Wednesday September 22nd, 2010. Early Evening.
Rodriguez House / Car Ride
The evening appeared as normal as any other day. The sun was still in the sky, barely however. It was sinking ever so slowly towards the farthest mountains, which caused an array of lights to form. There was a mixture of orange, blue and pink; all of them were wrapping around each other so majestically. The road that connected to all the upper class houses were semi-full. Down to the left, there was a small street hockey game going on with the jocks who deemed themselves gifts from God. They never missed a chance to rub that in Randy's face.
When Randy was growing up, his father would take him aside, after he was bullied, forcing his son to sit on his lap. "Son, one day, when you're big and strong like your old man here, you'll be able to stand up against those bullies. They're just jealous of what our family has and what theirs' doesn't. I, along with your mother's consent, figure it's time to show you the ropes of this family. Starting tomorrow, you will begin training for the ring, and that starts with a proper diet." "What's a diet Dad?" Randy replied, looking into his father's big eyes.
The man smiled at him, swiping the hair from his face. They were sitting in the living room, in an old red chair. Across from them, a fire was roaring which heated up most of the house. Randy couldn't help but notice that he wasn't in the same area, or even the same time period. He also noticed that his body was a lot smaller now, like he was young again. When he took a look at how small he was compared to his dad, it was confirmed. He was taking a ride back into memory lane. Not too many people knew he had these problems, not even Kolleen. The only ones who really did were his mom, dad and grandparents. It was a condition that he developed when he was a very small child, where something would trigger a flashback. In this memory, Randy was about, eight years old and turning nine soon.
The date was, March 6th, 1999. The only reason that he knew all that was due to his father's watch. It was an old piece of metal that had been passed down to him by his father, Patrick. "Randy, look me in the eye," Robert said. He never ordered his son to do anything. Whatever he said to him, no matter how stern it sounded, he did it with love. Randy did as he was asked. That day, Robert had his beard tied up, since he had a wrestling match that night. Randy was wearing white pajamas, whilst his dad donned a full length, red, white and blue outfit. His gimmick was; Robert 'The Patriot' Rodriguez. He stood for all that was right in the U.S and did it with pride. That was why, he had to give Randy the news he was about to hear.
"Randy, your old man won't be around here for very much longer…" It was at this point, that his mother walked into the room. In her hands was a silver tray, with three mugs of hot chocolate, and a plate of cookies. She looked so beautiful, with a pure white smile and eyes that matched it. That day, Diana was wearing a green t-shirt, with brown slacks and matching slippers. "Come, sit my darlin'," Robert said, giving her a quick nod. She rested her hand on his shoulder, which he grabbed, as she patted Randy's head and sat beside the tray. They had a couch to the left at the moment, which matched his father's chair.
A coffee table sat in front of it, which was made of pure maple wood and painted maroon. "Turn your attention back to me son," Robert said sternly. Randy jerked his head back so fast that his neck cracked. "Ow…" He muttered, rubbing the area that hurt. "The Rodriguez family is known for their Mexican heritage. In Mexico, there is a famous form of wrestling known as the, Lucha Libre style. That is when the person flies all over the ring, not literally. That person tends to climb up to really high places, and jumps off so he can perform daring stunts onto his opponent." His father always wanted Randy to follow in his family's footsteps, and become the next Rodriguez wrestler.
"Can I do something like that Dad?" Robert stopped for a few seconds, clearly thinking hard about his answer. Then a bright smile formed on his face, showing off a chipped front tooth. "You can do whatever you want to do Randy. A word for the wise though..." His eyes were full of concern now. "What's that Dad?" "Well… The family has gotten a lot, bigger, if you know what I mean." Randy shook his head, still looking innocently back. Robert laughed and moved his son off of his lap and onto his feet. Then he stood up, bending so his head wouldn't hit the ceiling. "Don't you see Randy? It's in our blood to be these giant people when we grow up. It happened to your grandfather, it happened to me. It's going to happen to you, just give your body some time."
