Most people deal with a major loss in two different ways. Some people begin to question themselves and beat themselves up over it, and others use it as a learning opportunity to bounce back stronger. Zayvion Lyons is one who prides himself on being the latter, and even though he took the L against Ryan Keys, he's focused on the bounce back and regaining the Roulette Championship.
[/i]
__________
Zayvion sat in his family's Inglewood home and sweatpants in a faded hoodie watching his younger brother Malik pace the room and frustration. The kid had taken Zayvion's loss of the Roulette Championship harder than Zayvion himself.
Zayvion understood, His little brother looked at him like a hero, and nobody wants to see their heroes lose.
“They cheated.” Malik said “The referee counted too fast!”
“No, little man.” said Zayvion “Ryan Keys you got me plain and simple.”
“But you just won that championship!” Malik pouted.
“Sometimes it happens like that.” said Zayvion "You can't win them all, I just got to try harder next time.”
“Doesn't it bother you?” Malik asked
“Of course it bothers me.” said Zayvion.
“Then why aren't you mad?” Malik's questioning continued.
“I am mad.” said Zayvion "I worked hard to get that championship, and I wanted to keep it. It sucks that I lost it about as soon as I got it.”
“Then why are you acting so calm?” Malik asked.
“Because being mad doesn't change what happened.” Zayvion told him. “It's no use getting mad every time you take an L.”
Malik finally stopped pacing and sat on the couch next to Zayvion.
“Let me ask you something little bro.” Zayvion said.
“What?” piqued Malik.
"Who usually wins when we play Mario Kart?" Zayvion asked him
"Me!." Malik replied A smirk immediately appearing on his face.
"Most of the time." Zayvion agreed
“All of the time.” Malik said matter-of-factly
“Okay first of all… that's not true.” Zayvion grinned.
“Okay fine, but I still win nine point nineninenineninenine percent of the time” Malik replied
“Do I get mad when I lose?” said Zayvion “Do I throw the controller, call the game stupid and refuse to play anymore?”
“No.” Malik replied “You always just want to race again.”
“Exactly.” Zayvion continued “When I lose I just have to figure out why. Maybe I did a bad turn, or used the wrong item at the wrong time or maybe you were just better.”
“It's the last one.” said Malik with a grin.
“Don't push it.” said Zavion playfully punching his brother in the shoulder.
Malik's grin widened.
"And what happened a few times I beat you?" Zayvion continued "Did you get mad?”
“No.” Malik replied “I just raced you again.”
“Exactly.” Zayvion said “You got better and you won next time.”
“So you're saying this is just another loss?” said Malik looking up at Zayvion.
“It's a loss.” Zayvion explained “And losses are part of life.”
“I still don't like it.” said Malik.
“You don't have to.” said Zayvion.
“I don't?” Malik said raising an eyebrow.
“You don't have to like losing.” Zayvion explained “Nobody does. Anyone who says they do is cappin’. But there's a difference between hating a loss and letting a loss control you.”
“What do you mean?” asked Malik.
“When people let losses control them, they start making excuses for it.“ said Zayvion.
“Like saying the game cheated?” said Malik
“Exactly.” said Zayvion “And that sort of attitude is never going to help you get better. If I lost it's because Ryan Keys was the better man that night, and I need to find the mistakes I made and fix those mistakes. I need to put in work, So that I can do better next time.”
“So then next time, you can become a two-time champion!” said Malik
“That's the spirit.” said Zayvion playfully rubbing his brother's head. “One loss doesn't erase everything that came before it. I still worked my way up and know what I'm capable of so losing that Championship doesn't make me a loser, it just means I lost. If I let the loss consume me, then that is what would make me a loser.”
“So what's next?” Malik asked.
“What's next is training hard with your Auntie Cleo so I can bring that Championship home again.” said Zayvion “But right now I think there's only one thing to focus on…”
“What's that?” Malik asked.
“Getting my dub back from you…” Zayvion grinned.
“Oh you want to lose in Mario Kart again.” said Malik.
“If I do..” said Zayvion “I'll just run it back and try harder in the next one.”
“You never learn do you?" said Malik shaking his head.
“Just go get the sticks and let's do this.” said Zayvion.
Malik happily ran off to get everything ready for the game, and for Zayvion, the loss still hurt, but life kept moving and so would he.
