Listening To Your Own Advice

Paxton Ray heard a whistle, then looked up in the ring and saw five wrestlers charge at him. 

“All right, let’s do this.”

He sidestepped Tani Albright, sending an elbow to his back as he passed, then grabbed Quinn Fleetwood and immediately threw him over the ropes. 

“My boy!” Chet screamed from the sideline. Paxton looked at him and laughed, then was hit from behind by El Cocodrilo. Paxton instinctively turned so his back hit the turnbuckle, then put his hands up to deflect a flurry of blows from the luchador. 

“Too passive! Fight back!” yelled Foster Nackedy. Foster leaned on a walker. His wounds had improved, but he still insisted on using the walker and neck brace.

Growling, Paxton pushed Cocodrilo back and hit him with a clothesline. “Hey Paxton!” someone shouted from behind him. He turned around to see Connor Nackedy up on the turnbuckle. 

“Connor, what are you doing?” Foster shouted. Paxton laughed and raised his arms, catching the younger Nackedy as he flew through the air.

“Nice move,” Paxton said before tossing him out of the ring. He turned to see Tani dumping El Cocodrilo over the top rope. Before Tani could turn around, Paxton rushed him, shoving him over the top rope.

“Nice awareness!” Foster said, then looked down at Tani, who was grabbing his knee. “That was directed at Paxton, not at you for what I hope are obvious reasons.”

Paxton turned around and walked to the center of the ring where one man waited. He was Gray Academy’s newest student, the only student bigger than Paxton. Standing 6’11 and weighing over 300 pounds, Theodore Boswell grinned as he towered over Paxton. “I’ve been waiting for this,” Boswell said.

“Seems masochistic, but sure,” Paxton said, swinging on the big man. He pushed him back, but Theodore used his strength to grab Paxton and push him towards the ropes. Lifting him like he was a baby, Theodore walked to the edge of the ring.

“Classic bully, can’t handle someone bigger than you,” Theodore said. “By the way…Mr. Rhine recruited me.” He lifted Paxton onto the ropes.

“Shame, he coulda taught ya to focus instead’a talkin’ trash,” Paxton said, slipping out of his grasp and shoving him over the rope.

Paxton stared outside of the ring at his fallen competitors, then raised his hands in the air. Foster blew the whistle and clapped. “Well, I’d say you’re ready.”

_______

A few days later, the students of Gray’s were outside the center ring while Foster, still leaning on a walker, was inside the ring. He looked down at them with a smile.

“Hey guys!” He then frowned and pulled at his neck brace. “This damn thing.”

“You could always take it off, since you don’t actually need it,” said Tani.

“Anyway,” Foster spoke over Tani, “I have good news for most of you, and bad news for two of you. Who wants to hear what first?”

“Is the bad news for me?” Quinn asked.

“Yes.”

“I want to hear the good news first.”

Foster laughed. “The good news is that for most of you, today is a day off. You’ve earned it after the last few weeks of hard work and the practice battle royale the other day. I’m only going to ask you to stick around to watch a match.”

Most of the students clapped. Paxton nodded and turned to walk away. Quinn frowned. “So what’s my bad news?”

“Not just yours. The first two people to be eliminated from our battle royale are going to be fighting in the aforementioned match. And as a nod to our fellow student’s upcoming match with Nova, it’ll be Falls Count Anywhere.”

“That sucks,” Quinn said. Then he looked up. “Wait, who was eliminated second?”

Everyone looked from Quinn to Connor Nackedy, who looked up. “Why is everyone looking at me?”

“Never mind,” said Quinn through a wolfish smile. “This doesn’t suck after all.”

Foster clapped, or tried to with his arms resting on the walker. The result was a half-hearted slapping sound. “The match is in an hour. The two of you prepare. The rest of you…grab some popcorn or something. I know Chet’s in the kitchen making fajitas.”

The crowd dispersed. Paxton started to walk towards the bathroom when Tani tapped his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Hey, Paxton. I know we’re not, like, friendly or anything.”

“I threw ya through a window.”

“Yeah, that sucked. But we’re part of the same school and so…I just thought I’d give you some advice heading into the Battle Royale.”

Paxton looked past Tani to Foster, who suddenly looked away. “He’s puttin’ ya up to this, ain’t he.”

“Obviously. Anyway, I’ve watched a ton of these, and I think the best advice I can give is to just stay out of the way.”

“What, like rest in the corner or somethin’?”

Tani shrugged. “Not exactly, but don’t go looking for trouble either. Listen, I know you’re proud of your punches, and your ability to go toe to toe with anyone. That’s cool, but in a match like this, putting yourself out there opens you up to getting attacked, taken advantage of, thrown out. So pick your spots and for the rest of the time, just try to stay on your feet.”

