As Auralia was finishing up the last page of the documents Maria had handed her earlier this morning, she heard a soft knock on the door.
"Come in." She called out, swiftly placing the papers into a drawer.
The door opened and a young teenage boy with short black hair and striking blue eyes walked in. His tall frame of 6.2ft forced the boy to bend a little as he entered the small doorway.
"Afternoon Coach." The boy greeted Auralia politely.
"Afternoon Jamie. What brings you here today?" Auralia asked, smiling at the boy. "Are you here to practice?"
Auralia typically had the dojo closed on Fridays, there not being enough people coming to classes to keep it open. She did, however, allow members of the dojo to use it for any extra practice and training they wanted to do.
"Um… yeah." Jamie smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head. He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Is it okay if I use the dojo overnight?"
Auralia nodded her head. "Sure, thing kiddo. You know the rules of course."
"Yes… Thank you coach." Jamie smiled widely before heading back out.
Auralia's smile faded as the door closed behind Jamie, sighing in frustration. The boy lived in a foster home and from what she had gathered, it wasn't the best place.
There wasn't much she could do about it. Social services determined that the foster home was fine which she knew was likely because of bribery.
So Auralia had decided to let him stay at the dojo whenever home got too much for the teen. His foster parents didn't care too much about it, more worried about the monthly check that they got for "looking after" him.
Auralia knew most thought she was stupid for allowing a kid with no money into her dojo, but considering the kid's talent. She couldn't let him land up on the streets without trying to help him get somewhere with BJJ.
And with the upcoming tournament, she knew how important it was. Showcasing his talent there could get him the money he needed for college through scholarships.
He, of course, wasn't her only pupil who showed much potential…
He was her star pupil and even if the tournament didn't work out, she had been planning to ask him to become an official coach.
He had already been helping with some of the classes, mostly as a thanks for the times Auralia had let him use the dojo, no questions asked. Of course, getting another coach meant the dojo would need money.
Auralia sighed again, rubbing a hand over her face before glancing at the drawer with the contract in it. Maria Ezra knew exactly how to lay a trap.
She pulled the drawer open again and took out the documents, deciding to take a serious look through it once more.
***
"Alright then… I'll give this to Mrs. Ezra and let her know the good news." A balding man in an expensive suit said, standing up. "It was nice doing business with you, Miss Davidson."
"Of course." Auralia stood up, shaking the lawyer's hand. "Thanks for everything."
The man quickly let go of her hand and headed out, not bothering with any goodbyes. Auralia's business smile faded as she watched the awful man leave, hating every second being in his presence.
Thankfully the guard with him had forced him to remove his shoes in the dojo earlier, otherwise Auralia wasn't sure what she was going to do.
Walking on the mats with shoes was the biggest mistake someone could make and lucky the guard had stopped the moron from making it. Once the duo left, Auralia turned to see some of her students were staring at her curiously.
There were five of them in the dojo, all using the space for extra training since there was that tournament coming up. However, she knew they'd probably stay over too, home not being the greatest for most of them.
It saddened her about what they had to go through, but there wasn't much she could do except give them a space to be free from it all. She knew her father would be proud of her for that.
What he would've done himself if he was still here.
Auralia shook her head at her students' questioning faces, happy she was going to finally give them the proper chance they deserved. She wanted them to go far in life with all the hard work they put in.
"Coach, who was that?" One of the girls, Rebecca, asked as they walked over Auralia.
"Oh… just someone's lawyer." Auralia smiled. "Turns out there's someone high profile who wants to learn BJJ."
That was the cover of course, Auralia under an NDA about the real reason behind her new job as a bodyguard. No one could know about what was really going on.
"So, will there still be um classes…" Another student, Brady, asked.
"Of course, there'll still be classes…" Auralia said. "Although there will be some changes…. Good changes though. Anyway, I think break time's over. I saw you guys slacking early when you have a tournament coming up. You should be practicing."
"Come on Coach. Just give us five more minutes." Brady whined at her. "We're not all like Jamie who doesn't know when to stop."
Auralia almost let out a chuckle at the young boy's words. It was moments like these that made all that stress about keeping the dojo open worth it. Her father's legacy was important to her.
But so were these moments. Seeing how BJJ could make someone so happy, could change their life the same way it had for her. It made all that blood, sweat and tears worth it all.
"You're just lazy." Susan suddenly exclaimed, bringing Auralia back to the conversation at hand.
The teens became bickering among themselves, cracking jokes at each other. But soon, Auralia had to bring them back to training, wanting them to be in perfect condition for the tournament.