Post by Eli Buchanan on Oct 21, 2023 22:57:11 GMT -5
It was a beautiful mid-October day in Vero Beach when Eli Buchanan arrived at the Championship Advantage Performance Center. The sun was shining, it was unseasonably warm, and everyone seemed to be in a great mood. Needless to say Eli Buchanan was in a foul mood as he stepped out of the vehicle and looked up at the CAPC.
“Not a single cloud in the sky. How absolutely dreadful.”
Eli adjusted his sunglasses and pulled his hood up over his face. Despite the warmth outside, he was clothed from head to toe, lower face covered with a mask and a pair of gloves on his hands. He waited for the bellhop, Harry to unload his bag and carry it over to him before he addressed the young man.
“Tell me, old chap, is it always this ‘nice’ this time of year.”
“Not normally, Mr Buchanan,” Harry replied, grunting from the effort of carrying Eli’s bag, “It’s usually cooler than this and we get a lot of storms.”
“Really? Such a pity.”
Eli took the bag from the bellhop. Harry watched with astonishment as he tossed it over his shoulder as if it weighed as light as a feather. The look on the young man’s face made Eli smile, which was the first time he had managed to do so since leaving the Last Man Standing compound.
“Thank you, Harrison. That will be all.”
The bellhop looked at him, confused.
“I’m sorry, sir?”
The frown returned to Eli’s face and he turned around to look at the young man. After weeks of slowly bending the young man to his will and molding him into something of a useful instrument for his own means he wasn’t used to Harry questioning him like this.
“I said, that will be all. You may return to your duties at the compound, I will no longer require your services.”
The look of confusion only seemed to deepen on Harry’s face and he shook his head slowly. He was about to say something, when someone came out from the CAPC and called to him.
“Harry, there you are. Come on, you're late. Coach is going to be pissed at you.”
“Oh shit,” Harry groaned, “I’ll have to run extra laps for sure.”
Eli watched Harry run back to the trunk and pull out another bag, one much smaller and lighter than his. He ran back over to Eli, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
“Sorry, Mr Buchanan, I thought you knew. I’m training here to become a wrestler. I want to be as big a star as you some day.”
Even though Harry couldn’t see it, Eli was smiling beneath his mask.
“Really? Well isn’t that a welcome surprise.”
***
A lot of eyes turned to watch as the duo entered the CAPC; they made for an interesting pair. While Eli Buchanan wasn’t tall compared to many of his contemporaries, he stood head and a good six inches taller than Harry, and his broad chest and shoulders were a strong contrast to the bellhop’s much skinner form. For his part, Eli ignored the attention the two of them were receiving and quietly behind Harry as they made their way through the building. A man came out of a door to the left and glared when he saw Harry and stormed over, looking frustrated.
“Harry, there you are. Do you realize how late you are? You were supposed to have been here forty-five minutes ago. I have a good mind to…”
The man stopped speaking as Eli pulled back his hood and removed his mask and glasses. Dropping his bag beside his, Eli gave the man a stiff bow and offered him his hand.
“Please don’t blame the lad. I fear I’m responsible for his tardiness. I required his assistance on my trip here and failed to realize I was keeping him from much more important ventures than carrying around another man’s bags. My name is Eli Buchanan, I believe you were expecting me?”
Harry, seeing the shocked look on the man’s face, quickly spoke up.
“Mr Buchanan, this is Coach Harris. He’s one of the trainers here at CAPC. I’ve learned alot from him since I started. He told me I might even be ready to be part of the charity show coming up.”
“And what charity show would that be,” Eli asked. He was pretty sure there had been some sort of announcement for some show or the other, but with him trying to put his own plans into action it had slipped from his mind up to this moment.
“That would be the Make-A-Wish Foundation event being held at the Orlando Children’s Hospital.” Coach Harris apparently had recovered from his shock and was trying to act like he hadn’t just been dressing down Harry a minute earlier. “That’s why you’re here isn’t it? To pick out someone to face at the event. Everyone from Last Man Standing will be competing at the show.”
It was Eli’s turn to try to act like this had been his plan all along. He smiled at both men in a disarming fashion, or at least as disarming as someone with the face of a natural predator can pull off.
“The Make-A Wish show, of course! Yes, that’s exactly why I’m here, to get ready for the match and pick out an opponent for me to compete against, but it seems providence has stepped and has already found someone to fight against.”
It took both Coach Harris and Harry a minute to realize who Eli meant.
“Who, me?”
“Who, Harry?”