Paxton looked down at Tani Albright for a moment. Then he nodded. “Thanks Tani. Looks like your leg is better.”

“It isn’t.”

Paxton looked down. “Sorry.”

“No you’re not. But it’s fine. I’ll be in Japan soon, so I’ll have even more crazy people to worry about.” Tani clapped Paxton on the shoulder and walked away.

Paxton shook his head and took a few steps before walking directly into Quinn Fleetwood. “Goddammit. It’s like a traffic jam in here but all the cars are assholes.”

“Beep beep, bitch,” Quinn said.

“Whaddaya want? Ain’t ya gotta go get ready for your brawl with the kid?”

“Wanted to talk to you about the battle royale.”

Paxton put a hand to his face. “Jesus Christ.” He looked around for a moment before his eyes landed on Chet Fleetwood, leaning against the water fountain and wearing a Fleetwood, Fleetwood, Harper and Fleetwood apron. Chet gave them both an exaggerated thumbs up. “This comin’ from ya or from your pops?”

“Well, I’d like to think that everything I do comes from dad, since he’s the one who made me the person I am today.”

Paxton snorted. “What’s your advice?”

“Well, you know what your biggest problem is, right?” Quinn asked, smiling. 

“What’s that?”

“You’re cocky.”

Paxton stared at Quinn for a full five seconds before bending over in deep, uncontrollable belly laughter. Taking a moment to wipe his eyes, he stood back up and nodded. “Uh huh.”

“It’s true, man. Sometimes the pot calls the kettle black and guess what, it’s still fucking true! We’re all just pots and pans here.”

Paxton sneered at Quinn. “Okay.”

“Anyway,” Quinn said, giving Paxton a light tap on his chest, “I get it. You’re a champ. You’ve destroyed pretty much everyone you faced. You don’t fear anyone and you don’t think you need to. And that’s fine one on one. But if you take anyone lightly with that many people in the ring, you’ll be in trouble, no matter how strong your punch or your southern accent is.”

Paxton raised his eyebrows. “So don’t play with my food, got it.”

Quinn shook his head. “Don’t think about it as food to begin with.”

“Fine. Want any advice for your match comin’ up?”

Quinn laughed. “From you? No thanks, only idiots take advice.” He started to walk away but Paxton held his arm.

“Well I got some for ya anyway. Pay attention to the people who ya piss off. Ya never know when they’re gonna want their payback.”

“Thanks for that not-threatening-at-all advice. Later loser.” He walked away from Paxton and gave Chet a high five, saying “Fleetwood!” as he did so. 

“Fuckin’ asshole,” Paxton grumbled, finally walking into the bathroom. As he used it, he seethed, pounding his hand against the wall – lightly at first, then with increasingly more power until he saw the corners of the tiles begin to crack. Smiling, he washed his hands and walked out of the bathroom where Foster Nackedy was waiting. “Jesus, can I jus’ have one second t’myself?”

“No rest for the wicked, and you paralyzed a guy,” Foster said, leaning on his walker. “Hey, Dith got a call that your girlfriend is coming to pick up her phone in a few minutes.”

“She’s not my…” Paxton started, then stopped. “Were they able to find anything?”

“Yeah, they got the contact and location of Nora’s primary physician and a few other nurses who might have information.” Foster smirked up at Paxton’s frowning face. “What, did you expect to find some file in her documents that said ‘Secret Location of Paxton Ray’s Daughter’?”

“Nah, just thought maybe there’d be more.”

“It’s enough. These guys are pros, they’ll be able to find her.” Foster took the phone out of his back pocket and handed it to him. “There you go. She won’t know it’s been messed with. Just tell her that you stole it on purpose to give her an excuse to see you again.”

Paxton laughed. “I don’t think I need that excuse, but thanks.” Paxton turned to go but Foster grabbed his wrist. “What…oh. Lemme guess. Ya got some advice.”

“I wouldn’t be the best wrestling trainer in the Gulf South if I didn’t! Now listen. The one thing that will help you in the battle royale, more than skill, more than power, more than putting glue on your shoes…”

“Is anyone dumb enough t’do that?”

“Is awareness. You have to understand your surroundings, always make sure no one is going to blindside you. Our body doesn’t brace for impact if it doesn’t know the impact is coming. So be aware, be ready, and don’t let anything take you by surprise. It’s the key to this match, your match against Nova, and honestly it’s the key to pretty much everything about this business.”

Paxton nodded, walking away. “Got it. Be aware. That all?”

