Chapter 9 LATINA GAMBIT
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“I‘ll say it again! You’re the reason we lost last night!”Carla Mendez snapped. “You weren’t playing hard! You weren’t concentrating! You were too busy trying to protect your precious body from more injuries.” Stepping closer she glared at me, adding in a softer voice, dripping with malice, “And why? Because you’d been in yet another fight.”
It would be no use telling her a home truth – that I knew she fought too. Anyway, she was partly right. I hadn’t played at my best, because I was still recovering from fighting Alice Sturm at the Oktoberfest party the week before. Yes, I’d won but Alice had taken a lot out of me.
Despite all that however, I knew the real reason the raven haired, strong Latina was picking on me in front of the rest of the team. She was trying to deflect attention away from her own failings, the night before. She’d missed a vital pass which, if she’d taken it, would have leveled the score a few moments from the end of the game. I’d seen it and so had Amanda Penn. Amanda had even commented on it. But I don’t think anyone else in the team did, and Amanda was too much the den mother type– after all, she was a few years older than the rest of us and the only team member to have school aged children – to say anything to the team. The furthest she would go was perhaps speaking privately with Carla.
I sensed that Carla was trying to provoke me into dumping on her so she could fight me. She knew she’d let the side down and was looking for a scapegoat.
She stood there smiling smugly, her hands on her hips, staring at me, challenging me. “Go on, Becca,” she whispered. “Go on. I’ll wipe the floor with you.”
I’d have trouble beating her when I was at my best. She was tall, solid, muscular yet not a muscle-bound weightlifter type. No, she was shapely if more than a little overly full figured for today’s tastes. I didn’t know how skilled a fighter she was – and I didn’t want to find out the hard way. It was enough for me to know that she wasn’t without experience. I didn’t want to fight her, not in my still weakened condition. As she said, she’d wipe the floor with me.
But I didn’t want her to make my name mud with the team or with their families either. And then I knew what to do. I’d provoke Elena Savoy into fighting Carla. Win or lose, Elena would shut Carla up. If Elena beat her, Carla would be too busy licking her wounds to say much and even if she did, everyone would just say she was badmouthing others – which of course would be true. If Carla won, she’d be too busy crowing over Elena to worry about me anymore.
I needed a lever that would incite Elena to fight Carla. It took only a moment before I slapped my thigh as it came to me. It was obvious, at least when you realized it. Since Elena had confided her troubles with her new boyfriend Malcolm – how much more knowledgeable he was about films and culture than her – I’d been trying to help Elena get up to speed on that sort of thing. I'd lent her books and we'd gone to an art cinema's season of old movies. I'd enjoyed myself so much that I went to a few events even when Elena couldn't come. I wasn't so sure about Elena – she’d enjoyed the old movies but found the books hard to handle. She’d persevered though, because she wanted to win Malcolm by showing she had a mind as well as a body. It had been good to see her progress. She was still a typical Italian American- the sort of girl who’d appeared on the PBS programme
And they Came to Chicago . She hated
The Sopranos , “it gave our community a bad image.” She was involved in all sorts of community groups- I think our volleyball club was the only non Italian group. I toyed with the idea that if Carla would make some racial slur on Italians. I gave it up because I couldn’t see how I could manage it. But the idea of the blonde Italian latina pitted against the brunette Hispanic latina was still the way to go.
If somehow Carla were to find out that I was 'teaching’ Elena and that Elena was out of her depth, she'd be sure to ridicule her if they had an argument. I knew the hot tempered Elena wouldn't stand for that. She was a typical latina in that way too. She'd be sure to fight.
That gave me two problems to solve, and quickly. First, I needed to set Elena and Carla against one another. Carla was no Mona, she didn't whine at everyone on the team. Second, Carla had to find out about my helping Elena. I needed to do both in the next day or so, to stop Carla bad mouthing me .
The first problem was the easy one. I fixed that right away. “I don't need to listen to that crap!” I said loudly and walked away from Carla, over to where Elena and Malcolm were.
“What was that about?” Elena was solicitous. She appreciated what I'd done for her.
