Unconventional methods of an eccentric defence coach.
Reading time: 4 minutes.

It’s Still a Jungle Out There

Tina and Monica were returning home from work late at night. Usually, they’d take a cab, but that day, they couldn’t find one. It was a freezing night in January. No one would dare to come out to face such slow chilly winds. Tina and Monica were involuntarily cluttering their teeth while walking on the sidewalk. They tried to talk and make it bearable, but nothing. It was better if they walked faster and got to their shared apartment. They didn’t think they’d meet or see anybody on their way, but they did.

A man appeared at the other end of the street. He was fully covered in woollen clothes. Monica grabbed Tina’s arm.

“Relax,” Tina whispered to Monica.

When the man got closer, he reached into his front pocket, took out a switchblade and flicked it open.

Monica screamed inaudibly and almost stopped. Tina had to hold onto Monica’s arm and drag her. The man probably began to say something, but Tina smacked him so hard with the back of her hand that the man stumbled and fell on the road. Tina did it so swiftly that the man was confused about what went on with him. Before he could understand anything, the girls were gone.

“Wow, how did you do that?” Monica asked.

"Self-defence class," Tina replied. "I have the best coach in town.”

“That—was—amazing! Can I join?”

“Sure.”

They had taken a few steps when the man reappeared with two others.

Monica let out a sharp yelp; however, Tina raised her fists. The men charged towards her.

Tina kicked the first one in the stomach and punched another one straight in the face. They both backed up a little. The third man stepped up cautiously, but as he tried to hit Tina, Tina ducked and delivered a roundhouse kick. Monica stood scared and alert. Her body jerked on every hit. The men tried their best, but Tina beat them up and knocked them all out. That’s when Monica felt relieved. She wanted to get back home as soon as possible. Tina just laughed the whole incident off. She comforted Monica and took her home.

The following Saturday, Tina took Monica to the defence class and introduced Monica to the coach.

“Hey, Tigress,” the coach greeted Tina.

“Hey, coach. How are you? This is my friend, Monica.”

Monica nodded.

“She wants to join,” said Tina.

“Sure,” the coach replied. “Everyone should know how to defend themselves. Which reminds me—” he turned to Tina, “—you beat my men good.”

“Your men?”

“Yeah,” the coach smiled. “It was a test. You beat the hell out of them. I’m putting their hospital bill on your card this month.”

“You sent them? Oh my god! I did beat them. I have to apologize. Jesus, why would you do this?”

“It’s a jungle out there, tigress. I can only teach you here, but your real test will be out there. I was watching you the whole time. You did well; I'm proud of you."

Monica was shocked to hear all this, but she was also happy. She hoped that she'd be like Tina someday.

A few months passed. Monica trained well, and Tina did even more. They were giving all their efforts to become an animal of the jungle. The coach named Monica a fox because of her agility. A few more months later, they both were prepared for any threats. They were kind of excited about their test, so they started walking back home more often.

On one night in September, they were walking fearlessly back home, talking and laughing. Suddenly, a dozen men appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them. Instead of being scared, they both got excited and immediately raised their fists. The men all attacked at once. At first, the girls couldn’t handle them. They got bruised a little, hurt even, but they soon recovered and hit them back.

Tina punched and kicked them while Monica jumped up and about them, tripping, scratching, and knocking them off their balance. The men slowly, one by one, started dropping on the road. Soon enough, the fight was over. The girls stood victorious and proud. They walked away with their chins held high.

Tina and Monica were so excited that they couldn't wait to talk to the coach. They literally shouted as they entered the class the following Saturday.

“Coach! Coach! Where are you?”

The assistant greeted them. “Hey, there, ladies. The coach is out of town for work.”

The girls' faces dropped so fast that the assistant thought they had brought bad news.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

The girls couldn’t speak. Tina somehow got the words out, “How—how long has he been gone?”

"About a week. Why? What happened?"

“And, did he set up a test before he left?”

“You mean a real test?”

“Um-hm, did he?”

"No, no, it's not possible. The coach never leaves a test unsupervised. Why? Will someone tell me what happened?”

“Some guys attacked us last night!”

The assistant’s face now had the same look. “Oh my god, are you two okay?”

"Yeah, we are fine. We beat those men up, but we were thinking it was a test. Oh god, those guys were there to hurt us.”

“I’m getting goosebumps,” Monica said. “What if we couldn’t beat them. The mere thought...”

The assistant tried to calm them. "Don't worry, ladies. You did well. This is what the defence class is for. The coach will be very proud. You know what, take the day off."

The assistant sent them home. They both walked out scared as if those men might appear again. When they had left, the coach got out of his hiding spot.

“Great job, wolf. Nicely done.”

“No problem, coach. But can I ask why you made me lie?”

“They were too excited, wolf. They took it as a game. It’s not their fault. When you are capable of that, you become arrogant. And arrogance, my friend, is like rust. They needed to be serious about it because it doesn’t matter how much this world has changed.” The coach stared at infinity as he said, “It’s still a jungle out there.”