Nola stuffed her boxing gloves hastily into her gym bag. She heard the turning of keys at the front door. It was Eleanor coming over for Allie's piano lessons. She'd also babysit him for the rest of the day. Sometimes she would stay a night over if she can.

"Eleanor!" Nola greeted her musician friend with a hasty hug and brushed past her. "Sorry, I gotta run, I'm late to meet my friends at the gym. Take care of Allie for me!" She hopped onto her bike, flying through the gate. "We'll chat later!"

Eleanor had not had a chance to even utter a single word. She was used to her antics.

She cycled to the boxing gym. By the time she got there, her body was soaked in sweat before she even started the workout. Her friend Sarah was warming up with Ángelo, her buff Chilean husband. Nola dodged around the boxers working out on the mats and punching bags before finally getting over to them.

"UH- Nola! Why are you're always- UH- late to everything! We- UH- have the ring- UHH- booked for later knowing you," Sarah said in between breathes while doing her hamstring stretches on the mat. Her macho husband's two hands gently pushing into her back to push her forward a few millimetres. Sarah's hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. She was in her usual white tank top and black leggings. Ángelo was wearing the same tight tank top as Sarah but with red boxing shorts.

"Ah, I'm late!" Nola made an apologetic gesture with her hands.

"I just said that! You're always late." Sarah said dramatically in her soft voice. It was true. Nola lived life on the edge. Sarah changed into a back to back stretch with her husband bending forward, levitating her off the ground.

"Hola Nola," Ángelo grunted.

"Hola Ángelo, my amigo."

They gave each other the predator handshake which tensed up their gigantic titanic biceps. Nola's arm was near as big as his. She made up for the rest in her aggressiveness.

"You're getting stronger Nola" Ángelo grunted in a thick Spanish accent with a powerful rolling 'r' in stronger.

Nola had met the couple in this boxing gym and had bonded closely to Sarah and her hubby.

"Come over another time. Allie's still laughing at the last game we played in Monopoly when you bankrupted your own husband." Nola and Sarah laughed at the expense of Ángelo.

"No, that was unfair." he grunted. "My wife gives me hell ever since and now all the home finances are done by her. Next thing I know, it's a divorce. AHAHAHA!" he let out a loud laugh.

They chatted away as they stretched. Then they focused on honing their muscles with punching sandbags. Nola, Sarah and Ángelo contributed to the symphony of manly workout grunts that echoed in a harmonious cacophony through the gym hall.

A man across the hall watched Nola as she punched the living daylights out of a heavy boxing sandbag. It was as if the inanimate object owned her large amounts of money. The sound of each blow echoed across the gym mingling with the grunting of sweaty men. Ángelo held the back of the sandbag and let out manly moans every time a punch smashed into it. He stifled his own moan as best as he could but Nola's blows traversed though the grains of sand sharply into his hairy, sweaty body.

The man approached Nola while she beat the shit out of the sandbag. Nola seemed to take no notice at the tall, scrawny looking man. Once she set her eyes on a target, she would belt at it until she felt satisfied.

Nola finally stopped once she felt the sandbag was bruised enough from her psychotic beatings.

The man whistled what he thought was a suave whistle to signal a breath of amazement in witnessing her beating of the poor sandbag.

"You got fire in you. Your fist packs quite a punch."

"Yeah, I've been training here for a year now so I would hope so." She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm. "I've never seen you here. Just joined?" She tilted her head to the man. The man had lean muscles and was a head and a half taller than Nola.

"Yeah, my friends over there told me you could teach me quite a lesson in the ring."

She looked over and saw his friends laughing behind his back. It was James and the lads. They were no good people who Nola would rather avoid than be friends with. She was in a good mood today. She decided to humour them.

"Have you boxed before?"

"I used to do boxing when I was a teen. Not to brag, but I made it to the semi-finals in the All-Irelands." He cocked his head as he spoke this in a cocky manner to Nola.

"Kickboxing isn't too different. Just remember you can use your legs. The same rule applies. No hits on the back of the head." She glanced at the ring." Looks like your friends freed up the rings. Let's go."

"Alright," the tall man said nonchalantly. He had a goofy demeanour in him. Maybe he was punched in the head too much or dropped as a child, Nola thought.