“Carla’s trying to blame me for the loss last night. Yes, I wasn't at my best. I'm still getting over a hard fight.”
Elena's eyes opened wide. “Oh! Tell me…did you win?” I'd guessed she would want to know all about my fight. She always wanted to know about all fights, as did Malcolm. So I told her. Then, after we exhausted that topic, I told her about Carla. Elena clucked sympathetically, especially when I told her to verify my story by talking to Amanda.
Problem one solved. Elena now knew Carla was picking on me, blaming me for the loss which was as much her fault as anyone's. My mind changed gears. Problem two still needed an answer.
That turned out to be easier than I thought. Elena stopped a passing Amanda who indeed verified my version of the events . Amanda then asked me about some concert series I'd taken Elena to. I don't remember the details, except that it was 'new music’ featuring Arnold Schoenberg – something to do with it being fifty five years after his death. I didn't like it myself and said as much.
“Why did you take Elena?”
Malcolm answered for me. “Becca’s taken on the task of educating Elena. It's a real life
Educating Rita except that Becca is way sexier than Michael Caine,” he grinned at me, “and she doesn't drink as much as his character did.” He expanded on his theme, Elena thanked me fulsomely and Amanda complimented me on what I was doing.
The best part of it was that Carla was once more standing quite close to us. I had seen her walk past a few moments into the conversation and pause to eavesdrop. She would have had to be deaf not to overhear. She may even have heard Elena asking Amanda about the game, though that would be too much to hope for.
Now I had to goad Carla into an argument with Elena. I was sure Carla didn't know how eager Elena was to fight. Sure, she knew Mona and Elena had fought – everyone in the team knew that, but most thought that Mona had simply gotten what was coming to her. That was true, even if I had instigated it. But Carla didn't know that Elena got her kicks from fighting. I did too, but I kept that hidden from most of the team. That was the other thing that pissed me off about Carla and Mona. They knew.
I didn't need to goad her. Amanda began to speak about last night's game again. It was her standard pep talk whenever we lost, all about how we didn't disgrace ourselves, but we could have done better and we would do better next time. Carla said, “Yeah, we’ll do better if everyone – ” she paused and looked straight at me, “
everyone gives a hundred percent! We
won't do better if some people stand on the sidelines for fear of getting hurt.” She cut off Elena, who had started to speak, by continuing, “And we won't do better if we don’t work together as a team.” I shrugged. I’d heard this pep talk before. Carla snarled , “You, Becca! It’s you! You’re always stabbing people in the back.”
“No one backstabs anyone here,” Amanda said soothingly. “We play as a team.”
“So no one gets special favours?” Carla looked at me again.
“No,” Amanda said with more firmness.
“No?” Carla looked from Elena to me and back again. “So no one’s getting special tuition in how to be a lady?” Her lip curled in a sneer. “Not that the tutor knows much about that topic! Nor would the student want to learn – except to impress a guy who’s too good for her anyway.”
I couldn’t have hoped for a better setup. “That’s enough!” Elena spat. “That’s different, nothing to do with the team at all. Something we do when we’re not playing.”
“That’s what I mean! You’re in your own little faction! You just don’t care about the rest of us.” Carla was taking it way too far, just to taunt Elena. I couldn’t have been more pleased. The fireworks were about to start.
“Stop it!” Elena hissed. “That has nothing to do with playing netball. You’re just making trouble.”
“Oh? What are you going to do to make me stop?”
“No girls…not here, not now.” Amanda stepped between the two scowling women.
“The gym basement!” Carla snapped. “Where the karate group meets.”
“Yes!” retorted Elena. “Right now, bitch!”
We trooped down there – Amanda, Elena and Malcolm, Carla and myself. I was surprised but pleased when Mona came along too. That little gossip would spread the word of the fight. Whichever way it turned out, that would be a far juicier bit of gossip that last night’s game, even if Carla tried to blab.
Elena and Carla kicked off their shoes and stood in their gym gear, eyeing each other. Elena looked almost skinny compared to the solid, muscular Carla. She was shorter at about five feet six – Carla was two, maybe three inches taller There was a big weight difference too. I’d have put Carla at a good 15 lbs heavier –and it was all muscle. That girl had six-pack abs along with her strong arms and legs. I almost began to feel bad about setting up the fight – almost.
