Fighting For More

The Rumor

Chapter Seven

Sandra arrived at the boxing gym on Monday morning with one thing on her mind: the championship.

She had spent the entire weekend thinking about her training, replaying her mistakes, and imagining what it would feel like to finally defeat Kiara Bennett. For the first time in a long while, she felt confident about her chances.

But the moment she stepped inside the gym, she noticed something strange.

Two girls standing near the entrance whispered to each other while looking in her direction. When Sandra glanced at them, they quickly turned away.

She frowned.

What was that about?

She ignored them and walked toward the changing room. On her way, she passed Daniel, who was sitting on a bench, scrolling through his phone.

"Morning, Daniel."

"Morning, champ," he replied without looking up.

Sandra smiled. "Why are you calling me champ? I haven't won anything yet."

"Not yet," he said, finally raising his head. "But apparently, you've already won something else."

Sandra stopped walking.

"What are you talking about?"

Daniel's smile widened.

"Nothing. Ask your boyfriend."

Sandra stared at him.

"My what?"

Daniel burst out laughing.

"Relax! I'm joking."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not funny."

"That's what they all say."

Sandra shook her head and continued toward the changing room, but Daniel's words stayed with her.

Boyfriend?

She knew exactly who he meant.

Best.

When Sandra entered the training area, Best was already there, wrapping his hands.

He looked up and smiled.

"You're late."

Sandra checked the time on the wall clock. "I'm five minutes early."

"Exactly. You should have been ten minutes early."

She gave him a look. "Do you ever get tired of talking?"

"Not when I'm talking to you."

Normally, Sandra would have laughed or thrown a playful insult back at him. But today, something about the way people had been looking at her made her uncomfortable.

She dropped her bag beside the bench.

"Best, have you heard anything strange about me lately?"

He paused while wrapping his hand.

"Strange how?"

"People are whispering. Daniel was making jokes about me having a boyfriend."

Best raised an eyebrow.

"And who is this unfortunate boy?"

Sandra folded her arms.

"Don't start."

He laughed, but when he noticed she wasn't smiling, his expression changed.

"Seriously, I haven't heard anything. Why?"

"I don't know. Something feels off."

Best finished wrapping his hands.

"Maybe people are just bored. Come on, Coach wants us to work on your footwork today."

Sandra followed him into the ring, trying to push the strange feeling out of her mind.

For the next thirty minutes, they practiced movement and defense. Best reminded her to keep her balance, while Sandra complained that he was becoming too comfortable giving orders.

"You know," she said between drills, "one day, I'm going to be better than you."

Best grinned.

"I look forward to that day. Just make sure I don't have to wait until I'm eighty."

Sandra laughed.

For a moment, everything felt normal again.

Then Maya arrived.

And she wasn't smiling.

Maya hurried toward Sandra as soon as training ended.

"Girl, we need to talk."

Sandra wiped the sweat from her forehead. "That sounds serious."

"It is."

Maya glanced toward Best, who was talking to Coach Michael on the other side of the gym.

"Have you checked your phone?"

"No. Why?"

"Just check it."

Sandra pulled her phone from her bag. She had several messages in the gym's group chat, including one from someone she barely spoke to.

She opened the chat.

A message had been posted with a picture of her and Best at the café from their outing the previous weekend.

The picture showed them sitting across from each other, laughing over their drinks. It had been taken from outside the café, probably by someone passing by.

Beneath it was a caption:

"So this is why Best has been spending all his time training Sandra. Love is in the air!"

Several people had reacted with laughing emojis. Others were asking whether they were officially together.

Sandra's face grew hot.

"Who posted this?"

"I don't know," Maya replied. "But it's already spreading."

Sandra scrolled through the messages, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

Some people were saying Best was giving her special treatment. Others were suggesting that Coach Michael had assigned them to train together because of their supposed relationship.

One comment caught her attention.

"Maybe Sandra isn't even good enough to qualify. Best is probably helping her because he likes her."

Her stomach tightened.

After all the work she had put into improving, people were now questioning whether she deserved her place in the championship.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered.

"I know," Maya said. "People will turn anything into gossip."

Sandra locked her phone.

"I need to talk to Best."

She found him near the lockers, putting his training equipment away.

"Best."

He turned around. "What's up?"

Sandra held out her phone.

"Have you seen this?"

He looked at the picture and read the caption. For a few seconds, he said nothing.

Then he sighed.

"People really have nothing better to do."

"That's all you have to say?"

He looked at her. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, Best! Everyone is talking about us. They're saying you're only helping me because you like me."

He frowned.

"And you believe them?"

"No! But they're making it look like I can't do anything without your help."

Best shook his head.

"Sandra, you know how hard you've been working. You know how much you've improved. Why does it matter what they think?"

"Because I'm tired of people finding reasons to doubt me!"

Her voice came out louder than she intended.

A few boxers nearby glanced in their direction.

Sandra lowered her voice.

"I've spent so long trying to prove that I belong here. Now people are acting like the only reason I'm getting better is because of you."

Best's expression softened.

"You know that's not true."

"I know. But I don't want to keep explaining myself to everybody."

"Then don't."

She stared at him.

"That's easy for you to say."

"How?"

"Because nobody questions whether you deserve to be here!"

The words came out before she could stop them.

Best went quiet.

For a moment, Sandra wished she could take them back. She hadn't meant to attack him. She was frustrated with the rumors, not with him.

But Best's expression had changed.

"You're right," he said quietly. "I don't know what it's like for you."

Sandra opened her mouth, but he continued.

"But I thought you trusted me enough to know that I'm not trying to take credit for your success."

"I do trust you."

"Then why are we arguing about something neither of us did?"

Sandra looked away.

She didn't have an answer.

Best picked up his bag.

"I'll see you at training tomorrow."

"Best, wait—"

But he had already walked away.

Sandra stood still, watching him leave.

For the first time since they had started training together, she wished she could go back a few minutes and choose different words.

That evening, Sandra sat on her bed, staring at her phone.

She had typed three different messages to Best and deleted every one of them.

The first sounded too defensive.

The second sounded like she was blaming him.

The third was simply, I'm sorry.

She stared at those two words for a long time before deleting them too.

Across the room, Maya was talking to her on a video call.

To be continued in Chapter Eight: The Broken Trust.