They walked over to the ring. The man noticed how Nola reached for one of the ring ropes and pulled herself rather clumsily like a novice. He, on the other hand, did it in one fluid motion. Guess I take it easy. A girl's a girl no matter how hard they train. It was true that evolution had worked against their favour for far too long. It was basic science; he read this in a book once.

"Also, the loser pays for drinks tonight. It's the tradition here."

The man agreed.

Nola threw her personal gloves to Ángelo who acted as her coach standing in her corner of the ring. They strapped on thicker boxing gloves and donned their helmets that were left in the middle of the ring. Sarah took on the commanding role as the referee.

"Alright, let me state the rules. Losing is whoever taps out or gets knocked out. I want a clean match. That means no funny business," Sarah said softly. She gave a stern look at Nola who was hopping on her feet. Nola shrugged.

A crowd started to form around the ring making the man uncomfortable. He didn't want to embarrass her in front of the home crowd.

Nola and the man backed up to their respective corners after donning their protective gear. The man rested his back to the corner where his friend James awaited him.

"Alright lad, don't fall for her feints. Her prominent hand is her right but some think she's actually a southpaw. Her favourite move is a predictable one two and a standard block would suffice." James continued in a tone keeping up with this whole joke act. "The problem is that the block blocks your view and what she slyly does is send a low kick from below. This is a feint since your vision right now is looking downwards while you're blocking." The man nodded. "What you should be looking out for is the right hook coming from a thirty degree angle from twelve."

"What do I do? It's either below or above if she's fast."

"God help you then." James joked. They laughed.

The gong rung and immediately Nola dived into a one two aiming at the tall, scrawny man's head. Scrawny man parried the first hit and dodged the second easily. Nola's arm didn't have the reach. He kept pushing her head away like a dog to keep a distance between them.

Nola threw a half-hearted kick to the lower half that tipped him off balance. He stumbled back like a new born fawn and fell on his buttocks. He wasn't used to kickboxing. He decided that his arms were enough to beat the girl. The crowd laughed and jeered. He got up immediately, red faced. The gong rang and they returned to their corners.

"Not bad. As expected from a former runner up from the Nationals," James said.

"You're mocking me but this lass is good. I thought you said this was easy drinks?"

"Easy drinks for me maybe. She's testing you. She knocked out Steel Arm Jimbo with her signature move last week. He hasn't been back since. Some say he died from embarrassment, others say he's in a coma in the hospital."

Scrawny man laughed at his anecdote. James sure had a way of rousing him.

The tall man was comfortable with how the fight was going. He was in a good mood and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere. Lax to the tension, he was already dreaming of how suave he'll be at the bar with her after winning. She had a beautiful, affectionate face. Shame her body was built like a fridge.

He saw her at her corner. Her eyes were sunken in deep shadows from the harsh white light of the ring. A towel was draped over her broad shoulders and she was laughing with her pseudo coach. The tall, scrawny man's face twisted nastily. She actually thinks she can beat me.

Round two started. In a split of a second, the noise disappeared and the man found himself falling backwards in slow motion. The lights of the ceiling were drifting in and out like a kaleidoscope. He had several flashbacks on his life before the thud of his lifeless body slammed the ground. The gong rung thrice.

It was always like this with Nola. The boys would set a newcomer up and encourage them to have a round with Nola. Nola played along for the laugh. She would build up the confidence of the opponent with half-hearted swings in the first round that looked like she couldn't reach. Then she'd go for a RKO with a lighting fast kick knocking the opponent out or if the opponent was better he would fall for the feint. This left the chest open and Nola would fire two brutal punches with the power of an ogre. The punches would land hard into the opponent's solar plexus in less than a span of a second. A loud, powerful crackle noise would emit which may have been the sound of ribs breaking or the sound barrier breaking. The opponent was as good as dead. Sometimes CPR may be performed on them.

"One of these days we'll all get in some legal trouble," Ángelo said non-jokingly.

"Ah, he'll be grand when he wakes up from the hospital," Nola said. With an extra cheer she exclaimed to all, "Drinks for all tonight! Woohoo! James grab his wallet."

The crowd cheered for the oncoming drink buffet. The loser had to pick up the tab for everyone in the gym.

"He'd be wishing he stayed dead when he wakes up."

...

At 5pm, the doorbell rang. Nola opened the door and found a young beautiful girl around Nola's age. It was Eleanor. Her hair was raven black and hung around her shoulders. Her skin marble white. She wore a long expensive sparkling black dress made of silk which matched her hair. Her arms were by her hips and her head was cocked to the side in an impatient manner. Eleanor was a world renowned pianist. Allie would have two piano lessons a week or more when Eleanor was not preforming or giving her master classes in the university.

