Sometimes a character takes over.
I hadn’t finished ‘Welcome to the MSE’ when I was already writing the Titkiller conversation. This was my little tribute to the ‘Fuck’ conversation on ‘the Wire’
I also realised my spur of the moment decision to have her study Fluid Mechanics who so nicely set-up the next two stories. I had wanted something nerdy but also something I knew a bit about, which is why none of my characters is ever gonna be a doctor!
This one is more ambiguous. I the last story she beat a bully, in this one she wins her dream b y robbing someone else of there’s.
Once I get the next MSE story finished I’ll go back to finishing the stories I was doing before these characters took over!
MSE 2 The Internship.
"Titkiller"
"Titkiller?"
"Titkiller" I repeated.
"What??" She said quizzically.
"Titkiller" I repeated, again, patiently.
"You're shitting me!"
"I shit you not, Titkiller."
"Titkiller..."
"Hell yes, Titkiller…". I leant back, with a massive grin on my face.
"…that was the nickname".
Sarah had asked about the locket that Derek had given me. Fuelled by the alcohol and a desire to boast I told her all about my fight with Lucy. I started not wanting to fight, it was what everybody wanted me to do, then FUCKINGSHITSLUTSLAGWHORE Lucy tried to wreck my prom night with Derek, so I fought, and I won.
I accidentally (it wasn't that accidental) told her about the Titkiller nickname. On the registration form for the prom, they'd listed my name as “Catherine T. Browne" T for Teresa, after my mum, and some wit had suggested the "T" stood for "Titkiller" after my fight with Lucy. We'd already left school so I didn't get any ribbing there, but my sister found out, and would not pass up any opportunity to use it. And let's face it, it was better than Mog which was my old nickname; which I'd had since primary school (Catherine becomes Cat and so becomes Moggie getting shortened to Mog, Geddit?)
'How did it feel?"
"Pretty fucking fantastic!"
Well, I ached for weeks, but I did get to flash Lucy the V-sign at her in the loser's gallery, she didn't take it well, shame.
"Have you fought since?"
"Nah..."
I'm not stupid, I knew I had been lucky. If Lucy hadn't been such a dumb fuck and agreed to the tit mauling contest...if she'd just continued punching me I could have ended up like my friend Sharon Potter. Poor Sharon, she'd lost her fight, and she spent two weeks in tears, bed rest and earned the nickname 'Pisspot'.
My mum and sister swear by it, but "Personal Honour" doesn't do you any good if you're sucking food through a tube and Derek got so worried about me fighting Lucy that he swore he'd never use me as his champion, ever, ever.
I was nearing the end of my first year of the Fluid Dynamics course. I was loving it. That's what I love about science. Nobody ever bombed a coach load of kids over Gravity. Scientists disagree, sure, but all you do is find better evidence. Doesn't matter how many people you beat up the laws of physics still apply.
Now since you're reading this story you've already figured out that I was gonna be proved wrong.
I was getting ready for the summer break, which I had the coolest plans for. I was offered a chance to be an intern at the Christobel. What's that you ask? It's an ocean mapping vessel, no not the land under the ocean, but the frigging ocean itself, near Antarctica. Cold and warm water currents, high salinity low salinity mix, no, they dance, and they form shapes. There are currents, lakes, and bloody waterfalls in the oceans. Let me repeat that. There are fucking waterfalls in the fucking ocean itself! how fucking amazing is that? And we are going to map it.
My tutor was in the room with a fellow student, Cheery Littlebottom, not her real name but it's what everybody on the course called her, she's a character in a Terry Pratchett novel, Discworld, look it up. Long story short the character's a homicidal dwarf, that's what everybody on campus called her. I never really talked to her, She always sat in the front row of the lecture hall, always furiously scribbling. As soon as I saw her I knew how this was going to go down. I felt a mixture of dread and excitement.
"Hello Cathy, this is Cindy.”
"Hi," I offered.
"Hello," she shot back neutrally. She was Scottish, obviously from her accent, not one of those "Hey you Jimmy" Glaswegian accents but a softer lilting one.
