ridge45

Yea but only because of your near-psychic abilities.

What? lol. What do you mean I used your name?

Destiny's Twilight They all said he couldn't do it. His own team, his own family. Why would they say this to him? Where is the faith? It was only a year earlier when his back met with the warm relief of defeat in that crowded auditorium. This year would be different. He knows it. It has to be. "Hey Derek!", Ryan yells down the hall to the brick wall of a 16 year old boy walking towards the gym. "You gettin' ready to go run?" "Yea. I'm 3 over." "Don't worry about it. Come with me and Chuck to the cafiteria." "Sorry, I can't", Derek now gettin' a little frustrated. Ryan has a bad habit of being able to talk him out of training. Then again, Derek knows that he himself is somewhat to blame. He knows that what he does to his body to make 145 lbs. is dangerous. He just doesn't care. He has to redeem his loss from the previous season. His falure...his giving up that let down himself and his team. "I'll see you later. I'm probly gonna cut 4th today. Just tell Johnson that i'm sick or somethin'." "Okay. Later, man" "Later" Derek makes his way through the see of basketball players to get to the back end of the gym. He does this every Wednesday. He Creeps to the back of the gym where the teacher couldn't see him and he slips out the door to go running on the track. He never liked these people. The basketball players. They showed him no respect. Everyday he drills and practices in gym and they all look at him like he's a 3 legged clown doin' backflips over a giant tortouse. They always call him "spandex boy". Why can't they understand he wonders. It frusterates him to the point of hate. He dispises them. But what can he do? He just turns a shoulder and keeps on working. Today was a good day, though. He feels great as he steps onto the broken concrete of the old track. He has only 3 pounds to lose. Eating and drinking will be no challenge to avoid. He has been wrestling for so long that he has trained himself and his body to learn to put off food and to not let it cross his mind. If the temptation did manage to infiltrate his brain, it wouldn't be here. Not in this place. The old abandoned track was surrounded by large shaded trees and a little creek that made him feel like he was miles away from school and the pressures of home. This was his favorite place in the world. Nothing to distract him and nothing to frustrate him. Just him, his old running shoes, and the sweet smell of the leaves laying on the ground around his feet as he runs. "Here we go again", he thinks to himself as he laces up his tattered Adidas and takes his last sip of water for the day from his I'm a Super Reader bottle. He can't remember where he got it from. Just another souviner from some locker room of a team that he didn't quite like enough not to steal from. He takes off and runs for what seems like forever. Nothing running through his mind. He's ran here so many times that it seems like breathing to him to jump over the big whole that he encounters on the far end of the track and to duck under the braches that hang low next to the old run-down concesion stand. After he is done running he looks down at his watch. "Holy shit, it's 1:30! I gotta get to 6th period." His run has lingered longer than he had planned. He now has only fifty minutes left until he has to be in the mat room with the rest of the team. More imortantly, though, he has to turn in his project on the ancient Mayans and Aztecs. This project could make or break his chances of wrestling the second part of the season. His grade is just barely hovering at the manditory 2.0 that he has to make to play sports. His project is already a day late and he can't afford to lose another day's credit on such a significant assingment. He darts back through the gym door and into the hallway to stairwell B. He runs all the way to the third floor to room 347. As he peeks through the window of the door he can see that Mrs. Relts has her back turned to the door as she is talking on the phone. Slowly he opens the door and dashes to a desk. Sure hope to hell she didn't see me runs through his head. She hangs up the phone and walks past him. She stops abruptly and turns toward him. "Derek", there is a long pause. He can't quite read the look on her face, "I believe it's your day to collect homework assignments. I already told Beth to do it because I somehow didn't see you a few minutes ago. Probly because of that wrestling foolishnes. You're wasting away, you know. Well, i'm sure she won't mind not having to gather papers. Hurry it along though, we're going to the computer lab today." "Okay, no problem. Just give me a second. I have that project from yesterday." Mrs. Relts shoots him a little look and goes back to her task at her desk. After collecting the homework Derek drops his project on her desk and scurries out the door with the rest of the class on their way to the computer lab. They walk down the hall and about half way to the lab Derek breaks away from everyone else. He hides in a corner by the stairs. This is always where he goes to cut class. He waits a few minutes, leaves the corner, and makes his way