Though the idea of hitting up a comedy club appeals to you, in the end you all decide it might not be the best idea. After all, if you want your mood to stay level, going somewhere that's intended to make it spike doesn't strike you as the wisest course. Instead after much deliberation, you decide to spend your afternoon at the Zoo. And so with your belly full of lamb stew and wearing a heavier sweatshirt than normal to ward off the November chill, you make your way to the Monster. Allie hops behind the wheel without asking and Jack absently slides into the passenger seat, attention firmly fixed on his phone. You find yourself on the in the middle seats, right behind Jack, with Selina sitting primly next to you.
The drive itself is pretty uneventful. The only thing out of the ordinary is just how quiet the whole thing is. You haven't ridden in this van once without some kind of lengthy conversation about life, the universe, and everything breaking out. But for once, there's a comfortable silence filling the van. Allie focuses on the road, Jack on his phone, and Selina seems content to rest her head on your shoulder instead of talking. The silence is only broken when Jack mutters a curse and sticks his phone in his pocket.
"Something wrong?" you ask through a yawn.
Jack shakes his head. "Nah. I was just checking if Charley could come. But she's stuck at work."
"That sucks," Allie chimes in. "How's that whole thing going anyway?"
"What thing? The me and Charley thing?" Jack asks.
Allie nods. "Yeah, that thing. How're you guys doing?"
Jack pauses for a moment and then shrugs. "Fine, I guess? We talk every day and we're having a lot of fun. And she's a lot of help with the gimmick- way more than you guys are, I'll have you know!"
You and Allie scoff in unison. "I'm not complaining about that," you answer. "If she can stand to listen to six hours of the same shakespearean promo, she's welcome to it. Swear to god, Jack, if I hear about how you're going to punish me with boils one more time…"
"You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again!" Jack declares. "Just for that you're getting an extra boil-filled one at K.W.K this month. But yeah, we're doing good, I think. Why? Has she said something else to you?"
Allie rolls her eyes. "No, Jack," she sighs. "I was just curious. And why would she say anything to me? We've had like two conversations period." The conversation trails off into friendly barbs which you do not join in with. You just lean against the cool glass of the window and rest your eyes, enjoying the novel feeling of not driving for once.
It's a feeling you get to enjoy for quite some time. The drive goes on much longer than it should as Allie and Jack bicker about which way is the fastest way to get to the Zoo. In the end, it turns out neither of them were right, and you wind up driving in a circle for ten minutes as they bicker with each other. You'd step in- but you don't wanna. You're just glad they're arguing like normal again. It gives you some hope that maybe you'll get to some semblance of normality again when you're recovered from the concussion.
But all good things have to end sometime and that includes your ride. The Monster pulls into the massive parking lot of the Maryland Zoo after another half hour and you're jerked from your kinda trance by the sound of doors opening. You hurry to join your friends and girlfriend and together, the four of you walk into the Zoo.
As you walk through the front gate, the sounds and smells of wild animals hit you like a wall. All around you you hear grunts of beasts, splashing from the turtle enclosure, and even a tiny trumpeting. It's towards that last one that you find yourself being pulled by Selina, who latches onto your wrist with an iron grip. "Come on!" she squeals. "We need to see this!"
The four of you arrive at the elephant exhibit quickly, and you find yourself glad you rushed. A tiny elephant calf that can't be more than three feet tall is proudly parading around the simulated savannah, trunk held in the air like a rearing snake. As you watch it trips, falling in a tumble that sees it covered in dirt. The calf stands there frozen for a moment before turning and lumbering back towards it's titanic mother.
As it runs, the baby elephant makes noises of protest, and you can almost hear it yelling, "Mom! The dirt hit me!" It sprints underneath it's mother, running around one leg in circles. The mother's trunk comes down and rests on the calf. The squealing stops and it isn't long before the baby is out on another grand adventure.
You glance down at Selina. "You're right. I did need to see this." She doesn't answer, instead nodding enthusiastically, eyes entranced by the adorableness playing out in front of her.
"I read something the other day," Jack chimes in as he leans against the railing. "Apparently studies have been done on elephants, and when they look at a human, their minds react the same way ours do when we look at a kitten."
Allie ponders that for a second and then shrugs. "And that means?"
"Elephants think we're adorable."
You stop and digest that for a moment. "Honestly, that makes me happier than it should," you answer.
Selina nods. "My life is better now knowing that elephants think I'm cute."
You all watch the elephants until the baby is done putting on a show, and that takes some time. It romps around the enclosure like an enthusiastic puppy, only stopping when it trips and needs Mom to tell it that everything's going to be okay. But even a baby elephant's energy isn't limitless. After another fight with the ground and an equally difficult war with the river, it trundles back to a small copse of trees and collapses into a deep sleep.
