Post by owensalvo on Dec 16, 2016 1:00:30 GMT -5
“I did it. I actually did it! There weren’t a lot of believers… In fact, maybe only one. Myself. But I went out there and conquered. It just goes to show, you put in the hard work, you keep yourself going, you will get rewarded.”
Owen Salvo leans back in the middle of his couch, arms spread out along the back of it. He casually picks his feet up and sets them on the shiny black coffee table in front of him. As he observes the room, there is a lot to love about life right now. A brand new TV, complete with voice activated remote. The softest rug his toes have ever felt. An expensive bottle of wine that had just been delivered. Yeah, for now, Owen is a king. He enjoys his expensive wine and SportsCenter on the couch.
“All I have to do now is keep this ball rolling. The momentum is on my side. I mean, technically I’m undefeated in my career. How many other competitors in this thing can say that? Very few, I’d bet. Yeah, I’m a special talent. I always knew it! A natural athlete. A great competitor… Going to end this year on a high note before taking that next step next year.”
With the biggest smile to ever appear on his face, Owen leans his head back and takes a deep breath, hoping to ground himself. Like a kid on Christmas, like excitement was taking over, and butterflies were swirling. One more deep breath escapes his lips.
“I can’t look too far ahead. I’ve got my hands full this week, I know that. Anastasia has a lot of experience. She’s tough. She’ll be prepared… Even so, it’s hard not to be optimistic. I did it! I actually did it!”
“Did what, exactly?”
Owen’s eyes close and he subtly shakes his head as the door to his apartment is flung open. Ken clomps on in, forcefully closing the door behind him.
“Obviously didn’t get over that creepy habit of talking to yourself. Well, now that we’ve got you in that win column, we’ll set our sights on that obstacle, whaddya say?”
“Excuse me?”
Owen’s head whips around to face Ken. Ken shrugs as he approaches his student. He falls into a spot on the end of the couch, nearly clipping Owen on the way down. Owen quickly slides to the other end of the couch, now scowling at his much larger teacher.
“What? Sorry. Maybe ‘creepy’ is too strong of a word? It’s off-putting at the very least, kid. It’s just-”
“First of all, it’s completely normal! Thousands… Millions! Millions of people talk to themselves.”
“It’s a sad world.”
“And that’s not even the worst thing you’ve said since you stormed in here. What do you mean ‘we’ got me in the win column? I’m the one that put that work in. I took the punishment. I got the pin. You’re one of those coaches that takes the credit for winning but passes the blame on losses huh?”
Ken chuckles.
“You must have got hit harder than I thought. Don’t forget who provided you the opportunity to score that pin fall. Without me, I’m not so sure you were getting out of there in one piece, little buddy. Nice try though. You really gave it your best shot.”
“Wait a second… Aren’t you the one that taught me that it doesn’t matter how you win, as long as you win? What’s the deal?”
“It’s true! And when you’re talking to anybody else, remember that. Let ‘em know what’s up. But this is me you’re talking to. Don’t forget where you came from, kid. I got you here, remember that.”
Owen rolls his eyes. He isn’t ready to give this one up. For years, Ken has talked down to him all while stealing any available credit along the way. Well not this time. With fire in his eyes, Owen turns to face the very large man across from him. Ken rests his chin on his fist, unintimidated but what sits next to him.
“Listen, Ken. I put it all on the line out there. You told me I might as well quit if I lost that match. I didn’t back down. I dished it just as much as I took it, man! You don’t know what would have happened without you there. Nobody does. But I sure as hell wish we would have found out. I am sick and tired of you-”
“Is this the speech? It’s the speech! Hang on, hang on.”
Just as Owen is about to let Ken know how he really feels, he is cut off. He was just about to send Ken packing. Ken frantically searches for his phone in his pockets. He finally retrieves it and begins scrolling through it.
“What? What speech?”
“Hang on! Let me get your mom on the phone.”
“What speech?!”
“The whole ‘I don’t need your help!’ speech. You gave it once back in high school. I think the part where you tell me to leave is coming up. That’s the best part.”
