Post by Steve Sinclair on Jun 7, 2019 22:52:38 GMT
“It’s okay little buddy. I’ve got you now.” Bester says as he walks through the curtain after his match with Farthington. He is cradling his stuffed baby monkey with both hands as he slowly makes his way to his locker room, the one he’s supposed to be sharing with Aubrey, the small, tight, cramped broom closet that was made into a locker room.
Joe Jones is standing outside of this locker room with his arms crossed and is looking rather, pissed. Bester doesn’t even notice him as he walks up to the locker room.
“I know. I know.” Bester says as he stops in front of the door. Joe is glaring at him and the fact that Bester doesn’t even realize that he is there, just further irritates him. So much so that Joe reaches out and snatches the stupid stuffed monkey out of Bester’s hands.
“HEY!” Bester says as he looks up and spots Joe with a death grip on his monkey.
“REALLY!”
“GIVE HIM BACK!” Bester demands.
“I spent a fucking hour getting you in that god damn match! A fucking hour!”
“Don’t talk to me like….”
Joe slaps Bester across the face. “Shut your mouth and fucking listen to me! This was your fucking 3rd match since Andrea Hernandez beat your ass for that belt! And every match has been a loss! 6 months, 3 matches, 3 losses! You’re fucking lucky to even still be employed here let alone get to face someone like Worthington in this retarded Duck Cup nonsense, and fucking believe me! I had to pull allot of fucking strings to get you in that match, let alone any match!”
Bester looks down at the floor. He doesn’t like being yelled at.
“The roster here is getting bloated Best! Cuts are coming, the fat is going to be cut away. Do you want to end up on the chopping block? I’ve sent feelers out, fucking no one wants you. Not like they did this time last year! When all sorts of companies were throwing contracts at you begging you to come work for them!”
Joe then throws the stuffed baby monkey down the hallway. He places his hands on his hips and pauses for a second. Bester looks like a 8 year old kid who was just unloaded on by one of his parents for something they had nothing to do, except that Bester did have everything to do with this.
“Best.” Joe says not yelling this time. “Look. I’m just. I’m just looking out for you. I know how much you love going out there for the kids. I know how they look up to you, but you have to understand, that if you’re not on TV regularly, they forget all about you.”
“I know.”
“I mean, why did you want to come here? You picked this place after all.”
“I always wanted to live in Florida….”
“And?”
“Sparky’s lawyer live near here and I can see him more and see about getting that case that the mean federal agent man made up against my beloved kitty.”
Speaking of Spartacus, he is sitting under a candy vending machine, staying out of sight and he has spotted that stuffed baby monkey and is eyeing it. He hates that monkey, with a passion.
“Right.”
“And the money looked good, and I would be able to pay Mister Lawyer more to fight these trumped up charges and save Spartacus’s life.”
“And?”
“My plan was working.”
“Was?”
“There is a new detective on the case now. Detective Adams and he says he found new evidence against my kitty and I might have to turn him over and he’ll go back to kitty jail and back on kitty death row.”
“And how does that make you feel?”
“Sad. I lost Miss…...I lost Aubrey.” Bester says as he looks up at Joe still angry at him for what he did. “I don’t think I can lose him too. He is my longest bestest friend I have ever had. If the evil Detective Adams puts him to sleep for ever and ever….I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Well, Aubrey aside.” Joe says choosing not to call her a slut, a whore, etc. “You know what will help?”
“What?”
“Get your ass in that ring more than once every other month and kick someone’s ass. Start bringing home a bigger paycheck to help save Sparky’s behind.”
“Yeah….well. Tonight didn’t help.”
“You can say that again. I’ll go talk to Marcus again and see if I can get you something next week.”
“I don’t know.”
“What you mean you don’t know.”
“I, uhm, I feel like I don’t fit in here anymore. I feel like I’m an outcast.”
“An outcast?”
“I don’t know. I feel like everyone is talking about this joke, or a book, or a movie and they are all in on it and I have no idea what is going on and no one is telling me what the joke is about. I just feel like….I’m old and useless or something.”
Joe sighs and his mind starts spinning on how to fix this, fix Bester.
Spartacus jets out from under the vending machine and bites into the neck of the stuffed baby monkey, picks it up and darts back under the vending machine without ever being seen. Further down the hallway, peaking out of a doorway is Nanook, keeping a watchful eye on everything.
“Best. Buddy. You’re not old and useless. You're just lost. You have to get that chick out of you head. She’s scrambled your brains. You lost your focus. Lot of these guys that are here right now, they only know of you due to what they see now. Not the guy who won the craze championship and was named a team captain and kicked all sorts of ass. None of those guys have seen or know that Bester. You’re the love sick guy getting dressed in a broom closet who had a thing with a married chick who left you and is carrying around a stuffed monkey. You need to put the monkey down and for the love of god, stop talking to it. There is already a whack job talking to a stuffed animal here, we don’t need another. And then, you know, kick someone’s ass in the ring.”
“But…”
“I know. That monkey means something to you. How about you get dressed and we’ll go get something to eat and work on one of these issue. We’ll go after I talk to Marcus?”
“I guess.”
“Baby steps. Everything will be fine Best. Just trust me.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Joe says as he pats Bester on the shoulder and begins to walk away, but then stops. “Oh? You’ve seen Nanook? I haven’t seen him in over a month now.”
Bester shakes his head no. “No.”
“Well, if you do, let him know I need to speak with him.”
“Okay.”
“It’ll get better Best. I promise.” Joe says and walks away.
“But.” Bester says almost under his breath. “I don’t want to be me.”