down stairs and outside so that he can sit in the mat room. When he opens the mat room doors he looks to see if anyone is there. The coast is clear. He feels the familiar rush of madening heat that he practices everyday during the season. He figures what better place to lose weight than a 100 degree box of a portable? The room smells of sweat and old unwashed clothing. It doesn't bother him though. He just stands under the heater and does sprawls for 35 minutes until the coach enters. His coach, though a member of the school staff, doesn't really care if the wrestler cut class to prepare for a match on that day. "How much you over", his coach asks him, knowing that that is why Derek was there. "1.6." Normally, this wouldn't be a problem for Derek to lose this weight but today the matches started at 3 o'clock instead of 4 o'clock. "So, are you gonna be able to make it?" "I think so. I gotta use the bath room really bad. Maybe even a pounds worth." There was no way that Derek wasn't going to make weight on this night. Tonight was the regional tournament. If he didn't perform well tonight, he wouldn't move on to the state tournament, leaving him to not be able to wrestle until the next season. Not only this, but tonight he would have to wrestle Matt Walling, a senior from Challisdale High. Matt was the one who stole Derek's region championship from him in the finals the season before. This was to be Matt's last year of wrestling and Derek had never forgotten how he had given up and got pinned on that night. The memory ran through his mind each and every day. Never again he'd tell himself. He couldn't lose again, he had to prove that he was better than him. He didn't know why, but the loss to Walling made him hate him. His face ran through his mind and Derek's blood would boil. Derek kicked the thought of Matt from his mind and get running in place. Right about this time the rest of the team walked into the room in one big group. The first to step into the room was Ryan. Derek didn't even want to look at him for fear of getting side-tracked by Ryan. He just ran around the room for a few more minutes and then jumped on the scale. 145.6. He can't believe it. He's so close. Weigh-ins were to be held at 2:45 today instead of 3:45. This gave him 5 minutes to try to lose the excess weight. He throws his clothing back on and heads inside the main school building in search of an open bathroom stall. He finds one on the first floor and quickly jumps on it. 5 minutes, gotta do this. He can't work up any urine but still feels some pressure on his stomach. He drops his pants and tried to force himself to use the bathroom. He gets a little bit out but he can't wait anymore. He cleans himself and runs into the gym where the weigh-ins are being done. "What weight are they at", Derek asks Ryan. Ryan was the 103 pounder and a freshman. He had been wrestling since 7th grade. Derek was always slightly jelous of Ryan because he was always a few pounds underweight and never had to watch what he ate.. "140. I was 2 and a half under", Ryan shoots Derek a look as if to give a friendly acknowledgment of Derek's jelousy. "Better get ready. You're up." One forty-five called the ref that was in charge of the weigh-ins. Derek jumped in line. He was second just behind Matt Walling. He watched carefully to see Matt's weight on the scale. "143.6" "I bet that little bitch hasn't had to cut any weight all day" Ryan thought to himself. After Matt stepped off the scale it was Derek's turn. He stepped up and let out all his air...come on...come on...the scale kept flashing and finally... "145.2" Derek's heart stopped. What could he do. He is allowed five minutes to lose the weight. He runs to the bath room and forces a few drops of liquid out and runs back to the scale. And now again, he's having to relive the weigh-in anxiety. He steps up...flashing...flashing...The scale flashes between 145.0 and 145.2. He has only one option. He hops off and drops his boxers. Once again he steps on...flashing...flashing... "145 even", the ref calls to the man holding the sheet of paper to document the weigh-ins. He did it. It took every ounce of him, but he did it. Now he could refuel. He heads over to the concesion stand and buys a bottle of orange juice and a banana. As he sits in the stands watching his teammates battle on the mat, he and his rival from Challisdale High exchange glares. They both know how much this match means. They both look confident but are screaming in anxiousness on the inside. Derek doesn't even have enough energy to warm-up before his match. He just watches the 140 match and waits. "145", yells the ref after the conclusion of the 140 bout. Both Derek and Matt run down to the scorers table to check in. They are both cleared and sent to the middle of the mat. The ref asks if the boys are ready. They both nod. The intensity in their eyes is like a thousand hurricanes. A million fires burning in their hearts, eating them alive. Their hands sweat and their bloods courses through their viens like a race car on the final lap of the Indy 500. The ref tells them to shake hands...he steps back...the crowd is defining with screams and chants...the whistle blows...