Ken begins dialing the phone. Without thinking, Owen swats the phone out of Ken’s hand, sending it crashing to the floor. Ken stares down at the phone for a few seconds, dead silent. Owen swallows hard before standing up. For the first time, he stood above the monster. Ken had to look up to him. Owen balled his hands up into fists and face Ken, who finally takes his eyes off the fallen phone and looks up with a blank stare on his face.
“You think you’re so smart? You think you know what I’m going to say?! I mean, pretty lucky guess there. But that wasn’t the whole thing! Let me tell you…”
Owen scrambles inside his head for a new point to make. Something that could hit Ken hard, cut him deep. Something that would be able to really get the point across. As the awkward silence goes longer and longer, it’s Ken’s turn to roll his eyes. He stands up and once again towers over the much smaller Owen Salvo. Owen quickly glances at Ken before looking away and desperately trying to strike gold.
“You…”
“Let me save you some trouble there, bud.”
Ken pulls a set of keys from his pocket and holds them in front of Owen’s face.
“Notice how I just walked right in? I literally have the keys to the castle, Owen. It’s more than just your career. It’s your life. Your mother and I, we run it. You want to keep living in this place you have no business being in? Want your fancy TV and high-end couches? You listen to us. Understand? Want to continue attempting to be a wrestler? You’ll keep following MY lead, kid. I may not have brought you into THE world, but I brought you into THIS world. Save your speeches for yourself in the mirror.”
Ken picks his phone up off the floor and begins making his way to the door. Owen refuses to shift his attention back that direction. He stares off out the window, waiting to hear the door open and close over his shoulder. Ken wipes the screen on his phone clean as we opened the door to the apartment. He looks back as he stands in the doorway and smirks.
“TV - Off.”
The TV shuts itself off at Ken’s command. Owen had tried for weeks to get that function working. Betrayed by his own technology! Ken shuts the door behind him and Owen is left again to his wine and celebrating.
“Well… I…”
He pauses. Owen begins to question whether or not he should be talking out loud. He’s dealt with being self-conscious his whole life, so this is nothing new. Ultimately, he shrugs it off.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow, finding out you’re not in the great position you thought you were. One minute, you’re on top of the world, the next… Well, you’re not. Probably a feeling we’ve all experienced at one time or another. Whether we’re overconfident, misinformed, or just plain clueless. In my case, it feels like a mix of all three.
What about you, Anastasia?
A girl who doesn’t seem to know what she wants must have dealt with some uncertainty in her time. One thing is certain though, you’ve got a lot of confidence. You think you’re top dog in these parts. The one true star. Your value knows no bounds.
We’ll see who the real MVP is, though.
Pride can only take you so far, Ana. Before it starts to get you into trouble. It seems noble at first. Fighting for what you believe in, even if it’s just yourself. Then you start to make mistakes. You get cocky. You feel unstoppable. You’re flying high right now, I get that. I’ve just got the one win! You’re on a streak right now. But you’ve got your biggest challenge yet standing in front of you. You’ve been knocking down people with nothing to lose.
It’s funny that the ‘nothing to lose’ position is always branded as reckless and fearless. To me, it seems comfortable. There’s nothing to lose for a reason. A person is content with their position at that point. They don’t care. It actually reminds me of you a little bit, Anastasia. Beneath that exterior of a tough girl looking to ‘carry the company’ is a coward without a care in the world. Forever content floating around from place to place, picking the same fights, playing the same role. Fighting for everything you have to lose. Nothing. Now tell me, how fearless is that? Careless, maybe.
You see, I’ve got everything to lose. From my family to my career. I’ve got to keep winning, and I intend to. You want fearless, look no further. I will once again pull out all the stops.
Was I lucky last time I was in the ring? Maybe. I guess we’ll never know. We can only see what happens next. And hey, it doesn't matter how you win, right? What I do know is I went toe to toe with one of the toughest men in the entire company. Shot for shot. And, since we were up on your back being carried, you must have felt it. So when I hit you with the Jolt, the whole company will feel it. You must know what’s coming… What I am capable of.
I trust you’re ready for this. As ready as somebody going through the motions could be. The biggest fight of your Alpha Wrestling Empire career. Against the unknown kid with everything on the line. As you carry on in the coming weeks, pretending you’ve lost nothing at all, I’ll continue on putting it all on the line every week. Leapfrogging the best and brightest as I go, taking more and more from your back and placing it on my shoulders.