"Hello!" Nola greeted. "Sorry about the other day! How was your performance in Carnage Hall?"

"Why are you always running late to every event?" She pouted. "It's Carnegie Hall by the way. The usual. I wish Allie was there to see me perform. The Steinway there sounds noticeably better than the one in the Helix."

"Steinway?"

"It's a grand piano," she said coldly. How could she not know what a Steinway is! That's the equivalent to not knowing what a Ferrari or a Lamborghini is. Eleanor was a prima donna of the piano world and she had the temper that comes with it. With her inhuman talent and skills, she had every right to.

"Your dress is really pretty." Nola complimented her dress as always. She always dressed like a Victorian doll or someone going to a ball which made Nola's heart flutter. Eleanor forgave her for not knowing what a Steinway is and told her how the cheapest model would easily cost over eighty grand.

Nola led Eleanor by hand happily like her handmaiden through her own house. Normally Eleanor's closest confidants addressed her as Ellie but Nola kept mixing their names up so she gave up.

They entered the sitting room to find Allie by the upright piano reading a book on piano theory in a precocious air that he definitely did not emit in anything else other than music.

Eleanor would stay the night over while Nola headed to her gym nights. When she didn't, she would read a book on the sofa listening to Allie's precious music. Often times falling asleep.

Eleanor sat down beside him on the cushioned piano stool and pulled Allie onto her lap. She wasn't a tall person, neither was she strong and she struggled with a grimace pulling him up. It was then that Allie noticed her. So deep was his nose buried in the music book that he didn't notice Eleanor until her pale delicate hands tickled his armpit when she lifted him. Allie slowly cocked his head back onto Eleanor's slender shoulder and greeted her with a peck to her cheek. This drove Nola mad with jealousy but she kept it to herself.

The piano stool was raised very high to the upright to suit Allie's height so Eleanor had to adjust it. Sometimes they squeezed in side by side.

Allie was extremely talented in piano, so much so that he reminded him of herself. It could be that being wheelchair bound limited so much options that other kids had. She had heard a deep melancholy in his playing from time to time. Some notes would hang in the air for too long in loneliness when Nola wasn't there to observe the lesson. He had a range that was far beyond what an adult plays, let alone a child. Eleanor listened to Allie play and in the beautiful music she fell into a reminiscence of the day they met.

Nola had brought Allie to a concert of her in the Helix, the most prestigious hall in the country. Nola later told her that she played a classical music CD of one of her recordings to Allie and he insisted on seeing a live performance of her. They sat in the handicap zone which drew the eyes of Eleanor. What a sad little thing, she had thought. He can't be more than six years old. It was strange to see such a little child in Sunday mass clothes in the disabled seating area. She ended the concert with one of her own compositions and she was not expecting much but the usual applause. She looked disinterested at the audience whom showered her with cheerful applause and roses of all colours. She bowed as per ritual. She looked at the little boy in the wheelchair once more. She saw his eyes glistening and swollen. The poor little thing had been crying. In Eleanor's romanticised memory, they locked eyes in an intimate gaze like a little prince up to a queen. She exited the stage surprised at herself. My compositions had moved him.

She asked an attendant backstage to bring the boy in the wheelchair over to the private practice halls where she would meet them. That's how she became friends with Allie and then Nola.

It was close to dinner time and Nola got up to prepare the dinner.

Last week they made potato latkes together using a secret family Belarusian recipe. They made mash potatoes type dishes a lot since Allie enjoyed the mashing process that he proudly took charge of.

One time in her life, her love of food reached a screeching halt and wrapped around itself in an ouroboros intestine food hatred for the longest time. She went to a luxurious buffet and found the secret to end life painlessly. She also discovered why in some cultures, prisoners on the last day of death row were fed well.

On a summer vacation that coincided with Allie's birthday, Allie and Nola visited their sister Silvie in Paris. Nola invited dear Eleanor but she declined initially until she found out that Allie's birthday took place during their holiday in France. Eleanor never liked Nola. If she was the ice queen, Nola was the naïve princess with her little prince. The queen wanted the prince all to herself. After all, Allie was a music prodigy like herself. They were going to Disneyland Paris on his birthday and they stayed in the fancy Cinderella style hotel for a few days. There was a grand piano in the lounge where Eleanor and Allie put on a world class duet.

