The Calm Before the Storm

10/25/13

8th

Chapter 1

The Calm Before The Storm

Beep! The sound of the dismissal bell at Parkview High School rang through the hallways and classrooms at 2:10 P.M.. The sound echoed through my ears, similar to the cheers and claps that would be echoing through the gym for me later that night. It was a friday afternoon in the late fall and just like any 16 year old teenage boy would be i was excited to be out of of school, but unlike most teenagers i was excited for a different reason. I didn't care about the opening of the new skatepark, or Amanda Bellina's sweet sixteen that night. This reason was more than normal teenage activities, I was excited because tonight was "The Battle of Five-Forks". It is a wrestling team dual against our rival high school. The Parkview Panthers versus The Brookwood Broncos. In reality this match was not a big deal, but in my mind it was the only thing that mattered. I could not and would not be defeated by a filthy Bronco. This dual is referred to as "The Battle of Five-Forks" because the two schools are both located on opposite ends of Five-Forks Trickum road.

"Cody is there something I can help you with? The bell rang three minutes ago." said Mr. Mullins as he pulled me back into reality from my day dream.

"No sir, sorry about that Mr. Mullins. I'll see you on monday!" I exclaimed as I began to make my way from my seventh period spanish class to the wrestling locker room. I was exhausted from cutting weight. I had not eaten or drank anything since breakfast the day before. The growls bursting forth from my stomach were similar to that of a lion defending his pride and my mouth was more dry than the Sahara in July. I got to the locker room and ran into to Coach Porter on my way in.

"Hey Coach, what time are weigh-ins at tonight?" I asked.

"At 6:00 P.M." he said "but you have to be here at 5:30 to set up because wrestling starts at 8:00 P.M..". So I continued into the locker room and sat down on the old, stinky, and beat up couch. I started thinking about tonight and began daydreaming hundreds of different scenarios of what could happen, and at some point the daydreams evolved into real dreams.

"Giddens!" Coach Porter's voice boomed through the locker room and sharply snapped me back to consciousness from my slumber. I looked at my phone and the time was 5:10 P.M.. I was glad i had not missed anything, because that would be hell to pay. "Get up, and get your gear on. It's nearly go time." exclaimed my enthusiastic coach.

"Yes Sir" was all i had the energy to say. Besides if I said much more than that I would probably end up with an endurance enhancement activity. So i got up and made my way to the restroom. Once I finished up my business in the stall I traveled to the sink to wash my hands. As the warm water slipped between my fingers i looked in the mirror and stared at myself. Looked at my swollen up left ear, the bad cut that had just barely scabbed over above my left eye, and the bags under both of them. I knew I had put myself through total hell, but tonight i would reap what i sowed . So I took off my jeans and hoodie. I then put on my new bright orange singlet, my blue Asic wrestling shoes, my black gym shorts, and my orange crew neck sweater that flaunted the teams logo "Expand The Wall". I then made my way to the weigh-in station located in the lower gym locker rooms. I waited in line with my teammates anxious for the my name to be called so i could weigh-in, enjoy the powerade and peanuts i had stashed in my locker, and be done with that feeling for another week.

"Cody Giddens?" exclaimed the Team Georgia representative.

"Here Sir".

"You know the deal son put your arms up it's time for a skin check. What weight will you be going tonight?"

"138 Sir." I said as he examined my skin for any skin infections such as staph or herpes..

"You pass, now step on the scale kiddo".

136.7 flashed in bright red numbers on the scale. I was ready to go. I turned to see the Brookwood wrestling team in line behind parkview now as well. I stared them down with 100 percent confidence in myself and my teammates that tonight we could not and would not loose.

Chapter 2

The Beginning of The Battle of Five-Forks

"Ahhhhhh" I exclaimed as i took the last big gulp of my sour melon flavored PowerAde.

"That good huh?" said my captain Khalil Shakur. He was our 160.

"You already know bro, now lets go kick some ass!" Then we got up and assembled the team for one of coaches pep talks before we went out there. His talks always managed to inspire you, but lower your ego at the same. He would do that on purpose because if you get to cocky you will underestimate your opponent, and that can cause you the match.

"Alright you guys" said Coach Porter "I want you all to go out there and fight your hardest. Remember what we have been working on at practice. Remember technique, the little things make the biggest difference. Most importantly remember how hard i have pushed you guys, know that they have not been through half of the hell i have put y'all through, and that is why they can not win tonight. Break it down Khalil. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you guys are all hideous. Okay now go for it Khalil."

"Alright everybody bring it in." shouted out our captain Khalil. " Tough on three! Tough on three! 1, 2, 3, TOUGH!!". The scream of the team erupted through the entire gym, and the people in the stands all fell dead silent as the Parkview Panthers sprinted out of the locker rooms, and onto the mat. I looked into the audience as this happened, and noticed a strange trio of girls holding up a sign that said "Go Get Em Cody!!". This trio consisted of my best friend Kirsten Magda, my girlfriend Jasmine Thomas, and my ex-girlfriend Katie Robertson. Now it was crystal clear that i could not allow myself nor my team to lose tonight, The Battle of Five-Forks would be ours!

The team and I ran circles around the big blue wrestling mat in the gym. It was our standard warm-up procedure.

"Cherry pickers!" shouted Khalil which signified for us to stop jogging and begin to do high skips. We did these for about one or two minutes "Butt Kickers!" exclaimed Khalil. We then went through the rest of the first half of our warm-up procedure which consisted of High Knees, sumo-stretch inside, sumo-stretch outside, slow shots, shoulder rolls, stance and motion inside, and stance and motion outside. "Find a partner and drill what you need to, or stretch on your own. I partnered up with my good friend Hasan Corley. He wrestled 145 that night so were we close to the same weight. So i drilled my takes downs. I did my blast double 30 times, and Hasan did the same. I worked my sweep single 30 times, and Hasan worked his outside single just as many times. I worked my ankle pick about 45 times because it is my favorite takedown , and Hasan worked his high crotch 30 times. We were both anxious to use the takedowns on our rivals.

"Clear the mats!!" Shouted the referee. It is standard procedure before a duel for the captains to go out on the mat, shake hands, flip a coin, and decide what weight class they want to to start with. Parkview was tails, and brookwood was heads. Heads it is! Brookwood decided to start with weight class 138. That was me. I was up first, and to be perfectly honest i would not have wanted it any other way. This way i could set the pace for my team to follow, so I took off my warm ups, high fived my coaches, and took off to the center of the mat.

Chapter 3

Man Vs. Monster

"You can do it Cody, remember to stay low, look for head position, and show this guy what it means to be Parkview tough!" said Coach Porter as he slapped me on the headgear, and butt as i ran to the center of the mat. I looked up at the kid in front of me. I did not know his name and didn't care to. He was quite a bit taller than me, but not as muscled as myself. His body type was long and lanky. He had a short buzzed hair-cut and appeared to be of oriental heritage. I looked into his eyes and he looked a little