Post by Johnny Rebel on Jun 12, 2013 21:55:54 GMT -4
Rebel Rousing #15: "Mirrors"
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"How long do you think you're going to stare at the mirror? I'd like to use the bathroom sometime soon and it's going to be awful difficult knowing that you'll be looking at me through that thing..."
"You can't tell me your pee shy! We've been cellmates for a few weeks now and you've taken dumps that would choke Jason Kash in front of me... but you won't empty your bladder while I'm staring in the mirror? This isn't the high school locker room. Do your thing man!"
Rebel's homelessness was affecting his ability in the ring and the only place that'd open up to him long-term was the state run facility. He'd have several battles with the law and after enough badgering back and forth they sentenced him to a number of community service hours and until he finished, he'd be resigned to the small room, and forced to do whatever he was told to do.
"Can't you look away? Just for a minute!"
"I wish it was that easy," Rebel responded. "I'm not sure I know who is staring back at me any more..."
The reality was something Rebel wasn't ever exactly in-tune with. He'd spent the majority of his life living on the margins, refusing to acknowledge everything that surrounded him. It used to be something that he could turn off-and-on but those days had long since passed and Rebel couldn't tell what was real and what was make believe.
"It's real easy, I promise!" Rebel's cellmate added, dancing with his hands hiking up his orange jumpsuit around his crotch. "You turn your head to the side and don't look while I whip my junk around and fill that pot!"
Rebel refused to break his intense stare at the mirror. He used to be able to identify every scar that protruded out of his forehead and could trace his finger through all of the wrinkles with his eyes closed. However, something had flipped inside of him, and remembering who he was had become more and more challenging.
"Do you remember last week?" Rebel asked. "When we were out at Wrigley Field on trash detail? I swear there was someone following me and they even claimed to be a big fan of mine!"
"I'd be a big fan of you looking away so I can take a leak!"
"But when I looked up he was gone! I even asked the Warden what happened and if he saw where he went but apparently there wasn't anybody there to begin with!"
"Hey, look there he is! I bet if you go look over in the corner, you'll find him over there! Please for the love of all things holy, let me go to the bathroom!"
"The Warden even ordered a psychiatric evaluation! Can you believe that? They actually believe I'm starting to lose it and they're trying to get me committed. Don't they know that I have one of the biggest matches of my career standing in front of me? I don't have time for this nonsense..."
"Screw it!"
Rebel's cellmate, with a four digit number across his back, decided that he'd had enough and let the river flow, nearly splashing Rebel in the process. Johnny hops up to avoid the urine and hauls back to clock his roommate but puts his hands down at the sight of himself in yet another mirror across the room.
"Look," the man said, zipping up his jumpsuit, "I know you have a weird fascination with looking at yourself in the mirror but I'm starting to get a little creeped out. Seriously, I've never seen anything like it!"
"I don't even know who I am anymore," Rebel sighed. "I've been a world champion. I've had more money then I've known what to do with. Now? I can hardly scrounge up enough money for a hot dog from the 7-11 down the street. I spend the majority of my time picking up trash under the thumb of the Warden, wrestling in APW and packed in here like a sardine. Honestly, the most excitement we've had today is me trying to narrowly avoid your flow from splashing over me."
"Staring in to the mirror endlessly isn't going to help you remember anything about yourself... the only way you're going to get out of here any sooner is if you keep your head down, finish your community service hours, and don't cause any trouble."
"It's not about simply getting out of here, it's about trying to remember who I used to be," Rebel took a deep breath. "Biggs is the only one that can pull me out of that funk."
The history between Johnny Rebel and Biggs ran thick. They had been partners against the tyranny of C.J. Gates and Kurt Noble; leading the APW to the CWC's Supremacy championship over some of the more prominent wrestling organizations on the planet. They had been bitter enemies, sparring over the Overdrive and Undisputed championships on numerous occasions. They were one of the few tandems to hold the Overdrive title on multiple occasions... they were more alike than either one of them wanted to admit.
"When I see Biggs, it's like looking in a mirror. We're everything that the APW stands for... and the only way I'm surviving in Test for the Best is by overcoming my own worst enemy: me."
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“You can deny it until you’re blue in the face but at the end of the day, Biggs, we’re the same person.”
“I have sat back for months and listened to you chirp on and on about how you are a changed man and that you aren’t cut from the same cloth that propelled you to such great heights in the APW. Sadly for you, I’m the only one left in the APW that knows the real Biggs and what he stands for! I know that you won’t be able to hide behind that good guy appearance for long and that the moment an opportunity presents itself to gain an unfair advantage that involves you breaking the rules… you’ll cave immediately!”
“We both have APW resumes that the majority of the roster would love to claim. The kicker is that we’ve used the exact same strategy to get there! You know that guys like us don’t care what other people think about us as long as we’re looking out for number one: us! If I know you like I think I know you, you’d step on your grandmother’s poor lifeless soul on your way up the ladder if it meant putting you closer to the Undisputed Championship!”
“But it’s unfortunate that you have managed to suppress the only thing that set you apart from all of the other knuckleheads on the APW roster. Biggs used to be a name that struck fear in the hearts of anybody who might have been unlucky enough to find themselves booked against you. Congratulations! You’ve become an even less intimidating C.J. Gates!”
“I’m not stupid enough to write you off completely, though, knowing that the Machiavellian mindset that shape who you were for so long will come rearing its ugly head faster than Terry Marvin bending over in reverence for Level-One!”
"Speaking of Level-One, I can't help but notice that you've been drooling over him for the past several weeks. I don't often give advice to my opponents but you'd be wise to stop looking forward to a date with Level-One and start thinking about the Test for the Best tournament and the mountain of Johnny Rebel that's standing in front of you. I know that you've been waiting to get another go-round for the championship but you have to get passed me before you’ll even be in the discussion!”
“And unfortunately for you, I’m standing in the way. A great big thorn digging in your side and you don’t have anyway of prying me loose!”
“When the bell rings, and the night is over, I’ll be moving forward and prove why I’m the best… as I’ve always done! You’ll be a distant memory of the fans of APW and crying in the arms of C.J. Gates, again, as you have always done! If this a test, I’m going to ace it.”
#SIMPLY
#F’N
#PUT!
