Post by jacksantore on Jun 9, 2017 17:00:03 GMT -5
Jack Santore walks into a bar, no, this isn’t the setup to a bad joke. The fresh-faced WCG rookie walks into a bar in Southern California that he must frequent enough that he gets the old “head nods” from a few of the regulars. He takes a seat at the bar and orders a drink.
”Yeah, I’ll have a shot of Jack and a Budweiser.”
“A shot of Jack for Jack. Coming right up.”
Jack Santore shakes his head, chuckling at the bar tender’s lame joke.
”Yeah, very funny.”
The bartender chuckles himself, then quickly places Jack’s drinks on the bar in front of him. Jack Santore tosses his credit card onto the bar.
”Let’s open a tab there, huh?”
“No problem, Jack.”
Jack nods as a “thank you” and has a seat. Jack takes the shot of…err…Jack and then takes a sip of his beer.
”Y’know, you’re not the only one that’s nervous here.”
Jack turns his head and faces the camera, taking another sip of beer in the process.
”I might be older an’ everything, but I’m still the new kid here. You might not see it, Ruby, but you’re already halfway to becoming something great.”
Jack nods along to his own words. It’s as if he’s trying to speak directly to Ruby Lance at the moment. Like an old soul, giving the young girl advice.
”You’re a nice girl, Ruby. You’ve got kindness in you and you’re full of positive energy. You’ve got tons of friends already and the respect of all of those friends. I’d guess you probably even have the respect of people that aren’t your friends.”
There’s another nod from the New York native and a sip of beer to go with it.
”I’ve only spoken with you a few times through twitter, and hell….you’ve got my respect for whatever that’s worth.”
Jack looks into the camera and offers a genuine look of respect for Ruby.
”That honestly sucks for me, if I’m being honest.”
Jack looks down at his beer for a moment, sighing heavily. There’s a sense of nervousness in his voice.
”It would be much easier if you were someone that I didn’t respect. It would be s much easier if you were someone that had no respect from anyone at all. That way I would be eager to embarrass you, get a win and move onto someone else. But it’s not like that…”
Jack sighs again and takes a generous sip of beer. Actually, it’s more like a small chug.
”Look, don’t get me wrong. I can’t wait to get into that ring and compete. It’s why I moved all the way across the country, gave up relationships and a comfortable life to follow a dream. I can’t wait to be in there and test myself against a potential champion. To be able to say that I beat Ruby Lance in my first match?”
Jack Santore nods, his eyes going up now as he imagines the possibility,
”Well, that would just be amazing. Amazing to be able to call myself a winner in my first match and amazing to be able to beat an amazing competitor and a great person to boot would just be icing on the cake. But you’re not the only nervous one.”
Jack Santore smiles sheepishly. It’s almost as if he’s ashamed that he’s as nervous as he is.
”Every time I see how much you’re loved and admired, every time I see how much people just like you it makes me get a little nervous. It makes those butterflies show up. It makes me end up here.”
Jack Santore does a small scan of the bar with a chuckle. Another little nervous laugh for Jack as he admits the nerves cause him to seek out alcohol.
”But I still can’t wait, Ruby. I still can’t wait to see what I’m made of and most of all I can’t wait to be on your level. To be able to have people speak so highly of me and to openly root for me the way the other wrestlers do for you. That means a ton. It meant a lot in my old line of work when you saw that respect from your peers. It makes you feel good heading into something big like this and I’m striving for it myself.”
Jack takes another sip of beer, pausing for a moment as he becomes lost in his own words.
”You’re a great person, Ruby. And I don’t blame you one bit for looking past me a bit, or maybe just peeking past me, if you will. It’s natural and everyone does it. Heck, if I were in your shoes, I’d be doing it too. Getting a title opportunity when you’re so new is a great accomplishment and anyone of us would be doing the same thing, I get it. I’m not offended.”
Jack Santore shrugs his shoulders, displaying his understanding of Ruby’s situation.
”I had moments in the past where I’m fighting some guy and there’s some buzz of me maybe getting to fight the champion on my next fight and then I’d start letting my thoughts wander a bit. I’d start imagine entering that cage against the champion and what I would do to prepare. What would I do differently? Would I do anything differently? It happens, it’s natural. I don’t blame you.”
Jack Santore sips beer, nodding along with a smile on his face.
”But don’t do it, Ruby. Not because I’m promising anything. I’m not guaranteeing that I’m going to beat you cause you’re “distracted” or any of the other cliché B.S. that I could say. I’m just telling you because I want your full attention. I want your head in this match because if I win, I wanna say that I beat you at your best. I don’t want any excuses from anyone for your head not being in the moment. And if I lose…”
Jack Santore shrugs, bowing his head for a moment. It’s as if the momentum got ripped away as he imagines that a match he’s looking forward to this much has to have a loser.
”Then I wanna be able to say that I lost to the better wrestler. That I lost to a girl that was all there and was just better that night. Good luck, Ruby. Let’s bring the house down.”
Just as Jack takes another sip of beer, the bartender returns.
“’Nother one, Jack?”
