I checked to make sure that the battery was fully charged, and that I had an extra one in my bag, just in case. I doubted I would need it, as I would only be out for a few hours, but I wanted to be prepared for anything. I finished my tea and went to get ready to head to the school.
The gymnasium was far crazier than I expected; it was no random basketball game playing that night. It was the big MMA fight that Jet had been preparing for. To see what a big deal MMA was to the school was a shock to my system. When I walked in, I saw that they had transformed the gym into an arena for the fights. I barely recognized it. You would not know the difference between a fight there and a live UFC event, except for the amount of people we could fit in our gym. I panicked briefly, because I wasn't sure how I was going to find my class in all the madness. I could feel the charged energy emanating from the room, and I could almost smell the bloodlust in the room. It was kind of exciting being in the middle of it all.
One of my classmates waved to me from the front, near the octagon. I hurried over, and took a seat beside Brenda.
“Oh my God, I had no idea the fights were on tonight.”
“Natalie, you need to get out more. Even I knew your boy was fighting tonight.”
“He's not my boy.”
“Well, that's a crying shame.”
I nudged her with my elbow. “These are great seats.” We were essentially right beside the octagon, and would have a great view of the fights.
“Yeah, the professor spared no expense. We couldn't exactly do our project properly if we couldn't see anything.”
I knew immediately that I would need to change my aperture and shutter speed to allow me to stop action. I did that while I had a spare moment. I looked around the room to see if I could see Jet, but he was nowhere to be found. They probably kept him hidden until the last moment. Our professor arrived, and did roll call to make sure we were all present.
“Alright guys, as I'm sure you have guessed by now, we are here to document the fights for the school. They want to be able to post these pictures on the website, and I'm sure the fighters themselves will want images as well, so make sure you do your absolute best. Try to look for unique angles, kickass techniques?the kind of photos that make people gasp. That's just one aspect of the job tonight. I want you to also keep in mind while you are shooting photos that you will need to submit eight pictures capturing live action, so again, submit your best pics of one fighter in particular. The rest you can give to the school for their purposes. All students will be paid a fee for helping the school capture this event, so lucky you!”
The class cheered; nothing was better than getting paid for work you had to do anyway. I already knew which fighter I was going to use for my live action shots, and I thought the whole experience would also work really well in my story. I was so excited to get to see his fight now. I planned on taking some pretty kickass shots.
It wasn't long before the fights got underway, and I was surprised at how loud the arena became. People got pretty fired up when it came time for a fighter to come out into the cage. I watched a few of the fights with growing interest. I could pick out some of the techniques that Jet had shown me, and I smiled as one of the school’s players won his match.
I took a long intermission, and went to find something to drink. The fights were longer than I had anticipated, and I was thirsty. I recognized a guy over at the drink area, and went to say hi.
“Hey, Brian, how are you?”
He turned, and his face lit up when he saw me.
“Hey, Natalie, nice to see you. I'm surprised to see you here, actually,” he laughed. “Are you here to see Jet fight?”
“Ahh, no. Well, I guess, but I'm here because my photography class is here to take the event pictures for the night. I didn't even know the fights were on tonight,” I blushed nervously.
“Oh, cool. Well, I'm glad to see you.”
“Thanks. Are you fighting tonight?”
“No, not yet. I'm preparing for my first fight, but I wasn't put on this card. Jet is actually the last fight after this one.”
I nodded. “Oh, I see.”
“Would you like something to drink?”
“Sure, a bottle of water would be great.”
He grabbed me one, and handed it over.
“Thank you.”
I stood there and chatted with him for a while until the fight ended, with Craig losing his fight for the night. It made me feel bad for him. It couldn't be easy facing your corner and teammates after losing a fight you spent months preparing for.
“Well, I better get back over there, so I can get these photos taken and go home.”
He smiled. “Okay, well, I'll see ya around.”
“Sure,” I waved as I walked away from him. Brian seemed like a really sweet guy. I continued on down the aisle until I found my seat. I squeezed back in beside Brenda, and got my camera ready for the last fight of the night.