Both men’s faces were pictures of disbelief. Eli had no idea what Coach Harris would have said in reply to Harry claiming he was almost ready to compete in the ring, but somehow he doubted either of them truly believed that. And that was perfect as far as Eli was concerned, he clapped Harry on the shoulder and laughed merrily.
“Yes, you, my dear, dear, fellow.”
He turned back to the coach and smiled even more brightly.
“Coach, Harry is the most upstanding person I have met since I first arrived at the Last Man Standing compound, and it seems there was a very good reason why I took such a shine to him in the first place. It would be my absolute honour as a veteran of the squared circle for young Harrison to have his first match with me.”
It didn’t take long for Couch Harris to come to a decision. Perhaps he had more confidence in Harry than Eli thought, or perhaps the coach just wanted to take the path of least resistance, but he nodded his head and smiled.
“Alright, I’ll go make sure that match gets added to the show. Eli Buchanan versus The Sumatran Kid.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Eli looked on with confusion as Harry dropped his bag on the floor and bent down to open it up. The young man pulled out a mask and put it on. When he stood up, Eli recognized the design of the mask right away. How couldn’t he? He had worn something similar to it for years, it was a tiger.
“I hope you don’t mind, Mr Buchanan,” Harry said, beaming from ear to ear beneath the mask, “I know you used to wrestle as Tiger Mask Red for years.”
“I still do, on occasion.” The smile on Eli’s face was even wider and he noticed Coach Harris taking a step back. Yes, the predator was definitely starting to come out of him and there was no mistake about it.
Eli clapped his hands and laughed.
“Well, they do say ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’. Harry, I look forward to competing against you at this little charity event coming up. Let the better man win.”
Eli shook hands with the excited young man and stood there with the coach as Harry gathered up his bag and headed off to train with the rest of his class. It was only when the young man was out of earshot that Couch Harris spoke up again.
“You know that quote you just said, Mr Buchanan? Were you aware there’s actually a second part to it?”
“Of course I do, my good man.” Eli’s eyes never turned away from the direction Harry had run off to. “It was Oscar Wilde who said, ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness’.”
Coach Harris laughed and nodded his head.
“Yep, that’s it, and they don’t come much more mediocre than Harry. Do me a favour, try not to kill him out in front of all those kids at the show.”
Eli kept staring after Harry. There was a glint in his eyes now.
“Trust me when I say this, my good man.I have no intentions of maiming young Harry.”
Not yet any way, he thought as he bent down to pick up his bag. The smile was now gone from his face altogether.
Not yet, but soon.
“Not a single cloud in the sky. How absolutely dreadful.”
Eli adjusted his sunglasses and pulled his hood up over his face. Despite the warmth outside, he was clothed from head to toe, lower face covered with a mask and a pair of gloves on his hands. He waited for the bellhop, Harry to unload his bag and carry it over to him before he addressed the young man.
“Tell me, old chap, is it always this ‘nice’ this time of year.”
“Not normally, Mr Buchanan,” Harry replied, grunting from the effort of carrying Eli’s bag, “It’s usually cooler than this and we get a lot of storms.”
“Really? Such a pity.”
Eli took the bag from the bellhop. Harry watched with astonishment as he tossed it over his shoulder as if it weighed as light as a feather. The look on the young man’s face made Eli smile, which was the first time he had managed to do so since leaving the Last Man Standing compound.
“Thank you, Harrison. That will be all.”
The bellhop looked at him, confused.
“I’m sorry, sir?”
The frown returned to Eli’s face and he turned around to look at the young man. After weeks of slowly bending the young man to his will and molding him into something of a useful instrument for his own means he wasn’t used to Harry questioning him like this.
“I said, that will be all. You may return to your duties at the compound, I will no longer require your services.”
The look of confusion only seemed to deepen on Harry’s face and he shook his head slowly. He was about to say something, when someone came out from the CAPC and called to him.
“Harry, there you are. Come on, you're late. Coach is going to be pissed at you.”
“Oh shit,” Harry groaned, “I’ll have to run extra laps for sure.”
Eli watched Harry run back to the trunk and pull out another bag, one much smaller and lighter than his. He ran back over to Eli, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
“Sorry, Mr Buchanan, I thought you knew. I’m training here to become a wrestler. I want to be as big a star as you some day.”
Even though Harry couldn’t see it, Eli was smiling beneath his mask.
“Really? Well isn’t that a welcome surprise.”
