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The Art of Losing

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Offline howardcosell

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The Art of Losing
« on: March 06, 2013, 12:33:55 AM »
The Art of Losing

Somebody's gonna hurt someone
before the night is through
Somebody's gonna come undone.
There's nothin' we can do.
Everybody wants to touch somebody
if it takes all night.
Everybody wants to take a little chance,
Make it come out right.

There's gonna be a heartache tonight,
a heartache tonight, I know.
There's gonna be a heartache tonight, I know.
Lord, I know.


"Heartache Tonight"~~ The Eagles

The sun beating down… beating down… beating down…

What a surprise, huh? If I’m back home, then chances are, I’m in a fight again. There’s a little crowd gathered by the fences right down the street from our little community. I could see the mountains, near white in the beating sun, but tan as the evening comes and red in twilight… then the surround us like black behemoth symbols in the dead of night. I love this place. The scenery is always inspiring and so are some of the people, though I haven’t met as many good folks as I’d like. Whenever I was in a fight, whenever I felt the pressure, I just look up, because the sun and the mountains, the birds and the heavens are always there for me. And I can honestly believe I’ll soar, even if the people are calling me names or beating down my body.

The name’s Laurel Nightbreeze, or Laurie Breeze, as I’m more well known as. I’m just a woman who loves to swim, loves kids, loves helping people and loves trying to make a difference. And I’ve made peace with the fact that it’s people like me who are always going to keep running into trouble for as long as we live. So, I try to keep some peace within myself. I’m 5’2” 111 lbs, I’ve got curly light brown hair that comes just below my ears and I’ve got blue eyes. I’m half White and half Lakota and I love my Lakota heritage with a passion, even though some ignorant people who happen to be Lakota hate me for being not of pure Lakota blood. I can’t understand how people who have a history of being discriminated against because of their races could hold the same hatred and segregationist foolishness for someone else.

“Unnnhhhh!!!” I cried out as Tracy hit me right in the cheek and I almost lost my footing. Don’t ask me how it started. I have no clue. We were having an argument about something to do with working out, and this is what it turned into. Tracy had brown skin and curly black hair. She was known for shooting her mouth off and was a fitness guru at the local gyms. I thought when the fight started and she pushed me, that she was going to beat me easily. She was shorter than I am, but she definitely was the harder body, even for a forty year old woman with three kids. But I was winning. I think the only reason why I was winning was because I was standing up to her.

Tracy and I were in a grapple. I had her by her shirt, pulling it almost over her head and sending little uppercuts into her face, while she was gripping the sleeve of my shirt with her left hand and hitting me on my left side with blind punches. She only got in about four before she stopped. I knew she didn’t want to keep fighting; her body language was telling me everything. Then, she got me with a really hard one to the left side.

“Mmm,” she hummed after landing the punch, like “Ha! Take that.”

“Ooooh,” I said after I pushed her back. She was a little shorter than I was, maybe two inches. I looked at her and saw the doubt in her face. I could see the bruises on her brown skin and the dirt in her curly black hair.

“We could walk away from this and it could be a draw,” I said, “It doesn’t have to be this way, Tracy. Don‘t make me hurt you anymore than I already have. I‘m tired of fighting. I‘m tired of this shit. I just want peace. Stand down.”

“No,” she said, “I’m not going to give up just yet, Laurie. Now, come on and get your ass whipped… bitch.”

A jab to her chin that snapped her head back with an “Oh!” more startled than hurt, but still hurt. A looping right hand to her stomach that got an “Uhhhhhhh” from her as she doubled forward. She had muscles in her abs. I could feel them, but the punches were hurting her and her lack of confidence was hurting her worse. I knew she was stronger than me. I knew she was faster than me. I knew she was even spunkier than me. But for some reason, I was winning the fight and she was losing.

“Come on, Tracy!!” her coworkers, family, or friends, cheering her on, “Don’t let that White girl win!!”

“I can’t beat her,” she admitted, “She hurt me. She got me.”

