Set Back — Finding It: Chapter 12

The first attempt was unsuccessful. Had I missed a step, forgotten something? Or was Dawn busy on the other end, ignoring my attempt to connect? I didn’t know.

I sat up in bed, looking across the room at my reflection in the dresser mirror. For whatever reason, I looked older… older but no wiser. Was I doing the right thing? Would I ever win at anything — wrestling, dating, life, whatever?

It was discouraging being me. Losing my first two matches didn’t bolster my self-confidence. I felt like quitting. In fact, immediately after getting dressed in my street clothes I intended to tell Coach Ellis that I couldn’t do it anymore. But then, he was busy with the other wrestlers and their matches, so I put it off, figuring it would be better if I told him after we returned to Countryside. That way he wouldn’t leave me behind, out in the middle of nowhere. No, I didn’t really believe he would do that, but he might feel like it.

And then I started talking to Mike Smith. He distracted me, though not so much him as Pamela, the pretty blond cheerleader from Tipp City.

“Who’s Pamela?” Dawn’s unmistakable response finally arrived.

“A girl.”

“Well, I figured that. Someone you met?”

“Not yet. Maybe never. Just someone I saw. She’s a witch, except I’m not sure she knows. Her aura didn’t seem quite as bright as Jen’s, but it might have been the lighting in the arena.”

“Arena. Where were you?”

“A wrestling tournament. Pam’s a wrestling cheerleader from another school.”

“Oh. So, how do you know her name if you didn’t meet her.”

“Another wrestler pointed her out to me. He knew her name. Anyway, their uniforms have their names stitched on their sweaters.”

“I see. I thought for a second there that you could read minds already.”

“No, nothing like that. But is that a thing?”

“It’ll happen. Just be patient. So, how’s your wrestling going?”

“I lost my first two matches.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Both guys were a lot bigger than me, maybe stronger, too. And they have loads of more experience. Both were top seeds.”

“So, your first two matches were against the best guys in the tournament?”

“One’s the defending State Champion.”

“How did you expect to do?”

“I know, still it was discouraging — embarrassing. You know?”

“You’ll be fine. You just gotta give it some time, learn and practice. Get stronger and figure out how to use your abilities to your advantage.”

“I’m not sure I should use my abilities — I mean the wolfcat stuff.”

“Why not?”

“It’s kinda like cheating.”

“How? It’s part of you. It’s who you are. Your opponent is wrestling you, the whole you, not a piece of you. Besides, how do you know they aren’t using some magic. You know, not everyone displays their gifts outwardly. Some have only a small amount of the attributes.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. It’s not all that unusual for people to become successful because there is a little witch, wolfcat or both in them.”

“Like whenever I see someone do something astonishing?”

“It’s often because of their magic, intentional or otherwise.”

“Okay. I’ll work on figuring out how to incorporate it, then.”

“I’m glad you reached out to me. I was a little worried ’cause I hadn’t heard from you.”

“I was busy, I guess. And I figured you were, too.”

“Busy enough. I found a job.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. It’s okay, I guess. Still looking for something better.”

“How’s Jen?”

“Great. Everything seems easy for her.”

“Well, she’s a witch, after all.”

“She doesn’t do the magic thing to make things easier for herself. There’s always the matter of balance. You’ll learn about that as you get used to how things work. You can change the nature around you, but it always adjusts and seeks balance. So, there are usually unexpected consequences whenever you push something to the limits.”

“So, I should use magic sparingly.”

“Yeah. When you embrace it, you’ll figure it out. You control your magic instead of letting it control you. You’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“No problem. When’s your next match.”

“Next week, on Thursday. It’s a dual meet with another team in our league. Coach Friske, the assistant, is helping me prepare. He used to wrestle unlimited class. He’s bigger than anyone in my league. So, I wrestle against him in practice.”

“That should help.”

“Yeah, eventually. Just, I have so much to learn. It’s complicated, doing this move to counter that move but making sure you watch out because what you are doing presents a vulnerability you need to protect, otherwise, you’ll get reversed and pinned. And all that can happen in a matter of seconds. Plus, all my prior experience was at lower weight classes, and there are some dramatic differences.”

“Sports are always like that, though. It’s the nuances that matter most, I think.”

“You play any sports?”

“Field Hockey and softball. I was pretty good, too. Since I’m so short, it was hard for the opposing pitcher to hit my strike zone. With field hockey, I was quick. And because I was short, I could duck under attempted defenses.”

“You used your size to your advantage.”

“You need to do that too, Brent. You’re a big guy, but in the world of wrestling, you’re not so big. But you’re quick. And if you work on getting stronger — your wolfcat attributes will help with that — you can make it work for you. Just be careful about drawing too much attention to yourself.”

“Why?”

“The bad guys will find you and either recruit you or eliminate you.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“I want you to succeed, but just avoid being too successful, if that makes sense.”

“I don’t think I’ll have any trouble with that. But hey, thanks for the encouragement. You’re probably busy and all that.”

“Not all that busy. Just watching some stupid TV show. That’s redundant, I know.”

I laughed.

“But if you have something else to do.”

“Just a term paper I’ve been putting off.”

