Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2015 17:33:23 GMT
OFF-CAMERA
Stupid stupid stupid stupid---
'Jay?'
---stupid stupid stupid stupid---
'Jay!!'
---stupid stupid stupid---
'JAY!!!'
'WHAT???'
I turn to glower at Keith, and almost immediately feel sorry for having yelled at him. I begin to stammer out an apology, but my best friend cuts me off matter-of-factly:
'You're gonna wanna see this.'
I walk over to where he is fiddling with his phone, only to find he is watching the Chicken Scramble match from Hell Comes To Pollomania.
'Keith!', I groan. 'Why the heck would I want to see that!? I'm trying to forget it ever happened!'
'No, dawg...just look at it. Get over yourself for a minute and freaking pay attention!'
His tone leaves me no choice but to lean over the settee and watch El Vainillo's career derail for the first time. Keith's intention, however, is not to torture me with the whole match over again – instead, he mercifully skips to the end, to point at something on the screen.
'See that?'
I do. As I stand alone in the center of the ring waiting for Mr. Crazy to re-enter it, he seems to be fiddling with something. A moment later, my body begins to jerk and spasm as if struck by a seizure, and after another few seconds I have been pinned and lost my shot at the Pollomania Scramble Championship.
'See what I mean?'
'Uh...kind'a.'
The truth is, I see it, but I don't believe it. That sort of thing only happens in movies – bad movies, the kind you laugh at over pizza with your buddies. What must have happened was that I actually did have a seizure. It happens sometimes, when you push yourself further than you should, like when you're playing sports.
Except I never was an epileptic.
What the heck did I just watch?
'What the heck did I just watch?'
'Dunno', Keith shrugs. 'All I know is something was up with the ending of that match. That sucka ain't won that belt clean.'
I can see that now – and somehow, it makes everything better. It puts my entire crummy week into perspective. I'm still not getting my win back, and El Vainillo's 'underheated' streak is still not coming back, but at least now I know for sure it wasn't my fault. It wasn't me who wasn't good enough, it was someone else – to the point where they felt the need to cheat. And knowing that...
...knowing that gives me strength. Purpose. Knowing that makes me want to try even harder to help Grin beat Tigre and Mr. Crazy on Wednesday. Because actually being a goober is one thing; I can admit when I'm not good enough. But being made to look like a goober? That doesn't sit right with me. At all.
So Tigre...Crazy...on Wednesday, I hope you're ready. 'Cause this Vanilla Midget's got his confidence back. And at We Have A Problem...
...he's about to get some payback.
Final Word Count: 491