She was breathless, but she was still coming forward. I had to admire her heart, but the last thing she should’ve said was that she couldn’t win. I knew I had to finish her off. I threw a combination of punches. Two to her face that snapped her head back and bloodied her nose, then a volley of shots into her belly, digging into that stomach and listening to the air go out of her, even as her shirt came up to expose her six pack and make me jealous. I thought about kneeing her in the face, but she went down to one knee. Her mouth was just a few decimeters away from my toes. I looked down at me bare feet, dirty under the toes, but not on the polish, thank goodness. Her right hand was on my stomach and was inadvertently pulling up my shirt. My belly is soft, so I just moved her hand away. I knew there were people with their phones out filming and I’d already heard someone yell “World Star!!” referring to the popular website that’s full of videos of people fighting. This wasn’t going to be good for my reputation at all. And yes; I have a reputation now. I am more well known now than before.

She was huffing and puffing and that’s when I saw a brown fist right at my face. Unnnnhhhh!!

I went down on my back and looked up, seeing this new woman who had entered the fight. Younger and pissed off, exotic looking and with Tracy’s eyes. She looked a lot like the actress Zoe Saldana, maybe half Black and have Lakota, maybe about 5'7" and maybe around the same weight as I am. She was thin, but she was shaped well. I couldn’t be sure. Tracy was forty years old like I said, but looked a lot younger and I knew she had a daughter who was about twenty. Standing there in flip flops, blue jeans and a blue tank top, looking at me like I was dead meat.

{alt}

{alt}

“Honey,” I said getting to my feet as she waited, “You just really fucked up.”

“My name is Nina,” she said, kicking her flip flops off, “You’re going to be sorry for what you did to my mom.”

I tackled her, took both of us clean off our feet and into the dirt. I was able to wrestle her down a lot easier than I thought, for such a confident sounding girl.

“She’s doing that UFC shit,” I heard a guy say

“She fought in OPW, you know” another voice

“She didn’t make it to OPW. She was just on Ultimate Catfighter, remember? That Rumor chick beat her ass.”

As I punched Nina’s face while she deliberately turned her head from side to side to roll with the blows and thrashed her body around, a pain shot through my navel as I heard that name… Rumor Winfield. 5’10” 140 lbs, long black hair, blue eyes. Kayla’s biggest fan, but more importantly, a South African Olympic Silver Medalist in Freestyle Fighting. The woman who beat me. The woman who sent me home, a loser. Ahhh!! Nina scratched my face with her long nails and tried to push me off, but my wrestling skills that I honed with Gemma, Sage, Rachel, Lucy Thunder, Love and some of the others during my time on Ultimate Catfighter, and that were reinforced by Jonica as she was learning more about wrestling herself… were just too good for Nina.

She got me with a backhanded chop across my mouth as I knew my lip was cut. Then a forearm to my jaw that stunned me. I was hurt and she was starting to come on, but I was still on top. I decided to use my weight and slide up her body, pinning her forearms down with my legs and putting my crotch right in her face… Joanne would be proud. But she stunned me by throwing both her knees into my back and sending me down on my stomach. As I turned over, we looked at each other and I knew it was time to go at it again, but she was getting to her feet. She didn’t want to fight me on the ground. Before she could move in, her mother grabbed her from behind.

“No Nina, no!!” Tracy was yelling, “You can’t beat Laurie Breeze, honey. She beat me up, what do you think she’ll do to you?”

“Mom, what?” she said, “I hurt her. I can’t kick her ass! Let me go!”

“No,” Tracy said, “She’s got too much heart for you. She could beat us both. Let’s go. I didn’t realize you were you a fighter, Ms. Breeze. I’m sorry I started with you.”

Nina and I looked at each other. It was an odd moment. She wanted to fight, but what could she do? She could see that I was hurting and I could see that she was hurting. The momentum had even shifted in her favor. I honestly didn’t know how this would’ve turned out. She could fight; she just couldn’t wrestle. But I had to put myself in her shoes. She had just watched her own mother lose a fight to a physical softer girl and now, her own mother was telling her that she couldn’t beat me either. I could see her heart break and I felt a bit sorry for her, but I didn’t let it show.

