Nancy's Challenge : Part 2
by M.C.
The Battle of the Sexes


" Tennis," Andy said confidently," we'll play tennis." Before he got seriously
into wrestling, Andy was quite a tennis player; he could still hold his own
against the best players in his school. Surely, he thought, he'd have little
difficulty beating this girl in tennis and thus put and end to all of this
nonsense.

Nancy simply smiled and said," good choice Andy; do you have a tennis racket I
can borrow ? "

Andy led her into his bedroom where he kept most of his sporting equipment. As
he entered the closet to take out his rackets, Nancy had a look around. It
was the typical room of a 17 year-old boy. There were posters of famous
athletes on the walls ( along with the obligatory Playboy pin- ups ), disks of
the latest pop and rap singers scattered around and several copies of 'Sports
Illustrated' lying on the floor. Her keen eyes also spotted something else
however; something which Andy would never admit to having in his possession.
Although it was hidden under his bed, a small part did stick out - enough for
the observant girl to discern what it was. It's doubtful that anybody else
would have recognized it; but Nancy did. A sly smile crept across her face
when she did so for she knew what it was - the latest edition of the Wonder
Woman comic book; Nancy had the same issue in her room." Hmmm, a closet
schmoo," she thought to herself. Nancy made a mental note of this but said
nothing...for the time being.

" Here are my rackets," Andy said as he emerged from the closet," choose one."

Nancy picked them up one at a time and felt the grip on each; she then pressed
her fingers hard against the strings. " I'll take this one," she said as she
held it up and swung it around a few times. " It's not my preferred racket but
it'll do. Got any balls ? " After a short pause, Nancy laughed and added," I
meant *tennis* balls."

Another pause followed ( Nancy swore she almost saw a smile on Andy's face )
before he grabbed a can of new balls and said gruffly," let's get this over
with; there are  tennis courts in the park." The park - the irony wasn't lost
on either of them as they both recalled the events that transpired there the
previous day.

" Very well then Andy, what are we waiting for ? "

He took his parent's car and drove over. As they were warming up Andy was
trying to intimidate the smaller girl by hitting the ball hard. She, on the
other hand, was testing him for weaknesses; his backhand, quickness, legwork.
Andy felt confident that his power game would overwhelm her; he didn't even
notice that she returned almost every ball he hit. " O.K. Andy, I'm warmed up.
We can begin whenever you're ready. You can start serving if you like."

Andy reared back and sent a hard serve across the net. " Slam ! " To his
surprise, the ball came back just as fast - for a winner. " Nice serve Andy,"
Nancy said with a smile. The same thing was repeated a few seconds later,"
love-thirty...love-forty...double fault, my game. One to love; my serve."
Nancy's serves, although lacking the power of Andy's, were accurate and -
unlike Andy - she never double faulted. Her ground strokes were accurate too.
She seemed to be able to get to almost every ball he hit and return it with a
good shot. Andy found he was really having to work for his points while Nancy
never seemed to miss. It was like hitting against a backboard. " Nice shot
Andy," she'd say when he did manage to get something by her. But as the match
wore on, Nancy began to hit the ball more and more to his backhand which she
noticed was his weakness. " 6 - 3, first set to me," she said.

By the middle of the second set Andy was beginning to tire. Not only was he
not in the best of shape - having slouched off during the summer - but Nancy's
ability to return almost every shot, plus her precision groundstrokes, kept
him running literally all over the court. Backhand here, lob there, forehand,
backhand, forehand, backhand...she was running him ragged. Trailing 5 - 2 in
the second set, Andy could hardly breathe while Nancy seemed fresh as a daisy.
" Smash ! " her overhead slam of his pathetic lob ended his misery. " That's
game, set, and match Andy," she said as she approached the exhausted boy. He
was bent over with his hands on his knees; panting hard. Nancy, barely
sweating, smiled at him. " That's one down, two to go...what's next ? "

As he stood there trying to catch his breath, Andy realized he was in no shape
to challenge her in a sport that required endurance. Being in much better
shape, she'd kill him - like she just did in tennis ( or the day before in
boxing ). He had to find something that would neutralize her advantage over
him. A sport that he was good at but didn't require physical exertion. He
thought about it for a couple of minutes and then said,"golf."

" Golf it is then," Nancy smiled.

" There's a public course about a mile from here and I happen to have a set of
clubs in the trunk of the car. You'll have to rent your own though."

" Oh that won't be necessary Andy; a five iron and a putter is all I need."

" A fine iron and a putter ?  You're going to play the entire eighteen holes
of golf with just a five iron and a putter ? "

Nancy laughed." Your hearing is excellent Andy. That's exactly what I said; a
five iron and a putter."

They drove to the golf course in near total silence. The only sound was
Nancy's soft humming of a song. Andy was deep in thought. Yesterday she beat
the crap out of him in a fair fight. Then, when he panicked and tried to run
away, she caught him - despite a head start - before he'd run fifty yards.
Today she demolished him in tennis and now was going to play an entire round
of golf against him using only a five iron and a putter. Who is this girl
anyway...Wonder Woman ? His hands began to shake uncontrollably when he
thought of this.