"We have a bit of a dilemma" The Professor started.
"You are both excellent students. But unfortunately, there is only one internship on the Christobel available. In the before times there'd be much deliberation, or we'd toss a coin".
Cheery snorted. Yes, it was stupid, why leave your fate in the hands of chance when you can settle matters with your own hands, controlling your own fate?
"However nowadays we can arrange a much better test of your fitness and determination".
"Fine by me" My heart was beating so fucking fast now.
"Anytime". Cheery muttered. "I've always dreamed of doing this. I'm not gonna let you stand in my way".
"It is up to the two of you to arrange the rules for the challenge."
"No fucking rules. I don't want any fucking rules holding me back".
She was maybe an inch smaller than me and skinny, some people might have said svelte, but I said skinny, heroin chic. God, she was skinny, and no tits. She was blonde and she would probably have been pretty if she wasn’t so damned angry.
"So, catfight rules?" The Professor said and started checking off a list...
"There are rules?" Cheery seemed puzzled.
"Of course, there are rules," I said. Of course, there are rules you dumb fuck. I did all this on my prom fight. Then the thought entered my mind that maybe this was her first time. Maybe all this hard girl act was a front. Skinny, short, first fight. The importing side of me was smiling.
"...shortened nails.. " The Professor went through her list.
"...No boots..."
"Fine by me," I said, in a way I was relieved, I still hadn't had any formal combat training. I will start I promise. "Have you got a copy of the list?"
" Certainly" the Prof handed out an A4 sheet to both of us.
"And we fight to the finish!". Cheery added, shooting me a challenging look, she was trying to regain the high ground.
Dumb...
...Fuck.
" KO? " The Professor asked for confirmation.
"Yes," said Cheery.
"Until I knock you out" I replied.
Cheery mouthed "Fuck you". I just smiled sweetly at her.
"Okay, I'll arrange it for Thursday, the Arena, seven-thirty. Turn up at seven to fill in the waivers, inspection and change into suitable clothing, the choice is up to you. Ladies I will see you then".
Well, when they say Arena, it was a converted lecture theatre. The spectators sat in a semi-circle. The area where the lecturer would stand was a matted floor. The matted area was well-lit, while the seated area was dark I could not make out the occupants from where I stood, I guessed a few of the faculty. Most days it was free for any students to use to settle their grudges, tonight it was booked as a private event. We changed in a separate dressing room and walked out from either side into the matted fight area.
As she walked into the lighted area we would fight in I studied my opponent, Cheery Longbottom was wearing a simple white chemise and denim shorts. She had her hair done up into a bun, damn I didn't think of that. It stops your hair from being pulled and acts as a distraction. My sister had warned me I'll waste time trying to undo it while she gets her shots in. The chemise really showed off her nipples, which poked out through the chemise, and looked like she was either very excited and scared or very cold. I saw the sweat on her forehead and the way she bit her bottom lip, she was scared, good.
I'd just went with a T-shirt and cut-off jeans. For the prom, I'd picked out my fight gear with my mum, but now I just went with something I didn't mind getting wrecked.
We walked into the matted area and started circling to the right. There was no need for introductions or a command to start, we both knew what we were here to do.
I held my arms out waiting for her. I gestured to her come, I was trying to look confident As I tried not to bite my own bottom lip. We circled each other spiraling towards the inevitable clash. The Professor was right, We could have settled it on the toss of a coin, but that would have been pure chance that would have satisfied neither of us. No, the internship had to go to the stronger, fitter, tougher girl and by the end of this, both of us would know who that girl was. And both of us wanted it that way.
As we closed, she jumped up grabbed my head with her arm and started firing wild punches into my body. Her bony fists hurt.
I was getting battered.
I reached out with my legs and tripped her.
She still had my head as we fell to the ground.
We rolled fists going for bodies. The bitch got me in a head-scissors. Pulling at my hair with both hands, trying to twist my neck. I was not off to a good start.
She pulsed her legs, I thought my head was going to pop. I was trapped, I couldn't turn my head for a bite. She slapped the back of my head.