“That’s okay,” I said, “Is this over?”

“Yes, Ms. Breeze,” Tracy said

I looked at Nina. I saw rage and sadness in her eyes… I knew it wasn’t over with her, but they got in their car and drove away while I was cheered by the crowd that gathered and some of the elders looked at me and shook their heads in disapproval. If I’ve ever started a fight, I always thought I had a just cause. So, I could never understand why they always looked down on me, other than because I wasn’t “pure.” It used to bother me a lot when I was younger. The elders are the wise men and wise women. Gaining their approval is so important and I’d been trying to find my identity through the duality of being biracial and having two heritages. Not to mention, being a woman in a sexist world wasn’t helping either. That’s why I love working with children. They’re a lot easier to understand.

I went to my condo. I was able to take the money I’d gotten from being on Ultimate Catfighter and invest it, after I got the few family I love some things and paid off some debts. I was never into fighting professionally. Wrestling and mma were of no interest to me, but as soon as I’d heard my bestie Girlwrestler Joanne was entering that tournament, I had to do it. In the first round, I beat Bully Brit, a little blonde wannabe karate fighter. Gemma Rox, Rachel, and the other coaches and teammates helped me train for that fight and after a taking some hard shots, I got Brittany on her back and pounded her out. Put her in a submission hold, and choked that little snotty bitch out. Joanne was even happy for me, and even though she was on the other team, I was happy when she won her match. I was in it to win it, but I wouldn’t have minded if Joanne won. The problem is… she didn’t win. The reason why she didn’t win is because I beat her in the Round of 16.

I’m a nice girl and I love nice things, but you have to have an attitude when you fight. At least, that’s what I believe. Joanne is a good person and she’s got skill, but she’s a loser. She folds when the pressure is on and I played the friendship game in the cage long enough to get her guard down, then I beat her and submitted her with her own face sitter finisher. The better I did, the more criticism I got, especially from Rumor. She’d gone on the radio and made fun of me. She’d made fun of my body and my cheeks, my stomach, my inexperience. I responded and gave my story. I told them how I’d battled eating disorders and how I had been fighting and surviving all my life. That didn’t impress her. She was the ultimate bigmouth, but she could back it up. She was tall and well built. Looked like the US Female goalie Hope Solo, who is pretty arrogant herself, from what I read… but nothing like Rumor.  





Thinking about Rumor always sends a shock through my navel, down through my toes and up through my fingers and my eyes. She’s the reason why I didn’t win Ultimate Catfighter.

My phone rings and I pick it up. It’s Siena Blaze, the owner of OPW, the biggest female fighting promotion in the world and very, very popular. If I had won Ultimate Catfighter, I would’ve made it in. I’ve beaten one of their former world champions, a little 4’11” Canadian blonde who thought she had ownership over the nickname “Lil Bit.” I beat her twice. Siena had offered me a contract before. The UC tournament and my story had inspired a lot of people. I was famous now and I didn’t really know how to deal with it. When I got home, it just meant more people were going to try me and bully me. But just like with Tracy, more of them were going to leave me alone once I stood up for myself too. Baby Liz, who was also on the show and has a similar half White, half Lakota heritage that I do, made peace with me. We had fought a year before and I had beaten her, despite giving up a seven inch height advantage and nearly thirty pounds… the same as with Rumor. Liz had cleaned up her act, but after the show, I saw her on television pissing on a Lakota banner and my hate for her just fell right back into place. I have to remind myself that she and I still have unfinished business. I won’t stop until I beat Lakota pride into her.