" Something wrong Andy ? " she asked.

"No, nothing's wrong. We've reached the golf course; let's go."

As fate would have it there was a cancellation and they were able to tee
off without even waiting; a rarity in the summer. " Go ahead Andy," Nancy said
indicating that he'd tee off first," let's see your mighty drive." Andy
smacked the ball a good 240 yards down the fairway; he hooked it slightly off
to the left though." Excellent shot - I'd work on that slice though,"
she laughed as she approached the tee. So that there would be no questions
left unanswered, Nancy opted to play off the men's tee. She sent her five iron
drive about 160 yards straight down the fairway and the match was on.

Despite Andy's assortment of clubs, verses Nancy's five iron, they both
reached the first green in three; and both had approximately ten foot putts.
Andy took two putts to sink his ball, Nancy took one as she pared the hole.
She flashed him her pretty smile again as they moved on to the second hole.
"Ohh...a birdie," she giggled after sinking a 15 foot putt; Andy had to settle
for a par. " That puts me two strokes ahead of you Mr. Duncan, doesn't it ? "
Andy's reply is unprintable here. " Temper, temper Andy," she laughed. And on
it went...

Nancy's drives were always in the center of the fairway. She never sliced the
ball or seemed to hit an errant shot. She was able to hit her five iron shots
in the 90 - 160 yard range every time; depending on the situation. She made
almost every green in regulation and her putting was simply magnificent. Even
Andy, despite the fact that he was getting his ass kicked, had to be
impressed. The very best he could do was equal her scores. After finishing the
front nine, she was leading by  four strokes and was even par. Her three
birdies on the back nine crushed whatever hopes he had of winning. Her only
mistake was three putting on the 18th hole for a bogy ( which may have been
intentional ). Nancy finished with a 70, two under par; Andy had to settle for
a 78...his best round in months. " Well big guy...that's two down and one to
go; what's next on your list ? " Noticing the look of frustration on his face
she smiled and softly said," tell you what Andy, let's both have a coke up at
the clubhouse - my treat - while you consider you options."

As they sat down and ordered their drinks Nancy seemed to recognize the large,
powerfully built  man sitting at the table next to them. " Well, hello there
Ricky; how'ya doin ? "

Andy turned around to see who she was addressing. It was Rick Meyers
who, without saying a word, immediately got up and left the clubhouse. " What
was that all about Nancy ? Andy asked surprised," do you know him ? " Rick was
something of a hero for Andy when he was younger; as he was to most of the
boys Andy's age. Several years older, Rick was the star halfback on the high
school  football team - and lead them to the city title. He was also the city
martial arts champion for five years in a row. Now he was off playing football
at a university. All the jocks looked up to Rick and Andy was no exception.
They wanted to emulate his rough, tough, macho style. Indeed, Rick Meyers was
something of a role model for them all.

Nancy grinned as she sipped her coke. " Well, I can't actually say I *know*
him. After all, we only met once. But it was a rather intimate ( giggles )
meeting."

" Where was that ? "

" Last month in the finals of the city martial arts tournament...where I
relieved him of his title."

" You ?...you beat Rick Meyers, the five time martial arts champion ? "

" I'm afraid so Andy," she replied as she calmly continued to sip her coke.

" But...but...he's tough, he's...."

Nancy began to laugh now. " Oh, I suppose he was tough...for about five
minutes. Actually, he was lucky to have won the championship five times."

" Why do you say that ? " Andy asked. He was flabbergasted now. He couldn't
believe that this little 16 year-old girl sitting across the table from him
could beat up the mighty Rick Meyers.

" I tried to enter the tournament when I was fourteen but the officials
wouldn't let me," Nancy said with a frown," they said I had to be at least
sixteen in order to compete." She paused as she took the last sip of her coke.
" Well Andy, have you given any thought as to our final event ? "

 Andy was stunned. In the course of just one day this pretty five foot-five
inch, 130 pound girl had beaten him up, outran him, crushed him in both tennis
and golf - using only a five iron and a putter. Now he finds out that even his
boyhood hero - Rick Meyers - couldn't stand up against her. Again his thoughts
wandered...is this Wonder Woman; his fantasy female ? If she beats him in
their final competition, he'll have to become her boyfriend. Fantasy is one
thing but this is reality. Could he really allow himself to be dominated by
this smaller girl ?  Andy had only one more ace to play now. It was what he
was the very best in; the thing he could use his superior size and strength in
to his utmost advantage over the smaller girl. " Wrestling," he said," I
challenge you to a submission wrestling match; no holds barred."

" Why what a lovely choice Andy, wrestling sounds like fun. But let's do it in
a private place; O.K.? "

" Where did you have in mind ? "

Again the sly smile appeared across Nancy's pretty face." Since your parents
are away on vacation, I suggest we conduct our final competition in your home.
That way we won't be disturbed."

Andy thought it over for a minute." Very well then," Andy agreed," my home it
is...let's go."

End of Part 2