I think we both know it’s too heavy for you.”
Owen Salvo leans back in the middle of his couch, arms spread out along the back of it. He casually picks his feet up and sets them on the shiny black coffee table in front of him. As he observes the room, there is a lot to love about life right now. A brand new TV, complete with voice activated remote. The softest rug his toes have ever felt. An expensive bottle of wine that had just been delivered. Yeah, for now, Owen is a king. He enjoys his expensive wine and SportsCenter on the couch.
“All I have to do now is keep this ball rolling. The momentum is on my side. I mean, technically I’m undefeated in my career. How many other competitors in this thing can say that? Very few, I’d bet. Yeah, I’m a special talent. I always knew it! A natural athlete. A great competitor… Going to end this year on a high note before taking that next step next year.”
With the biggest smile to ever appear on his face, Owen leans his head back and takes a deep breath, hoping to ground himself. Like a kid on Christmas, like excitement was taking over, and butterflies were swirling. One more deep breath escapes his lips.
“I can’t look too far ahead. I’ve got my hands full this week, I know that. Anastasia has a lot of experience. She’s tough. She’ll be prepared… Even so, it’s hard not to be optimistic. I did it! I actually did it!”
“Did what, exactly?”
Owen’s eyes close and he subtly shakes his head as the door to his apartment is flung open. Ken clomps on in, forcefully closing the door behind him.
“Obviously didn’t get over that creepy habit of talking to yourself. Well, now that we’ve got you in that win column, we’ll set our sights on that obstacle, whaddya say?”
“Excuse me?”
Owen’s head whips around to face Ken. Ken shrugs as he approaches his student. He falls into a spot on the end of the couch, nearly clipping Owen on the way down. Owen quickly slides to the other end of the couch, now scowling at his much larger teacher.
“What? Sorry. Maybe ‘creepy’ is too strong of a word? It’s off-putting at the very least, kid. It’s just-”
“First of all, it’s completely normal! Thousands… Millions! Millions of people talk to themselves.”
“It’s a sad world.”
“And that’s not even the worst thing you’ve said since you stormed in here. What do you mean ‘we’ got me in the win column? I’m the one that put that work in. I took the punishment. I got the pin. You’re one of those coaches that takes the credit for winning but passes the blame on losses huh?”
Ken chuckles.
“You must have got hit harder than I thought. Don’t forget who provided you the opportunity to score that pin fall. Without me, I’m not so sure you were getting out of there in one piece, little buddy. Nice try though. You really gave it your best shot.”
“Wait a second… Aren’t you the one that taught me that it doesn’t matter how you win, as long as you win? What’s the deal?”
“It’s true! And when you’re talking to anybody else, remember that. Let ‘em know what’s up. But this is me you’re talking to. Don’t forget where you came from, kid. I got you here, remember that.”
Owen rolls his eyes. He isn’t ready to give this one up. For years, Ken has talked down to him all while stealing any available credit along the way. Well not this time. With fire in his eyes, Owen turns to face the very large man across from him. Ken rests his chin on his fist, unintimidated but what sits next to him.
“Listen, Ken. I put it all on the line out there. You told me I might as well quit if I lost that match. I didn’t back down. I dished it just as much as I took it, man! You don’t know what would have happened without you there. Nobody does. But I sure as hell wish we would have found out. I am sick and tired of you-”
“Is this the speech? It’s the speech! Hang on, hang on.”
Just as Owen is about to let Ken know how he really feels, he is cut off. He was just about to send Ken packing. Ken frantically searches for his phone in his pockets. He finally retrieves it and begins scrolling through it.
“What? What speech?”
“Hang on! Let me get your mom on the phone.”
“What speech?!”
“The whole ‘I don’t need your help!’ speech. You gave it once back in high school. I think the part where you tell me to leave is coming up. That’s the best part.”
Ken begins dialing the phone. Without thinking, Owen swats the phone out of Ken’s hand, sending it crashing to the floor. Ken stares down at the phone for a few seconds, dead silent. Owen swallows hard before standing up. For the first time, he stood above the monster. Ken had to look up to him. Owen balled his hands up into fists and face Ken, who finally takes his eyes off the fallen phone and looks up with a blank stare on his face.