“Hey Laurie, how the fuck are ya?” that smooth voice of Siena’s. I could visualize her Marilyn Monroe features and Madonna demeanor and sexuality

“I’m fine, Siena,” I say

“Let me just cut to the chase,” she says, “If you’re not gonna fight for me, will you at least stop beating up my prospects? Geez, Laurel. It’s all over the internet.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Siena,”

“You beat up Nirvana Lopez. She’s a national champion in kickboxing and I had her set to go to Thailand to compete in muay thai as well. She’s devastated that you beat her up and her mother up. Now, she doesn’t want to go. She’s sort of fallen into a downward spiral.”

And then it hits me… Nina. I held the phone with one hand and did a search on the internet for Nirvana Lopez and there was Nina, in that martial arts robe, holding trophies and medals and kicking posing whatever. I knew the girl could fight, but a national champion?

“I’m sorry, Siena,” I say, “I was defending myself.”

“I’m just fucking with you, Laurie,” she says with a laugh, but definitely some annoyance in her voice, “I know you don’t keep up with current events. She was in a wreck, a very bad one. She was drinking and driving and her mother was killed. Nina has been learning to walk again. She’s on the way to a speedier recovery than we thought.”

“Holy shit,” I say, almost dropping the phone, “Is she going to be okay?”

“Physically, the doctors haven’t seen anything like it. She’s so motivated to get well. They say she’s even been throwing kicks and knees. She’s been running in the swimming pool. I’m not worried too much about the physical damage as I am the mental damage.”

“Well, as long as she stays motivated, she’ll be okay,” I say, “I’ll keep her in my prayers. I know what it’s like to suffer those types of injuries and I know how tedious the recovery can be.”

“She’s definitely motivated, Laurs.”

“Good.”

“Not really. See, every time I talk to her, all she’s talking about is you. This girl seriously wants to fuck you up.”

A cold feeling came over me. I was almost in tears already thinking about this, now this strangeness. Siena continued.

“I’ve got challenges ahead of me. You may not know this, but Rachel Apache has left OPW. She vacated the World Championship to run back to Colorado and be a family woman or whatever the fuck she calls it. I’m organizing a tournament to crown a new champion and I’ve got Queen of the Ring coming up too, another tournament. My plate is pretty full right now, but I’m taking time away from all of that to tell you to watch your back. This girl is pissed off at you.”

“She is blaming me for killing her mother?”

“Not quite. More like she’s blaming you for beating her in a fight, which led to her career being tarnished, which led to her getting depressed, which led to her drinking and driving, which led to her accident. All she ever talks about is beating you. That‘s all she wants to do, and to be honest with you, other than those two fights you won over you know who, I really don‘t think you‘ve recovered mentally yourself.”

“Recovered from what, Siena?” I know what she’s talking about, but I don’t want to admit it. I’d admitted to it when it happened.

“Rumor,” she says, “You haven’t recovered from Rumor. That’s why you didn’t sign with me when I offered, despite all the popularity and your fame now, all these people you can help with your motivational speaking and your campaigns against bulimia and depression. I could market you in my sleep, Laurie. But you aren’t over Rumor and this girl isn’t over you. You think about that, Laurie. You think about it, because she’ll be out soon, and she’ll be asking me for a fight with you. They’ll be people wanting to set it up and if you sign with me, at least it’ll be in the comfort of a ring or cage. Not on the street. Not somewhere where you could get seriously hurt. Think about it.”

She hangs up before I can answer. My mind drifts back to that night in Los Angeles, in the cage, the sweat pouring down my face and Rumor across from me, staring at me with a confident look on her face.

“So, you’re used to puking, huh Laurie?” she said in the staredown, “You’re going to enjoy what I do to you.”

I don’t mind having flashbacks… they can help you get over things. But I really wish I wouldn’t have this flashback to something I don’t want to remember. I guess I might be able to understand why Nina hates me so much. Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with the accident or with her reputation. Maybe, it's about trying to prove something so bad, and not being able to. That's how you really lose. That's how you really get beat. You see; it happened to me once...