When you're done with the elephants, Allie takes her turn to drag everyone to an exhibit and leads you right to the reptile house. You spend half an hour wandering through the darkened hallways and looking at all the varieties of snakes and lizards, and then another thirty minutes huddling with your roommates as you try to figure out what kind of snake Crazy Bob downstairs has. Eventually you settle on the California Kingsnake, and then you need to debate how the hell your landlord got a California Kingsnake.
After that, Jack decides that it's time to see the monkeys. Your trip to see them is a short one though. At the primate habitat you find a pair of guys, one stick thin in flannel and the other heavyset in a Ravens jersey, arguing with a woman in zoo uniform. "-have to stop doing that!" the zookeeper is saying as you walk up. "Didn't you see the signs?!"
The sports fan scoffs. "We paid our money!" he protests. "And we want to see some animals do stuff!"
His hipster friend nods. "If you did your job, we wouldn't have to rile them up!"
The zookeeper throws her hands up in the air. "The animals aren't trained to put on a show!" she bites out. "And if you keep throwing things, they're going to-"
"What? Throw us out! I'd like to see your security try! I've got a black belt you know!"
"...okay then. On your own head be the consequences," she finally replies. Without another word, the zookeeper turns and walks away from the pair of morons. As she comes close to your group she looks over at you. "Excuse me. If I might offer a suggestion, I would go visit another exhibit for a little while. Thirty minutes should do it."
Selina pauses and walks closer to the zookeeper. "Miss? Are they doing something wrong? Should we say something?"
The zookeeper smiles at her in response. "That's very kind of you to offer, ma'am. But that's not necessary. But I would really recommend at least stepping back a ways. You're in the drop zone."
All of you freeze as your minds process that and the zookeeper takes the opportunity to beat a hasty retreat. It clicks with you first, and you turn around. "Back!" you bark. "Back away! We don't need this shit right now!"
The others follow your lead, though Selina still looks confused. "What am I missing?" she asks.
You turn to look back at the two in front of the monkey cages. "Unless I'm really misjudging this, these two fine gentlemen have been throwing things at the monkeys," you explain. "And it looks like they're about to get a taste of their own medicine." With that you stop and wait. And moments later, a rain of rocks and shit pours down on the unsuspecting morons.
Jack lets out a low whistle. "Alright, that's impressive."
Allie eyes the scene with distaste and glances down at her shoes. "We should get that zoo lady something nice," she mutters. "That's a hell of a drop zone."
The show goes on for longer than you'd expect before the men beat a hasty retreat. The monkeys are still riled up though, so you don't head towards them. Instead you take your turn and, after some thought, you lead the way to the tropical bird exhibit. It's a massive tent that takes up a good few hundred feet, and when you walk in you're hit by sweltering heat that makes you shed your fall coat instantly.
A different zookeeper is stationed inside. He smiles at you all and offers a heavy metal tray. "Welcome to the Birds of the Amazon!" he greets you. "Would you like to feed the birds?" On the tray are small plastic cups, each with a heavy-looking yellow liquid in them.
Selina steps up to him. "Um, sure! What do we do? Throw these somewhere?"
"Oh, no, definitely don't do that," the zookeeper answers. "Please don't leave any trash behind in the exhibit. Just take a cup and walk through. The birds will come down and land on your arm to get a nice meal!"
That doesn't sound like any bird you've ever encountered. Then again, you've mostly seen pidgeons, and fuck those things. But you're willing to take a zoo expert at his word. You thank him and take a cup before stepping out into the tent proper. Sure enough, almost instantly you've got a pair of visitors on your arm, one red and yellow, the other blue with dark streaks. The two of them squabble over the nectar to your bemusement, and by the time they leave your cup is empty.
You turn back around to see Selina lowering her phone. "Get another!" she coos. "That was a good shot!"
You do as ordered and make your way through the tent. By the end of it you feel like some kind of bird whisperer, and Selina has a dozen pictures that she forwards to you, one of which goes right on the twitter. Then it's her turn, and Allie's, and Jack's, who doublefists the nectar with hilarious results. You almost don't want to leave but eventually, you have to.
The monkeys are next and thankfully, they've calmed down enough for you to see them go about their business. Then comes the giraffes, the bears, the tigers, the otters, and the cheetah with it's emotional support dog. You see everything you can until your stomach starts to rumble again, calling an end to your afternoon at the zook.
You're beaming as you walk, and you're not the only one. "Thanks," you say to your friends. "I think I needed that."
