacious ste room at the back of the building.

  Randy, who had been nervously following Bob, suddenly calmed down when he saw a man in a cheap suit step out of a terrible car, fshing a wide grin.

  "Randy, what a pleasure that you called," the man said with an unnervingly wide smile as he ehe gym and approached Randy.

  "I think we could knock down that wall and practically double the gym's space," Bob said, slightly excited, while Randy spoke quietly with his wyer, temporarily dropping his judgmental facade.

  "And I could park my house back there," Case added. Though his face remained serious, I could sense a hint of excitement.

  "Sure, you'd have everything right at haertai, food, undry, and your job," Bob said cheerfully, patting Case on the shoulder, clearly more excited about the idea than anyone else.

  "Shall we discuss the terms of the sale?" Randy's wyer asked, interrupting whatever else Case or Bob had to say, his uling smile still firmly in pce.

  "Sure," Bob replied, regaining his serious demeanor instantly, losing the excited smile.

  The days passed. Randy's wyer had written up a a tract, but of course, we didn't sign it right away. Instead, Bob tacted his owo review it.

  The electricity in our neighborhood came back, along with the obligation to attend school. Sheldon was more petunt than usual with the teachers, seemingly incredibly bored, only perking up whehere was a pete with me.

  At the hospital, aside from my time with House in the ic, I attended a few other iing surgeries. Fortunately, with the help of the nurses, I mao pletely avoid Dr. Bergin's operating room.

  Without realizing it, a couple of weeks had passed, and it was now the day the gym's ownership transfer would take pce.

  "Here you go, there are no other copies of the keys. This is for the new lo the back door," Randy said as he handed me the keys after he and Bob, who was my legal guardian, finished signing and processing all the paperwork.

  "Thank you, it leasure doing business," I said formally, shaking the man's hand firmly, mimig characters I'd seen in movies a few times.

  "Yeah, sure," Randy replied, smiling at the check for fifteen thousand dolrs, barely paying attention to me.

  "Okay, see you around," I said, ign the man, who still seemed to be admiring the che his hands, as I walked over to where Case and Bob were, standing by the gym's now-closed and dirty doors, which had seen no activity i days.

  "We own a gym!" I said excitedly, tossing the keys to Case.

  "You own the gym," Case replied with a slight smile of sarcasm as he opehe door.

  "We've already discussed this; you start making payments whenever you until we both own it equally," I said, patting my new partner on the shoulder as I looked at the inside of ym.

  "Theter get to work. There's a lot to do, and now we up. I've missed enclosed spaces," Case said, returning the gesture with a sarcastic pat on my shoulder.

  "As I said, hard work," Bob added with a smile, heading toward one of the nearby stores, a small supermarket. "I'll get some ing supplies."

  Not long after we started ing the pce, Tim arrived. "No way, a real dojo!" my gigantic friend said excitedly, standing in the doorway with a wide grin.

  "It's real," Case said with a faint smile. "Grab those boxes and take them to the back," he added, immediately cutting off Tim's awe.

  Bob, Tim, Case, and I finished ing the pce retively quickly, allowing us to start anizing the bags and other equipment, except for the ring, so we could set everything up.

  Case, who had already parked his trailer in the alley behind the gym, stepped out for a moment while the rest of us began hanging the bags where they belonged.

  "What's all that for?" Bob asked as Case walked in with a couple of tires and some rope in his arms.

  "Training," Case replied with a faint smile.

  "You know ractically brand-new equipment, right?" I asked nervously, reizing what all that stuff was for.

  "It's important to stick to the basics. The bags are useful, yes, but they're not designed for everything. This is how I learned," Case expined, pg the gear in a er. "I've got more stuff in the back," he added.

  After several mihe gym was 'ready.' We still had to knock down the wall separating the ste room, but we decided to wait until we could hire a tractor to do it properly.

  "It'll be ready by Monday," Case decred seriously, standing by the door and looking at the gym we had set up. Everything was almost in pd ready for 'ts,' except for Case's… unique additions.

  Unlike how Randy had ahe gym, now with ropes, weights, gloves, s, bags, and Case's fgs hanging up, the gym felt much more like a sports facility than a business. Case had no iion of selling sports equipment, which I could somewhat respect. Still, after looking over the gym's books—surprisingly well-kept, to be ho—I really would've liked to see a bit more ine from the pce, but hey, I'm fih rec my money slowly… I think.

  "Well, go get ready. Let's begin," Case said, g his hands loudly as he walked to the ter of the gym.

  "What?" Tim and I asked in disbelief at the same time.

  "We just finished setting everything up," Tim decred nervously, as exhausted as I was.

  "And that's why I wasn't pnning on being too tough on you. But since yoing to whine about it, I'm residering," Case said sarcastically.