"Dad, I'm almost nine and I haven't sprouted a single inch since I was seven!" He cocked his head back so he could see his dad's face. Robert, again, laughed and reached down to pat his son's head, who giggled and jumped over to try and trip the mammoth "Aw, come on, is that all you got?" he yelled, reaching down to tickle him. "It's gonna take more than a leg hold to knock down your old man!" Randy giggled even more, whilst his father kept tickling him. He lightly held onto Randy's arms and pinned him to the floor. "OH, HE'S DOWN FOR THE COUNT. BUT CAN ROBERT GET HIS SON TO STAY DOWN FOR THE COUNT OF THREE?!" Robert yelled, in an exciting voice.
"One, two…" Randy lifted his left shoulder slightly. "I GUESS NOT! YOUNG RANDY HAS GOT SOME FIGHT LEFT IN HIM!" His son ducked under his legs, and again, grabbed onto them. This time, he was holding onto his dad's right calf. Robert pretended that Randy was pulling him down, and fell to one knee, before collapsing to his stomach. "OH, HE'S GOT HIM IN THE BOSTON CRAB! HOW WILL ROBERT EVER BREAK FREE OF THIS?!" "Make the call honey!" Robert said, laughing at Diana. He then started hitting his hand on the ground, signaling he wanted to tap out. Diana laughed and waved her hand to an invisible bell ringer then hit a spoon on one of the glass cups.
"We have a winner! Robert Rodriguez has tapped out to the patented Rodriguez Half Boston Crab!" Robert said excitedly. Randy let go and ran over, sitting next to his dad's head, as he got to a squatting position. "You did me proud Randy! I have to go now son, it's my last match in the league then I'm off to go on a huge trip in a couple weeks. Don't worry though, your mother will continue the diet and I'll try to show you the ropes as much as I can before I'm gone."
He patted the little boy's head again, before standing up fully, though too fast this time and slammed the back of his head into the ceiling. Randy immediately started laughing at him, which Robert joined in on. "He's gonna be just like his old man, you watch honey." She smiled back at him, as they held hands and kissed for a little while. He then turned his attention back to the toddler on the floor. "And up to the day that I leave, you'll know more than the basics, I promise!"
That was when the room started to flash. It jerked around like an old fashioned home movie. Before Randy could get another look, the scene disappeared. He heard his name being called, by the most wonderful voice he had ever heard. It was Kolleen's. "Randy, are you okay? Randy…?" Suddenly, he came back to reality. "Huh… What?" he stuttered, shaking his head. His eyes were blurring, making everything appear clouded so he closed them again. The girl in front of him was holding his arms and guiding him somewhere.
"You're so kind, what is your name?" "Open your eyes Randy!" the girl said, playfully. When he did as he was instructed, his eyes finally started to readjust, as the girl in front of him came into focus. Her golden hair, bright eyes and big smile was all he needed to verify her. "KOLLEEN!" He yelled, pulling her into a hug. Her arms were curled up onto his chest, as he kept hugging her. "Yes Randy, it's me!" She replied, laughing in his ear. "What's up Kol?" He set her down softly. She stretched her arms behind her back, and just smiled at him; brushing her hair behind her ears.
She had a tight, white shirt on with a pink light blue hoodie, that was partially zipped up. She also had a pair of blue jean shorts on, which showed off her legs magnificently. Along with this was a pair of matching, sneakers and ankle socks. "Dressing comfortably today, are we?' Randy asked. She stuffed her hands into the hoodie pockets, and kept smiling. "You're blushing." "I am not!" Randy stood up, looking Kolleen straight in the eye. "Look at me with a straight face and say that you are not blushing." She stared him in the eye, but started breaking off into fits of giggles. "That's what I thought." The sun had already began to set, cascading the sky with a dark indigo.