“Jen has one of those, too. That’s what she’s doing now. I was getting ready to head home.”

“You live far away?”

“No, just the next street over. I walked over here.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah. Jen inherited this place when her uncle died. Her parents live down the street.”

“That worked out well.”

“Except it took us forever to fix the place up.”

“Tell Jen I said hi.”

“I will. And don’t be such a stranger. I like talking to you, even if it’s a long-distance sort of thing.”

“At least there isn’t a phone bill.”

“One of the many fringe benefits of having magic.”

“Is there a downside to doing this? I mean — you said when you use magic there is a balance.”

“This is minor, relatively speaking. We’re using the nature of magic itself, at worst, we’re causing a ripple.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Have you merged with Carlos?”

“Not yet. I’m not sure how I’d know, though.”

“Oh, you’ll know. He’ll become more like your conscience. And you’ll start to think the way he does about a lot of things.”

“That’s frightening.”

I could feel Dawn laughing. It made me happy. “It won’t be so bad.”

“If you say so.”

“Take care, Brent.”

“You too, Dawn.”

* * *

My record in wrestling was perfect — perfectly awful, having yet to win a match. Despite that, Coach Ellis told me during Tuesday night’s practice that I should be able to win this upcoming one. My opponent weighed 235, only 38 pounds more than me. He was a freshman with just as little unlimited class experience as me, but I had more wrestling experience, overall. The coach also felt I was the superior athlete because I was quicker, stronger, and better conditioned. My opposition was a chubby kid. I guessed he was coaxed into wrestling for many of the same reasons I was.

The Countryside Eagles wrestlers skipped out of class early to get the gymnasium ready for the dual meet. I had been through the drill many times before. We helped the two equipment managers roll out the wrestling mat, and then we set up the chairs for the coaches and the teams before going into the locker room where each of us entered our individual preparation rituals.

Once the other team and the referees arrived, we assembled for the official weigh-in. Everyone else was sweating, literally, to make it under the maximum allowable weight for each class. I had the opposite problem, needing to ensure that my body mass was in excess of the minimum 195 pounds. I ate an extra meal, drank water, and consumed candy bars trying to convert calories into pounds of fat so that the scale that had tipped only 194 that morning would be at 195 by wrestling time. So far in my wrestling career, it had not been a problem. In fact, for the previous matches, I weighed just under 196.

Ralph was having a huge issue with his weight. He had been over 100 pounds all week. He had purposely stayed in the ninety-eight-pound weight class because he would generally be wrestling against younger, less experienced wrestlers. His two-plus years of experience figured significantly in his matches. In last weekend’s tournament, he had beaten a supposedly superior wrestler who was ranked in the State, a guy who was a Regional Champion the preceding year. As a result of that one match in the championship round, Ralph was catapulted to the upper echelon of wrestlers and that week was ranked number ten in the state.

The pressure was on him to perform up to expectations. So far, he delivered.

My entire team made it through the weigh-ins, but the opposition failed in one weight class and had to forfeit. It would have been a match our wrestler was unlikely to have won. It was a boost for our team that the coach said was a double bonus.

The team progressed well. Ralph pinned his opponent in one minute and thirty-three seconds. Ralph was kind of a personal project for Coach Ellis. He had taught him how to wrestle his way from the first day of practice just over two years ago. Ralph struggled, learning the moves, and suffering disappointing losses to superior experience, but never superior desire. Then he started to win a match or two and finally, toward the end of his sophomore year, he became dominant. He began to beat some wrestlers who were more experienced.

Ralph developed a reputation within the league. He advanced to the district semi-finals last season before losing to the eventual champion.

In this new season, he exuded confidence, having mastered wrestling at his weight class. His hard work, dedication, and effort led to his triumphs and inspired everyone else on the team.

Around seven forty-five, I was watching the second of three three-minute periods of the 185-pound class match, I thought I saw Dawn entering the gymnasium. For me, a wave of potential and possibility passed over the venue, even before she had taken her seat in the bleachers. I stared in that direction wondering if it was really her, if she was there or if it was my imagination and it was merely someone who looked like her.

Suddenly, Kevin, our 185-pound wrestler and team captain, the guy who had a problem with me earning a varsity letter in football on a technicality due to my injury, was the same guy who started the whole ‘Brent Who’ thing, reversed his opponent and got the immediate pin. He shot up from the achievement and hopped around basking in the glory of the moment.

I reacted as well, shaking hands with him as he came off the mat.

“Are you friends with your nemesis, now?” Dawn asked.

I looked to the bleachers. She stood and waved.

“What are you doing here?”

“Supporting you.”

“Are you really here?”

“What kind of question is that? Yes, I’m really here. Magic is real, after all.”

“I gotta wrestle next.”

“I know. Give it all you got.”

Kevin’s victory meant a lot, especially against a guy who was considered one of the best in the league. Like me, he suffered a couple of losses in the previous matches, but he was an experienced wrestler having wrestled varsity in lower weight classes in previous seasons. He never relented in his quest. His goal was to be League Champion this season.

The team points for the meet were even, having won as many matches as our opposition. Everyone on the team knew where we stood and so as I stood to take to the mat, Kevin said, “It’s your turn to win for once!”

