Post by Fiona McFly on Nov 15, 2017 6:56:32 GMT
CHAPTER 10
"In Which We See The Payoff Becoming Crystal Clear..."
The vibe was intense. The air felt still.
Inside the folkstyle dojo owned by ex-Marine Ellen Wheeler, Fiona McFly and Sarah Dawkins stood patiently at the entire class that was assembled on the gym floor, staring into the eyes of each and every participant wearing a black uniform. In royal blue, their proud coach sauntered up to the two guests with Mandy Benson, the school's "senior" student, closely in tow.
Mandy's eyes lit aflame upon spotting Fiona. It was the first time they had locked eyes ever since the aleyway rumble after Arlington High School's annual Halloween festival--and Coach Wheeler wasn't shy in her fury over the incident in question.
COACH WHEELER:
How dare you jump some of my students after that Halloween dance the other day.
Fiona's eyes panned over until she observed Jenny Martinez in the midst of performing her fifty assigned squat thrusts for screwing up the warmup exercises.
FIONA:
How dare you demean and denigrate that girl over there. She deserves better than that.
Mandy and her coach chuckled in unison, like a mother and daughter working together.
COACH WHEELER:
The hell are you here for anyway? I'm sure you've got somethin' worth fightin' for--like, say Jack...Gaither...
Fiona tried to take one step forward, but Sarah was quick to hold her back.
SARAH DAWKINS:
Don't do it. It ain't worth gettin' scrappy over an insult...
Fiona looked down upon the high school freshman and simply nodded her head--yet the blood in her soul never stopped boiling for a single moment. The AHS alum did NOT take kindly to veiled OR unveiled threats, especially those against the people she loved the most.
Yet at this particular juncture, McFly opted to bite her tongue.
FIONA:
I'm going to ask you nicely. Have your students leave Miss Dawkins alone.
COACH WHEELER:
(snorting)
Pfffft...seems to me like the little moof milker can't handle the sufferin'.
FIONA:
One-on-one, she can handle anything. Three-on-one, however? That's a little over the top, don't you think?
Wheeler, with a smirk on her mug, nodded in agreement.
COACH WHEELER:
I got an idea. Since she's afraid of the odds Miss Benson...do ya got the itch to have a good old-fashioned wrestling match?!
MANDY BENSON:
Yes ma'am!
Fiona shook her head, noting the gleeful expression on Mandy's face.
FIONA:
Uhhh, not here. Not now.
COACH WHEELER:
You don't just come bargin' in MY dojo, drop a challenge, and expect to leave without something goin' down. Now...
The coach scoffed as she pointed to the mat.
COACH WHEELER:
...you get her on my mat, or we are gonna have muchos problemos.
FIONA:
I don't think so--as me husband would say, "too much homefield push in your favour."
Mandy and Coach Wheeler groaned, for nobody had ever came into their school and backed away from a challenge. Yet deep in Fiona's soul, she was merely being patient; for at the end of the day, a wrestling match on these grounds wouldn't do anything to solve Sarah's problems.
hey had to settle this conflict on neutral ground--where neither side would have an advantage. Realising a moment had presented itself, Fiona pointed to the giant Lone Star Folkstyle tournament advert on the wall.
FIONA:
She will wrestle there--in the tournament.
Mandy's scowl thinned out. Coach Wheeler developed a slight chuckle. Sarah's jaw dropped in shock as she stood next to Fiona, who was brimming with an aura of confidence.
COACH WHEELER:
Wow, you've got some backbone right there. Tell you what, Miss Benson, get 'em an application and fall in when you're done.
Without saying a single word, Mandy nodded her head and power-walked over to a small table, grabbed a tournament application form. Cackling with delight over the notion that she just might get her wish after all, she handed the form off to Fiona and took her place among the class.
Fiona watched as Coach Wheeler grabbed her trademark whistle, but just before she could blow the thing, she spoke up...
FIONA:
One condition--you get your students to leave Miss Dawkins alone so she can properly train.
...leading the ex-Marine to turn around and snort with a hint of glee...