  "I'll grab my stuff from my car," I said quickly, rushing out of the gym, ign Bob, who seemed very amused by the situation.

  On Monday, two days after we finished preparing the gym, school went by as it had been tely. Brock, w me more each day, ied less with us, basically just sitting quietly to eat his lunch without sharing his opinions.

  "I really would've liked to e to yym," David said disappointedly at the end of school. "But my mom banned me from it. She says, 'Football is already enough violen my life,'" he added exasperatedly, imitating his mom's voice. I didn't know the woman, but I could uand where her came from. It was rare to find a family that wasn't Christian in Medford.

  "Yeah, my mom threateo seo church every day after school if I tried to learn how to hit people, I tried to ask dad when she wasn't around, but it seems she has ears all over the house," Geie said, equally disappointed. Unlike David's mother, I knew Mrs. Cooper, and that definitely sounded like something she'd do.

  I had already spoken with An about it, and he had deed my offer on his own. I totally uood it, sidering how his father made him train.

  Thinking the best way to attract ts would be to advertise, I decided not to go to the hospital that day and, along with Case and Tim, went out to post flyers wherever we were allowed.

  Wheuro the gym, we found a small group of people waiting outside.

  "We heard the gym was reopening. Did Randy ge his mind?" one of the men asked, amused, as Case unlocked the door.

  "Oh no, he bought the pce," I quickly replied, pointing at Case. We had decided it was best to present Case as the owner. It wouldn't be ideal for people to know a teenager owhe pce. "New ma," I added, inviting the group inside along with Tim.

  Despite Medford being such a small town, the fact that we practically had no ercial petitio that anyone who wao train would e here.

  "What are you standing there for? You've got more free time today. Start ground and pound on that bag," Case ordered me with a frown, his tone pletely different from how he spoke to the ts. "Tim, when you're dohere, work on knees and elbows with the heavy bag," he added, looking at my giant friend, who was expining the correct foot positioning to one of the ts.

  Soon, the gym was filled with the sounds of punches and people talking. Case walked around the gym, patiently paying attention to anyone who needed help. "Switch with Tim," he ordered me, his attitude shifting abruptly as he passed by again. I could tell the visitors were intrigued by the unusual trainihods Case had us doing, but in the end, they just wao learn boxing.

  "I want to pay my membership and a month in advance," one of the trainees said excitedly after the session ended.

  "Me too," added the others one by one.

  "It's different when someoually knows what they're teag you," one of the men said, sweaty but cheerful, pyfully nudging his friend.

  As our first ts left the gym, the cash register no longer empty, and the books finally not in the red, I smiled as I approached Case and Tim. "Great job today," I said happily, patting Case on the shoulder.

  "They're just learning boxing," Case said, surprisingly irritated.

  "Well yeah, this used to be a boxing gym, and they're paying for it," I replied calmly. I remembered the warnings Case had given me when I first started training with him: 'I'll teach you what you need.' Surely, having to teaeone what they wanted instead of what they 'needed' went against his principles, but this was a business. "Later on, you offer csses for other things, or a bination. We could call it mixed martial arts or something like that," I added.

  "Yeah," Case replied, dragging out the word as he nodded slowly. "Well, let's start rolling. We've got a couple more hours before closing," he added with a malicious smile, patting Tim and me on the shoulders.

  I really hoped the brutal training sessions would end ohe gym opened. It was a big dream.

  "Hey, about my membership and payments—" Tim started saying after a couple of hours of sparring, both on the ground and standing, as we were ing the 'dojo' by Case's orders.

  "What you did today, helping Case show the basics to the ts, was great," I quickly said, interrupting him. I knew, from the state of his trud the quality of his clothes, that Tim had some financial struggles. Paying for a membership and enrollment might not be easy for him. "I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to teayo, and we certainly don't have the moo hire anyone for now, but if you're willing to keep doing it, we t it as payment for your membership."

  "Yeah, I'm going to need help," Case quickly added.

  "Look, thanks, but—" Tim started again.

  "And once we get more ts, I think we'll have the funds to pay you a sary. For now, it'll have to be in exge for your membership. Sorry, Tim," I said quickly, cutting him off again. As long as I could avoid it, I would never charge my friends anything.

  "All right," Tim replied with a smile, returning his attention to what he was doing.

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  Author Thoughts:

  As always, I'm not Ameri, not a doctor, and not a fighter.

  By the way, almost when I finished writing this chapter, I discovered, thanks to an Instagram reel, that it is a retively normal thing for Ameris who live in tornado zoo have gasoline geors at home. I don't know what things were like in the 90s so sorry about that, but as I said in the previous paragraph, I'm not Ameri :D

  With that said,

  I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.

  Thank you for reading! :D

  PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.