The Recruit (4 page)

Jaz got out of the Mustang. ‘Thanks Tay. See ya tomorrow.’

‘Yeah, don’t shoot anyone living.’ Anna smiled and waved energetically as he drove off. ‘Kinda wish we were going with him. I like spending time with Tay.’

‘Me too.’ When Jaz walked inside the gym, the smell of the mats, leather from the gloves and sweat greeted her. She took a deep breath, feeling right at home. Yes, she was weird.

Inside, a boxing ring stood in the back corner of the room with a large floor mat in front of it. A few boxing bags and speedballs were along the side wall where Jimbo, a large, black guy with huge muscles pounded away. Jimbo was a regular, along with Niles who was a furniture removalist and very tall, then there was Tick, a twenty-five-year-old street-smart guy who had reformed himself by coming to Pax’s gym instead of getting drawn up into the street warfare. Tick was half Asian and could kick higher than anyone she’d seen. He was helping her learn his secret. There were a couple of other guys who came seasonally, and Bags, who Jaz loved the most, did the boxing classes, but this lot were the main crew.

Then there was Pax.

‘There’s my girls,’ his warm voice spread over them like hot gooey chocolate. He was sixty-odd, middle filling out…too much beer apparently, although Anna reckons it’s his love of pastries…he still had most of his dark hair and wore steel-rimmed glasses when at his computer. And he smelt like cinnamon and coffee.

‘Hi ya, Pax,’ they both said, each wrapping their arms around him.

Pax is Anna’s great-uncle and he’d brought the gym before they were born. He was a computer geek like Anna and the words computer and gym just don’t seem to go together. But if you knew Pax then you knew of his love of Muhammad Ali.

Pax was also the grandfather Jaz never had and it’s how she and Anna first met. Tasha would bring Jaz for training and Anna would be on Pax’s knee at the computer.

‘So where to now?’ Jaz noticed his stuffed black carry bag beside him.

Pax tapped his large nose. ‘Ah, you’ll just have to wait and see when I return.’ The same old answer. ‘Think bright colours, beautiful landscapes and water.’ The same old clues too.

‘Are you going to Hawaii? Bali?’ Anna asked. But Pax just smiled and shook his head. They followed him into his office, positioned behind a huge glass window. It was a two-way mirror. Pax said it was so no one could watch him playing games on his computer and he could see if a new customer came in.

‘Think quick.’ Pax threw his set of keys to Jaz, which she caught with one hand. ‘You right to run the place for me again?’ he asked.

Jaz just laughed and rolled her eyes.

‘I know,’ sighed Pax, ‘You run it more than I do. I should probably pay you more.’

‘She’d like that,’ added Anna. ‘Can I use your stuff while you’re gone, Pax?’

‘Sure thing, sweets. Just stick to the simple stuff, hey?’ In other words don’t go hacking into ‘major’ stuff. ‘I don’t wanna come home to the cops,’ he laughed as he caressed Anna’s check. ‘Alright, I’d better head off or I’ll miss my flight.’

‘Ohh, I told you it’d be overseas,’ said Anna.

‘Come on,’ groaned Jaz. ‘He could be going to Sydney, that’s not overseas.’

‘Oh, yeah.’

‘And you’re supposed to be the smart one,’ Jaz joked as she wrapped her arm around Anna while following Pax through the back door to the small parking lot.

He gave each of them a kiss on their foreheads, his whiskers scratching as he said a final goodbye. ‘See ya’s in a few weeks or so.’ Never anything solid; typical Pax. Footloose and fancy free.

He climbed into his little red hatchback, chucking his bag in the back. Pax reckoned he didn’t need a fancy car, someone would only pinch it around this neighbourhood. He wasn’t a materialistic person, didn’t need status or flash things, hence his gym. Pax reckoned his brother, Anna’s grandad, had been in love with material things and he’d sworn not to be like his older brother. Another reason Jaz loved him, as she was sick of the bullcrap that went with money. Minka was a good reason as to why she thought money ruined people.

‘I’ll be at the computer,’ said Anna after the little red car had zoomed out of sight.

‘Okay.’ The breeze blew a few strands of hair across Jaz’s face as she looked down at her hand and the big bunch of keys, an 8 ball hanging off them. ‘Guess I’ll go clean some mats,’ she said as she followed Anna back inside.

Jaz picked at the salad on her plate as the cafeteria chaos settled to its standard lunchtime hum. Anna sat on the other side of the wooden table, poking her fork at a stubborn bit of carrot that was refusing to play nice.