COACH WHEELER:
Boy oh boy, that's splendid! You're such a wonderful fountain of good ideas! Indeed, we also have preparations to make, but in the meantime...
...before turning her attention towards her class and giving an order.
COACH WHEELER:
...no one touches this little Lady Gaga until the tournament. Is that understood?!
The entire class shouted as one cohesive unit...
"MA'AM, YES MA'AM!!!"
...before Fiona and Sarah took three steps back--inching slowly from toe to heel, taking in the renewed silence--before making their exit. Outside the drab concrete building, they're greeted by Jack Gaither and his 1970s model Chevy Vega, which blasted the unmistakable sounds of Scorpions tunes from its stereo speakers. Jack shut the old car off and hopped out of the driver's side.
JACK GAITHER:
So how'd it go in that hellhole?
Sarah's eyes were widened as she watched Fiona hand the tournament application form over to her husband. "Y'all can't be serious. Y'all CANNOT be serious!," she thought as she observed the couple whispering to each other.
Was THIS the big "payoff" Fiona had promised Sarah.
SARAH:
(mumbling under her breath)
I'm-a-gonna get pasted...
Sarah watched intently as Jack and Fiona got done talking, and the latter strolled up to her with a calm, yet resolved, demeanour in her step, ready to spring the surprise upon the underconfident teenager.
FIONA:
Look in me eyes, love. The payoff wasn't just getting you into the tournament. No-no, it was much bigger than that...
She paused, glancing back at her husband whilst developing a wide grin of her own.
FIONA:
...we--Jack and I--will teach you wrestling, the honourable way.
Sarah's jaw dropped. Her brown eyes lit up.
And her thick brunette hair began to stand on its end.
She wanted to be a wrestler like her own mother, that was a given. Yet deep in her soul, the LAST thing that crept in was the very notion that Jack Gaither and Fiona McFly--a husband-and-wife duo of wrestlers in their own right--would go out of their way to teach the sport in the first place.
Her reaction alone was priceless.
"Holy sheep-dip..."
~TO BE CONTINUED~
"In Which We See The Payoff Becoming Crystal Clear..."
The vibe was intense. The air felt still.
Inside the folkstyle dojo owned by ex-Marine Ellen Wheeler, Fiona McFly and Sarah Dawkins stood patiently at the entire class that was assembled on the gym floor, staring into the eyes of each and every participant wearing a black uniform. In royal blue, their proud coach sauntered up to the two guests with Mandy Benson, the school's "senior" student, closely in tow.
Mandy's eyes lit aflame upon spotting Fiona. It was the first time they had locked eyes ever since the aleyway rumble after Arlington High School's annual Halloween festival--and Coach Wheeler wasn't shy in her fury over the incident in question.
COACH WHEELER:
How dare you jump some of my students after that Halloween dance the other day.
Fiona's eyes panned over until she observed Jenny Martinez in the midst of performing her fifty assigned squat thrusts for screwing up the warmup exercises.
FIONA:
How dare you demean and denigrate that girl over there. She deserves better than that.
Mandy and her coach chuckled in unison, like a mother and daughter working together.
COACH WHEELER:
The hell are you here for anyway? I'm sure you've got somethin' worth fightin' for--like, say Jack...Gaither...
Fiona tried to take one step forward, but Sarah was quick to hold her back.
SARAH DAWKINS:
Don't do it. It ain't worth gettin' scrappy over an insult...
Fiona looked down upon the high school freshman and simply nodded her head--yet the blood in her soul never stopped boiling for a single moment. The AHS alum did NOT take kindly to veiled OR unveiled threats, especially those against the people she loved the most.
Yet at this particular juncture, McFly opted to bite her tongue.
FIONA:
I'm going to ask you nicely. Have your students leave Miss Dawkins alone.
COACH WHEELER:
(snorting)
Pfffft...seems to me like the little moof milker can't handle the sufferin'.
FIONA:
One-on-one, she can handle anything. Three-on-one, however? That's a little over the top, don't you think?