Visiting Disneyland on his birthday provided a discount to eat in the all-you-can-eat buffet in a Disney hotel of your choice after buying an annual gold membership. They ended up choosing the New Yorker style hotel for the buffet since they had been eating so much in the Cinderella one.

Nola didn't grow up financially secure having lived her early years in Belarus. A country that was torn and in the midst of rebuilding after the fall of USSR. Some survival habits such as over eating remained like dormant genes in her. Growing up like this meant that she always cherished eating, especially the luxury of eating in a fancy diner. This buffet was a lifelong dream come true for her. She happened to find her dream trying to fulfil Allie's happiness.

Silvie was meant to come for the party but work called in last minute putting her on the spot. She was an adult and she had responsibilities such as getting that promotion she so dearly sought to become a sous chef. She couldn't say no.

Nola didn't eat for the entire morning to evening knowing this moment was on the table. Her stomach growled loudly inciting laughter from her brother and a blush from Eleanor.

Eleanor was overly dressed for the occasion in a short black and red gown with black frills and ribbons galore. Nola wore a loose fitting t-shirt with exposed shoulders that showed how broad they were and khaki chinos. Nola's hair was neck length which she later let grow out ever since.

Nola looked wide eyed at the child size proportions on Eleanor's plate.

"It's an all-you-can-eat buffet! Are you sure you're full?" Nola's words suggested two contradictions.

Eleanor looked at her elephant proportions of multi-layered steaks that rose above her bosom.

"Are you sure you can finish all of that?" Eleanor wasn't even saying it in her usual sarcastic tone. "I'll be amazed if you can."

"I'll try. Keep the ambulance hotline on dial," she joked. Sweat glistened on her cranium and hunger in her eyes.

"Alr...aright." Eleanor, normally quick witted in spitting out retorts wasn't too sure how to react to this scene.

Nola devoured her plates and Allie cheered. Allie told Eleanor how strong she is. You're too cold to Nola, he had told her. Eleanor wasn't exactly on good terms with Nola. Nobody had ever got so uncomfortably close to her as Nola pushed herself onto her. They were polar opposites.

Next she piled multiple dishes of a variety of high end gourmet food. Sparkling succulent caviar, Hickory-smoked ham, glazed salmon, oak smoked salmon and little tater bites on the side.

She devoured all. Eleanor was having the living daylights scared out of her as she continued to gorge as gluttony incarnate.

Next up came a seafood paella and also a seafood topped pizza which the other two greatly enjoyed. Not as much as Nola though.

Eleanor, now passed the line of disgust to admiration, was silently rooting for Nola who was starting to slow her pace.

At the moment, Nola was thinking that she needed to save some room for desert. The desert in the buffet and also the cake they would have later in the hotel room.

She grabbed thirty legs of king crab, ten spider crab legs and a whole black lobster.

She cracked another leg open and suckled down the juicy innards of the foot long crab leg. Snap and crackle, another leg vacuumed down into the black hole abyss that resided in Nola's stomach. By the twenty-sixth leg, she was starting to feel it. She was forcing herself through pain and bloat to churn down the last few crab legs. I can't do this. Her confidence waned. She had momentarily miscalculated in leaving belly room for the fancy desert in the buffet and also the cake.

Her head dropped lifelessly. She was ashamed to say to the audience that she could no longer eat crab legs anymore. One more and she felt like she would go pop, Nagasaki style.

Eleanor, now with tears in her eyes full of sympathy was proud Nola was the one taking care of Allie. She was now won over by her show of endurance. An endurance found in a mother's self-sacrifice and conviction. She was completely won over. She was defeated.

They left the all-you-can-eat buffet with Nola slowly trailing behind Eleanor pushing Allie, humming a happy tune together. Nola felt dead having stuffed herself to death. She looked at the artificially created lake on the right side of the side walk. She felt like she could jump into the lake then and there. Words could not explain the depression that her stomach was numb with bloat from. Either to drop dead then or take the biggest dump in her life. She gazed across the lake emptily.

“I could jump in and drown and I wouldn't even lift a single limb. Not that I know how to swim anyway.”

She finished the latkes and called the young musicians over. She had made too much as usual. She wouldn't be able to finish this in one sitting anymore.

After dinner, she told them about the offer for the master's from her company.