“You think you’re so smart? You think you know what I’m going to say?! I mean, pretty lucky guess there. But that wasn’t the whole thing! Let me tell you…”
Owen scrambles inside his head for a new point to make. Something that could hit Ken hard, cut him deep. Something that would be able to really get the point across. As the awkward silence goes longer and longer, it’s Ken’s turn to roll his eyes. He stands up and once again towers over the much smaller Owen Salvo. Owen quickly glances at Ken before looking away and desperately trying to strike gold.
“You…”
“Let me save you some trouble there, bud.”
Ken pulls a set of keys from his pocket and holds them in front of Owen’s face.
“Notice how I just walked right in? I literally have the keys to the castle, Owen. It’s more than just your career. It’s your life. Your mother and I, we run it. You want to keep living in this place you have no business being in? Want your fancy TV and high-end couches? You listen to us. Understand? Want to continue attempting to be a wrestler? You’ll keep following MY lead, kid. I may not have brought you into THE world, but I brought you into THIS world. Save your speeches for yourself in the mirror.”
Ken picks his phone up off the floor and begins making his way to the door. Owen refuses to shift his attention back that direction. He stares off out the window, waiting to hear the door open and close over his shoulder. Ken wipes the screen on his phone clean as we opened the door to the apartment. He looks back as he stands in the doorway and smirks.
“TV - Off.”
The TV shuts itself off at Ken’s command. Owen had tried for weeks to get that function working. Betrayed by his own technology! Ken shuts the door behind him and Owen is left again to his wine and celebrating.
“Well… I…”
He pauses. Owen begins to question whether or not he should be talking out loud. He’s dealt with being self-conscious his whole life, so this is nothing new. Ultimately, he shrugs it off.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow, finding out you’re not in the great position you thought you were. One minute, you’re on top of the world, the next… Well, you’re not. Probably a feeling we’ve all experienced at one time or another. Whether we’re overconfident, misinformed, or just plain clueless. In my case, it feels like a mix of all three.
What about you, Anastasia?
A girl who doesn’t seem to know what she wants must have dealt with some uncertainty in her time. One thing is certain though, you’ve got a lot of confidence. You think you’re top dog in these parts. The one true star. Your value knows no bounds.
We’ll see who the real MVP is, though.
Pride can only take you so far, Ana. Before it starts to get you into trouble. It seems noble at first. Fighting for what you believe in, even if it’s just yourself. Then you start to make mistakes. You get cocky. You feel unstoppable. You’re flying high right now, I get that. I’ve just got the one win! You’re on a streak right now. But you’ve got your biggest challenge yet standing in front of you. You’ve been knocking down people with nothing to lose.
It’s funny that the ‘nothing to lose’ position is always branded as reckless and fearless. To me, it seems comfortable. There’s nothing to lose for a reason. A person is content with their position at that point. They don’t care. It actually reminds me of you a little bit, Anastasia. Beneath that exterior of a tough girl looking to ‘carry the company’ is a coward without a care in the world. Forever content floating around from place to place, picking the same fights, playing the same role. Fighting for everything you have to lose. Nothing. Now tell me, how fearless is that? Careless, maybe.
You see, I’ve got everything to lose. From my family to my career. I’ve got to keep winning, and I intend to. You want fearless, look no further. I will once again pull out all the stops.
Was I lucky last time I was in the ring? Maybe. I guess we’ll never know. We can only see what happens next. And hey, it doesn't matter how you win, right? What I do know is I went toe to toe with one of the toughest men in the entire company. Shot for shot. And, since we were up on your back being carried, you must have felt it. So when I hit you with the Jolt, the whole company will feel it. You must know what’s coming… What I am capable of.
I trust you’re ready for this. As ready as somebody going through the motions could be. The biggest fight of your Alpha Wrestling Empire career. Against the unknown kid with everything on the line. As you carry on in the coming weeks, pretending you’ve lost nothing at all, I’ll continue on putting it all on the line every week. Leapfrogging the best and brightest as I go, taking more and more from your back and placing it on my shoulders.
I think we both know it’s too heavy for you.”