"So, what's so urgent?" As if a switch was flipped, Kolleen began to frown a bit. "What's the matter?" The way she gave that look, irked him to the very pit of his soul. She shook her head, and turned towards the road. Randy stared at her back for a moment or two, before going around her. He noticed her head drooping and her fingers, holding tightly onto the railing. He rested his hands on the railing as well, placing one of his over hers, seeing her gaze over at the gesture. She tried to hide it, by staring at the ground, but Randy knew. He knew she was into him, and he was into her. "There's something I have to say to you," Kolleen started. He leaned his head in towards her, smelling the apple scent blowing off of her hair.
"Randy, this is serious!" She shook his hand away and looked him dead in the eye. He never saw her act so serious before, so he backed off of the flirting. "What's the matter, Kol?" The faint glisten of a tear in her eyes made his heart sink. "W-What is it?" She couldn't bring herself to answer just then, sniffing and turning her attention towards the road, where the jocks were walking. The one in front was the leader of their little gang. He had his blonde hair smoothed back with gel, and always wore their school's football jacket, and a pair of black slacks. He had the face of an eagle, with a sharp nose, tiny blue yes and very thin lips.
His name was, Gregory Hammond, but his friends called him 'Butch'. (Gregory hated his name ever since he was in kindergarten). The tormenting began there, when he would come over and throw sand at Randy's face. There were times after school, where he and his cronies would find him and beat him up in the park. Sure enough, right behind him was the posse. The two behind him were the Salem Twins, John and Jacob. They were both 5' 8'' tall, with shoulder length black hair, chubby cheeks, wide nostrils and very wide mouths. They had very dark skin and were overweight. Together, they would sit on Randy, or hold him while Gregory kicked him. Right behind the twins was the last guy. He was a tall, mammoth of a man.
His skin was very white, almost albino. He had his blonde hair, shaved, except for a tall Mohawk. His eyes were hazel, and he had a chiseled, stone-like face. His cheekbones were wide, and he had thin cheeks. He also sported a very wide jaw, which made his lips thin. The man had tiny ears; most of which were his soft spot. Gregory would pick on him all the time about not being able to hear properly. The man was very big, standing at 7' 5'' tall and weighing in at 475 pounds, all muscle. That day he was wearing a black muscle shirt, blue jeans and black boots. The man's name was Gorgon Augustus Streinholme.
As he walked by, Gorgon gave Randy a slight nod, smiling at him as he held Kolleen. Randy grinned back and mouthed a sentence to him. "I'll see you tomorrow night!" Gorgon gave him the thumbs up, and silently laughed. The two of them hit it off almost immediately. Gorgon, apparently, was a very talented wrestler over in Russia, before his family decided to move to the U.S. His father was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion in Moscow, which was a title that his family always sought. He never got a chance to obtain it; he wasn't the boxing type, which disappointed his family. Randy felt for him, since he never got a title shot either. His family was world famous as well, that's how Gorgon knew about him. When the four guys were gone, he turned all his attention back to the blondie to his right.
"Whatever it is Kol, we should get going. If you want to drive, then let's move." She sniffed deeply again, then grabbed his hand, leading him off the porch. She was upset and he didn't want to bother her anymore, so he followed in her wake as silently as he could muster. She led them across the road, over to her house where the car was parked. It was a blue Ford, and the model year was 2000. "Get in Randy, we have a lot to discuss and we have little time for visiting hours." Randy stopped, just outside his door and gazed at her. She saw him looking, and wiped her eyes. "Visiting hours?" he asked. "Yes... we're... Oh god. We're going to the hospital. It's about your mom." His heart plummeted and jaw dropped. "Let's just go, please." From the weight of these words hitting him like a truck, everything was a blur to him now.
His mother was in trouble and she never bothered to tell him. Sure, she let his love interest leave that note; it wasn't enough for him. He knew that the anger ebbing away at him needed to dissipate so he focused his eyes onto the sky above, as the deep purple swallowed the last of the sun. Just like the dream. This has got to be a dream. A slow tear slid down his right cheek, unbeknownst to the girl beside him.