Post by Henry Spearman on Jul 31, 2016 13:03:46 GMT -5
Henry wandered casually through the grocery store looking at the aisles of food. The front wheel on the left side of his cart was shaped slightly more oval than the others and resulted in a stupendously wobbly car that sounded like a bomb exploded every time the wheel went around. Henry was too embarrassed to get a new one so he just leaned the cart slightly to the right which seemed to solve the problem.
He stayed mostly to the outside aisles of the supermarket so to avoid buying food that was unhealthy. He also found that if he spent what little money he had on chips, he couldn’t really afford his essentials. Seth didn’t really like to pay his mid card guys very much money and Henry was a bit strapped for cash. He was glad he was living in his mother’s house which was fully paid off.
Henry tossed some vegetables into his cart and headed over to the meat department. He grabbed a couple of steaks and some chicken breasts and headed for the checkout line. He pushed his cart over to lane 6 which had only one person waiting in line while all the others were packed. Henry thought that was odd but hopped on line anyway
“Those pop tarts were supposed to be half price there pal!”
Henry looked up to see a man slightly smaller than himself staring intently at the cashier. He had a long ponytail in the back but was clearly balding up top. In fact, the top of his head was almost entirely bald.
“Im sorry sir. Let me check for you” The pimple faced cashier responded
“God damn right your sorry crater face. John Landsman never pays full price for pop tarts”
Henry watched, curiously amused at the clear over reaction from the man in front of him. Before he knew it the man turned to him. He looked Henry up and down before apparently deciding he was his best friend
“You believe this crap? I got myself this damn store card which is ‘sposed to get me all sorts of free shit and Commander spot over here is trying to fuck me out of half price pop tarts.”
Henry smiles and nods in agreement though he isn’t really sure he wants to.
“Hey, Pepperoni Face, you got that price check yet?”
“Uh yes sir, youre right. Ill take that fifty percent off for you right now”
“Good man. Don’t fuck my day up like that again pal. Im always right when it comes to this stuff. You think I don’t read those circulars at the front door when I walk in here? I get my shit together and I get it half off. None of that store brand bootleg cheerios either. I get the real deal. Ill bankrupt this place with my bonus card”
The man bags his groceries ad turns back to Henry
“I aint seen you around here that often. You new in town?”
“Uhhh, not really. I just haven’t ever shopped here before”
“Ah, yea it’s a good place but you really gotta be carful with these kids they stick on the registers. They’ll fuck you if your not careful.”
The cashier looks over at the man and shakes his head. John notices
“Hey! Don’t you worry whats going on over here. Ill hammer you little man. Ring this fine gentleman up”
The teen finishes ringing Henry up and hands him his groceries. Henry starts to walk away but John follows him out the door.
“You got an awful lot of protein there big hoss”
“I do a lot of lifting”
“No shit you do a lot of lifting. You’re built like a brick shithouse. What are you some kind of piano mover?”
Henry laughs at the harshness of the mans tone
“No actually, I’m a pro wrestler.”
The man stops and stares at Henry and a big smile slowly forms on his face
“Son, today is your lucky day. Do you know who I am?”
Henry begins to say that he does not but he is cut off
“Of course you know who I am. I am John fucking Landsman and I’m the guy that’s gonna make you a world champion.”
Henry obviously doesn’t know who John Landsman is or how he can make him a champion but he is intrigued none the less.
“Really? I could use a little help actually. I came on strong and won my first five matches but I have kind of hit a bit of a rough patch lately. I’m going up against some stronger competition and I guess I’m struggling to keep up. You think you can help?”
“Of course I can help. Im John Landsman. Im the greatest wrestling coach on the planet. Probably the galaxy honestly. I cant really be sure though. Never met a coach form another galaxy. I’ll take you to the top there big hoss. Whats your name?”
“Henry Spearman”
“Nooooo shit. Youre that Neforian character aren’t you? I read about you. I don’t watch the WCF anymore cause they cut my cable off but I read the dirt sheets. Don’t you have a match tonight? Against Mikey Extreme?”
Henry closes the trunk of his car and looks at John seriously
“I do. Two weeks ago Mikey cost me the television title. We were supposed to be a team. I had the match won but Mikey just had to stick his nose in my business and try to steal the glory. One mistake later I was laid out in the ring for the three count. A victim of a poorly placed X marks the spot. I was supposed to reclaim my TV Title that night and because of Mikeys arrogance I failed.”
“The funny thing is I had planned on making Mikey the first man I defended the belt against. I really felt it would have been a great match for that belt. Whether he was the champ or I was the champ I thought it would have stolen the show. Instead neither one of us walked out with the belt.”
Henry shakes his head in frustration
“Even more so, the man cant even take responsibility for the match. He still hasn’t apologized and he still hasn’t been able to admit that he is the reason we lost that match. I really thought I had a friend in Mikey. I invited him into my home. We talked strategy. We agreed to work together and In the end he threw it all the way because he just couldn’t let me have that moment. He couldn’t let me walk into ultimate showdown as the TV champ.”
“Its all right though. Tonight at the showdown we go one on one. We settle this score like men. After I spear Mikey in the middle of the ring and get the 1-2-3 everyone will know who the better man is. There is a lesson to be learned here and I plan on making sure Mikey gets the full effect of that lesson. He may have been the one left standing two weeks ago at slam but after tonight, it will be the spear that reigns supreme.”
Landsman runs his fingers through a thick mustache and smiles
“Big Hoss, heres my card. Ive got a wrestling gym about a mile down the road. When this match is over tonight, give me a call. I want to make a world champion out of you. No charge. I’ll do it as a friend”
Henry takes the card and looks at it. John Landsman brushes past him and walks towards his enormous Ford Bronco. He throws his bags in the back and climbs in. He pulls out of the spot and the bronco puffs thick black smoke into the air. The bronco pulls up next to Henry
“Make sure you bring that card with you. I only have one. I need it back”
The bronco tears out of the parking lot and leaves Henry and everyone else around it enveloped in a thick black smoke. Coughing,
Henry climbs into his car and the scene fades to black.