Elena started circling. Carla stood on the same spot, rotating in place to keep facing her blonde opponent. Elena darted in and slapped at Carla’s face. Almost lazily, Carla parried the slap. But she didn’t parry the kick that slammed into her hard midsection. She grunted sharply, hunched over and spluttered before she regrouped, one arm down low to protect herself. Elena darted in again. Carla cuffed her head, making her attack misfire. Elena retreated but quickly stepped in again, this time crouching to get under Carla’s arms and, turning sideways, lashed her foot out in a kickboxing style I’d never seen her use before. The kick hit Carla’s thigh. The taller girl grunted hard again but seemed unfazed. She struck out with an overhand blow at the retreating Elena’s head. It hit, knocking Elena downward. The blonde just avoided Carla’s next swing, a roundhouse punch blow that, had it hit, might have sent her to the floor.
Carla came after Elena, jabbing at her with heavy – but slow – blows. She didn’t seem to be able to time her shots. Elena dodged them time after time and, after perhaps thirty seconds, started to reply. For the next few moments there was a pattern. Carla would fire a shot, Elena would bob or duck or turn, and the shot would whistle harmlessly past her before Elena would retaliate with her own well-directed blow at Carla’s abs. The punches did little damage – it almost seemed as though their main effect was to rile Carla –but Elena persisted. She kept dodging Carla's massive blows and kept peppering Carla's midsection for what seemed a minute, though perhaps it was less.
I began to see what she was doing. She was indeed aggravating Carla, who was getting increasingly angry, but even more flustered at her lack of success. I could almost see her thinking, “what do I need to do to hit this bitch?” Carla began to lash out more wildly, to go after Elena as fast and as hard as she could. She was using – wasting – her energy. She began to puff and Elena simply kept wearing away at her middle. Carla began to gasp when a blow hit there. Elena was tenderizing her.
Then it seemed that Elena's luck ran out. She ducked, avoiding Carla's left fist, swept in and fired a punch at the brunette. This time though, the brunette kicked out and her foot struck Elena's midriff. Elena gagged at the hard impact, followed by a strange choking, croaking sound as Carla slammed her fist into the blonde’s side. Elena staggered back, her hands up defensively. Carla followed her, firing punches, each aiming at a knockout blow, hoping to finish Elena with that one next shot. Her punches were slow, though perhaps that's how they had to be. She had to aim carefully and to get her strength behind each blow. By the time they whistled through, Elena wasn't there. A few hit the blonde's side and made her gasp. One almost whirled her around and she stumbled after that blow. Carla had a great chance to kick out and damage Elena severely at that moment, but she blew it. It was as though Carla had to pause to think out her next move. Each time she did, Elena used that pause to get away.
Still Carla had the upper hand. She was steadily driving Elena backward. Each punch that missed still made Elena retreat, each punch that hit damaged the blonde. Carla succeeded in keeping Elena out of range, using her longer reach to fend off her foe. Elena was on the defensive now, no longer crouching and diving in. Perhaps the blow to her midsection had hurt too much. She couldn't go head to head with Carla. That was exactly what Carla wanted. A hard exchange of blows would put Elena on the mat. As it was. Elena was stumbling more and more, beginning to defend poorly. More of Carla's punches hit the blonde. She was being softened up. She began to groan and gasp after each blow hit. Then Carla changed target and aimed a punch at Elena's chin. It hit solidly. Elena didn't gasp that time. Instead she let out a long sigh, her legs buckled and she fell to the mats.
Carla stepped forward, but not quickly enough. Elena had rolled. She kicked up, keeping Carla at bay. Carla hopped down but her chance was gone. Elena rolled further and was on her knees before Carla got to her. The two women scrambled to their feet. Again Carla attacked. Again Elena defended. The same result seemed destined to be played out again, for Carla hit hard and often. Elena couldn't get within the bigger girl's reach to hit back.
