I trudged up the stairs to the boxing gym, head hurting from the long subway and bus commute. Wahset ran into me in the stairwell.

“Scientist, where’ve you been?” he asked. I mumbled something generic in response.

Then, as I scrawled my name on the sign-in sheet, Larry said, “Where have you been? Slacking off?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

Coach Dave came over when he saw me. “Have you been sick?” he asked.

“Nah, just busy with school and stuff,” I muttered.

Continue reading at Boxing, Grad School, Life…