Clocks (CD)

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Date: July 6th, 2017
Cameras: OFF

Pzzt. Pzzt. Pzzt.

What the hell?

Adrien Cochrane feels the phone vibrating in his pocket. A silent vibrate can only mean one thing, someone other than himself was opening the gate to his driveway. Stacy Sterling was upstairs, and Eddie Walker was out of town doing work for some of his other clients. His eyebrows raise a little as he pulls out the phone from his front jean pocket.

Cochrane was in his kitchen, chopping up some onions in preparation for his dinner later in the evening. He places the chef knife on his cutting board as he swipes on his phone to open the app that is connected to his Wi-Fi enabled security cameras. Spotting a worn down black 2015 Ford Mustang on the screen, Adrien immediately connects the dots. Despite the fact that the car wasn’t that old, car maintenance wasn’t one of Kenzie’s priorities. It got her to place to place and that was what mattered. It wasn’t too long afterward that he hears his doorbell ringing throughout the house.

Adrien: “Gee, I wonder who that could be.”

He jogs over to the front door and playfully asks from inside the closed door.

Adrien: “Who is it?!”

From the other side of the door, Kenzie pouted.

Kenzie: “It’s me! Kenzie.”

Adrien: “Miss Grey, I do not want you on my property. Please leave the premises expeditiously or else the authorities will be called.”

Kenzie: “Kenzie with an E, Adrien. Kenzie Rydell!”

With her hands on her hips, her voice was louder than before as she tried to talk to Adrien on the other end of the door.

Kenzie: “We’ve already unpacked, thanks to Stacy helping us find a place and I just figured I could swing by and say hi. Is that okay?”

Adrien smirks a little bit as he opens the door.

Adrien: “You know cell phones exist. A lot easier than burning all that gas on a not so fuel efficient muscle car.”

Kenzie rolls her eyes as she steps into the familiar home, eyes flickering from left to right like it’s been ages since she’s been here.

Kenzie: “You know I’d rather talk to you in person, Adrien. I don’t really care how much gas I wasted, I just wanted to see you in person, that’s all.”

Adrien notices Kenzie looking around and remembering all the events that have taken place since they were last in his home. The last time was when #FSociety was about to put on their last show and the two had to hash out a few differences of theirs while Stacy was recovering from her injuries at the hands of Adrien’s final #FSociety opponent. Stacy wasn’t even an official resident of the home yet the last time Kenzie visited the Cochrane home.

Adrien: “Well, here you are. Five hundred miles from home to see me. Is there a specific purpose for this visit other than thanking me and Stacy for apartment shopping for you? I know you well enough to know you probably have things on your mind. And I don’t think it’s a bowl of my beef stew.”

Kenzie nods her head.

Kenzie: “I just wanted to talk to you about something. You know the guy you asked Adam to see?”

Adrien’s eyes widen a little bit as he and Kenzie walk back into the kitchen, where he continues chopping the onion he was prior to Kenzie’s arrival.

Adrien: “Yes, Ryan Corey. I meant to call him and see how he thinks Adam is progressing.”

Leaning against the island with her palms propping herself forward, Kenzie’s eyebrows raise.

Kenzie: “Ryan Corey… Do you trust him? I mean, he’s a viable trainer who we can trust who wouldn’t resort to just insulting Adam like a drill sergeant, right?”

Adrien finishes the onion before placing the chopped pieces into a big metal bowl. He looks at Kenzie who was directly behind him and smiles a little bit as he turns to her.

Adrien: “You don’t recognize his name, do you?”

Kenzie paused, thinking to herself.

Kenzie: “… Should I?”

Adrien chuckles a little bit as he reaches over and places a shoulder on his young protege.

Adrien: “You really should. I’ve mentioned the name around you before. Can you be a dear and hand me a few sticks of celery from the fridge over there?”

Diligently following the instructions, the twenty-two-year-old thoroughly washes her hands before checking the fridge. Opening the drawer, she grabs the bag with the easy to read label that told her celery was inside. Plucking out four pieces of celery sticks from the plastic bag, she hands them to Adrien one at a time before putting the bag back into the designated spot. Adrien starts to wash the sticks of celery after she hands them to him.

Adrien: “His name was brought up a few times during the time that I trained you.”

He twists the stainless steel knob to his sink and places the sticks on the same cutting board, picking up his chef knife once more.

Adrien: “Granted, I guess I can’t expect you to remember literally everything I’ve told you, especially the bits that weren’t specific to what you learned to do to your opponents.”

Kenzie: “I think that information might have slipped out when you gave me the fiftieth Adrien Cutter during training.”

She laughs, exaggerating. Adrien rolls his eyes before turning back to her.

Adrien: “I thought fifty-one would have knocked it back in, but I guess that isn’t quite how it works.”

Kenzie gave him her best death glare. Adrien simply turns back to his food preparation and begins slicing the sticks of celery into small pieces.