Spartacus, under the vending machine is gutting the stuffed monkey, just shredding it. Further down the hallway, Nanook steps back into the doorway and out of sight. He holds the OGDA mask up and stares at it.
Fade out.
Joe Jones is standing outside of this locker room with his arms crossed and is looking rather, pissed. Bester doesn’t even notice him as he walks up to the locker room.
“I know. I know.” Bester says as he stops in front of the door. Joe is glaring at him and the fact that Bester doesn’t even realize that he is there, just further irritates him. So much so that Joe reaches out and snatches the stupid stuffed monkey out of Bester’s hands.
“HEY!” Bester says as he looks up and spots Joe with a death grip on his monkey.
“REALLY!”
“GIVE HIM BACK!” Bester demands.
“I spent a fucking hour getting you in that god damn match! A fucking hour!”
“Don’t talk to me like….”
Joe slaps Bester across the face. “Shut your mouth and fucking listen to me! This was your fucking 3rd match since Andrea Hernandez beat your ass for that belt! And every match has been a loss! 6 months, 3 matches, 3 losses! You’re fucking lucky to even still be employed here let alone get to face someone like Worthington in this retarded Duck Cup nonsense, and fucking believe me! I had to pull allot of fucking strings to get you in that match, let alone any match!”
Bester looks down at the floor. He doesn’t like being yelled at.
“The roster here is getting bloated Best! Cuts are coming, the fat is going to be cut away. Do you want to end up on the chopping block? I’ve sent feelers out, fucking no one wants you. Not like they did this time last year! When all sorts of companies were throwing contracts at you begging you to come work for them!”
Joe then throws the stuffed baby monkey down the hallway. He places his hands on his hips and pauses for a second. Bester looks like a 8 year old kid who was just unloaded on by one of his parents for something they had nothing to do, except that Bester did have everything to do with this.
“Best.” Joe says not yelling this time. “Look. I’m just. I’m just looking out for you. I know how much you love going out there for the kids. I know how they look up to you, but you have to understand, that if you’re not on TV regularly, they forget all about you.”
“I know.”
“I mean, why did you want to come here? You picked this place after all.”
“I always wanted to live in Florida….”
“And?”
“Sparky’s lawyer live near here and I can see him more and see about getting that case that the mean federal agent man made up against my beloved kitty.”
Speaking of Spartacus, he is sitting under a candy vending machine, staying out of sight and he has spotted that stuffed baby monkey and is eyeing it. He hates that monkey, with a passion.
“Right.”
“And the money looked good, and I would be able to pay Mister Lawyer more to fight these trumped up charges and save Spartacus’s life.”
“And?”
“My plan was working.”
“Was?”
“There is a new detective on the case now. Detective Adams and he says he found new evidence against my kitty and I might have to turn him over and he’ll go back to kitty jail and back on kitty death row.”
“And how does that make you feel?”
“Sad. I lost Miss…...I lost Aubrey.” Bester says as he looks up at Joe still angry at him for what he did. “I don’t think I can lose him too. He is my longest bestest friend I have ever had. If the evil Detective Adams puts him to sleep for ever and ever….I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Well, Aubrey aside.” Joe says choosing not to call her a slut, a whore, etc. “You know what will help?”
“What?”
“Get your ass in that ring more than once every other month and kick someone’s ass. Start bringing home a bigger paycheck to help save Sparky’s behind.”
“Yeah….well. Tonight didn’t help.”
“You can say that again. I’ll go talk to Marcus again and see if I can get you something next week.”
“I don’t know.”
“What you mean you don’t know.”
“I, uhm, I feel like I don’t fit in here anymore. I feel like I’m an outcast.”
“An outcast?”
“I don’t know. I feel like everyone is talking about this joke, or a book, or a movie and they are all in on it and I have no idea what is going on and no one is telling me what the joke is about. I just feel like….I’m old and useless or something.”
Joe sighs and his mind starts spinning on how to fix this, fix Bester.
Spartacus jets out from under the vending machine and bites into the neck of the stuffed baby monkey, picks it up and darts back under the vending machine without ever being seen. Further down the hallway, peaking out of a doorway is Nanook, keeping a watchful eye on everything.
“Best. Buddy. You’re not old and useless. You're just lost. You have to get that chick out of you head. She’s scrambled your brains. You lost your focus. Lot of these guys that are here right now, they only know of you due to what they see now. Not the guy who won the craze championship and was named a team captain and kicked all sorts of ass. None of those guys have seen or know that Bester. You’re the love sick guy getting dressed in a broom closet who had a thing with a married chick who left you and is carrying around a stuffed monkey. You need to put the monkey down and for the love of god, stop talking to it. There is already a whack job talking to a stuffed animal here, we don’t need another. And then, you know, kick someone’s ass in the ring.”
“But…”
“I know. That monkey means something to you. How about you get dressed and we’ll go get something to eat and work on one of these issue. We’ll go after I talk to Marcus?”
“I guess.”
“Baby steps. Everything will be fine Best. Just trust me.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Joe says as he pats Bester on the shoulder and begins to walk away, but then stops. “Oh? You’ve seen Nanook? I haven’t seen him in over a month now.”
Bester shakes his head no. “No.”
“Well, if you do, let him know I need to speak with him.”
“Okay.”
“It’ll get better Best. I promise.” Joe says and walks away.
“But.” Bester says almost under his breath. “I don’t want to be me.”
Spartacus, under the vending machine is gutting the stuffed monkey, just shredding it. Further down the hallway, Nanook steps back into the doorway and out of sight. He holds the OGDA mask up and stares at it.
Fade out.