‘No point starving yourself, it won’t change how you look. Besides I heard chubby cheeks are in,’ came a nasally voice of the upper class.

Jaz didn’t have to look up to know Minka would be standing there with her standard ‘you’re the scum I scrape off my shoe’ face.

Anna dropped her fork and tried to look unaffected, but Jaz knew better. She saw the twitch in the corner of her smooth lips and the hurt in Anna’s eyes. Poor Anna believed what they told her. It pissed Jaz off to think that Minka thought herself above everyone else, enough to mess with other people who had never done anything to her. It was this schoolyard bullshit that really irked Jaz. She couldn’t wait to leave school and leave the immature minds of some people. Minka had no idea of the outside world, the real hardships, and the fact that people are struggling and suffering…but no…Minka wouldn’t know what that was.

Jaz caught Anna’s eye and gave her a wink. ‘Really, well I definitely heard that looking like a broomstick was out. Maybe you could grab the one shoved up your arse and fly away. Off you go.’ Jaz waved to where Minka usually sat with her brainwashed soldiers.

‘Bye-bye,’ added Anna, who was looking much better. They both went back to their lunch leaving Minka to scoff and mutter under her breath as she sashayed away.

‘Thanks,’ said Anna as she finally speared a carrot.

Jaz dropped her fork ready for a rant. ‘You know I don’t understand school and this so called pecking order…it will all mean jack crap after we’ve left. And you would have thought that saving Minka would count for something…if anything she’s ten times worse!’ Jaz watched as Minka sat next to Taylor, resting her hand on his arm while making sure Jaz was watching. ‘How does he put up with her?’

‘Easy, it’s called being a two-faced bee-atch and Minka’s got it down pat!’

Jaz laughed and held up her hand so Anna could give her a tiny high five tap.

Ten minutes later, as they were finishing, Taylor came by with Minka, who was so close to him you’d think they were stuck together with double-sided sticky tape.

‘Hey, the joy of brushstrokes and paint smears with Miss Burnstein, you comin’?’ Taylor asked with a shake of his blond hair.

She’d almost said yes.
Yes, a thousand times I’d go with you Taylor
. But Minka spoke in that high-pitched whine, ‘Yeah, come with us.’ And she looped her arm through Taylor’s and smiled so sweetly Jaz was thinking she’d soon be in a sugar coma. Nup, she was not going anywhere with
her
. While in Taylor’s company, Minka was polite and civil (even if a little over-performed), but the moment his head was turned, her ugly side reared like the venomous snake she truly was.

Feeling sick to her stomach, she got up. ‘Na, I’ve got a few things to do. I’ll catch ya later.’

As Jaz rose, Anna quickly scrambled to follow. Jaz caught Anna’s expression.

‘What?’

Anna laughed. ‘Really, you have stuff to do?’

‘Hmm, na. I’d rather scrub the men’s loo with a toothbrush than walk next to her.’

‘Wow, that’s pretty bad. So I’ll see you at end of school?’ Anna asked as she unlocked her locker and took out a few books. Jaz just grabbed her bag as the class bell sounded.

‘Nup, I’m gonna cut.’

‘Jasmine Thomas!’

‘Well I have to. That heinous bitch has made me cross, so I’m gonna go to The Ring and unleash some frustration. I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay.’

Anna was still glaring at her until Jaz hugged her goodbye.

‘Tomorrow, okay?’ Jaz repeated as students filed past them and into their classrooms.

‘Yeah, tomorrow. Don’t get caught leaving!’

Jaz flicked her hair over her shoulder, the white of her shirt making the dark strands stand out. ‘You know me.’

‘Yes,’ said Anna with her hands on her hips as she watched Jaz leave. ‘Yes, I do.’

Jaz took the corridor to the left, past the last stragglers, and up a set of stairs which headed towards the teachers’ staffroom. This was the key to her escape, heading right towards the lions’ den and facing the danger head on. She crouched down past the long window, avoiding the chatting and coffee-drinking teachers who had a free period, and pushed through the outside door that the smokers used. Outside went to a dead end, it was just a little balcony, but next to it was the sports shed and she could make the roof by climbing over the edge of the balcony. Just as she was about to go she saw one of the teachers come out, a smoke in hand.

Jaz cursed. She was going to be caught for sure.