Adrien: “He retired about twelve years ago. I mean, with the exception of a few things here and there. He wasn’t really wrestling when you probably started paying attention to the sport. I think you were ten when he retired.”

Kenzie: “As much as I hate to admit it, I wasn’t really into wrestling back in 4th grade. I guess there’s a whole generation of wrestlers that I’ve never really seen before. Maybe a YouTube video here and there but not too much.”

Adrien: “This is why I don’t randomly mention names like Victor Mandrake or Christian Light around you and expect those names to mean anything to you.”

She thought for a moment, searching her memory bank.

Kenzie: “Wait! ‘Nightbringer’ Ryan Corey? Wasn’t he the one who…”

Adrien: “Yes?”

Kenzie: “He was in FTW, right?”

Adrien: “I mean, yeah, but that’s not really the point here. I remember him from his days over in the WWA where he was a World Champion.”

Kenzie: “So Adam’s in good hands?”

Adrien: “You’re missing the most relevant fact about Mr. Corey.”

Kenzie thought for a moment and came up with an answer based on Adrien’s vague comment.

Kenzie: “He trained you, didn’t he? I think that’s what Adam told me.”

Adrien: “Oh, you remember when he tells you something but not when I do!”

Adrien’s playfully sarcastic demeanor was something to behold.

Kenzie: “You told me that nearly two years ago! Adam told me like, last week? So yeah, I’d say I’m going to remember last week better than two years ago.”

Adrien: “Well, to remind you, he was to me what I am to you. I wasn’t very good when I first started wrestling. I know, big surprise. But he never gave up on me.”

Kenzie paused for a moment.

Kenzie: “I can’t really picture you as anything other than this motivational world champion teacher, to be honest. I mean, I know we all started somewhere but it’s a weird thought, you know?”

Adrien: “It was a long and rocky road to get to where I am today. Believe me, everything I have, I had to fight day in and day out to obtain. Heck, if I didn’t keep going on the path I ended up, I might not have ever met Stacy. She only heard of me during my EXODUS tenure.”

She hung her head and eyed the food on the counter.

Kenzie: “Hey, Adrien? Can I ask you something?”

Adrien: “You just did.”

Kenzie scrunched her nose in a scowl.

Kenzie: “Are you going to let me ask you or not? I’m trying to be serious!”

Adrien: “You can speak. Don’t pop that little vein in your forehead.”

She rolled her eyes.

Kenzie: “Maybe I won’t even ask you anymore. How about that?”

Adrien: “Okay, then don’t.”

Adrien continues dicing the celery until Kenzie abruptly asks her question regardless of what Adrien said.

Kenzie: “... Do you think… Do you think I’ll ever be in your shoes one day?”

Adrien: “I can’t see into the future. That’s Johnny Maverick’s job. But I can tell you that you are a lot further along at the age of twenty-two than I was. I didn’t even have a championship yet then. I won the Manhattan Island Title to finally end that around twenty-three.”

Kenzie: “And it took you even longer before you were a world champion, right?”

Adrien: “I was twenty-five when I won the PCW World Title.”

Kenzie’s head hung down a little.

Kenzie: “Sometimes… Sometimes I feel discouraged. I see people like you and Gavin Grimes, people like Tyson Gregory and Ally Morrow— erm. Ally Gregory now, sorry. It’s just that I see this group of people around me, yourself included, and I see them accomplishing fantastic things. I see Ally go on an unbelievable winning streak when she’s younger than me. I see Gavin as the last NGW World Champion who couldn’t be beaten. You and Tyson were #FSociety Heavyweight Champions and I just felt… Small. Like I didn’t matter compared to you guys.”

Adrien: “Kenzie, I WAS small when I was your age. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I was losing more matches than I was winning, I was never anywhere near a World Title. My biggest accomplishment up to that point was WWA Summer Games finalist. I was that little kid to them that was never going to break through and do anything with my career.”

Kenzie: “So you understand then. You know what it’s like to train your hardest and feel like you still haven’t even come close to greatness like me?”

Adrien: “My entire early career was so many missed opportunities that I felt cursed. It felt like I was swimming against a tide that was way stronger than me. You have a lot more to feel proud of than I ever did. I was always that guy who couldn’t get over the hump. You were the NGW Five Lakes Champion. I was that guy who could never make it big into the main event. You have a big main event match against Gray Malone and Jenson Idol, even winning a Twitter poll on who was going to win. Despite everything some ex-associates of mine will try to say about you being mediocre, you’re not. You are capable of great things. You just have to go out there and do them.”

Kenzie smiles brightly at what her mentor told her, proud of everything Adrien mentioned.

Kenzie: “Thanks, Adrien. You have no idea how much that means to me. Seriously.”

Her words were genuine, sincere.

Kenzie: “How’s that food coming? Can I stay for dinner, maybe? Adam’s training nearly all day today and I could use something before I make that long trip back.”

Adrien looks at the defrosting stew meat on the counter and the empty pot on the cooktop.

Adrien: “Umm...it’s going to be awhile…”

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