“What can I say, I have had a pretty good life you know? My Dad's a lawyer, started his own firm, graduated cumma sum lard from Harvard. My mom has a BA in Business but she only works part-time. They had me, had my sister and had a perfect life. I can't even say there has been a time in my life when I had any real significant bad things happen, except when I told my Dad I wasn't going to be a lawyer. He was pretty mad at that but he knows how much wrestling means to me. So he begrudgingly supports it.”
Jack Asher sits with one ankle on his opposite knee, arms across the back of the couch. He looks very relaxed. In front of him is SCW's own interviewer extraordinaire Pussy Willow.
“And how did you meet Calia and end up both training to become wrestlers?”
Jack gives a smile, it is beyond charming and even the strong willed Pussy swoons a little.
“Actually I have known Calia since High School. She was a freshman, I was a senior. I mean I saw her, thought she was cute but it wasn't until last year that we started seeing each other. She really had this drive and determination that is admirable. She’s a fighter, she is determined to succeed at everything she does..”
“You must be proud of her “
He nods, smiling once again.
“I definitely am. It was only natural that she wanted to try wrestling, so my trainer accepted her. Of course, I do worry about her safety as any caring boyfriend should. However, I have seen her in a ring. She's almost as good as I am. And that is saying a lot. I brought my team to victory in four state championships. Plus the other awards for my commitment and dedication.”
“So your background is more traditional wrestling?”
“Absolutely. My trainer has taught me a lot so I can be versatile but my core moveset is traditionally flared.”
He winks at the beautiful interviewer.
“And after this tournament, what are your plans?”
“Well I plan on winning and being the one to challenge for the SCW championship. Failing that, I have a contract for SCU penned and ready to go. I hope to have Calia join me there but seeing as how SCW is in desperate need of actual female talent she may decide to join SCW and crush the “competition” there. But let's face facts, I am going to win this, even if my partner is relatively unknown, but she has tag team experience which is going to give us an advantage over anyone not traditionally used to working with others.”
“You're confident that you and Char are going to mesh well?”
He gives a haughty smile.
“Yes of course. All any woman needs is to have a strong lead. And as you can see, I am a very strong lead male. Plus she is a talented athlete in her own right. I mean she is not my Calia but she will do. I knew the chances of getting Calia was slim but if we had been selected together, it would have been unfair to all the others involved. We are a pretty strong team.”
“She didn't seem to mesh that well with Hitamashii...”
Jack looks unimpressed with the interviewer.
“She was unfortunate in getting saddled with one of the many useless meat sacks that contaminate the Male Roster of SCW. Besides a few, most of them are just practice dummies with a heart. My own opponent doesn't even wrestle anymore full time and hasn't held a title in a long time. My only real fear is that Char is going up against Makenzie and she actually has talent. I am still not sure if my partner is strong enough to go up against someone like her. If I'm fortunate then maybe I can keep Goth from tagging in Mack.”
“Let's talk more about Goth. He is an SCW legend. It will be no easy feat to take him out.”
Jack scoffs and rolls his eyes.
“Everyone has weakness, except me of course. There is a reason he retired and when retired guys come back for tournaments like this one it's either because they're broke or can't handle that they are no longer relevant. I'm not saying Goth isn't a good wrestler, I'm just saying that he had his time and now it's MY time to be in the spotlight. Plus we all have been privy to where his real ambitions lie, and that is burying his face between the chesticles of the rather endowed Amanda Cortez. From what I have heard, scurrying around the male talent is something she shines at. Yet another reason I am exactly what the SCW universe needs. Do we really need a man more focused on his next physical conquest than being the champion that this company deserves? I am undoubtedly the first sunny day after a dreadful, dreary winter. I am hope after disappointment. I am...”
“The perfect Eleven?” Pussy offers and Jack's face breaks in a full out smile.
“Exactly. I knew there was a reason I liked you Pussy.”
“Can you explain why it's eleven and not ten?”
Jack smirks, “It's simple. Ten is considered the highest number in most scale rating systems. I am Eleven which means I break all the scales.”
“And what if you lose your first round?”
He chuckles, “Okay, I'll bite. Let's say by some miracle I find myself unable to get up from the Mat, or not able to endure the stretch of some submission hold, then that would mean that Goth found a way in past my perfection. Now I doubt very highly that this will happen but in the chance that this man has a lucky break, then does that negate my claims of being beyond perfect? Is that what you mean, dear lady?”
Pussy nods. The aristocratic way Jack spoke lured most women into it.
“No. It doesn't change the fact that I am bred to be the best kind of human, humanity in itself is flawed. I would obviously want a rematch so that I could study Goth's moves more closely and then I would, in that opportunity, defeat him to right the wrong and restore balance. But, that is only if he is able to defeat me himself. If I should lose by default because Char is not perfection... I have nothing tainting my status.”
