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Origins
Topic Started: Jul 14 2017, 10:04 AM (127 Views)
SMWB

November 7, 2013
Freeport, Long Island
3:45 pm


It was a quarter to four on this chilly Thursday afternoon. School had been let out for just a little over an hour at this point. The students still at the school were those involved in sports or other extracurricular activities. Most of the faculty had left after finishing up reports or planning their lessons for the next day. But there were a few teachers that continued to linger around. Through one of the side entrances walked an alumni that had graduated four years prior. It was the first time he had stepped into the building since the day that he graduated. But upon seeing the black and white marble floors, the white walls and the rows of red lockers, the memories came rushing back. He wasn’t a popular kid by any means. He was far from being in the “cool circle”. But his place on the Track & Field Team kept from being being lumped in with the outcasts. To the surprise of no one that knew him now, he specialized in the Long Jump.

The man continued to walk down the halls and made his way into the main hall next to the main entrance of the school. He made his way over to a large glass alumni display, which showcased various Red Devils alumni from other the years. The man was nowhere to be found inside the glass case, given his success, or lackthereof, on a professional level. But there were some well known names that were prominently showcased, such as Jay Hieron and D'Brickashaw Ferguson. But in the center of the case was one of the most promising stars in all of wrestling. The man continued to smile until his concentration was broken at the call of his name.


“Landon Knight, is that you?” hollered Maureen Seymour, who stuck her head between the doorway after seeing Landon past by. Landon turned around and gave Seymour a warm wave, confirming that it was indeed him.

“Hey, Mrs. Seymour!” he responded at the sight of the long tenured member of the Guidance Office. Seymour stepped from out of the office and shuffled over to greet Knight with a hug.

“It’s so good to see you! It’s been so long!” remarked Seymour.

“Yeah, it’s definitely been a minute,” Landon responded. “Four years, to be exact. It almost seems like a lifetime ago.”

“Time flies,” she stated. “How have you been, sweetie? You look good! Are you still in college or did you just graduate?”

Landon responded with an “EEK!” expression towards his former guidance counselor. She then folded her arms. “Don’t tell me you didn’t go to school now!”

“I mean…” Landon trailed off before continuing. “I did go to Adelphi. Studied a little Graphic Design actually.” Mrs. Seymour nodded. “That’s good! That’s good.”

“Yeah…” he continued. “But I ended up dropping out two years ago. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do at the time. And you know, I didn’t want to waste the ‘rents’ time or money while I just twiddled my thumbs trying to find myself.”

“Oh Landon,” she said with some concern. “You know how important that education is.” Landon nodded in agreement.

“I do, I do. I’m eventually going to go back. I know how much it would mean to Mom and Dad.”

“Well that’s good to hear,” Mrs. Seymour stated with relief. “So what are you doing with yourself in the meantime? Do you have a steady job? You staying out of trouble?”

“Yes ma’am,” he responded. “No trouble on my end. I do have a steady job. It pays pretty decent. But I like it.”

“Well that’s good, that’s good. So what brings you by?”

“Well…” Landon trailed off. “I haven’t been by here since graduation a couple of years ago. I happened to be in the neighborhood and started feeling a bit nostalgic, so I decided to stop by and check the place out. Then I saw this,” Landon stated as he points over to the alumni display.

“Ah yes, we are very proud of our alumni. Especially this pretty young thing right here.”

Mrs. Seymour pointed to the center of the display. There was a frame of a woman with flawless skin, a million dollar smile, long black hair and pretty brown eyes. She was a two-time champion, five Platinum awards to her name and that was all within her first year as a professional. This woman was one of the brightest prospects in her field. In the next four years, this woman would go on become one of the biggest stars in all of wrestling. This woman… was Cordelia Stevenson.

“You both graduated the same year, right?” Mrs. Seymour asked.

“Yeah, we did,” Landon remarked. “But I doubt she remembers me. We never really hung out in the same circles, you know? But it is nice seeing a Freeport alum achieving all this success. At least one of us is…” he trailed off.

The Super Mario Wrestling Bros were in an absolute rut. They were in the midst of probably the worst stretch in their entire career. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cordy was enjoying one of the many high points of her career. She was on national TV wrestling for one of the biggest companies in the world. Meanwhile, Landon was wrestling in front of 500 people for DVD Tapings. For the SMWB, losses were piling up by the minute and they were treated as nothing but laughing stocks. Fans and the front office saw them as nothing but comic relief. But Landon was hellbent on changing that perception. As he looked at the pictures of Cordy and the success she was achieving, he didn’t feel jealousy or envy. As a matter of fact, he was inspired.

“I’m gonna be there one day,” Landon stated.

“What do you mean,” Mrs. Seymour inquired.

“In this case right here,” Landon said as he pointed to the display.

No one saw a future with the SMWB. But he saw it. He knew what this team was capable of. He knew that they could become one of the greatest teams in the world. But changes had to be made. They had to push themselves harder than they ever did before. Landon knew that the road that laid ahead of them would be tough. It would be uncomfortable. It would be painful. But in the end, it would all be worth it...
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