“No,” Foster said, looking down. “For the match between Connor and Quinn…if it gets out of hand, can you…can you protect Connor? I don’t want to show favorites, but I also don’t want anything to happen to him.”

“Yeah. I got ya.”

“Hey, Pax, you got a visitor!” Dith called from across the gym. Paxton looked at Foster a moment before nodding and walking across the gym. As he did, his eyes darted back and forth, moving in wide circles around the other students in the building. He made his way outside the building and saw Julie leaning against her car. They broke into identical smiles as they approached each other.

“Had to steal my phone so you could see me again, huh?” she said, pulling him in for a hug.

“Ya got me,” he said, chuckling. “Sorry ‘bout that.” He handed her the phone. “I’m so bad with phones I don’t even know which one is mine.”

“No worries. Luckily I used it as an excuse to not work for a few days. That’s the good side about all that stuff I was complaining about last time, I guess. You gave me a mini vacation.”

“Well that’s nice,” Paxton said. “And what did ya do on your vacation?”

“Well I wanted to call you, but you prevented that,” she said, slapping him on the arm. “I just listened to music, played with my dog, and I did go to work. I just wasn’t very busy. I had plenty of time to think.”

Paxton smiled. “Oh yeah? And what did ya think about?”

“Mostly where my phone was,” she said and they both laughed.

Paxton scratched his neck. “Hey, I don’t wanna cut this short, but I have to watch a match in a minute. Coach is kinda goin’ crazy ‘bout it.”

“Oh yeah? Why?”

Paxton cocked his head. “Are ya actually interested?”

“Not in the match itself. Just in the person talking.”

It took a few seconds for Paxton to compose himself. “Well, basically I got another match the night after the one I told ya about. It’s a battle royale. Buncha people throw each other over a top rope. Like forty of us. Anyway, everyone and their mother is givin’ me advice ‘bout it and it’s drivin’ me crazy. And the losers in the practice battle royale have to fight each other for the rest of our amusement…” Paxton looks down. “Whole thing’s kinda fucked.”

“Sounds like it,” she said, leaning back against her car. “Well, now you realize I have to give you advice too, right?”

Paxton shook his head. “What advice can ya give me ‘bout wrestlin’?”

“Not necessarily about wrestling, just about…so you said there’s forty people in the ring, right? And they are all trying to win.”

“Yep.”

“Okay, so my advice is simple,” she said, holding her hands in front of her as if she was gesturing to a point that Paxton couldn’t see. “Don’t trust anybody.”

Paxton leaned next to her on the car, looking outward and nodding slowly. Julie leaned against him, her brown curls folding into his chest. Looking down suddenly, he pulled her in a little closer. “Makes sense. We all want the same thing, which means we’ll all betray each other.”

“Exactly. Plus, you know, your profession seems pretty untrustworthy.”

Paxton looked down at her. “And what about me? Am I untrustworthy?”

“Still figuring that out,” she said, breaking free from his hold and opening her car door. “I’ll get out of your hair. But next time just say you want to hang out, okay?”

“Ha,” he said. “Thanks for comin’ by.”

“Thanks for not selling my phone on eBay,” she said as she got in her car and drove away. Paxton watched the car go, then smiled and walked inside. As he did he saw he was almost late.

“All right. Falls count anywhere. Technically any of the other students can help out since it’s no disqualification,” Foster said, staring at Paxton,” but I do hope that you will restrain yourselves.” Foster nodded at Dith, who was in the ring, then pointed at Tani. “Ring the bell.”

_______

SMACK! 

Even Paxton cringed at the clang of the steel chair as it careened off of Connor Nackedy’s head. The younger Nackedy slumped as Quinn Fleetwood dropped the chair and held his hands high. They were right outside the ring, and Quinn had just pinned Connor’s head to the apron with the chair shot. “Oh yeah!” Quinn shouted, a shout that his father echoed behind everyone. Paxton turned to see that Chet was still wearing his apron and loudly chewing on some food.

“Flank steak?” he asked Paxton, who scowled and turned around. Quinn was continuing to brag. He picked the chair back up and did three pump-fakes with it, each time saying “oh, I almost got you!” He turned around again and held the chair to the side, screaming. From behind him, Paxton saw Connor stir a little. 

For a moment, Paxton and Quinn locked eyes.

“But if you take anyone lightly with that many people in the ring, you’ll be in trouble.”
“Don’t think about it as food to begin with.”

Quinn turned around and said, “All right, enough of this,” and bent over to grab Connor. But before he could, Nackedy rolled by his legs, grabbed his ankle, and tripped him up. Before Quinn could recover, Connor started wrenching on the ankle, stepping on Quinn’s back as he lifted the leg high. After a few moments, Quinn tapped.