Then Elena kicked. Her foot hit high on Carla's thigh. Carla gasped and faltered. Elena ducked under Carla's arms and fired a punch up, putting her body and legs beneath the blow, hitting Carla on the chin. Carla reeled back. Elena kicked out again at the Latina's thigh and again she connected, then a third time which once again hit hard. Carla stumbled back, trying to regroup. She'd been hurt. She seemed to be dragging her leg.
Elena seized the chance to return to her old tactics. Once more she danced around the now slowed brunette, dashing in to score a quick blow to Carla’s middle, then retreating again, out of reach. Carla just couldn't move quickly enough to defend or counterattack. Elena was slower than she had been – the fight had taken its toll – but Carla, almost crippled by Elena’s thigh kicks, was slower still and the cunning blonde was capitalizing on that. She kicked out again and Carla barely managed to drag her leg out of the way.
Elena ducked, then flung her head forward. She head butted Carla. Carla groaned, exhaling a spurt of spittle. It seemed for the first time that Elena's stomach blows had really hurt her foe. But then she'd been softening up those six-pack abs for a while now.
Carla fell back. Elena kicked out again. This time Carla was too slow to avoid Elena's foot thudding home on her thigh. The brunette cried out in pain. A smile flitted over Elena's face. She fired a left-right combo at Carla. Sluggishly, Carla's hands came up to defend. She blocked the left but the right slammed home, deep into her midsection. Carla shuddered, emitted a long deep sigh and trembled as if she was about to fall. Elena gave her no chance to recover. Her fist again crashed through Carla's weakened defenses, pounding the taller woman's stomach. Carla rocked on her feet. She seemed on the verge of going down. Elena stood back, waiting for her enemy to stop shaking. It took a few moments.
“She’s a bitch! She’s playing with Carla,” Mona said.
I looked at Mona. “She played with you too.” Mona reddened. I turned my attention back at the fight.
Elena smiled. She sent her right fist jabbing straight at Carla's face. Up came Carla's hands to defend. Down crashed Elena left fist again, burying itself in Carla's middle.
Once more Carla rocked back on her heels. She buckled, her knees all but giving out on her but seemingly drawing on her last reserves of strength, she managed to regain her stance. Elena apparently let her. She stood while Carla breathed heavily.
Carla tried to attack but her punch was telegraphed and Elena had no trouble avoiding it. She fired another blow into her foe's chest but Carla managed to sidestep it. Elena launched one more punch and Carla groaned in pain again as the blonde's fist thudded into her midriff. She doubled up and her legs buckled again. She almost fell but then managed to stand, both arms protecting her shattered belly, her face a mask of pain.
Malcolm looked at me. “She’s gone too far. She should give Carla a chance to surrender.”
Once more Elena smiled. She fired a punch that hit Carla's cheek, then another higher up. Carla blocked that one but as she raised her arms, Elena's fists shifted target. Her left thudded into Carla' s side, her right into Carla's unprotected solar plexus. Carla crumpled. She hit the floor like a sack of wheat and lay there moaning.
Elena nudged the beaten brunette with her foot. “Don't make trouble again.” I went with Amanda and helped Carla up. We sat her on a chair where she slumped while someone went for a first aid kit.
Elena had walked over to Malcolm while we were doing that. She smiled and hugged him, drawing his head down to kiss. “Malcolm, aren't you pleased I won?” she asked as she looked up at him. “Carla deserved it! She bitched so much.”
“Err… I guess so.” Malcolm was not convinced.
“Malcolm,” Elena held him tightly, “Malcolm, please…let’s go get coffee.” She led him out of the room.
“Thank you,” Carla said weakly to Amanda and I as Amanda checked her out. “Thanks for your help. She just worked me over.” She wasn’t that badly hurt. She'd have lots of bruises but no bones were broken, nor other real injuries.
As I helped Carla put her things together, I reflected on how well this had gone. Carla appreciated what I'd done for her, so she wouldn’t be gossiping about me for a while. Elena would be fine too, after some more help with her relationship with Malcolm. It was a win/win for me.
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My thanks to the Scribbler for his help and to the lovely Elenabp for letting me use her online persona as a character in this story and for her suggestions. Together your comments have made my story much better