TO BE CONTINUED…
« Last Edit: March 06, 2013, 03:04:40 AM by howardcosell »
"When people walk away from you... let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you... and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

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Offline Kayla

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2013, 06:52:29 AM »
Oooh, nice! Rumour has it that I'm making a come-back - with a big bang! Tee hee!  ;D :D ;)

Hugs
Kayla
Naughty - but oh, so NICE! :-)

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Offline howardcosell

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2013, 04:48:23 PM »
Thank you, Kayla! I figured you would be, in the big story I have coming up, or in the work of someone else.  ;)
"When people walk away from you... let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you... and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

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Offline Laurie Breeze

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2013, 06:58:39 AM »
Great start, Howard! I'm loving it so far. Thank you so much for the story.....You even made me an inch taller in it! I always wanted to be 5'2"!   ;)  8)

You really captured me, it's like you were inside my head. I am so honored to be in yer story. Can't wait for the next part!

huggggzzzz 'n xoxo   :-* :-*

~Laurie~
We're on a circuit of an Indian dream
We don't get old, we just get younger
When we're flying down the highway
Riding in our Indian Cars

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Offline howardcosell

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2013, 05:05:21 PM »
I'm glad you like it, Laurie. I'm going to try and get the second part up tonight.
"When people walk away from you... let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you... and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

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Offline Laurie Breeze

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2013, 10:58:42 PM »
I'm glad you like it, Laurie. I'm going to try and get the second part up tonight.

I can't wait, Howard! Even tho I know it'll bring up painful memories of my last encounter with Rumor.  >:(  :(

hugggzzz 'n xoxo

~Laurie~
We're on a circuit of an Indian dream
We don't get old, we just get younger
When we're flying down the highway
Riding in our Indian Cars

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Offline howardcosell

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2013, 06:25:39 AM »
You can't win
You can't break even
And you can't get out of the game
People keep sayin'
Things are gonna change
But they look just like
You're stayin' the same

You get in
Way over your head
And you only got yourself to blame
You can't win Child
(You can't win Child)
You can't break even
And you can't get out of the game

“You Can’t Win”~~ Michael Jackson as The Scarecrow in “The Whiz”

“You know you’re going to lose, right?” Rumor was looking right at me and landed a jab that hit my forehead and snapped my head back. That punch was thrown with a flick, but it felt like a mini migraine. And she looked at me right after she threw it. She knew it hurt, but she was looking at me like she had only done it to make her point. I could hear Gemma yelling instructions, Sage yelling, Nikky Smalls yelling… I could see Rachel’s midnight blue eyes watching me… but my focus was on Rumor. On paper, she was a better striker and a better wrestler. But she didn’t have any heart. She was submitted with ease and that’s how she got her silver medal. Then after she lost, she didn’t admit defeat. She blamed the referee, her coach, and even her opponent’s baggy clothing (see my story “Rumor Has It”). She was nothing but an obnoxious punk and I had to beat her and send the message to her, just like I did with Baby Liz. But I learned quickly that Rumor wasn’t the same as Baby Liz… other than they both were 5’9” 140 lb bitches who loved to drink and talk shit.

She threw a leg kick that hit my on my left thigh. I buckled immediately and she rushed in, grabbing me with both hands behind the head. I knew from preparation that she was going to start kneeing me, so I brought my hands down downwards my stomach, but she kissed me on the lips and kneed me to the stomach above my hands.

“Uggghhh!!”

She smiled and laughed, “This little piggy hasn’t done any crunches in a long time, huh Lil Piggy?”

“Stick and move, Laurie!! Stick and move!!” Gemma was yelling

“Oh, that’s the strategy?” Rumor said to me, “Damn, bitch. They really don’t have any faith in you.”

She hit me with another jab to the nose to accent her point. My nose has been broken and these jabs weren’t just damaging it, they were messing with my neck too. She drew back like she was going to throw a hook to my jaw, but she smiled and didn’t throw it, then she got me with another leg kick to my left leg. I looked down at the bruise that was forming and she got me with a left hook that hit my right cheek and sent me down on my back.

“Wake up!” she yelled, “Come on, Laurie. I’ll let you stand up because I’m not ready to outwrestle you yet. You kept running your mouth, saying you belonged here. Well, show me, Laurie. Show me.”