The audience politely applauded, which was weirdly unsettling compared to the audience at my prom.
I grabbed her big toe and pulled it back as though I would tear it off. She cried out.
"Let me Fucking go, you slag!".
Her scissors loosened enough for me to turn my head I did and bit the first flesh I could find, it was on her inner thigh.
She was screaming now.
She moved her other leg and hysterically kicked me away, thumping the back of my head. Thump, thump. At first, I refused to let go, but her kicks got harder, more hysterical and I released my bite, and the next thump rolled me away. I stopped rolling and looked back at her. She was still on her knees looking at the thigh where I'd bitten her, no blood, just an indentation.
"Filthy fucking cow!", she said as she rubbed her leg.
"You said no holding back, my little dwarf".
"I'll fuck you up for that! "
"Not when I fuck you up first," I said as I dived into her, wrapping my arms around her waist, taking her back down to the floor.
This time I was on top, and I returned the punches.
She pulled at my T-shirt, I heard a slight rip, and she pulled me to the floor. We rolled and she fell onto her front, and I jumped on her back, grabbing that stupid bun in both hands, it fell apart as I grabbed her hair in both hands and pulled hard. She cried out in anguish, her back arching. Then I relaxed, and then I pulled again and again.
Some more applause. Again, with the fucking applause. I found out later it was the faculty rules on impartiality. This contest was between the two of us. Any suggestions of 'Smash her face in', or 'Rip her tits off' would have broken the rules on taking sides.
She was certainly crying but not submitting. So still holding her hair back with my other hand I reached over to her chemise and ripped the strap off.
"No bra, no point with those pimples," I thought.
My hand grasped her big fat nipple, with my thumb and forefinger and squeezed. She moaned. I tried digging my short nails into her nipples she moaned even louder. I allowed myself to smile.
Then I felt her bony elbow thud into my breast, and I gasped.
Stupid!Stupid!Stupid! I shouldn’t have let her get so close.
Another elbow and my gasps had turned to screams. She was snarling like a feral animal. But I tried to maintain my attack on her breasts.
Another jab but this time she dug her elbow in, twisting it like she was trying to drive it into my rib cage. crying out I released her nipple.
More crying as I felt two hands of claws tearing into my hair. She pulled hard pulling me off her onto my back. Snarling she tore at my T-Shirt and then pulling up my bra went straight for my tits.
With one hand she pushed her hand against my left breast flattening it, her other hand holding my right breast's nipple between thumb and forefinger, trying to pull it off my body, my nipple was stretching to its breaking point. Giving out a yell, she reversed the move.
Yeah, I started to sob at that point.
Again, the polite applause. She pulled one of my breasts up with all her might stretching it like it was made of elastic, the other breast shoved so hard into my rib cage that I thought it would come out the other side. She had a joyous smile on her face, she was getting me back for the nipple tweaking, and enjoying every minute.
I could feel my flesh stretching beyond its limits.
Tears welled in my eyes. I could not take much more of the agony. But I would not give in, not to her I wouldn't lose my place. The massive grin she had on her face; was the same kind of grin I gave Lucy.
I moaned, okay I wailed.
At the end of my tether, I swung a fist straight into her nose. She screamed.
I kicked out with my legs hitting her in the chin. She yelled as she fell back.
We both rolled on our backs moaning and rubbing our poor injured titties. But this wasn’t over.
Angrily I stood up, tearing off what was left of my T-shirt and wrecked bra. I was standing there naked except for my shorts. My body glistened covered in sweat and bruises. I didn't care I just wanted to finish that homicidal dwarf off.
"Come on you little flat-chested freak" I crouched circling, waiting for her attack.
She circled too mirroring my movement. She cupped an imaginary breast and shook it.
"Want some more?" She smiled she thought she'd found my weakness.
I saw her move forward and did The same we collided we both put our arms around each other's necks and with the other arm swung in punches. We spun around.
I kicked out in the stomach and sent her reeling back to the floor.
She lay there as I moved towards her. She kicked out at me. Snarling I reached out holding her foot in my hands and then savagely I twisted her leg, and she screamed. I wasn't trying to cripple her, honest, just slow her down, though, in my current state of mind, I truly didn't care.