Everyone else including the coach believed I could. Walking toward the referee, I glanced toward the bleachers and saw Dawn was standing, cheering. Wanting to do something special just for her, because she put forth a lot of effort to be there, I committed to winning, whatever it took.

As I shook hands with the other wrestler, I sensed something I had never felt in an opponent: fear. Despite his weight advantage, I intimidated him. Someone was afraid of me?

When the referee blew his whistle, immediately I went on the attack, backing my opponent up. Then, sensing I was stronger, I executed a head arm throw. He fell onto the mat, and I scored a takedown followed by a near fall. But in the process, I felt a warm burning sensation in my left groin. It hurt but I pressed beyond the pain. I had an opportunity and was going to seize it.

My opponent resisted, rocking back and forth to prevent the pin. I could not easily control him because of his size and weight advantage. But I was in the lead in the match and was generating ride time points as I retained control. His only chance of winning was to reverse me and go for the immediate pin.

As I analyzed the situation, I could not believe the opportunity that I had. Because of practicing with the lighter wrestlers, I knew their moves and techniques. My opponent was ripe for a leg ride that I guessed he had never encountered. I quickly transformed the move into the guillotine, pulling his arm back behind my shoulders and stretching him painfully into submission.

In the waning seconds of the first period, I received the three-count for the victory.

Every one of my teammates ran out onto the mat to congratulate me. My match decided the team win. Elated, still there was a problem. My left side burned from the strain. In throwing my opponent into the first compromising situation for a takedown, I tore a thin lower abdominal membrane, rupturing my left groin.

Coach Ellis corralled my shoulders. Coach Friske shook my hand and then dragged me in for a bear hug, “That was amazing,” he said as he pointed to the scoreboard that indicated that the Countryside Eagles won the meet. “You did exactly what you needed to do.”

“I’m glad.”

“Who taught you the guillotine?” Coach Friske asked.

“I’ve been watching Ralph.”

“No kidding. Usually, that doesn’t work well against big men.”

“So, I’ve heard. But it’s always worth a try if you have the chance.”

“So, how does it feel to win one?”

“Almost worth all the pain and agony.”

“You’re no longer a ‘fish’,” he said referring to the term used for an easy or winless opponent in wrestling.

Looking up in the bleachers, I didn’t see Dawn, which disappointed me. Even though she was there because of magic, I hoped we could at least share a hug and talk for a bit before she left.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turned.

“Down here. I’m not in heels,” she said.

“Dawn!” Before I thought, I picked her up and swung her around. Yeah, it made the burning sensation worse, but I didn’t care.

“You’re happy.”

“No, I just always smile a lot and swing people around.”

“I’m glad you won. And your team…”

“Yeah, this is the best part.”

Coach Friske slapped his plump hand on my back. “Is this your girlfriend?”

I started to respond but didn’t know what to say, not exactly.

“Sure. I’m a girl and his friend,” Dawn said, shaking hands.

“She brought me luck.”

“You need to come more often.”

“I’ll try,” she said with a wink.

When the coach moved on to others, patting their backs, I nudged Dawn to one side. “About us. What are we?”

“Wolfcats.”

“No, I mean our status. I mean, you and Jen…”

“She’s special to me, Brent. But it’s not an exclusive arrangement. Not yet anyway. She sees other girls. I date guys.”

“You’re AC/DC, then?”

She kissed me. When she pulled back, she explained. “I prefer the term ‘bi’. I love guys; I love girls.”

“Come on,” I took her by the hand and tugged her along behind me, outside into the corridor. She looked around. “So, this is what it looks like with the lights on.”

“Yeah.” I looked around. “Uh, I want you to know how important this is to me, your being here made a huge difference.”

“I knew it would. We’re connected, you know.”

“Yeah, about that. How connected are we?”

“Whenever you think about me, I know. And you should also feel it when I think about you.”

“How would I know that?”

“It’s sort of like playing ping pong.”

I laughed. “I think about you a lot.”

“See. Someday… when you’re a little bit older… maybe we’ll see what sort of other magic we can conjure together.”

“I wish we lived closer.”

“It doesn’t matter, though.”

“I guess I’m jealous. I want all of you to be here, including your aura…”

“I’ll work on that.”

I leaned over, picked her up by the waist, and kissed her.

“You’re hurt,” she glanced down at my left side.

“Yeah, I pulled something.”

“It’s a hernia,” she pronounced.

“I hope not.”

“Well, it is.”

“Can you fix that, like you did my knee?”

She shook her head. “You healed your knee. I just boosted your natural abilities at the end.”

“How about another boost, then.”

“It doesn’t work that way. You have to start the process.”

“I wouldn’t know how.”

“You’re going to need surgery.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, but after that, I can help you speed up the healing process.” She paused, seeming to be listening. “I need to get back.”

“Thanks again for coming.” I pulled her close, but this time I leaned over all the way and kissed her. “I love…”

She pressed her fingers to my lips. “Don’t! It’s too soon. Okay? Just be happy.”

I nodded. She looked around to ensure we were alone and in the next instant, she vanished.