“All right, good job!” Foster called. Paxton looked at Foster’s expression: thin-lipped, no smile. But for just a moment, Paxton could see his eyes sparkle in the light. 

Then, they widened.

“That wasn’t fair!” Quinn screamed, twisting out and tripping Connor. He then grabbed the chair and blasted Connor – once, then twice, then meeting him on the ground to deliver three more blows.

Paxton watched Foster again. His lips had not changed, but again his eyes were flickering. He looked at Paxton and closed his eyes for a moment, mouthing, “please.”

Paxton started to walk towards him, but he wasn’t the first to help.

_______

“My music, how I’ve missed you!” Julie said to herself as she sped down the street. She looked through her library and hesitated for a moment before picking a song. She hummed along with the verse until it hit the chorus, then she started singing out the window.

“Would you be so kind as to fall in love with me,” she said, smiling. “You see I’m trying, I know you know that I like you but that’s not enough, so if you would, please fall in love…”

She trailed off as she stared at her phone sitting in the charger holster. Her eyes lingered to the Google Chrome icon on her desktop, and she frowned. 

In her head she heard the same voice she heard countless times since she started talking to Paxton. 

“Google him,” her thoughts rang. “Look him up. Find out if he’s as good as you think he is.”

She wordlessly hummed through the rest of the song, then shook her head. 

“Don’t trust anybody.”
“And what about me? Am I untrustworthy?”

“I think it’s only fair, there’s got to be some butterflies somewhere, wanna share,” she sang, smiling. “Cause I like you but that’s not enough, so if you will please fall in love with me.”

_______

Paxton watched Tani lurch forward, the leg brace trying to hold him in place but failing. The spill caused him to crash into Quinn, sending him to the ground. “Stop being such a fucking bully!” Tani screamed, leveling him with right and left hands. Paxton looked at Foster again, and now the head trainer couldn’t hide his smile. 

Tani stood up and his knee buckled, causing him to fall again. Quinn, recovering from the assault, got to his feet and grinned. “Oh that was so stupid, Tani. They’re going to send you to Bang! in a body bag.” Quinn stood over him and started kicking his leg, causing Tani to scream in pain. Tani looked up wildly, trying to find something to gain purchase. 

All he found were Paxton’s eyes.

“Just stay out of the way.”
“Putting yourself out there opens you up to getting attacked, taken advantage of.”

Quinn grabbed the chair and sent a hard shot to Tani’s head, and the young man stopped moving.

Foster rang the bell, but Quinn was still alternating between hitting Connor and Tani. “I’m not a joke! I’m not a motherfucking joke!” Quinn screamed, tears spilling from his eyes with each chair shot.

Finally, Paxton walked towards him. “All right, this is over.”

Quinn brandished the chair in front of him. “Come on, asshole. I’m not scared of you.”

“You should be, Quinn. ‘Cause I’m gonna be the only one who listens to my own advice.”

“Pay attention to the people who ya piss off.”

Paxton cracked his neck, but before anything could happen, the door at the far end of the gym flew open. Paxton looked over to see Shweta Kallemullah walk in. Her hands were on the handles of a wheelchair where Jonathan Rhine sat. Both of the former members of Fighting For Nora had bruises and cuts on their faces, but they were both smiling. 

Foster was not. “What the hell is this?”

“Wow, Foster. I never thought bringing back a student whose father is the worst person on earth would be bad for the academy.” Jon laughed at Quinn, who finally dropped the chair. 

Foster scowled. “I don’t know if you forgot the last time you trespassed, but these sessions are closed to the public. So why don’t you—”

“You’re right, Foster,” Shweta interrupted. “They are closed to the public. But I have some documents in my hand you might want to see.” Shweta strode forward and put a folder in his hand.

Foster looked at the documents for a moment before looking up. “That bitch.”

And his eyes met Paxton’s. 

“So be aware, be ready, and don’t let anything take you by surprise.”
“It’s the key to pretty much everything about this business.”

“Her name is Lindsay Troy, she owns the promotion the two of you compete in, so you should treat her with respect.” Shweta grinned. “But notice that I didn’t say co-owner of Gray’s Academy. Because that distinction belongs to me now.”

Jon looked at Paxton. “I told that thug you sent last week that we have nothing to lose. But you did. And you still do.”

Foster walked off saying, “Let’s see what Chet can do with this.” Paxton stared Jon down before realizing that he in fact did not listen to his own advice. 

“Pay attention to the people who ya piss off.”
“Ya never know when they’re gonna want their payback.”