I got to the MA studio, and people from my class were waiting around outside. I saw Cliff was there again... I knew it was very possible that I'd end up with him again. Instead of dreading it though.. I felt oddly relaxed. Like, I was able to remind myself that even if I had to work with him again, I knew it wasn't the end of the world, and that I could at least make the best of it.
After class started , I took a spot next to Cliff. He saw me and said hi, and I said hi back. I was pretty sure at that point I was going to work with him - but much to my surprise, I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned to see a girl standing there, and she asked if I wanted to partner with her. She said she was tired of working with guys who hit too hard. I was happy to work with her.
Her name is Candace. She looks like a "tough" girl, wearing a bandana on her head and covered in tattoos. We talked quite a bit as we trained, and I found it easy to get along with her. She's in her early 40's, but looks like she could be the same age as me. We talked about why we wanted to train, jobs, her kid, and our mothers. She got into MA to learn self defense. She said a lot of people have tried to mess with her. A girl called her a name the other day, and she punched the girl in the nose, lol. Later she mentioned that she lives with her mother-in-law, and she hates her, so she pictures her mother-in-law on the focus mitts as she trains. I chuckled and said "That's okay, I live with my mother and I hate her, so I do the same thing." She was like "Aww, that sucks." She said her mother just got into rehab for alcoholism. She said she doesn't work because nobody will hire her due to her tattoos. She wants to go to school to study nursing. She's a smoker and said she wants to quit. She has a daughter named Abby; she even said she almost named her Hannah.
Even aside from the conversation, the training was good. She helped me, and I helped her. When we were practicing kicks, I pushed her back a little bit and she joked, "Remind me to never piss you off!" After class I asked her what days she usually comes, and she said Mon. & Wed. I told her I usually come on Mon. & Thurs., and she said she would come on those days too and work with me.
There's always a chance that she might not follow through with what she said, but.. I'm pretty hopeful. <3