“Laurie get back up!” Gemma sounded worried, really worried

“Focus on the gameplan, Laurie,” Sage said in her calming voice, “Don’t let her mouth get you out of the plan.”

“I’m letting her up, I don’t know why the fuck she’s still down,” Rumor had backed up and I cautiously got to my feet. I took a moment to look around at the other fighters and I saw the concerned on the members of my team’s faces. I knew that I had to figure this girl out, but it was what she had said. Unnnhhh!!! Another jab to the nose and I was backing up. Then a flying knee to the stomach and I coughed hard and went down. I couldn’t feel anything below my waist and couldn’t hear anything other than my own moans. I knew I had to get back up, but this wasn’t going the way I wanted it to at all. She was so much taller and longer than I was and I had no idea how to attack her, despite the training. While I was trying to will myself to my feet, Rumor yanked me back up herself, then she pinned me against the cage. She drove a right hand right on my navel… oh no… I felt the electric shock go straight through me as I tried to fold over and my cheeks filled with air. My navel is definitely my greatest weak spot. I’ve been hit there several times and it’s an “off switch” for me and a lot of women… and some women, it’s an on switch, if you catch my drift. My sister hit me there during an argument and I went down and cried. I was even hit there by accident at the gym… same result. I looked at Rumor and I was huffing and puffing and drained already, but I knew I had to fight on.

“You liked that, didn’t you, Lil Piggy?” she whispered, “I think I just found something. I knew you were soft there, but this is very interesting.”

Another one to the navel. Then another one. Every punch, my body jolting and tears forming in my eyes. I had to do something to stop it, so I head butted her chest. She didn’t like that and a right cross hit my jaw and if I wasn’t already against the cage, I would’ve gone down. An uppercut under the chin made my legs buckle and I threw my arms towards her to try and hold her, and surprisingly, she let me.

“You don’t belong here, Lil Bitch,” she said, “You’re not a fighter and you’re not worth a shit. Look at the way you’re holding me like you’re in love with me. You want to take me down, here.”

She went down and let me get on top of her, but she had her hands on my wrists and her legs around my body.

“What are you gonna do?” she said and humiliated me by using my hands to hit myself in the face, “Huh? What are you gonna do? It’s midnight, Cinderella. You’re a fucking joke and I’m laughing at your cheeky ass. Get the fuck off me.”

She used her legs to push me off of her. I got to my feet and she had gotten closer. She slapped me in the face hard with her left hand and that staggered me, and she landed another right hand to my belly that doubled me over with an “OOF!!” but she missed my navel. She reached out and pinched the skin on the front of my stomach as I brought my arms up to protect my face, then she slammed another right hand to my navel and I let out an “Ahhhhh!!!” bending and backing up.

“Finish her off, Rumor. No need to delay it any longer. There‘s nothing to prove.” Samantha, an accomplished fighter with the biggest mouth in the business and the coach of Rumor’s team. Rumor was inspired by Kayla, but I could see Samantha’s influence with the taunting and the fighting style. But then again, Rumor already was a taunter.

“Get her the fook outta here, already,” Dynamite Quinn, won her gold medal at the same Olympics Rumor got her silver, but Dynamite competed in the 121 lb division.

“I don’t want to finish her off yet,” Rumor said, looking a bit irritated, “This bitch said she belongs here with the real fighters. She got upset with my radio interview when I said she didn’t. So, now I want her to prove me wrong. You hear me, Lil Bitch? Prove me the fuck wrong!”

“Ahhhhhhh!!!! You bitch!!!!!” I gained all the strength I could muster and charged her. I swung a hard right hand at her face, but she was out of my range and hit me with a jab to the chin I’d never seen until the last second. My momentum took me down on my side and she stomped hard on my ribs.

“Are you ready to throw up yet, Lil Piggy?” Her words were hurting me just as much as her assault. She was treating me like I was nothing and she was proving every insult she threw at me in those interviews. A kick right in the pit of my stomach and I gagged hard.