Wheeler, with a smirk on her mug, nodded in agreement.
COACH WHEELER:
I got an idea. Since she's afraid of the odds Miss Benson...do ya got the itch to have a good old-fashioned wrestling match?!
MANDY BENSON:
Yes ma'am!
Fiona shook her head, noting the gleeful expression on Mandy's face.
FIONA:
Uhhh, not here. Not now.
COACH WHEELER:
You don't just come bargin' in MY dojo, drop a challenge, and expect to leave without something goin' down. Now...
The coach scoffed as she pointed to the mat.
COACH WHEELER:
...you get her on my mat, or we are gonna have muchos problemos.
FIONA:
I don't think so--as me husband would say, "too much homefield push in your favour."
Mandy and Coach Wheeler groaned, for nobody had ever came into their school and backed away from a challenge. Yet deep in Fiona's soul, she was merely being patient; for at the end of the day, a wrestling match on these grounds wouldn't do anything to solve Sarah's problems.
hey had to settle this conflict on neutral ground--where neither side would have an advantage. Realising a moment had presented itself, Fiona pointed to the giant Lone Star Folkstyle tournament advert on the wall.
FIONA:
She will wrestle there--in the tournament.
Mandy's scowl thinned out. Coach Wheeler developed a slight chuckle. Sarah's jaw dropped in shock as she stood next to Fiona, who was brimming with an aura of confidence.
COACH WHEELER:
Wow, you've got some backbone right there. Tell you what, Miss Benson, get 'em an application and fall in when you're done.
Without saying a single word, Mandy nodded her head and power-walked over to a small table, grabbed a tournament application form. Cackling with delight over the notion that she just might get her wish after all, she handed the form off to Fiona and took her place among the class.
Fiona watched as Coach Wheeler grabbed her trademark whistle, but just before she could blow the thing, she spoke up...
FIONA:
One condition--you get your students to leave Miss Dawkins alone so she can properly train.
...leading the ex-Marine to turn around and snort with a hint of glee...
COACH WHEELER:
Boy oh boy, that's splendid! You're such a wonderful fountain of good ideas! Indeed, we also have preparations to make, but in the meantime...
...before turning her attention towards her class and giving an order.
COACH WHEELER:
...no one touches this little Lady Gaga until the tournament. Is that understood?!
The entire class shouted as one cohesive unit...
"MA'AM, YES MA'AM!!!"
...before Fiona and Sarah took three steps back--inching slowly from toe to heel, taking in the renewed silence--before making their exit. Outside the drab concrete building, they're greeted by Jack Gaither and his 1970s model Chevy Vega, which blasted the unmistakable sounds of Scorpions tunes from its stereo speakers. Jack shut the old car off and hopped out of the driver's side.
JACK GAITHER:
So how'd it go in that hellhole?
Sarah's eyes were widened as she watched Fiona hand the tournament application form over to her husband. "Y'all can't be serious. Y'all CANNOT be serious!," she thought as she observed the couple whispering to each other.
Was THIS the big "payoff" Fiona had promised Sarah.
SARAH:
(mumbling under her breath)
I'm-a-gonna get pasted...
Sarah watched intently as Jack and Fiona got done talking, and the latter strolled up to her with a calm, yet resolved, demeanour in her step, ready to spring the surprise upon the underconfident teenager.
FIONA:
Look in me eyes, love. The payoff wasn't just getting you into the tournament. No-no, it was much bigger than that...
She paused, glancing back at her husband whilst developing a wide grin of her own.
FIONA:
...we--Jack and I--will teach you wrestling, the honourable way.
Sarah's jaw dropped. Her brown eyes lit up.
And her thick brunette hair began to stand on its end.
She wanted to be a wrestler like her own mother, that was a given. Yet deep in her soul, the LAST thing that crept in was the very notion that Jack Gaither and Fiona McFly--a husband-and-wife duo of wrestlers in their own right--would go out of their way to teach the sport in the first place.
Her reaction alone was priceless.
"Holy sheep-dip..."
~TO BE CONTINUED~
Well howdy there pardner.