"We all did," Allie says with a grin.
"Thanks for the idea," you say to Selina, pulling her into a one-armed hug. "And for coming over."
"Like I said, Tom," she answers through a broad smile. Goddamn is she beautiful. "It was my pleasure. I'm just glad you had fun."
You lean down and press a kiss onto her forehead before helping her back into the Monster. She nuzzles into you as you strap on your seatbelt. "I did," you say. "I had a lot of fun. But…" You tilt her chin up and kiss her softly. "I think I can do with some more fun."
Your girlfriend giggles. "Is that so?" she murmurs in inch in front of your face. "I think…"
She kisses you again and then pulls away with a giggle. "I think that that kind of fun is probably bad for someone with a head injury. So we'll have to wait."
"Nu-uh!" you protest. "I'm sure it's fine!"
"Nope!" Allies sing songs from the driver's seat. "It definitely isn't!"
"But… but…" you pout. "I'm feeling better! Really! I'm at one hundred percent! I could-"
***
"-do anything! I swear!"
Daybreak sighs and shakes her head. "No you fucking can't, Martin, and you know it. But it doesn't matter. I'll demo bumping if we need to, but it's day one. They're going to be running the ropes today and that's it, unless we've got some fucking geniuses in there."
It's three days after your zoo date, and you really are feeling a lot better. It's almost like being cockblocked by your concussion made your body determined to heal faster. Your headache is completely gone and you don't think you've had a mood shift in a while. You were able to go back to work yesterday to absolutely no fanfare with no issues, and that included keeping your temper when a screaming customer realized that Archie had closed his grace period loophole.
That's all you've done for the last few days. You've worked, you've gone home, you've watched terrible TV with Jack and Allie, and you've traded texts with people, and you've talked with Selina over the phone. You've barely done anything involving wrestling; you haven't even studied any tape- not even of your last match. You're not sure when you'll get around to that one.
But now you're itching to get back to it. It's been too long since you've put your body through its paces. At this point your back feels a little weird when you haven't bumped it on the canvas and you're eager to remedy that. And thankfully, you've got your chance. Because today's the first day of Horizon's latest semester and your first as Daybreak's number two.
If only she'd let you actually bump.
"Come on, boss," you wheedle. "I'll wear the helmet, I promise. Just a few minutes on the ropes and five- ten back bumps. Maybe break out the crash pad for a minute so I can work on an idea I've got for a match. That's it!"
Daybreak lets out a sigh. "Not happening. Next week, sure, but not now. I need your brain nice and unscrambled." You go to protest, but she raises a finger. "And if you keep asking, I'm going to kick you out and get Brad back over here."
You stop short and mime zipping your lips. Being around wrestling in some way, even if you can't do any of it yourself, is better than the alternative.
Plus, it's day one. You want to see what day one of Horizon looks like from the outside. "Okay," you sigh. "No bumping. So what am I supposed to do today?"
"Not much," Daybreak admits with a shrug. "Day one is for three things. First are the physicals, which Doc's doing now. Then I get to give the intro speech. Then they run the ropes. And yes, I'll let you run the ropes. We'll start bumping next week. You should be up for it by then."
You nod. "Alright. So I'm just supposed to sit here and look pretty?"
Daybreak pauses and nods. "Pretty much. If they have any questions that they want to ask you, answer 'em. If they start asking about what you've done feel free to puff yourself up like an asskicker. Just remember that the ones who don't wash out will be on the Horizon show in January- so don't do too much. You don't want to look like you're full of hot air, after all."
You clap your hands together and roll your shoulders. "Alright, alright. Don't be a Marymark. Gotcha. But what if they ask me a question I don't know the answer to?"
"If it's training related? Talk to me," she answers. "If it's not? Make something up."
"Got it. Fucking with the fresh meat is a-okay," you reply. You stand in silence for a moment, nerves sending your mind racing. "But what if-"
"Martin, geez," Daybreak sighs. "You'll do fine. Seriously. Do you think I'd have asked you to do this if I didn't think you could do it?"
"Yes," is your immediate answer. "If you thought it'd be funny to watch me fail, in a heartbeat, yes."
Daybreak opens her mouth, but stops. "Point," she admits. "Let me rephrase that. Do you think I would be paying you actual money if I didn't think you could do this?"
That's a tougher question. As you ponder it, the door to the basement creaks open and the diminutive balding form of the Doctor who gave you your first physical at Horizon steps out. He glances at you with a question in his eyes but his words are for Daybreak. "They're mostly decent shape, Lucy," he says without preamble. "You've got three borderlines though. Keep an eye on Sanders, Himura, and Nicholson."