__________
It was supposed to be a day of just kicking back with the boys. Zayvion wanted to just chilling get his mine up SCW for a little while after the loss of his championship.
So of course it was just his luck that has he passed an empty basketball court, and he was confronted with a familiar voice.
Terrell Booker. Once again being the neighborhood problem.
“Well if it isn't the former champ..” Terrell taunted “You talked all that game about being a champion and you choked in your first offense.”
“That's one way of looking at it.” said Zayvion.
“Honestly I'd be embarrassed to show my face around here after that if I were you.” said Terrell
“Well, I guess it's a good thing you're not me.” Zayvion replied.
Terrell took a step closer to Zayvion.
“You ain't got your boys with you now.” said Terrell “Your little fan club ain't here this time.”
Zayvion looked around dramatically.
“Nope.” he said.
“Don't get smart with me.” said Terrell
The two stood there and locked eyes for a moment. Zayvion wasn't looking for a fight, but he could tell Terrell was. That left him with two options, fight, or pass a charisma check.
“Can I ask you something?” said Zayvion.
“What?” said Terrell.
“Why do you care so much?” Zayvion asked. “You always got something to say about me, and everybody else.”
“I just don't think you're as special as everybody thinks.” said Terrell.
“Okay.” shrugged Zayvion.
“Okay?!” Terrell seemed confused.
“Okay.” Zayvion restated.
“What you playin’ at?” Terrell said, annoyed.
“I mean you're allowed to have whatever opinion you want of me.” said Zayvion “But maybe you shouldn't spend so much time worrying about what everybody else is doing.”
“Somebody's got to keep everybody on the block humble.” said Terrell.
“Why?” said Zayvion “And why would that be your job?”
Zayvion motioned around him.
“Look around.” he said “People here don't need you humbling them because life already has. Everybody here has something they're fighting. We all got enough obstacles, but instead of helping somebody overcome those obstacles you're out here trying to become another one.”
Terrell scoffed.
“We should be lifting each other up. Not bringing each other down.” said Zayvion.
“That all sounds soft to me.” said Terrell
“What's soft is needing everybody around you to feel smaller so you can feel bigger.” said Zayvion.
Terrell's eyes narrowed. Zayvion wasn't intimated.
“You always going around trying to start a fight.“ said Zayvion "You have to have everybody thinking you're tough, and I'm not saying you're not, but you spend so much time trying to prove it, that you made it your whole personality. But you know what I see?”
“What?” said Terrell.
“I see a guy spending his afternoon worrying about the championship somebody else lost.” said Zayvion.
“Because you LOST.” said Terrell
“Yeah.. I lost” Zayvion shrugged “And somehow you're more upset about it than I am. You keep talking about my loss but what are you building and working toward.?”
“Huh?” said Terrell
“What are your goals?" said Zayvion “What are you trying to accomplish? Because every time I come around and see you, you're talking about somebody else. But I never hear you talk about yourself.”
Terrell didn't answer.
“I think you're scared.” said Zayvion.
“Man I'm a real one, I ain't afraid of nobody." said Terrell.
“I didn't say scared of somebody.” Zayvion replied “I think you're scared of being nobody. Because if you're not the toughest guy around, nobody asks what else you got going on.“
“I don't need your pity.” said Terrell
“I'm not trying to pity you.” said Zayvion “I just think you're capable of more than this.”
“I don't need to listen to you.” said Terrell.
“No you don't.“ said Zayvion. “You can do whatever you want. But I'm just trying to tell you, you keep acting like you do ain't nothing ever going to change. Sure I got knocked down and lost my championship, but it happens. Everybody who ever accomplished something experienced failure along the way. Every successful person takes losses and it's about what you learn from them.”
Terell remained quiet.
“I if you don't learn from your loss then you're going to stay exactly where you are.“ said Zayvion “I'm not trying to wake up ten years from now the exact same place I'm trying to get my bag I'm trying to wise up and ain't nobody like you going to hold me back. So go ahead Terrell. Keep hating because I'm going to rise back up, and when I get my championship again you're still going to be stuck in the same place. So until then, have a good day Terrell."
Zayvion patted Terrell on the shoulder, smiled and simply walked away.
“Hey get back here!” Terrell called back at him “I'm not done with you! This ain't over Zayvion!”
