Friday September 24th, 2010. Mid-Evening:
Rodriguez Residence
Randy tossed around his bed for a while, with sweat forming on his forehead. Then his cell phone went off on the side stand, blasting out his favorite country song, My List. He nearly jumped out of his bed, as his heart was beating fast. He groaned, falling back onto his bed and rubbing his eyes, not knowing how long he would be able to hold onto his night job as well as wrestle. The toll was already being taken on his body as well as his mind.
He snuck a glance towards his window, the sun was still up but had already started its descent. He flipped his legs around to the side of his bed and continued laying down until his feet met the carpet. He didn't want to offend any of his fellow athletes with his b.o. but most of all he didn't want to ward Kolleen off, so he went to take a shower. The thought of their first kiss was still fresh in his mind. He still felt goose bumps as if he were kissing her at that very moment. A grin formed onto his face as he got up to his dresser. He withdrew blue jeans and a white muscle shirt along with a fresh pair of socks and boxers.
He knew that his wrestling attire was at the arena so he was set there. Excitement was beginning to build up. Every single time he would enter the arena there would be nothing but roars of cheering and whistling. Even the mention of his name on the main card would stir an uproar of happy spectators. Randy exited his room and headed down the hall to the right, towards the bathroom. The house still felt empty no matter which way he tried to look at it. He still didn't know what the problem was with his mom; that didn't stop him from praying for her as much as he could. He walked into the bathroom, and prepared himself for what was to come later that night.
Kolleen had already been up for an hour now; she was too excited to sleep. She had never seen Randy wrestle before and the thought of seeing him, all sweaty and throwing huge guys around. She began to breath heavily, waving her hands at her face at an attempt to fan herself. She was sitting on her couch, staring at the blank T.V. screen at her reflection. Today she had her hair tied up into a high ponytail and her face was all made up perfectly. She made sure that she wore colors that would bring out her eyes.
She put on a tight green, elbow length sleeved shirt as well as a pair of short jean shorts, that showed off her legs. She wanted nothing more than for Randy to notice her and she made sure that she looked her absolute best. The clock ticked on, drawing her attention towards it; it read: 3:30 P.M. "He should be up by now." She began pacing her room, with her mind buzzing with dozens of thoughts. Before now, she never felt this way about any other guy in the world. Randy however… he swept her off her feet. She just hoped that he felt the same about her. I mean, he did kiss her earlier that day, but was it a put on?
No amount of concentration couldn't drive the image of Randy from her mind, no matter how hard she tried. She groaned, sitting down at her desk and shook her head. Her hands rested on each temple as she stared down at her feet. She was nervous about the coming night as well as the following day. A test was coming up in college for every class; a pre-test setting her up for the mid-terms a month from now. I hope he's the one. I can't get you out of my head Ran-Ran. There's something different about you. You're not just after a piece of meat, you treat me with respect and talk to me as a person. God, I hope he likes me. she thought as she let her mind float off momentarily. Randy was smiling in her mind and she was returning the favor.
Randy's head was resting against the back wall of the shower as the hot water continued to rain over him. He was still a bit nervous but something else was drawing his attention. As the water continued to pour over him, his mind started to wonder. It was like taking a trip back in time once again; he was back at the C.S.W.S. Standing at the farthest shower head in the room. He was allowing the warm water to caress his skin since he was so sore from that night. Seeing as he was a novice in that building, Randy was forced to start at square one. Instead of wrestling in a show, like the other guys in the building, he had to do a few hours of calisthenics.
The moment that he set foot in the gym, Mr. Maximus was all over him. He immediately told him to drop and do fifty squats and then another twenty five while kicking one leg out as he stood up. Then another twenty five with the opposite leg kicking out. After that, he was in a push up position and was told to do thirty of them and then ten more with his right arm and another ten with his left. Needless to say, by the end of the session, Randy was beat. He had his head resting against the wall, as the water took his worries away as if washing all the pain down across the floor to the drain in the middle of the room.
