Gabriela and Martha arrived at the dojo promptly at 7:00 PM. “What, no elevator in the building?” Martha complained. “It’s a third-floor walkup!”
“Come on, Martha, we’re enrolled in an exercise and self- defense class. Walking up the three flights is part of the warm-up, right?”
Martha looked at Gabriella, shook her head, and trudged up the stairs. “A proper woman of color don’t go backward and have to walk up no damn three flights of stairs,” Martha muttered.
The dojo was brilliantly lit and spacious. Overstuffed leather chairs, a matching couch, and small tables with seating for two graced the lobby. Asian pastoral watercolor scenes of smoky colored mountains and winding rivers hung on the walls. This was a school for people of reasonable means.
“Well, at least it’s not the disaster I thought it would be, Gabriella. I imagined it was a little dump that would smell like old gym bags, socks, man sweat, and who knows what else. This is nice.”
“I can faintly smell whatever they put on the rubber mats to keep them elastic. It smells a little like fish oil, but I like the overall smell of wintergreen in the air,” observed Gabriella.
There were a dozen other women of diverse backgrounds and nationalities standing around and talking while waiting for the class to begin, but no men.
Martha looked at the other students. “Excellent. It’s an all-woman class. It makes me feel better.”
“Why do you feel better about an all-woman class, Martha? Wouldn’t it be nice to have some men too? This is a self-defense class, and it’s mostly men who are the attackers. Shouldn’t we practice against men?”
“Come on, Gabriela, most women don’t want men in a physical fitness class fantasizing about how they would look naked because they are wearing tight-fitting workout clothes and covered with sweat. That’s just black licorice.”
“What, Martha?”
“Distasteful, Gabriella. It means distasteful. We need to work on your ability to understand words in context a bit more.”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind. I’d like to see how men would react to me as I worked out,” Gabriella teased. Martha shook her head and made a mental note to include this conversation in her ever-growing database. “What am I ever going to do with you, girl? What am I ever going to do?” Martha whispered.
The class instructor walked into the gym. Ralph Thornton was a well-poised handsome young African-American from Atlanta. His black tight-fitting tank-top and matching spandex shorts found their way around every well-defined muscle. He smiled at the class, exposing perfect teeth. Two dimples appeared as if by magic. Martha pursed her lips together and blew a silent whistle.
Ralph led the class through the prescribed welcoming script and explained the many safety rules to ensure none of the students were hurt during the course.
“But, if people are sore after the class, the dojo carries Tiger Balm Ointment. It works wonders on sore muscles, and also has a fresh, wintergreen smell to it.” Chuckles rippled through the class at the unabashed but friendly tone of the short commercial.
Ralph continued, “Our whole focus will center on how to successfully get away from an attacker. We will concern ourselves with how to disengage from an attacker and how to hurt or injure them so you can safely run away from the danger.”
A hand went up. “What’s the difference between hurting and injuring an attacker? It sounds like the same thing to me.”
“Good question. If you punch an attacker in the nose, you have hurt him. When you break or hyperextend an elbow, you have injured him. Make sense? We will learn how to do both in this class. We will not be teaching you how to stand and fight, though.” Ralph added, “I tell all my students our primary tactic is to use our feet for defense. Run like hell.” The class laughed.
“Now, if you still have energy at the end of our class, you are more than welcome to extend your training package to include an additional half-hour of more intensive training starting with class number two.”
Gabriella leaned over to Martha and whispered, “That sounds like it would be fun. Let’s do it.”
“It does not sound like it would be a lot of fun for me. Gabriella, you can stay for the extra class if you would like. I’ll hang around to observe, and by that, I mean I will observe the instructor. Hellooo Tuskegee!”
Martha’s look told Gabriella she should stifle the question she was about to ask.
“Context test, Martha?”
“Yup.”
The first workout was surprisingly vigorous. Gabriella misted herself using the spray bottle and toweling off as instructed. A heavier woman two rows behind her turned to her workout friend and commented on how model types were always trying to look good, even when exercising. They agreed Gabriella was vain.
Rose Rodriguez stood in the last row of students. Dark shoulder-length hair and tanned skin showcased her large, brown eyes. Roses’ features were delicate. Most people would say she was attractive but not beautiful. She scanned the class. Ralph noticed she moved with exceptional smoothness and precision.
Ralph approached her during a short break.
“Hi Rose,” he said with a friendly grin. “Got a sec?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”
“Is it that obvious? Yes, I have. You’ve found me out. Will it upset the balance and flow of the class? Are you going to expel me?” Rose laughed. Her brown eyes sparkled with confidence. Ralph chuckled at her answer.
“No, we’ll keep you. Your being here won’t disturb a thing. I’m wondering why an experienced person would want to attend this class. I would expect to see you in a more advanced training setting.”
Rose held his gaze and replied, “I shouldn’t tell you this, but it will be obvious anyhow. I’m on an assignment to monitor one of your students for my employer. Since I’ve given you a bit of intelligence, can I ask you to return the favor?”
“Sure. What’s on your mind?”
“This class is taught by Mr. Chan, according to the online staff directory. You are obviously not him. Who are you, and why are you teaching this one?”
She caught Ralph off guard. He couldn’t quell the look of surprise which flashed across his face. Rose instantly knew she had blown his cover.
“I’m on an assignment to teach this course while monitoring a student for my employer,” Ralph answered. Before they could stifle the glances, they both shifted their eyes rapidly to Gabriela and back again. They looked at each other for a moment and laughed, knowing there was no need for them to ask who they worked for.
“Going to file a report after every class, Rose?” Ralph asked. “Or should I call you Sergeant Rose?”
“Yup to both, Sergeant Ralph,” Rose replied. “Who is this woman, anyhow?”
“Not sure. She’s good looking, but not a model. I think she’s an engineer. Don’t think she’s had any self-defense training before this class, though. We’ll have to see how she does. I have no intel on why she’s here. Something’s up to get two of us assigned to one person.”
Ralph glanced at the wall clock and called the class to order.
Martha found herself looking intently at Ralph. She moistened her lips.