“Hey Rachel, maybe you should throw in the towel,” Samantha again, talking to my coach, Rachel Apache, 5’11” 150 lbs, Persian skin, shin long wavy black hair, midnight blue eyes, Wonder Woman figure… greatest female fighter of all time and only was 31 at the time of this, which means she’s 33 now.

“Where’s the proud Lakota warrior, huh?” she nudged me over on my back and she had her toes on my lips. Her feet didn’t stink, but it was still humiliating for me. She stomped on my stomach and wiped her other foot off on my crotch. Then the bell sounded.

Gemma and Sage rushed into the cage and pulled me to my feet, placing me on the stool. I wanted to get up on my own and walk to the stool on my own, but they were on me too fast to do that.

“How’re you feeling in there, Laurie?” Sage said, her Jessica Alba looking face looking so worried, and her soft Kim Kardashian figure shaking nervously.

“Fuck how she’s feeling! Laurie, you’ve got to fight! You didn’t get in any offense the whole round!” Gemma… yelling, shouting, waving her arms

“Quit spitting on me!” I yell back, “I’m fine! Just don’t throw the towel on me. I got this.”

“She isn’t spitting on you; you are bleeding,” said Rachel and she wiped the blood from my nose and forehead, then showed it to me on the towel, “We went over strategy with you and you seem to have abandoned that. You appear intimidated by your opponent and it is showing as if you are not even trying to hide it.”

“What?” I looked up at Rachel’s beautiful, but stoic face, into those midnight blue eyes that were focused on me as if she could see into my mind and was daring me to lie to her. I didn’t say another word.

“You are a proud Lakota, are you not?” she said

“Yes; I am,” tearing welling up in my eyes, “I am a proud Lakota woman. Not everybody feels I really am a true--”

“I don’t care about that and neither should you,” Rachel said, showing me my blood, “All that matters is now, and this. If you are a proud Lakota, then you better go out there and show it. Do it now.”

I got up off the stool and looked at Rumor. She didn’t look tired and whatever face I was making, she didn’t look impressed by it either. The redheaded honey-skinned Samantha shot me a wink and a smile before she got out of the cage, knowing that Rumor had dominated me in the first round. I saw Rumor’s idol, Kayla Rankin, in the audience, and Rumor was smiling like a schoolgirl at her, while Kayla was yelling and shouting for Rumor.

“You can do it, Laurie,” Nikky Smalls. 5’6”, 140 lbs, brown skinned African American from Wisconsin. Has a trophy case full of title belts and gold medals in boxing. First woman to beat Rachel Apache, now on Rachel’s team, trying to win this tournament. My teammate.

“I’m going to give it everything I’ve got,” I told her, banging my fists together

“She chokes,” Nikky said, “She doesn’t have heart. You have an endless well of it.”

The bell rang and Rumor charged out, nailing me with a right cross to my jaw that staggered me back against the cage and following up by throwing a combination of punches that I was just barely able to get my arms up to block, before she nailed me just above the navel with a left that folded me with an “OUGH!!”

“Are you ready to throw up?” she said, “What’s wrong, Laurie Summerbreeze?”

She used her left hand to pry my raised arms apart, then with the same hand, hit me with a jab to the nose.

“Laurie, you’re got to fight her back!!” Lucy Thunder, 6’ 180 lbs, looks like Xena Warrior Princess, always had my back with the meaner girls in the house and almost knocked Rumor out in the round of 16, but just couldn’t keep up with her speed and lost a unanimous decision.

“Yeah Laurie,” Rumor’s taunts continued, dropping her hands and daring me to hit her, “Fight me back. You want to hit me, Laurie? Do it. Swing.”

She was pointing at her chin and daring me to throw a punch. She was getting closer and even putting her hands behind her back. So, I let her have one hard overhand right… or I thought it was hard.