Mr. Maximus cleared his throat in the entrance doorway. Randy turned around, noticing he was staring at the floor so he didn't see anything inappropriate. "Sorry kid, I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. How you handled that training session was like no other. In fact the only other prospect I can think of that matches your dedication is Mr. Streinholme." As if on cue, Gorgon walked in with a towel around his waist showing off his masculinity. "He's right man, you're one hell of a natural. Here's to a bright future ahead of us!" Randy smiled and nodded over towards them and watched as Mr. Maximus walked away.
"Yo, Randy?" Gorgon called across the shower room. "Yeah, what's up?" He still had his head resting on the cool tile walls with his back facing his friend. "I'm going to go run to the bathroom, I'll be right back." "You don't have to ask my permission." Randy said, laughing afterwards. "I know little buddy, I'm just telling ya." Gorgon left the shower room and him behind. It wasn't expected that someone would sneak up on him that night. No, Randy was just showering off the sweat and pain so he could be ready for his first job at the gas station. He did not notice Gregory or the Salem twins walk in, until he felt Gregory's hand on the back of his head.
"Think you can just waltz in here and steal my thunder, do ya?!" Gregory asked. He had a handful of Randy's hair and would not let go. "What do you want?" He began feeling pain as the man started to pull harder. The Salem twins were smirking on either side of him, ready to do as their leader commanded. Gregory put his mouth right up to Randy's ear; he felt the spit flying off of the man's lips onto his cheek. "You are no better than we are Randal. Just because you come from a wrestling family does NOT mean that you can steal what we worked hard for."
After he said this he slammed Randy's forehead into the wall, leaving a crack in one of the tiles. Randy's head began ringing; screaming in agonizing pain from the initial impact. Gregory didn't stop there, he slammed his head again into the wall, this time it cracked even more and a faint red stain appeared.
"You must think that you're a tough shit don't ya?" Again he wailed his victim's face into the wall. Blood was now beginning to drip down it towards the floor and was being washed away by the water. Just when he was about to black out, he heard a scuffle going on behind him. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Gorgon yelled as he ran across the shower room. Randy felt the pressure on his head release as he fell to the floor. His eyes were beginning to blur in and out whilst Gorgon was dragging Gregory in his right hand and both of the Salem twins in his left, out of the room. "What's going on here?!" Mr. Maximus asked. Randy's ears were ringing loudly and his head painfully pulsed.
"I walked in on Gregory here, hitting Randy's head into the wall. You can see the dent over where he is. Call 911 sir, we need to get him to the hospital!" "I'm on it! As for you, Gregory…" That's all that was heard before he passed completely out. Randy jumped nearly out of the shower as he was brought back to reality. His heart was pumping fast and his brain ached. He shuddered and turned off the water. It was freezing, from the hot water being on too long. He climbed out of the shower and dried off. As he slipped his jeans on, Randy looked at his reflection. Gazing back at him was a man with slightly sunken eyes and a worried expression. He buttoned his jeans then grabbed the shirt and pulled it on. Once his head was through the neck hole, again he took a good long look at his face.
"Why do you look so worried?" he asked himself. He leaned in towards the mirror, and stared deep into his own eyes. They were a little blood shot, which he felt was normal for him. He was used to this tiring routine which unnerved him. He just hated the days where he had to wrestle the very day that he got off of work. No amount of sleep could bring his body satisfaction. Randy just wanted to be a professional already, and leave his twelve hour shift behind. While he put on his socks, his cell phone started to vibrate on the sink.
He grabbed it, feeling the vibrations hum like a rhythm in his palm. Kolleen's beautiful face showed up, making him grin. When he opened the text it read: Hey Ran-Ran, I'm waiting outside in my car. I'll keep it running; I'm sure you're taking a shower. Sorry if I interrupted anything and I decided to drive you there instead. I'm excited about the match tonight but also nervous about my tests next week. Oh well, I'll see you soon. - Kolleen. "She's just amazing," he whispered. He put on his sneakers then grabbed his phone before exiting the bathroom. He couldn't drive the image of Kolleen from his mind and was grateful for it since it got rid of his nerves. The only thing that seemed to feel squeamish now was the butterflies in his stomach as he descended the stairs. After leaving the house he noticed Kolleen who was standing outside of her car, with her hair blowing around in the wind. When she looked at him, Randy clutched his chest and grinned.