First you stole Ranger's ranking status and now you're stealing my signiture one-word nonsense posts. WHEN WILL HE MADNESS STOP?!?!?!?! lol

I had to write a short story for English class and I wrote it in about 45 minutes the night before it was due. It's in the General Discussion Board. Give it a quick read. Not to long. Little bit of language. Titles kind of gay. lol. It's the kind of name I knew my teacher would like so I just threw it on there. Thanks.

I was gonna go through the whole match and the aftermath but it was about 1:30 in the morning on a Tuesday and I was like eff that. lol.

Yes. Sanders is pretty solid. I don't know why alot of people, including myself, haven't thrown him into the mix for finals material.

Has Mike Seeders wrestled Matt Eck? If not, how do you think he will do?

Wow. I wish someone would have said something about the bracket before. This is yet another huge disappointment. First there was no Cooper/Banks match and now there won't be a Thuenemann/Courteney finals meeting. This sucks.

Dang. Did you break your key board when you typed that. Calm down. lol.

I think Danny T. and Harrison Courtney will be one of the best, if not the best, matches in the finals. Banks and Ervin will be awsome, too.

I have my bracket written down. I didn't wrestle as good as I wanted to at regionals with my hand but it's feeling better and i'm wrestling really well against Dakoda Choate [not beating him :-D] but doin' well. I'm really gonna step it up and hopefully show people that i'm worth more than the 24 spot. This is my only shot until a whole year from now. States gonna be awsome.

I see the top six at 152 exactley how you have them now that Copper is out.

Been waitin' all year to get my name on that 152 list. :-D

Maybe i'm just a little bias for my region 3 guys but I wouldn't completly count Mike Seeders out of the finals. Anything can happen at state and I didn't see him as being much of a long-shot to begin with.

I only posted this here so that my English teacher could find it and grade it. My printer is broke. I wrote it in about 45 minutes. Give me your thoughts on it if you want.

Wow. That's pretty impressive. Was that the only time that they met up?

I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm goin' to go ask my Arby's poster for forgiveness.

That isn't much better. You don't want either extreme out there on the mat. You don't want a kid to fall asleep before he gets called "pinned" by the ref and you also don't want any of those .0000000000000000000001 second pins either. I wrestled on the middle mat and had the Southern kid CLEARLY stuck more than once for 5 or 6 seconds at a time and it never got called. Little calls like those are what can cost a team a region championship.

Medium rare here with some make and cheese MOFO. Ice tea with lemon and a slice of blackberry cheesecake.

No. I was there and i'm pretty the sure the score was 4-0 with Northington getting hit with stalling and locking hands. He just wrestled crap off his stomach. He was wrestling bad that whole day. But I still have to give it to Cole. That kid stopped the #4 guy in state from competing in Frankfort this week. AS AN EIGHTH GRADER!!! This kid has big things in his future.

Yea. He looked a little pissed when he got pinned by Phillips though. Thought he was gonna lose his cool.

No problem. I have a great deal of respect for Chui and wish him the best. All i'm sayin' is that with the competition at 119 this year he better bring his a game.

I was saying that he was good, thank you. Geeze. You must have misunderstood what I was saying. I wasn't talkin' down about him. I'm sayin' that if he is good enough to get victories over top level wrestlers like those and then suffer defeat like he did against Parks at Woodford Co then he is just inconsistant. There is no insult there at all. It's fact. If the better half of Chui shows up to state he'll be a force but if the 50/50 Chui makes an appearance he won't be walking away with gold.

My thoughts exactly. People can come as close as they want but until someone gets a decisive W over him he's the top guy and that's that.