Oh, now she looked nice! Edgar was a member of the Students’ Union Welcoming Committee, greeting the new intake of students. In truth he wasn’t interested in the males, only the females, although he had to pretend otherwise. No, he persuaded himself that it was the best way to meet the new girls, because the ones in his year didn’t seem very interested in him.

But this little popsy in the red dress was a right cracker! For form’s sake he chatted to some boring young man who wanted to know about the Socialist Society, student climate change demos, and “Black Lives Matter”, and then he made his move, joining her at the table where the coffee and things to eat were.

“Hi, I’m Edgar.”

“Oh hello, I’m Molly.”

“So how’s it going?”

“Daunting! I’m very nervous!”

“Oh, there’s no need to be. Everyone soon gets used to it. What subjects are you studying?

“Drama, Music, and Dance.”

“That’s great! Have you joined any groups?”

“Obviously the drama one, and the music one, and I’m toying with joining the keep fit one. Do you belong to any?”

“Boxing,” Edgar said proudly, sticking his chest out without knowing he was doing it.

“Gosh, that sounds dangerous!”

“Well, you need to know what you’re doing.”

“I bet, but it must be a good way to keep fit,” Molly sighed. “Whenever I eat more callories than I should, they go straight to my big bum.” She patted it, as if to confirm what she said, then, “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing. I just thought that you couldn’t do better than to try a little sparring, at least.”

(Actually the reason she had caught him smiling was that he recalled the words of his uncle: “When a woman looks all miserable, and tells you she has a big arse, she’s not really being modest and self-critical. The scheming bitches know that’s what we like, and they’re teasing us. Devious creatures! Never trust them!”)

Molly interrupted his daydream, “Would I have to join the boxing group? It’s not really my thing, you know. I’m more into aerobics. On the other hand, it would be something new.”

“Exactly, and I’d be pleased to show you.”

“Gosh! But you wouldn’t hit my face, would you? It would spoil my make-up.”

“Never fear! We have head guards and all the protective gear.”

“That sounds exciting! But I still can’t see myself as a member of the boxing group.”

Edgar looked furtively round, then answered. “We can arrange a private, unofficial session if you like. I’m not without influence here, you know.”

Molly clapped her hands, said “Gosh!” for a third time, and declared the whole idea to be “thrilling”.

*****

She was very quiet. They were in the gym the next day, approaching the ring, and she seemed to have a bit of a sulk on, although Edgar couldn’t be certain because the head guard concealed so much. He asked if she was ok, and she said she didn’t think things were quite fair.

“Why not?”

“Well I feel naked in this leotard. It shows practically everything.”

It certainly did, and Edgar certainly noticed. It accentuated her shapely breasts, and clearly defined her nipples. Lower down, it was in effect no more than a thong.

“No, it’s not fair. You’ll have to take your shorts off.”

“Now wait a minute …”

“It’s either that or no sparring.”

“Ok, ok,” replied a rather exasperated Edgar. He did as she wanted, and they entered the ring, where his mood immediately changed to one of excited anticipation.

“All right, now in all combat,” he began enthusiastically, “psychology is essential. Try trash talking me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Try insulting me, and threatening to beat me up.”

“I see. I saw you ogling me while you were talking to that boring man yesterday, you slimy little pervert.”

“Eh?”

“Oh yes. While he was talking to you about inequality, you were feasting your eyes on my body. I knew you’d come over and try to impress me, you with your students’ union badge, and – she imitated him – ‘I’m not without influence here, you know.’”

“Ok, I think you’ve got the hang of that now –”

“So now I’m going to bring you back down to earth by beating the crap out of you.”

“That’s enough!”

“Come on then.”

They circled each other. Edgar threw a jab, and Molly blocked it.

“I thought you didn’t know about boxing,” he protested.

“I don’t, much, but neither do you. I’ve asked about you. You’re not even a member of the boxing group. I’ve had one or two fights in my time, and I can beat a creep like you.”

“Ok, if you want to be like that. No sparring, this is for real!” He swung a right hook, and Molly leant out of the way. Swearing, he struck with a right cross, and she blocked it again.

“Agghhh, fuck!” he yelled, as the “little popsy” of the previous day punched him hard in the groin.

“That’s a foul!” he protested.

“What are you going to do, report me? This is ‘unofficial’, remember?”

“But I’m defenceless there, with no protection. I even took my shorts off!”

“Silly thing to do.”

The words “Devious creatures, never trust them” came back to Edgar for the second time in 24 hours, as he exerted himself to recover and attack. But once again, she parried his right cross. He grunted as he tried with his left, but it met the same solid defence. Then Molly struck.

“That hurt, didn’t it?” she gloated. “Have you ever been punched in the gut by a woman before? You’re gasping! But the best thing is –” Smack – “punching a man in the face!”