Pussy smiles.
“And one final question Jack, Will you be mad should Char be the reason you don't advance?”
Jack seems to think about it and then shrugs.
“I cannot get mad at something I have no control over. I can only offer Char my advice and lead her toward victory but ultimately it is her decision on how she uses that advice. If she is the one to fail, then she will have to live with the fact that she is NOT perfection and she needs to do much more education in this sport. She will be punished enough with her own guilt at letting me down, no need to punish the girl further with any sort of malice from me.”
“Thank you Jack.”
Jack takes Pussy's hand and lightly kisses her knuckles. Looking up at her from his hand he replies, “The pleasure was mine, Sweet lady.”
This sends Pussy into giggles as the scene fades to black.
***
Jack is the first person waiting when Calia comes from behind the curtains. She is sweaty and obviously disappointed and angry. When Jack sees her, he immediately opens his arms and she melts into them.
“I know this was like a slap in the face Cali, but you got a bad partner. You also ended up with two tough opponents. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Calia shakes her head, “Easy for you to say, you still have a shot.”
He starts rubbing her back, right between her shoulders. She liked it and it always relaxed her.
“And I might just have it stolen because I have a subpar teammate. Unfortunately you and I cannot make everyone else as perfect as we are.”
She looks up at him. “And Lincoln too. He's the perfect son.”
Jack forced a plastic smile, “Sure, The dog too.”
Truth was, Jack had trouble expressing emotion, compassion especially. Calia had been the only one he showed it to naturally. She was attached to the dog in a way Jack couldn't understand. To him animals were not pets, they were inferior creatures that couldn't evolve into something more relevant and were damned to spend an eternity serving humans. Personally, the only dogs in his house were the two dobermans that had an impressive, heated dog house. They never came in the house and they were only affectionate to his Sister Jessica. A woman who now was a Veterinarian and had no issues refusing money from their parents to live in poverty, or at least it would have been poverty to Jack. Regardless, the two dogs were named Hades and Zeus and they were trained to protect the house, something they were quite good at until they aged. Then Jess had taken them home and they were replaced with two new guard dogs, more fierce and protective then the last. It helped that Jess was no longer spoiling them with love and affection.
Jack loved no one but Calia. His angel with horns.
He couldn't explain why she was the only one that could penetrate his perfect shell he surrounded himself with. The armour that no one could break. He supposed that he was jealous of the creature. This canine seemed to be usurping his place in Calia's life and it bothered him. So much in fact that he broke it off. But he missed her. And she missed him too. Compromises were made and now, she was at his apartment half the time and even had drawers with clothing in them.
Calia knew he was insincere when it came to his reply but she accepted it as the best he could do. He wasn't mean to Lincoln so she would accept it. She knew though, that eventually Jack would grow to love the yellow fluff ball as much as she did. It would just take time.
She snuggles into him further. Neither of them cared that Calia smelled like a high school locker room or that her hair and makeup were trashed. He honestly loved her with all of his soul. There would never be another woman like his Cali. And she could basically get away with murder in his eyes because of it. He was a stubborn, intelligent man of upper class sophistication in public but was a devoted, pussy whipped teddy bear in private for his girl.
“Let's get you cleaned up and then you can video chat the doggie daycare so you can see Lincoln. I bet that would cheer you up, eh?”
She nods. He recognized that him and the dog were always going to be neck and neck for Calia's love. But he was willing to try and work around it. She was worth it. He was just glad he didn't have any known allergies, otherwise he might lose the race.
They make their way back toward the dressing rooms, arm in arm. It wasn't the healthiest relationship there was, but they were both happy.
***
“I am here for one reason, and that is to win the tournament. I don't care about the people that think they deserve it, or the people that are ‘looking forward to the opportunity’ I only care about winning, but unfortunately I also have to put my trust and faith in an individual I do not know. A woman who seems to be the complete opposite of myself. For the sake of our chances, I will encourage Char to be her very best. To not let Mackenzie psych her out. To not be intimidated by my greatness either. It can be pretty overwhelming when next to me but don't let it distract you from what the main goal here is, and that is to win. For us both to go on and challenge for the two top titles in SCW. How amazing would it be Char, to win the bombshells title and be able to look down at all those ungrateful wastes knowing you are the best of them? I bet you look in the mirror each night. dreaming of holding that gold. Let that be your motivation.”
“As for me, I have never settled for less than the best and I won't be starting now. I am exactly what SCW needs. A worthy champion. A gorgeous face, perfect physique, talent in abundance. I am called the Perfect Eleven because I have all the right stuff in all the right places. I Was born for this. I don't look at this as an opportunity, this is my right. I plan to make waves so high you get a tsunami warning. I will wash away the unworthy. It is my destiny.”
