NOVEL FROG CHAPTER 8: The Job Offer
After shaking off a mild hangover, John and Atlas grabbed breakfast at a nearby Denny’s. The greasy burgers and strong coffee helped clear their heads as they made their way toward the Society of Creative Battles.
Ahhhh, Denny’s where the slogan is “You don’t come here, you wind up here.”
Atlas couldn’t help but frown at the bustling downtown area. The narrow streets, overflowing sidewalks, and the constant search for parking made him long for the quiet of the suburbs. But there was one thing he appreciated about downtown: the ability to walk everywhere. Even if that walk took him to a Denny’s.
As they entered the gym, Alicia, who was at the front desk, looked up with a bright smile. “Hey, Atlas, nice to see you back.”
Atlas returned the smile, surprised by her memory. “Hey, wow, you've got a great memory. I’ve only been here once, although I’ve signed up for five sessions. This is only my second time here.”
Alicia leaned forward on the counter, her tone shifting to something more serious. “Actually, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
She had initially wanted to wait and see if Atlas was really as good as Yochanan had mentioned, but after a conversation with the Board of Directors last night, things had changed quickly. Turns out “Sword & Iron” had made a takeover bid for their gym, and the Board was seriously thinking of taking the offer.
Atlas raised an eyebrow, intrigued. John, standing beside him, also perked up, curiosity piqued as he noticed Alicia’s intensity. It also helped that Alicia was a toned blonde beauty.
“Oh? What’s that?” Atlas asked, glancing at John, who looked a bit too interested in the conversation for his own good. No doubt that guy was already scoping out Alicia versus thinking about swords and battling.
Seriously, the guy puts the horn in horndog. Although he couldn’t knock him, John did have some serious game. That guy had more threesomes than he could shake a stick at. A stanky stick. But a stick nonetheless.
Alicia continued, unaware of the thoughts Atlas and John were thinking. “Well, it’s obvious from your first time training with Yochanan that you’re not a newbie. So instead of just hiring sparring partners like him from here, we were wondering if you’d like a job.”
Atlas blinked in surprise. “A job?” he repeated, as if the idea hadn’t quite registered. He had been budgeting for hiring some sparring partners but now he was getting paid instead?
*If he was Russian, he would at this point have an inner hamster screaming “Do it, do it.” But as a Canadian, he was still a little more reserved. Instead of an inner hamster, he had an inner beaver. And that little eager beaver was saying “Do it, do it, but let’s check the fine print…and oh yeah we should go for some pancakes with REAL maple syrup after this.”
John, equally surprised, chimed in. “What do you mean, a job?”
Alicia smiled, clearly excited to share the details. “Well, I don’t know if you know this, but battling with swords and shields in the arena has actually become quite popular in the last couple of years. It’s similar to the UFC, but now there’s a new league called SFB—“Swords! Fighting! Battle!”
The league has been taking off in major cities. While it’s dominated by larger feeder gyms like Sword and Iron, the Society of Creative Battles does have the rights to enter fighters. We’ve never had a fighter make it to the televised matches, but the prizes for fighters are pretty good. And if we get one in there, the gym’s reputation would skyrocket.”
Atlas considered this new information, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “That’s an interesting offer,” he said slowly, his salesman mind already strategizing. If he needed to find four more people he could trust, this gym might be the perfect place to start. John was already earmarked for one of the five assistant slots. “What would the job require me to do?”
Alicia leaned forward, her blue eyes shining with enthusiasm. “Well, just like Yochanan, you’d be a trainer, but we’d pair you with our most elite students—people who are actually aiming for a shot at the SFB league. We’d pay you weekly or monthly, and then you’d get a bonus if you manage to get any of them into the league. And if you’re interested, we’d like to offer you a spot as a fighter too.”
Atlas’s mind raced with possibilities. Not only would this allow him to hone his skills even further, but it also offered him a steady income and a chance to train potential allies for the upcoming portals. He could vet people, see who had the grit to survive, and maybe, just maybe, find those he could trust with his life. Instead of two-timing sanctimonious jerks like Clark.
“Perfect, I was going to see if you had better instructors here because while Yochanan was a great guy for newbies, I would have liked someone more senior. No offence.” Atlas finally said, a small grin forming on his lips.
Alicia’s eyes widened a lot. *I wonder if I should tell him that Yochanan IS the senior instructor? Nyah. No need to reveal all cards otherwise he’ll definitely ask for a pay bump.*
“I get to fight, I get paid, and I get to train some noobs. I think I could handle around ten people in my first recruit class, but I’ve got to save one of my slots for my buddy John here.” Atlas and his inner eager beaver played it cool.
John grinned, clearly pleased with the arrangement and thought,
*Nice. No paying for training. And so what if these guys are advanced students? I know Atlas will take care of me if I start to lag behind. Also more Alicia time… boom chicka bow wow.*
Alicia nodded, satisfied with their response. “Great! Let’s get the paperwork started. We’ll get you set up, John, with some intro training, and we can start everything off tomorrow.”
As they wrapped up the conversation, Atlas couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Things were falling into place faster than he’d expected. With John onboard and a potential team forming, he was one step closer to being prepared for whatever the portals had in store.
Tomorrow, the real work would begin, but for today Atlas and John had burgers and last night's beers to sweat through.
And sweat they did, John definitely regrettied his choices last night. The gym was grueling, and John found himself struggling through the exercises. He had forgotten how tough it was to work out regularly, and his attempts at lifting weights had him huffing and puffing like a steam engine. Atlas was breezing through the routines, while John was barely keeping up. Every time John saw Alicia, he was reminded of why he was pushing the weights so hard. She was an incredible mix of strength and beauty, and despite his struggles, John couldn’t help but admire her more. If getting into shape meant spending more time around her, he might just find the motivation he needed—well, that and the promise of a future with a lot fewer gym-induced heart attacks.