Post by Adrien | Adam on Feb 10, 2018 14:54:04 GMT -5
I never knew, I never knew
That everything was falling through
That everyone I knew was waiting on a queue
To turn and run when all I needed was the truth
But that's how it's got to be
It's coming down to nothing more than apathy
I'd rather run the other way than stay and see
The smoke and who's still standing when it clears
And everyone knows I'm in over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
The cameras begin rolling on the sandy shores of a California beach. The small hills of brown with the backdrop of a crystal clear sky, glowing in a bright blue. While there are a few seagulls flying past the background along with a child or two building a sandcastle in the far right of the screen, there is one person standing front and center in front of the camera.
Adam Sanders: “So, hi there. Umm...my name is Adam Sanders. I am the current West Coast Genesis Long Beach Champion.”
The Michigan native gives a slight nod of his head. He’s wearing a light blue t-shirt with the Detroit Lions logo on it along with a pair of khaki cargo shorts. Since he is on the beach, Adam is currently barefooted, the sand slightly caking the top of his feet. The Long Beach Championship Belt is draped over his shoulder, covering part of the emblem for his favorite NFL football team. On the ground in front of him is a stack big white posters, placed facedown in the sand. He gives a nervous smile into the camera.
Adam Sanders: “So I’m facing someone in my next match that I’ve faced once before. Someone who once told me that if I ever needed help, that she would be there for me.”
Sanders nods his head before lifting up the first sign. The camera focuses so the sign can be read. What Adam had written was the following:
Melina Garrison nee Wilson is one of the most talented individuals in all of West Coast Genesis. Look no further than her ability to best Julianna DiMaria on more than one occasion. She has one of the brightest futures in the company.
Adam holds the sign up for about a minute for people of different reading paces to be able to catch the whole thing. He speaks once he has the confidence to.
Adam Sanders: “I know Melina has a side of her that isn’t very friendly. She’s done things that might not be very nice, but this is a tough business. Sometimes, people have to go to those lengths for their career. I understand that. But she has always been friendly to me, albeit a bit disappointed I use our shared manager to speak on my behalf during some of these videos.”
Adam pulls another one of the signs out of the way, presumably with what he just managed to say without having to use the sign. He lifts up the third one, holding it again for a few more minutes. This one read:
I can understand that as someone who has a minor tie with me through Eddie would expect me to be better. And while I hope this video is progress that Melina will be happy for, I hope the biggest progress is the fact I was able to capture this championship belt on my right shoulder.
Adam smiles at the camera and pats the Long Beach Championship belt. He lifts up the fourth sign without saying anything else. This one said:
With as talented an opponent as Melina Garrison, I will do everything to give her the match that a champion would give her. I am held to a new standard now that I’ve won this title. And I have to make sure I live up to that standard. The bar has been set. The expectations are higher.
He holds up a fifth sign now, still not saying anything verbally.
And while I have beaten Melina before, it was considered a huge upset back then. I can’t assume that just because I won before and that I’m now one of the champions of the company, this will be some sort of cake walk. If anything, Melina is one of three people who can knock off Julianna and take her title from her, along with Donovan and Danielle.
He sets that sign down and looks back into the camera once more, taking a deep breath before he speaks once more.
Adam Sanders: “I respect Melina a lot. I do. And I think she will be one of the toughest matches I’ve had in a long time. She actually...already...was one of the toughest matches I’ve had. But this is one of those moments that I can’t let slip away. A win over Melina again solidifies that I truly belong as one of the best in West Coast Genesis, a goal I never thought I’d be even acknowledging that I have a chance to reach.”
Adam’s eyes widened at the thought of that sentence: one of the best in West Coast Genesis, period. This causes him to skip another sign and move on to the second-to-last one in his giant stack of signs. This one had written something a bit more sentimental towards Melina.
One of the biggest challenges one can face is facing someone who is not only extremely gifted and talentedbut also someone who you consider a friend. Facing a friend and facing someone so talented separately is enough of a challenge as it is. But when you have them all clumped together into one person, it’s even harder. Sometimes, I’m afraid I’m in way over my head.
Adam interrupts to make a joke to lighten the mood just a little bit.
Adam Sanders: “Like that guy over there…”
The camera briefly turns to reveal a man in his late forties, buried in the sand up to his neck. Sanders is visibly laughing before holding the sign at the bottom of his stack.
But when it’s all said and done, I will do everything I can in every match I am booked in. I will try to make sure that I not only make Melina proud but Eddie proud. I want to make Adrien proud. I want to make Remi proud. I REALLY want to make my wonderful girlfriend proud. But most of all, I want to be proud of myself.
Adam Sanders: “So Melina Garrison...I’m ready to give you a match that will show you why I am the West Coast Genesis Long Beach Champion. Not out of envy or arrogance, but because I want you to know that you wanted me to grow into something more than I was after our first match. And I hope you think I did.”
Adam places his signs in a neat stack before picking them up as the camera cuts to black.
Let's rearrange
I wish you were a stranger I could disengage
Just say that we agree and then never change
Soften a bit until we all just get along
That's disregard
You find another friend and you discard
As you lose the arguments in a cable car
Hanging above as the canyon comes between
And everyone knows I'm in over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind