“Question,” Holly turned to the stranger sitting on the next table, “I’m making the huge mistake of including a baseball scene in this thing that I’m writing,” she waved her hand carelessly as if it were nothing, “and I just need to double check something, a touchdown isn’t baseball, is it? I literally have no clue because I thought it would be a brilliant idea to leave my phone at home to reduce the amount of distractions I have.” She’d garbled so quickly that it would be surprising if he’d caught everything that she’d said. “Also, if you’re not a baseball fan then feel free to ignore my quizzing.”
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kai had adjusted his headphones, slidding them down to hang around his neck. an international sign of ‘leave me alone’. resting in the corner of the cafe, shoulders worn from a training session that seemed to drag on for eons, he steadily inhales the steam of her coffee bellowing from the cup. “—hm ??” her catches the voice of the unfamiliar woman, needing a moment to check that she was indeed talking to him. “i don’t watch baseball.” he shrugs, looking back down at the table. suddenly, feeling kernel guilt about the abrupt shut down of the woman’s questioning, he turns back to face her. again “uh... i know that’s a thing in football. d’know about baseball, sorry.”
Jordan’s session was finished, over for another day, the male leaving the locker room before heading back out onto the floor. He had not long said goodbye to his training partner, when he ran into another guy. “No, man—” Jordan shook his head and looked around, the gym practically empty. “You know who you’re looking for?” He asked, giving him a shrug. “Whatshisface usually leaves a list of who is training who out back, I think. Just don’t ask me where it is, dude is like a tornado when it comes to putting things away.”
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“beats me.” kai shrugs, finally unraveling the gauze from his hands, promptly tossing it into the bin next to him. he wouldn’t complain they didn’t turn up, ready to go home and have his dinner in peace. “i’m not really official.” he shrugs. there was a competition coming up, why on earth his trainer had him taking on beginners rather than practicing his own skills was beyond kai. he never remembered watching his dad train others until later in his career. kai had been coming here for years, yet still found a way to keep out of sight and mind for his own sanity. suddenly he became very noticeable once competitions came up, or when he won, which had been often lately, to his credit.
Scott wasn’t an unfit man, but boxing had always felt too aggressive. It was a friend who recommended he go down to the gym in Brooklyn, feel the place out and see if he enjoyed it. The first session was good, the second even better and by the third one of trainers had set him up with free class. “That would be me,” Flashing the man a quick smile, Scott stuck his hand out and introduced himself. “Scott, nice to meet you—” He was a few minutes late, accounting for late afternoon traffic. “Only been down here a couple of times, one of the guys said I should start training properly. Thought I would give it a go.”
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kai nods, pacing forward to size up the man. despite not being overly thrilled being forced to teach, kai would eventually end up falling into a rhythm. he made sure his clients worked hard, and feel like they achieved something at the end of the lesson. funnily enough, coming from king pessimist himself. the boxer paces forward, taking the mans hand to shake. over the strangers shoulder, he catches the large portrait of his father hanging proudly. “consider yourself any good ??” kai asks, gaze lingering on his fathers portrait for a few more moments. he needs to gage the mans skill levels before they begin. a high impact sport, many newbies ended up hurting themselves too soon through over estimation of skills.
outside of manhattan is where venice most often felt she found her places and her people, if she was going to do a corny thing like have people. when she walks into one of her new places, a boxing gym, there was no warm welcome. so she didn’t have a warm welcome back.
‘ y’know for someone who’s about to train me, you don’t look so confident, ’ venice says. maybe it wasn’t the greatest first impression, but she could read the confusion on kai’s face and she didn’t exactly want to break her hand. she drops her gym back to the ground. ‘ what? am i not who you expected? ’
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kai’s glances back down to the gauze he unravels from his fingers, flexing the bones out until he can discern an audible crack in his knuckles — perhaps he’d gone a little too hard on the bag this morning. “don’t give a shit who you are.” he shrugs, tossing the used fabric across the room into a bin. finally lifting his gaze, settling on the woman, “as long as you’re here to work.”
in the downtime, kai had taken up his coach’s request to try something new — to train. far used to being ordered around himself. a slightly confusing request, kai was never really known for being much of a people person. but after weeks of being nagged, he finally relented. todays client was brand new, kai didn’t quite know their name. he got a call earlier in the day from his coach requesting ( if you asked kai it was more along the line of a demand ) to come in and work with a newbie in the gym. sauntering out of the changing rooms, kai latently unravels the boxing gauze encasing his wrist, palm, and thumb, after his own short sparing session with a banging bag in the corner. he glances up to an unfamiliar face, promptly assuming the was the individual referred to by his own coach, “you here for the class ??”