***
A lot of eyes turned to watch as the duo entered the CAPC; they made for an interesting pair. While Eli Buchanan wasn’t tall compared to many of his contemporaries, he stood head and a good six inches taller than Harry, and his broad chest and shoulders were a strong contrast to the bellhop’s much skinner form. For his part, Eli ignored the attention the two of them were receiving and quietly behind Harry as they made their way through the building. A man came out of a door to the left and glared when he saw Harry and stormed over, looking frustrated.
“Harry, there you are. Do you realize how late you are? You were supposed to have been here forty-five minutes ago. I have a good mind to…”
The man stopped speaking as Eli pulled back his hood and removed his mask and glasses. Dropping his bag beside his, Eli gave the man a stiff bow and offered him his hand.
“Please don’t blame the lad. I fear I’m responsible for his tardiness. I required his assistance on my trip here and failed to realize I was keeping him from much more important ventures than carrying around another man’s bags. My name is Eli Buchanan, I believe you were expecting me?”
Harry, seeing the shocked look on the man’s face, quickly spoke up.
“Mr Buchanan, this is Coach Harris. He’s one of the trainers here at CAPC. I’ve learned alot from him since I started. He told me I might even be ready to be part of the charity show coming up.”
“And what charity show would that be,” Eli asked. He was pretty sure there had been some sort of announcement for some show or the other, but with him trying to put his own plans into action it had slipped from his mind up to this moment.
“That would be the Make-A-Wish Foundation event being held at the Orlando Children’s Hospital.” Coach Harris apparently had recovered from his shock and was trying to act like he hadn’t just been dressing down Harry a minute earlier. “That’s why you’re here isn’t it? To pick out someone to face at the event. Everyone from Last Man Standing will be competing at the show.”
It was Eli’s turn to try to act like this had been his plan all along. He smiled at both men in a disarming fashion, or at least as disarming as someone with the face of a natural predator can pull off.
“The Make-A Wish show, of course! Yes, that’s exactly why I’m here, to get ready for the match and pick out an opponent for me to compete against, but it seems providence has stepped and has already found someone to fight against.”
It took both Coach Harris and Harry a minute to realize who Eli meant.
“Who, me?”
“Who, Harry?”
Both men’s faces were pictures of disbelief. Eli had no idea what Coach Harris would have said in reply to Harry claiming he was almost ready to compete in the ring, but somehow he doubted either of them truly believed that. And that was perfect as far as Eli was concerned, he clapped Harry on the shoulder and laughed merrily.
“Yes, you, my dear, dear, fellow.”
He turned back to the coach and smiled even more brightly.
“Coach, Harry is the most upstanding person I have met since I first arrived at the Last Man Standing compound, and it seems there was a very good reason why I took such a shine to him in the first place. It would be my absolute honour as a veteran of the squared circle for young Harrison to have his first match with me.”
It didn’t take long for Couch Harris to come to a decision. Perhaps he had more confidence in Harry than Eli thought, or perhaps the coach just wanted to take the path of least resistance, but he nodded his head and smiled.
“Alright, I’ll go make sure that match gets added to the show. Eli Buchanan versus The Sumatran Kid.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Eli looked on with confusion as Harry dropped his bag on the floor and bent down to open it up. The young man pulled out a mask and put it on. When he stood up, Eli recognized the design of the mask right away. How couldn’t he? He had worn something similar to it for years, it was a tiger.
“I hope you don’t mind, Mr Buchanan,” Harry said, beaming from ear to ear beneath the mask, “I know you used to wrestle as Tiger Mask Red for years.”
“I still do, on occasion.” The smile on Eli’s face was even wider and he noticed Coach Harris taking a step back. Yes, the predator was definitely starting to come out of him and there was no mistake about it.
Eli clapped his hands and laughed.
“Well, they do say ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’. Harry, I look forward to competing against you at this little charity event coming up. Let the better man win.”
Eli shook hands with the excited young man and stood there with the coach as Harry gathered up his bag and headed off to train with the rest of his class. It was only when the young man was out of earshot that Couch Harris spoke up again.
“You know that quote you just said, Mr Buchanan? Were you aware there’s actually a second part to it?”
“Of course I do, my good man.” Eli’s eyes never turned away from the direction Harry had run off to. “It was Oscar Wilde who said, ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness’.”
Coach Harris laughed and nodded his head.
“Yep, that’s it, and they don’t come much more mediocre than Harry. Do me a favour, try not to kill him out in front of all those kids at the show.”
Eli kept staring after Harry. There was a glint in his eyes now.
“Trust me when I say this, my good man.I have no intentions of maiming young Harry.”
Not yet any way, he thought as he bent down to pick up his bag. The smile was now gone from his face altogether.
Not yet, but soon.