The teacher paused as if someone had called to them. It was all the time Jaz needed. Without looking back, she went up and over the peak on the sports shed to the other side. The large brick wall of the school boundary was just beside it. There was a three-metre gap but a well-placed tree branch gave her a simple jump, swing and drop onto the top of the brick wall. A little jump to a pine tree on the other side and she was home free. While behind the cover of the tree, she dived into her bag and pulled out her thin hoodie to hide her uniform. Then she begun the twenty-minute jog to the gym; all the while her eyes kept a sharp look out for teachers and the local tattletales. In this area, there were a few oldies that had nothing better to do all day except look out their windows to report stray school kids. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out which houses to avoid.

Jaz ran hard for the last ten minutes, trying to increase her speed until the gym came into view, then she slowed down. She didn’t have to open the gym today as Bags was here already doing his boxing classes. Tick and Niles had keys too; they were the ones Pax trusted and they all banded together to keep the place running while he was away. Jaz had school and the others had day jobs but they all managed it.

‘Hey, Jaz,’ said Bags as he threw a blue towel over his wide shoulder. Bags was in his forties, tall and an aspiring writer, but he’d always been a boxer. His dad had been a well-known one, a good mate of Danny Green’s and had taught Bags everything he knew, although Bags didn’t fight professionally like his dad. He much preferred to teach boxing. Bags said getting his fingers busted made it too hard to type and he never knew when his creativity might strike.

Bags reached out his muscled arm and rested it on Jaz’s shoulder. ‘Jaz?’ he said, leaning his head to one side, his eyebrows raised. ‘Are you cutting school?’

‘No, I’ve got a free period,’ she said with a straight face. She could see Bags weighing up her words.

‘Yeah, and I’m off to have a mud facial and get my toenails painted.’ Bags laughed as he brushed his hand over his prickly short hair. Then he looked at her with those hazel eyes, which probed deeper. It was the concern she saw in them that made her fess up.

‘I just need to let off some steam. My buttons have been pushed.’

‘I have some free time, wanna throw some punches?’

Her lips tugged into a huge grin. ‘Really…I’d love to…and I’m already warmed up.’

Bags pushed her off towards the locker room and swung his towel at her like he was herding sheep. ‘Alrighty then, go and get changed.’

Jaz practically skipped to her locker, got out her crop top, and yoga pants and changed. She threw her school uniform into her school bag before heading out to join Bags in the ring.

‘Up you come, Sunshine,’ he said, parting the ropes for her to climb in before handing her some gloves. Bags, who was nicknamed because he really was a punching bag to his students, put on the hand pads. Pax had started calling him that from day dot, nearly eight years ago, because he reckoned Bartholomew was too much of a mouthful.

‘Alright, start with a few jabs.’ Bags widened his stance ready for her attack. His muscles flexed and rose like balloons filled with helium. Another reason Jaz loved the gym so much, all the guys were so fit…not that she was interested in any of them like that. Christ, most were old enough to be her dad but she could appreciate the work they put in to keep their muscled forms.

Jaz settled into a rhythm, pounding against the pads on Bags’ hands.

‘Bloody hell, Jaz,’ said Bags shaking out his hands. ‘Whose face are you imagining?’ But he didn’t wait for her answer as he got her to do some uppercuts.

After another thirty minutes, when he was sure that she was hurting, he called a stop. ‘That will do you today, I think you’ve vented enough. I know you could keep doing this all day if I let you.’

‘Thanks, Bags, that was great,’ said Jaz in between deep breaths.

‘No worries. Look, I better head off. Say hi to the guys when they get in and I’ll catch ya soon.’ Bags threw her towel over the top of her head.

‘Righto, bye.’ Jaz towelled some of her sweat off as she watched him leave. She had the gym to herself. This was so much better than school, even if she had mats to wash today.

Ten minutes later Jaz had her earphones blaring music, bucket and sponge by her side as she bent over and scrubbed sweat from the mat. Dark silk cascaded over her shoulder and shook with each push of her arm as she scrubbed the large blue mat. She stood, throwing the sponge back into the bucket and then broke out in a little dance as she sang a few lines from her favourite Avicii song. Jaz bopped away and then squeezed out the sponge.

A tap on the shoulder caused her to jump.

‘Yeah,’ she yelled before pulling out her earphones.

The tall, gorgeous guy in front of her smiled and she dropped her voice down a few decibels before asking, ‘Can I help you?’ She wouldn’t mind helping the stranger with his deep dark eyes that gave her chills. Or maybe it was the way his jeans hung off his hips. Why did he seem so familiar?