Her right hook had him tottering. She built on her advantage, and brought a padded knee up into his chest at the same time as planting her left fist in his eye.

“Oh no! Sweet Molly’s given big, confident Edgar a black eye! How’s he going to explain that?”

Furious, Edgar swung a left hook, but Molly swerved out of its path, and got him a nasty one in the kidney. The numbing pain throbbed around his right side, and she noted his grimace and groan with satisfaction. His body went rigid, inflexible, so she helped herself to his left ear with a right cross. It sounded as if waves were crashing against rocks in a storm.

His right found her head guard, but had little effect, while she hammered her left into his stomach, following up with her right. He retreated a step; she pursued, and a left cross belted his right ear. With both ears now hit, his hearing would be seriously impaired and his balance affected, she knew, so all she had to do was to pick her targets and hammer them.

On the verge of panic, Edgar decided to play for time, and got her in a clinch.

“Urgh, you’re all sweaty and clammy!” she protested, as they both struggled, he to maintain the “hold” and she to extricate herself from it. But he saw an opportunity. He could get her in the ribs with his left from where he was without much effort, so he broke – and she struck first. It was his right ear again, hooked this time. Coming so soon after her last strike in the same place, it was a serious setback for Edgar, and Molly knew she had scored a significant blow.

Emboldened, she kicked him behind the legs; but he surprised her with a high left cross that caught her on the top of the head guard. Rattled, she told herself not to be over-confident, and took a step back to collect herself. Edgar gleefully took this for full retreat, and threw a heavy body punch – which was interrupted by Molly’s knee homing in on his chin. Even with her head guard on, she heard the jarring sound as his teeth banged together.

Never waste anything, thought Molly, as her knee progressed to the eye that she had already punched, while Edgar was lurching forward. Even so, he had more spirit than she had allowed for, catching her breasts with his right glove.

“That’ll teach you to hit me in the balls!” he gloated, lunging with the same fist.

“Really?” she responded, slamming her knee into his face, while his punch sailed harmlessly past her. It caught him cruelly on both the mouth and the nose. They stung and throbbed, robbing of thought beyond his own pain, as “little Popsy” pivoted round on one foot, and got him a nasty one on his right jaw with her elbow.

Close to desperation, Edgar hit out with his right; Molly warded it off with her glove, and caught him again with her knee, this time on his left jaw. His face had taken considerable punishment by now, and his eyes started to water with the pain, impairing his vision. Conversation had ceased between them, as Edgar searched for a way to counter attack, and Molly to reinforce her advantage.

She did that in the age-old women’s favoured method of defence (although in her case it was used in attack), a knee in the balls. This she followed up with a kick in the same place. While Edgar struggled against real tears, Molly brought her left leg back, as it were to load it, and then fired it. Bullseye! Bang on the chin! It had him in a corner - in fact partially out of it and through the ropes, with her boot still attached.

Working hard to stay both in the ring and in the fight, Edgar lashed out with his left fist. It got nowhere, and Molly’s right boot banged into the small of his back, then on his left calf. As he slowed down with the beating, she seemed to pick up speed; wheeling on her left foot, she turned away, and super kicked with her right. For a second time, Edgar’s head went beyond the ropes with her blow.

Not letting him escape from the corner, she brought her left knee up into his stomach. He gripped the ropes to stay up. She brought him round to face her with a punch on his left jaw, then kneed him in the groin, before an angled super kick had him bulging the ropes. She relented for a moment, while he sleep towards the centre of the ring, then she clouted his jaw with a left hook, finishing the job off with her elbow.

A knee in the chest, coupled with a punch on the nose, had Edgar back on the ropes. He swayed and stooped. “Will nothing bring him down?” thought Molly, ramming her right knee into his left ear to take advantage of his stoop. But that didn’t quite do it either, so she jumped, and punched him on the jaw. “At last!” she thought, as he dropped to his hands and knees, whereupon she helped herself to a punt kick.

Still in sleep walk mode Edgar got to his knees, groaning, but her right fist halted his progress, and he landed face-down. Punching the back of his head briefly for luck, Molly woman handled him onto his back, and attacked his groin again with her boot. Then she sat on his middle, punched his badly battered jaw, and felt him slump, unconscious.

****

Everyone pretended not to know what happened, and they all wished Edgar well after getting “mugged by two guys” on his way home. For his part, he moodily tore up every “Get Well” card that arrived. Meanwhile Molly was secretly feted. Male and female students were in awe of her, but for different reasons. Male ones tended to feel uncomfortable, disconcerted, in her presence; female ones admired her.

It wasn’t long before she had an invitation to join the feminist group. She turned the woman down who asked her, pleading pressure of work.

“What’s the matter, don’t you want equality for women?” her enquirer persisted.

“Not if it means we have to give up our superiority,” countered Molly.