The day of the finals match finally came and the people closest to Wanfahmai came to cheer her on. It was the first time for Arthit to see Wanfahmai in her muay thai kit as he thought to himself,

So…. Matt has seen her like this?! Matt has seen her toned body?! This isn’t fair… Should I really just switch to learning muay thai? Can I just get her to teach me? Should I just enrol myself in the gym? No no no… she will hate it if I do that…

“Wanfahmai… You can do this…!” with Mr Danurut cheering her on.

“Thank you, kroo…” said Wanfahmai before she turned to Arthit, “How about you pres? You don’t have anything to say to me?”

“Fighting! Wanfahmai~”

“Sure thing, pres…” before she asked Mr Danurut, “Is P’Tia late?”

“She should be here any minute…” When suddenly,

“Ice~~!! You look sooo good my dear…” exclaimed Ms Daniya.

“P’Tia stop with the exaggeration… You just saw me like three days ago…”

“I mean this is the first time I’m seeing how your hard work is paying off, Ice!”

“What do you mean P’Tia… The match hasn’t even started yet… There’s no pay off yet… When I win… That’s when the payoff will be.”

“I’m talking about your body, Ice… Well at least even if you lose this match, you definitely earned a good body…”

“Ayyy~~ Tia… Stop teasing her… I shall not allow you to jinx her match,” as Ms Mint chimed in.

“Auw! Ms Mint! I’m glad you can make it!” with Wanfahmai hugging her teacher.

“I wouldn’t miss this chance… It’s your final match after a long time… I’m sorry that I couldn’t attend the previous qualifying matches.”

“Don’t worry about that Ms Mint… You are here now at the finals… That’s all that matters… Thank you, Ms Mint… Thank you…”

Wanfahmai’s coach called her to get prepared for the match as she’s about to be briefed of the strategy.

“I’ll take my leave first…”

“Good luck, Ice!” as the two ladies cheered her on, before turning to each other,

“Mint, she is different uh?” commented Ms Daniya.

“Yes, she has… I am so happy for her…” commented Ms Mint before the four of them proceeded to their seats.

When Arthit took his seat, he could see Matt was also sitting in the first few rows together with the other students of the gym as there were other matches as well during this competition. Those who were not participating were part of the spectators. Arthit was bothered by his presence but since he had already expected it, he managed to keep his cool.

After a long wait, it was finally time for Wanfahmai’s match as she made her way to the ring. As she stood in the ring, waiting for the announcer to finish his words, she turned to look at the crowd as she locates the people that were there to support her. She then gave them a toothy smile with her mouthguard in place and a peace sign, causing them to laugh as well,

“That’s Ice through and through…” commented Ms Daniya.

“You seem to know her better than I do now uh, Tia?”

“Of course! She’s my precious little sister…”

The match finally commenced after the competitor greeted each other. Wanfahmai was taking it slow as she recalled what her coach has informed her earlier in regards to her opponent’s play. Since the sport is dominated by men, being a female muay thai fighter, the desire to prove one’s worth was high, because of the lack of respect that female muay thai fighters gets as compared to males. So, competition is even tougher since pride is on the line along with the gym’s reputation that the fighter hails from. Wanfahmai clearly understands this, that’s why she fights just enough to win over her opponent but not to the extent of a humiliating defeat even if she was more than capable to do so based on her skills. Furthermore, when she first started out, she simply wanted to learn it for self-defence purposes and also the monetary prize that she’ll get from participating in local competitions, even if it’s not a big sum of money. But to a student like she was, it was an easy money to earn.

Wanfahmai’s opponent tried to get to her but she was quick on her reflexes avoiding what she could as she studies her opponent’s play further. The look on her face was serious and intense as she received a few punches and kicks from her formidable opponent. However, she dares not cause any further slip up since a lot is on the line for her now. Not only her scholarship is on the line but the reputation of the people that has been by her side; Ms Mint, Ms Daniya, Mr Danurut and her coach. When she finally got the idea of how her opponent will react, she began her attacks. It was calculated and skillful. She could easily predict her opponent’s next move and she would counter it with her own attacks to disrupt the flow of her opponent’s fight. She unleashed her final move and her opponent was finally knocked out, automatically declaring her as the winner of the finals women’s match. The people who came to support her stood up and rejoice at her winning, when the referee held her hand up. But as soon as the referee was done, she kneeled beside her opponent to check if she was okay. Her coach then called her to the ring corner to get her wounds tended quickly with basic first aid before leaving the ring, to prepare her for the award ceremony.

When it was time for Wanfahmai to be awarded, she stepped up to the podium in her track suit, smiling and thanking the sponsors of the event who were rewarding her for the effort with a medal. Arthit who saw the condition of her face was feeling bittersweet at her win. It was not only him to feel that way, even the others including Matt felt the same way as he did, as they saw her smiling at her win despite the obvious pain she must have felt from the cuts and bruises on her face, while the realities of a professional muay thai fight finally loomed over them. When she stepped off the podium, she went towards her coach who was standing with the rest of the gym members, including Matt, to show her gratitude and respect. As she was walking away to head to the other people in attendance, Matt stopped her,

“Wanfahmai~”

“Yes?” As soon as Wanfahmai replied, Matt walked up to her to give her a hug as he uttered, “Congratulations on the win… You rightfully deserve the win.”

A stunned Wanfahmai could only reply, “Oh… Erm… Thank you very much… Really appreciate it…” before she wriggled her way out from Matt’s arm, as she said, “I got to go first…” walking away to where the others w