11.02: Testing Time - JP

Dr MacTaggart's idea of a little pinch was closer to Danny's idea of complete agony, but the small piece of muscle tissue that had been removed from his thigh would give a wealth of information on his physical potential when analysed.
After the biopsy, Faisal and Danny had full body X-rays to determine any skeletal defects, then they were wired up with heart monitors, fitted with breathing
masks and given a treadmill workout to test their heart and lung capacities.
The speed at which you recover a from a bout of exercise is a key sign of your fitness levels, so Danny and Faisal still had the heart monitors attached as Dr
MacTaggart disappeared to her office and gave them a chance to rest.
Danny wasn't as fit as he had been before becoming homeless but he was still a natural athlete and recovered well. Faisal on the other hand was gasping and kept rubbing the plaster stuck to his thigh.
“If you scratch you'll make it worse,” Danny told him.
“What do you know?” Faisal said.
“I've had muscle biopsies when I was at a sporting academy,” Danny explained. “If you scratch, it will start bleeding again.”
Sharon the nurse dropped by with cups of water, which they both downed quickly. Danny threw his empty cup at the recycling bin, but it bounced off the rim. Faisal approached to dispose of his own cup as Danny bent over to pick his up, but made a retching sound and shot a torrent of puke down the back of Danny's shirt and trousers.
“Aww, for fu...,” Danny shouted angrily, as the small boy staggered off to the other side of the room and broke into a coughing fit.
Danny didn't know whether to clean up or help Faisal first.
“Nurse,” Danny shouted, as he spotted a dispenser filled with paper towels.
Sharon comforted Faisal and gave him water to wash his mouth out as Danny did the best job he could cleaning off the back of his T-shirt and trousers.
“Is there anywhere I can get a clean set of clothing?” Danny asked. “Can I run back to the main building, I have stuff in my room.”
“I'm sorry, but I can't authorise you to leave during your testing,” Sharon said. “Now, please sit still, the heart monitors are supposed to be measuring your
recovery time.”
Danny felt sorry for Faisal, but at the same time he was angry with him because there were a million places where he could have thrown up without hitting him.
Now that medical procedures were over, Headteacher Valerie Cooper-Xavier would conduct the rest of the tests.
“I've had my nephew Jack throw up on me when he was a baby,” Val told Danny when she arrived. "We need to get to the Greenhouse and you’re not taking a diversion upstairs just because you've got a little wet patch on your trousers.”
Danny felt miserable as he followed Val through light drizzle towards the dojo. Faisal was still fighting for breath and twice Val turned back and yelled at
him to keep up.
The Head had seemed much nicer when he had first met Val, maybe she was having a bad day.
The Greenhouse was a large multi use building and a martial arts dojo was one of the areas that had been set up for the use of students. It was in traditional Japanese style.
After leaving shoes and socks at the edge, Danny, Faisal and Val crossed springy blue matting, to a square of red matting in the centre and wooden benches around the edge. Two sets of safety gear had been left in the middle of the floor: lightly padded martial arts gloves, gum shields, head protectors and protective cups.
“The rules are simple,” Val said. “Use any technique to floor your opponent, except kicks to the genitals, jaw wrenching or eye gouging. It's five rounds, first to get three submissions wins.”
Danny looked awkwardly at Val, as Faisal tried to figure out how to properly tighten the Velcro straps on his padded gloves.
“I don't know if you know but I've done a lot of boxing and Faisal is way below my weight class.”
“Of course I read your file,” Val snapped. “But who says getting into the training program is easy? If Faisal is small and skinny in here, he won't suddenly get big and strong on an op, will he?”
Danny wondered about Val acting so differently to how she'd been previously. Jamie had refused to give any details on the entry tests, but he had hinted that Danny should expect the unexpected. As Danny pulled on his headgear he wondered if Val's mood was a deliberate way to make him feel uneasy.
“Line up,” the Head said sharply.
But Faisal hadn't mastered his combat gloves and Val tutted impatiently as she fixed the Velcro straps for him.
“Touch gloves and fight.”
Faisal moved aggressively, swinging wild fists and making a few soft contacts with Danny's shoulders. But he had no idea what he was doing and Danny could have planted a brutal fist in his face any time he liked. As Danny backed up Faisal almost did for himself, coming off balance with his own swinging fist. Danny saw the opportunity to floor him without serious damage and swept his feet away. Faisal hit the mat hard and Danny straddled his back.
“Give up,” Danny said, as he sat on Faisal.
It's tough to speak with gum shields in, but whatever Faisal said wasn't polite and he kept wriggling even though his situation was hopeless. Danny didn't want to hurt Faisal, but he needed to do something extra to make him submit, so he put
his hand on the small boy’s shoulder and dug his thumb into his armpit.
“Oww,” Faisal yelled. “I submit.”
Faisal steamed as he stood up and shouted like a spoiled brat, “That wasn't fair. I tripped.”
Danny couldn't help but laugh. “I thought you didn't believe in luck.”
“Get your gum shields back in,” Val said firmly. “Line up, touch gloves.”
Faisal had nothing in his tactical arsenal beyond the wild swinging thing. But he didn't trip this time, so Danny moved in and gave him a fairly gentle punch in
the face, hoping it would be enough to knock him back without hurting his nose. To Danny's surprise, Faisal's legs went wobbly for about half a second, but as he backed off Faisal charged again.
Danny shoved him backwards, but not before Faisal had caught him with a heel in the stomach.
Unfortunately for Faisal, it was only enough pain to make Danny angry. He ducked into a proper boxing stance for the first time and threw three quick punches. The first to the head knocked Faisal backwards, the second to the gut doubled him over and the third pounded the side of his ribcage and left him sprawling
on the mat.
Faisal had landed face down, but he soon rolled on to his back and made a high-pitched wailing noise.
“I'm sorry,” Danny said, as he rushed over. “There's nothing to be ashamed of. I've always been strong and I won medals for boxing when… I was in high school.”
Faisal had this weird expression and Danny backed off because he thought the boy might puke again. He turned to face Val.
“What's the point of this?” Danny asked. “All it proves is that an experienced teenage boxer can batter a skinny ten-year-old. That's hardly a big surprise.”
Val eyeballed Danny. “Maybe you should remember who the hell you're talking to and follow the rules.”
Danny bristled. He had woken up that morning thinking he had found a place where he wanted to be, but now he was facing a strict teacher laying down stupid
rules and telling him to remember his place. Danny trembled as thoughts raced through his head. “I'm not hurting Faisal again,” he said, as he ripped off a glove and threw it down. “I submit three times, so Faisal wins three to two. Just hope I do better on the next test.”
Val took a long slow breath before nodding. “Fine, Faisal wins.”
Danny had expected Faisal to show gratitude, but he instantly leapt up off the floor and started jumping around shouting, “I win, I win. In your face!”
“Oh please. You didn't even know how to put the damned gloves on.”