Black Belt

William swept his arm down and Jaimey went with it. She came screaming across the floor, leapt into the air and delivered a punch that deposited Terry flat on his back.
‘Now this is no time to have a lie down,’ Jaimey said.
‘What the hell do you think you’re playing at?’ William demanded. Terry was getting to his feet, blood pouring from his nose.
‘C’mon guv, I was just showing them how to score.’
‘That’s not how to score and a blue belt should know that, you’d be disqualified anywhere for lack of control.’
Jaimey turned two huge brown eyes on William. ‘Honest guv, he ran onto it,’ she said innocently.
‘He must be Usain Bloody Bolt then,’ William said. He tried to examine Terry’s nose but the green belt shook his head and disappeared into the changing rooms. Sensei was still leaning on the wall, watching.
William pointed a finger at Jaimey. ‘You: fifty push-ups,’ he said. ‘Without the gloves!’
Jaimey regarded him for a long moment. Everybody fell silent, feeling the clash of wills. A black belt carries authority and this was normal club discipline but, after all, it was William’s first night. At last Jaimey put her head on one side and smiled. ‘I can tell we’re going to get on,’ she said. Then, tossing her gloves into the corner, she started doing push-ups. Sensei smiled and wandered away.
William started another two fighters, then Jaimey was standing at his side.
‘Fifty, guv,’ she saluted him.
‘The name’s William.’
‘Righto guv, I’ll make a note of it.’
‘You do go to school, don’t you?’ William asked.
‘On and off.’ She grinned.
‘And at this school do they teach Maths?’
‘You know, I’ll bet you’re going to come to the point in a minute,’ she said brightly.
‘That was thirty eight, not fifty.’
‘Sorry, anything above ten and I run out of fingers.’
‘Well, if it’s all you can manage…’ he let the statement hang in the air.
Immediately Jaimey got down onto her hands.
‘I can do push-ups faster than anyone else in this club,’ she said. ‘You count.’
William dropped down beside her. ‘No,’ he said, ‘you count.’
The whole dojo had stopped to watch by now. Jaimey started off pumping vigorously but William waited until she had reached twenty five before he started. She had just reached forty eight when he finished his fifty and spun effortlessly to his feet.
Jaimey sat on the floor, red-faced and gasping for breath.
‘Now I’m going to try very hard,’ she panted, ‘but I don’t think I’m going to like you.’