She kicked out hitting my knee.
"Fuuucccck!"
My turn to scream. With a bit more force that would have crippled me. I collapsed to my knees; she rose to hers. I heard a murmur from the audience.
"No!" I shouted out "This is between me and her"
I saw it in her eyes, we had to finish it ourselves. We had both broken the rules on not crippling your opponent. But neither of us wanted to win on a technicality. It had to be decisive, final.
More applause.
On our knees, we waded together, we looked like a pair of paraplegics. I knew this couldn't end in a draw.
She had her chemise hanging on one strap, and her other breast was naked. Her face was red and distorted in anger, her sweat-soaked body shined in the glare of the lights. I grabbed her by the remaining strap, and it snapped.
I didn’t care. I used the broken strap to pull her head into my waiting fist, pushed her back and then punched again. She had two black eyes now.
Next time I pushed her back Cindy swung a haymaker, hitting me in the eye. Thwack. I could feel warm blood, she'd opened up a cut above my eye.
I punched her in the mouth. Her mouth was a bloody mess.
Cindy swung straight into my stomach. I bent over in agony. She brought a fist down onto my back. I fired a straight right into her stomach. Her turn to bend over I fired my left into her face, her eye had now opened up.
She swung back with a left cross to my tits. The sweat flew off them. Then a right cross.
I fired a slap, rocking her head. A spray of spittle fired out of her mouth. She turned girl look at me with a determined look on her face as she rocked my face to the side—my turn to spray. We collapsed into each other, our heads leaning on each other's shoulders as we pounded each other. All that could be heard was the smack of fists on flesh as a one-two combination hit home and the recipient would groan.
She growled at me “I’m going to fuck you up, bitch, that internship is mine”.
I did not know who was going to give in first, Miss Energiser fucking bunny, or maybe me. Was I going to lose?
“No!” I said.
I looked down, she was on her knees her legs wide for support. I took my chance and swung an uppercut up hard into her crotch. Her body spasmed, her eyes crossed, and her hands went instinctively down to her crotch. I took my opportunity to go in for the kill.
A left-cross, then a right-cross. The blows made a wet smacking sound. Then I swung an uppercut straight to her chin, her eyes closed, she swayed, and she fell like a cut tree onto her back.
There was a round of polite applause, again.
I slowly, crawled on top of her now, my legs pinning her arms, I wasn’t taking any chances.
She was finished, I knew it, she knew it, she was crying now, but her eyes still blazed with defiance. “Finish it…If you can, bitch!” they seemed to say.
She had wanted the internship as much as I did. I found out later this was her first fight, but she wanted it so badly, she was prepared to go up against the Titkiller (Yeah she'd heard the story). To Cindy, this was like me versus Lucy, but in her version I was Lucy, and she was Cathy. I knew she would not submit; she would fight until the bitter end, if I let her
Like I would.
I just started slapping now. My hands felt like they were carrying lead weights. Forehand, backhand, forehand, backhand. Mechanical unceasing strokes. The slaps echoed around the room. I was in a fugue state until I could not hold the lead weights that were my arms any longer.
I was not sorry, I was not proud, no, what is the word for you've done a job that had to be done? Task? I'd done the task.
I looked down at her bloodied face, lips, and bruised face and noticed the eyes that had such defiance were shut and she was not moving. She seemed at peace.
We could never be friends. Not now. Not after what we had just done to each other. But I could respect her.
I am the hero of this story, right?
I'd won.
A part of me reminded me that all I'd won was the right to be stuck on a cramped boat, living off rations in sub-zero temperatures.
And another part of me reminded me I'd be doing the science I love.
I'd won.
One of the Professors, I have no idea which one, lifted me, I could feel my legs buckle.
The Professor whispered into my ear.
“I do hope you do a PhD; I’d love to see you defend your dissertation...”
"...And You're going to love it on the Christobel, it's marvellous there. If you’re really lucky you could get to see Takanakuy".
I just mumbled, "Taky, what?"