Zayvion ignored Terrell shouts. The guy could try to run the neighborhood and act as tough as he wanted. One thing he wasn't going to do was distract Zayvion from the main focus of becoming a champion again, because unlike Terrell, Zayvion was building something bigger than himself.
__________
The cameras open for Zayvion Lyons sitting on the hood of his car in a quiet parking lot wearing his usual Urban attire, hoodie, baggy pants, Air Force Ones. He's wearing his headphones and letting some music play to start the promo this time, it's Big Sean’s “Bounce Back”
##Last night took a L, but tonight I bounce back##
##Boy, I been broke as hell, cashed a check and bounced back##
##D town LAX, every week I bounce back##
##If you a real one, then you know how to bounce back##
Zayvion lowers the headphones, and locks eyes with the camera.
“You know everybody's got an opinion about what happened.” he said "I lost the Roulette Championship, and that's okay. Not because I wanted it to happen, I worked my ass off to get that championship.”
He shrugs.
“Losses happen.” he said “Some people will see a loss and treat it like it's the end of a story, but that ain't me. I see it as one chapter and what matters now is what I do in the next one.
He pauses.
“That brings me to Ciaran Doyle…” he continued. “I ain't got no issues with Ciaran. No bad blood or nothing. That man walks into that ring every time and does his thing. That's something I can respect, but it's also why I can't afford to overlook him. Because right now what I need is a challenge. I need somebody that's going to force me to bring my best so I can remind everybody, including myself, who Zayvion Lyons is.”
He slowly stands up from the hood of the car.
“I may not have held that championship for a long time.” he said “But champions aren't defined by how long they hold a title, they're defined by how they respond when they lose it. I'm not going to make any excuses. Ryan Keys was the better man that night and I had to take the L.”
He shrugs.
“It is what it is.” he said “But now I have to bounce back, and what that means for you Ciaran is that you're going to get a version of me that's more determined than ever.”
He nods once.
“That's the thing about setbacks.” he said “A lot of people think a setback means you're moving backward, but for me a setback means the road just got a little longer. If anybody thinks me losing that championship changes where I'm headed, then they're just fooling themselves.”
He begins pacing in front of the car.
“Ciaran, you didn't wrong me, or disrespect me.” Zayvion continued “But you are the man that stands across from me as I try to climb right back to the top of the mountain, and that's a tough place to be.”
He exhales quickly.
“The version of me standing in here now is going to come a little different.” he said “Because this version knows what it feels like to work hard for something and have it taken away. This version is going to hit harder and move faster. I'm not going to stop believing in myself because I lost my championship. It just makes me work harder, and that's bad news not just for you, but for the rest of the locker room as well.”
He lets those words hang for a moment.
“I've bounced back from losses before.” he said “Every single time I got knocked out, I got back up because that's who I am. tlthat championship didn't make Zayvion Lyons, I made Zayvion Lyons. And that's something nobody's going to be able to take away from me.”
He pauses.
“Ciaran, this match isn't about proving who's tougher.” he said “We've already both proven that we're tough and that we belong here. It's about two men trying to move forward and only one gets to leave with momentum, and right now I need it. I need to get back on track.”
A determined look crosses his face.
“I'm going to remind everyone, and myself that I'm the guy that keeps pushing and I'm the guy that gets back up.” he said “I will fight my way back to the top and you Ciaran are the one that's in my way of doing that next.”
He exhales.
“When we step in that ring I'm not carrying the weight of a loss.” he said “I'm carrying the lesson. The difference is that anybody can let a loss break them and look for excuses. But that's never been me, it ain't me now, and it ain't never going to be me. Losing that championship told me that nothing is guaranteed, so that means every chance you get matters and this chance matters to me this is my chance to get on my bounce back.”
He speaks not with arrogance but determination and confidence.
“That's why I have to give you everything I got.” he said "Because you're standing between me and that next step. I can't overlook you or take you lightly, because that's how people lose and I had enough of that last time.”
He grins.
“I don't look backwards.” said Zayvion “What happened, happened. It's in the past but what happens next is about to be even more exciting.”
He pauses.
“Don't believe me just watch.” he said.
He gives s one final confident look to the camera before putting the headphones back on, sits back on the hood of the car and lets everything fade to black to one final lyric.
##Last night I took an L, but tonight I bounce back…##
