Jayden’s pov

A fighter… sometimes I tell myself that title sounds lame, but I dig it. Fighting is the scape I have from my cruel reality. When I fight, I enter this fantasy from which is hard to leave…… the feeling of my heart racing while I punch with my fists is both overwhelming and satisfying, if that makes sense. I wouldn’t know how to describe it, but I sure love that feeling. It’s not that I’m an aggressive person or a sadist …. Or anything of the sort, on the contrary, I consider myself a man of peace, cheesy, I know. But, in the ring, it's just me and my opponent, the noises from my surroundings slowly fade away, only to concentrate on my target. In the ring, I am the tiger ready to attack its prey.

''Alright Jayden let the game begin''  I said out loud. I still have on my black penguin attire from the funeral so I made my way to the bathroom to change. I knew I was coming here tonight, so I had my change of clothes ready inside a sport bag I always carry with my bike. When I came out, the audience, consisting mostly on the gamblers, were taking their respective spots to watch the matches that were about to take place. There are only three rules:

1. Do not kill your opponent. The sponsors of the ring don’t want to deal with the pain of tossing a dead body out, you are responsible for your actions. (their words not mine)

2. Do not reveal you real name. Nobody here is interested in knowing your identity.

3. Always ware a mask or something to cover your face. Nobody wants to know who you are when you fight.

I was done signing my stage name when big and bright lights hit me. I closed my eyes, not because they are bothering me, but for the feeling of nostalgia…. Oh, I miss this. The spectators started to whistle and yell, eager to see the action. The ref was already in the middle of the ring with the mic on his hands. Suddenly, my attention diverted from him to my phone. My dad was calling me, I sighed turning the device on silent and tossed it inside my bag. Sorry dad, not a good time. I know he is worried looking for me, no need to worry my old man, your son will be fine.

''Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for tonight, we have a special event today….''

What is the ref talking about? I don’t know but the watchers are wild.

''We have with us a newbie….''

Oh, a newbie, I wonder who this guy or girl will be. FYI, I do not hit girls, not because I don’t think they are strong, they are a fucking beast and badass. But, due to the respect I have for women and what my dad taught me, if I have to fight with one, I’ll do it in a defensive way rather than oppressing. I would just try to restrain them against the floor until the ref finish the ten count, and that is it, I win without having to hit them.

''He's ready to show his skill to us. Do you want to know him?''

The ref yells and the audience followed him with the yelling. So, it is a guy then, that’s even better, I wish I could fight him. I have never been in a match with a newbie, that should be interesting.

''Ah, I know you want to, so do I but first, I have another announcement for you. Guess who’s here to delight us with his presence.''

By now the public is crazy loud, shouting and smashing their legs on the floor from excitement.

''Yes, that’s him. Mr. J himself our latest champion. It’s been quite long since his last visit. Let’s give him a welcome back shall we…….''

At that, the white shining lights on the sealing changed direction to stop on my already covered face. I use a black mask to hide it. Mr. J, ha! not my best occurrence, but I really didn’t care and yes, I am the latest champion. Last time I was here, I won to all my opponents, that felt nice, really nice. I ended up winning $5000.00 that day because of a bonus, I defeated their strongest guy The warrior, another not original name. We went all out, it was pretty intense, I was all bruised and bloody and fucked up, but despite all of that I slept really comfortable in my bed that night, I even had dreams, it was awesome.

As for the money, half is always for my dad and the other half, I’m saving it to buy a car. As I said before, I don’t care about the money but, since I receive it for my victories, I may as well take it. Of course, my father doesn’t know any of this, he wouldn’t have allowed it, I just tell him that I have a full-time job in a coffee shop and that sometimes I do overtime. This is true thought, I do have a job serving coffee, I just do part-time instead, but he doesn’t need to know that. Basically, I’m telling him half the truth, that doesn’t make me any less of a liar, but right now, for his sake, he can’t meet the other me who is walking towards a square to smash my fist into someone’s face.

I was already standing side to side with the ref, I was hearing so many Js from the audience, it was music to my ears…. ok not really, but I liked it never the less.

''To give Mr. J a proper welcome back, I have decided to pair him with our newbie. Do you want to meet him?''

He shouted and the public responded with a wild YEAH. So, my battle is with the new addition to the group. 

''This will be interesting''  I thought out loud  ''Indeed it will.''