”Keep ‘em coming, my man.”
“You got it.”
Another beer is placed in front of Jack as he visibly sighs and takes a sip. The camera pans out slowly and then fades out.
”Yeah, I’ll have a shot of Jack and a Budweiser.”
“A shot of Jack for Jack. Coming right up.”
Jack Santore shakes his head, chuckling at the bar tender’s lame joke.
”Yeah, very funny.”
The bartender chuckles himself, then quickly places Jack’s drinks on the bar in front of him. Jack Santore tosses his credit card onto the bar.
”Let’s open a tab there, huh?”
“No problem, Jack.”
Jack nods as a “thank you” and has a seat. Jack takes the shot of…err…Jack and then takes a sip of his beer.
”Y’know, you’re not the only one that’s nervous here.”
Jack turns his head and faces the camera, taking another sip of beer in the process.
”I might be older an’ everything, but I’m still the new kid here. You might not see it, Ruby, but you’re already halfway to becoming something great.”
Jack nods along to his own words. It’s as if he’s trying to speak directly to Ruby Lance at the moment. Like an old soul, giving the young girl advice.
”You’re a nice girl, Ruby. You’ve got kindness in you and you’re full of positive energy. You’ve got tons of friends already and the respect of all of those friends. I’d guess you probably even have the respect of people that aren’t your friends.”
There’s another nod from the New York native and a sip of beer to go with it.
”I’ve only spoken with you a few times through twitter, and hell….you’ve got my respect for whatever that’s worth.”
Jack looks into the camera and offers a genuine look of respect for Ruby.
”That honestly sucks for me, if I’m being honest.”
Jack looks down at his beer for a moment, sighing heavily. There’s a sense of nervousness in his voice.
”It would be much easier if you were someone that I didn’t respect. It would be s much easier if you were someone that had no respect from anyone at all. That way I would be eager to embarrass you, get a win and move onto someone else. But it’s not like that…”
Jack sighs again and takes a generous sip of beer. Actually, it’s more like a small chug.
”Look, don’t get me wrong. I can’t wait to get into that ring and compete. It’s why I moved all the way across the country, gave up relationships and a comfortable life to follow a dream. I can’t wait to be in there and test myself against a potential champion. To be able to say that I beat Ruby Lance in my first match?”
Jack Santore nods, his eyes going up now as he imagines the possibility,
”Well, that would just be amazing. Amazing to be able to call myself a winner in my first match and amazing to be able to beat an amazing competitor and a great person to boot would just be icing on the cake. But you’re not the only nervous one.”
Jack Santore smiles sheepishly. It’s almost as if he’s ashamed that he’s as nervous as he is.
”Every time I see how much you’re loved and admired, every time I see how much people just like you it makes me get a little nervous. It makes those butterflies show up. It makes me end up here.”
Jack Santore does a small scan of the bar with a chuckle. Another little nervous laugh for Jack as he admits the nerves cause him to seek out alcohol.
”But I still can’t wait, Ruby. I still can’t wait to see what I’m made of and most of all I can’t wait to be on your level. To be able to have people speak so highly of me and to openly root for me the way the other wrestlers do for you. That means a ton. It meant a lot in my old line of work when you saw that respect from your peers. It makes you feel good heading into something big like this and I’m striving for it myself.”
Jack takes another sip of beer, pausing for a moment as he becomes lost in his own words.
”You’re a great person, Ruby. And I don’t blame you one bit for looking past me a bit, or maybe just peeking past me, if you will. It’s natural and everyone does it. Heck, if I were in your shoes, I’d be doing it too. Getting a title opportunity when you’re so new is a great accomplishment and anyone of us would be doing the same thing, I get it. I’m not offended.”
Jack Santore shrugs his shoulders, displaying his understanding of Ruby’s situation.
”I had moments in the past where I’m fighting some guy and there’s some buzz of me maybe getting to fight the champion on my next fight and then I’d start letting my thoughts wander a bit. I’d start imagine entering that cage against the champion and what I would do to prepare. What would I do differently? Would I do anything differently? It happens, it’s natural. I don’t blame you.”
Jack Santore sips beer, nodding along with a smile on his face.
”But don’t do it, Ruby. Not because I’m promising anything. I’m not guaranteeing that I’m going to beat you cause you’re “distracted” or any of the other cliché B.S. that I could say. I’m just telling you because I want your full attention. I want your head in this match because if I win, I wanna say that I beat you at your best. I don’t want any excuses from anyone for your head not being in the moment. And if I lose…”
Jack Santore shrugs, bowing his head for a moment. It’s as if the momentum got ripped away as he imagines that a match he’s looking forward to this much has to have a loser.
”Then I wanna be able to say that I lost to the better wrestler. That I lost to a girl that was all there and was just better that night. Good luck, Ruby. Let’s bring the house down.”
Just as Jack takes another sip of beer, the bartender returns.
“’Nother one, Jack?”
”Keep ‘em coming, my man.”
“You got it.”
Another beer is placed in front of Jack as he visibly sighs and takes a sip. The camera pans out slowly and then fades out.