Daybreak's brow furrows. "What's wrong with them?"
"Sanders is carrying more weight than I'd like. The stress might not be good for them. Himura's asthmatic, and Nicholson's got an ankle injury. It's healed but just barely."
Your teacher accepts that with a nod. "I'll keep an eye on them. How about Fontana?"
The Doc's eyebrows creep up. "Fontana? The picture of health. If you want me to be honest he's likely in better shape than you are. If you-"
Daybreak waves him away. "If I wanted a lecture I'd talk to my sister," she scoffs. "Thanks for your help." She passes him an envelope, which he takes a glance into before rolling his eyes and bidding you both goodbye.
As he leaves, you shoot Daybreak a glance. "Something about this Fontana that makes you nervous?"
She shrugs. "Yeah. Not really. It's… you'll see." Without any further delay, she pushes the door open and leads the way down the stairs into Horizon proper.
The familiar school's had some work done. The heavy bags are new, and she's replaced the turnbuckle pads since the last time you've been here. A new banner is hanging in the back that you recognize from an old E.P.C pay-per-view, and there's a freshly framed poster hanging near the stairs. A glance shows that it's the match card from the first Horizon show, and you have to grin when you see 'TOMMY CORSAIR VS. ALLISON SKY VS. JACK SALVATION' down at the bottom.
You wipe the grin off your face as your feet hit the concrete though. You only have one chance to make a first impression, and you want yours to be a competent pro wrestler, not of some smiling goof. It doesn't matter though; the nearly three-dozen students that are milling around the ring barely pay you any attention. Their focus is entirely on Daybreak.
For her part your teacher ignores them and lets her presence shut them down. She just walks up the stairs and steps through the ropes, taking a quick circuit of the ring before stopping and leaning against the ropes. The students unconsciously follow her until they're all crowded outside the side she's up against.
After another moment's stretching, she turns to face the crowd. "Welcome to Horizon Academy," Daybreak greets them. "And welcome to my twenty-third training class. You've chosen to come to me to learn the art that is Professional Wrestling. For that, I'm humbled and honored."
She paces along the ropes, glancing at each face in turn. "Training will be your full time job for the next twelve weeks. Every morning you will come here at eight o'clock sharp. We will do in-ring work and drills until noon. Lunch is next, after which some of you will go back to it with my assistant. That's him over there." She gestures in your direction, making every head swivel in your direction. You offer a two-fingered salute from your position against the wall, and Daybreak goes on.
"The rest of you will be with me, and we'll go over whatever I feel like until five. This'll be your schedule six days a week. Sunday will be your own. Skip any other day and you'd better have a damn good reason. Someone should have died. If you've got the sniffles, I don't care. Suck it up and get in here. You're paying for my time- use it or lose it."
"From-"
Daybreak's practiced speech is interrupted by a hand sticking up out of the crowd. "Um…" a voice mutters out. "What if-"
"Maybe I haven't been clear," Daybreak bites out. "This is me-talky time, not you question time. Questions later. Listen now. Get it?"
The hand stays up for a moment, as if the man it's attached to is hoping she'll change her mind, but he eventually lowers it. Daybreak goes on as if she hadn't been interrupted at all. "From five on, your time is your own. You can spend it here, working, as long as you keep it quiet."
She grits her teeth and shoots you a glare before looking back at the students. "If you bug my daughter in any way- and I mean any way- your extra training privileges will be revoked." You paint a look of mock offense on your face and hold your hand to your chest, as if wounded. It's hardly your fault that Delilah recognizes that you are in fact the fucking man!
"Other than that, I don't care what you do. Hang out at the motel- you'll get your keys at the end of training today. Go see the sights of scenic Baltimore. I've got it on good authority that the Zoo's got a baby elephant right now that's worth the price of admission."
You grin again at the memory but lean back against the wall, folding your arms, and train your eyes on the newcomers. You want to see their reactions to the next part. "One last thing. I'm under no illusions how successful you all will be here, so I won't let you be under any either. Most of you? You can forget your dreams of your names up in lights with ten thousand people screaming your name. You're not going to make it."
The silence somehow gets deeper. The reactions are everything you expected. Some don't seem to believe her, while some look like her words are only making them more determined. A few look like they want to cry. Only a few look completely unaffected, like this is nothing new to them.
"Some of you aren't going to have the will for the physical part of this business," Daybreak continues. "You'll go first. Some are here just because they want to be rich and famous; there's always a few of you who think this is your ticket to the big time. You'll be next to go when you figure out that this is harder than being a jackass on a reality show. I'll say maybe half of you will pass, at best. Out of that half, one, maybe two will be able to make a living with this."