I saw [KAI ACKERMAN] at a coffee shop in [BROOKLYN] today. I forgot how much [HE/HIM] looks like [MICHAEL B. JORDAN]. They are a [THIRTY SIX] year old [PROFESSIONAL BOXER] who’s been in NYC for [THIRTY TWO YEARS] now. Every time we run into each other, they are always [RESPONSIBLE & COURAGEOUS] but I’ve heard people say they can also be [WITHDRAWN & EVASIVE]. [COVERED IN CHROME - VIOLENT SOHO] reminds me of them every time it comes on the radio.
its ya girl chris back with her third child.
cancer, death, mental illness trigger warning
- kai was born in lansing, michigan. he is the eldest child of three, with two twin sisters three years younger than him. his mother mother lanelle was a high school english teacher, loving mother, and devoted church goer. everyone in their local neighbourhood knew her for her selfless heart, providing food and friendship for those she knew were doing it rough. kai’s father was the famous boxer shaun ackerman, the man who kai would eventually follow in the steps of. shaun was a heavyweight fighter who reached the heights of his career in the 1980′s. kai’s earliest memories involve the local boxing ring where his dad would train, and kai would run around giving towels to the various members of the ring.
- it was a happy and fulfilling early childhood until shaun’s scheduled health check pre-match came up with a concerning lump on his shoulder. after seeing a specialist, it was determined that shaun had hodgkins lymphoma, a type of cancer in the lymphatic system. it was a blow to the entire family, and to shaun’s career. the ackerman’s promptly made the decision to pack their bags and move to new york to get the best possible treatment at the time. kai was four at this point, he didn’t quite understand what was going on, but he knew the situation was serious.
- the ackerman’s spared no option to fight for their patriach’s life. shaun endured chemotherapy, radiation therapy, a bone marrow transplant, and various drugs that were experimental at the time. kai often remembered watching his mother pray over his bed, as his father would come in and out of hospital over a period of four years. shaun slowly deteriorated, and finally came the acceptance his career was over. shaun experienced an metastatic growth on his left lung which ultimately killed him on the 3rd of september 1997. kai was eight.
- the ackerman’s decided to make the choice to stay in new york state after shaun’s passing, to stay his burial site. plus, kai had been enrolled into boxing classes in his attempt to keep his father’s spirit alive. he didn’t tell anyone the famous shaun ackerman was his father, but when his trainers finally realised who he was, they weren’t surprised why this young skinny boy had so much talent and potential. lanelle always worried for him, remembering the injuries her late-husband experienced in the ring, but knew it was an outlet for the young boys sadness, kai was not the same child he once was after shaun passed.
- spending the rest of his childhood in brooklyn, kai was a quite kid. with a small group of loyal friends, he didn’t have much interest in being the popular kid. any bully’s who tried to put him down for his introverted personality, were promptly aquatinted with kai’s fist. with his training, kai was a strong kid, and stood up for the other kids targeted by the bullies. he found himself in the principles office often for beating up the meaner kids on the playground who targeted the smaller ones. he became a somewhat of a hero to the underdogs of the neighbourhood, as the bullies never seemed to come back for round two after they squared up with kai ackerman.
- lanelle realised once her son was in highschool kai’s personality began to change. he was always a quite and respectful kid, but he began to experience sudden bouts of agitation, and anger, often coming out in the ring, getting him into more trouble with his coach. then he’d suddenly swing into bouts of depression. it took effort on lanelle’s behalf, but she managed to get her son to see a psychologist, who diagnosed him with bipolar disorder. regardless, kai’s relationship with his mother never changed. always adoring her, he’s confident that no matter what happens she’d always accept him for who he was — and he would be right.
- nowerdays, kai is working to achieve the greatness of his father, and fill his shoes. a professional super middleweight, kai has made a name for himself in the sport. he’s become a little bit better at the whole social thing, but he is still an immensely private person. most of his girlfriends in the past always seemed to struggle to tap past the solid walls he built around himself, afraid of people seeing him at either extremes he experiences. kai will be a loyal friend to those he likes, but keeps most at an arms length from himself.