"If you want out, that's fine. I won't think any less of you for it. But there's no refunds."
"Now!" she almost yells, clapping her hands together. "The formalities are out of the way! So let's get started with lesson one! Tommy!"
You march up the stairs and vault into the ring, making Daybreak roll her eyes. She doesn't say anything though. Instead she retreats to a corner and turns back to the crowd. "Now Tommy is going to demonstrate lesson one: the ropes."
***
This lesson is a lot more fun from the other side.
At this point, you're used to the ropes. They hurt, sure, but it's a familiar pain, one that sends a good ache down your back. And frankly, it's relieving to hit them again after last Saturday. To the newcomers though? Not so much. To them it's the hardest thing they've ever done in their life. You see welts developing, cuts being ripped in flesh, people tripping everywhere as they try to internalize where the pivot point is. It's kinda hilarious to watch.
There's too many of them for Daybreak to have them all run at once, so instead she's got them going in groups of seven. Some are better than others, picking it up after only a few mistakes, but some are clearly hopeless. You'll be shocked if a few of them come back for day two. A few just keep going at it without a word, neither sucking nor excelling.
It's when a few of those decent ones are in the ring and running that you pause. One of them looks oddly familiar. You've got no idea why, but you're pretty sure you've seen one of the students before. He's a decently tall guy, a few inches taller than you, with short hair that's slicked back. You squint at him for a moment.
No, you've never seen him before in your life. But why does he looks so goddamn familiar- Wait. It's not that you've seen him. It's that you've seen someone who looks just like him a thousand times.
You sidle over to Daybreak. "Am I crazy," you mutter. "Or is that kid a dead ringer for Jasper Coinflip?"
Daybreak snorts. "You may be crazy, but not about that," she replies at a similar volume. "His kid's got the itch and Jas wanted me to see if there's anything there."
You let out a whistle. The kid of 'Kingpin' Jasper Coinflip right here, in your class! That's something to tell Jack about. Coinflip was a huge heel back in the early 90s, and he was in one of the first matches you ever saw when he took on 'Big Titan' Terry Tremendous and stole the belt right out from under him with sheer, raw power. His son's a dead ringer for him- well, facially. Physically he's got no part of the Kingpin's overwhelming size.
But who knows what he'll turn into? Second generation talents are an institution in wrestling. It's rare to see one that doesn't pan out in some way.
Another student draws you out of your musings, but not for any good reason. This one is a heavyset woman with short red hair. She's huffing and puffing as she takes her second turn on the ropes, and she's only able to get four courses in before she stops to suck air. Daybreak scowls and yells, "Sanders! Doubletime!"
"I… I'm trying!" she gasps out. "But it's hard-"
"Try harder!"
You turn your attention away from the struggling Sanders and look over at someone on the opposite end of the spectrum. This one's another guy, black with a shaved head. He's running the ropes like a seasoned vet despite the fact you saw him struggle just as much as anyone else did on his first lap. You nod approvingly as he pivots and bounces in just the right point.
As you watch, he steps it up, running faster and faster as if he's trying to figure out how fast he can pivot. He stumbles a little at the higher speeds, but he recovers and doesn't stumble again. Impressive.
Daybreak lets him run on and on until he's maxxed out his speed before she calls an end for lunch. The students fall on the sandwiches like a pack of starving wolves and you exert assistant's privilege by grabbing one of your own despite the fact you haven't done anything. There's no talking as the trainees inhale their lunch, leaving you to enjoy the silence.
As lunch finishes up, Daybreak stretches. "I'm going to run most of them through tape," she mutters to you. "Grab a few and have 'em keep at the ropes. I don't care who. We'll swap in a while."
You nod, and step forward. "Alright bitches!" you call out. "Most of you are going to go with Daybreak and learn the joys of over analyzing footage. But a lucky few of you are going to stick with me and keep working with your friends and mine, the ropes! You, with me! You, with me!"
You pick people at random until you've got six of the thirty five all picked out. One more should do it. That'll let you keep going with them all at the same time. But… hm. Maybe you should actually think about this last one.
Who do you pick to give personal attention to?
[] Willy Hughes, the one who's excelling at the ropes. He's doing okay, sure, but he'll do even better if you give him some extra pointers.
[] Anna Sanders, the one who's floundering. If she doesn't get the hang of this, she's not going to last long, and you want as many people to make it through this as possible.
[] Prince Fontana, the second-generation kid. He's doing okay, but he might do better than okay if you work with him. And hey, he's got a name. There's worse people to be on friendly terms with.