“Unnhh…”

She stumbled a bit, but she got her footing and for a moment, I saw it in her eyes. She wasn’t expecting me to hit her that hard, but it was all my frustration with her insults and all the frustration I’d had in life personified in one blow… then she smiled and hit me with a jab right on my navel.

“Guuuuhhhh!!!” the shock rushed through my tummy and I folded over again, then squatted. She moved in fast, but I threw my shoulder into her, trying to take her to the ground. I felt my shoulder hit her abs and felt a little air come out of her, but I realized that she was only exhaling and her breathing was still normal. She leaned on me and wrapped her arms underneath, tightening them around my belly and squeezing.

“Hey Laurie,” she whispered, “Want to know a secret?”

“Fuck you, Rumor,” was my response

“I’m not bashing you because you’re shorter of softer,” she said, “Look at Quinn over there. She’s an inch shorter than you and she won a gold medal. She’s one of the strongest girls in the house. It’s not about your height. It’s about your attitude.”

“You’re one to talk about attitude,” I told her and tried to straighten up, but her weight and my back, which I’ve had surgery on, was just too much. She was draining the fight out of me and she wasn’t even breathing hard.

“You act like you’re such a bad bitch when you come in here,” she said almost laughing, but with that same annoying punk bitch tone, “but you’re just a fluffy baby, full of purple clouds and pink hearts, butterflies and rabbit’s feet. You’re not cut out for this and I don’t give a shit how inexperienced you are. You’re a joke to me and you know that you can’t beat me.”

“Then why don’t you finish me off, bad ass?” I told her

“Because I want you to feel this. I want this to last a while for you. I want you to look into my eyes and know that no matter how much pride you have, how many times you got up, how much you ran your big mouth about your life or your problems or all that stuff you claim you’ve overcome… you weren’t good enough to beat Rumor Winfield because you just aren’t good at all.”

She pulled me into an upside down position. I knew what was coming and I still remember the pain in my head and the feeling that she had broken my neck. She gave me a piledriver right on the mat.

“Throw the damn towel!!!! She can‘t take anymore!!”

“Stop the fight!!! Is it worth getting her killed?”

“This is bullshit!! How can you let her suffer like this, Rachel?!!! She’s a rookie!! End this fight!!”

Rumor pulled me up by my throat and pushed me up against the cage.

“How does it feel, Lil Bitch?” she said, “How does it feel to hear people begging for this fight to be stopped?”

“It… feels… normal,” I said and for a second, she looked puzzled, that’s when I decided to go dirty and kick her in the crotch

“Ouuukk!!” her legs bent inward like she had to pee badly and she let me go

“I heard you’re a big fan of Kayla’s,” I said, kicking her there again and she jumped and her eyes widened as she looked at me, “I guess you didn’t expect me to use one of her signature moves on you, huh?”

I threw the hardest punch I could to her belly because I knew the first pain she felt was there. It bent her slightly and I caught her in the jaw with a left hook. It was all or nothing time. I was running on empty, running into the sun, but I’m running behind. And because of that, I kept on her. Her arms came up to cover her face, so I kept hitting her belly with right hands. Her abs were tight and she had definition. She was taking the punches, but she was inching back. I was aiming for different places on her abs, her solar plexus, the pit of her stomach, her navel, and below, trying to see where there was any give, but while I saw her wincing and bending a bit, she was still in control and her eyes were focused on mine.

“Let me make you understand something about me, Rumor,” throwing a hard right into her navel that definitely got her attention and a shot to her heart, “Yes, I am inexperienced. Yes; I am a nice person. Yes; I am good with kids and like happy people. But I will play dirty to win.”

There was chatter in the gym. I could hear it. It was just like it was when I turned things around and beat Brit. It was just like it was when I turned things around and beat Joanne. It was that feeling that I was about to do it again and Rumor was about to choke again. But she smiled and threw a straight right to my navel… uuuuggggghhhhhh… I doubled over and went down to one knee. I wanted to throw up so badly, but I couldn’t let her win. I couldn’t even lift my head up to look her in the eyes.

“Time to go home,” she said and I felt her mount me from behind, wrapping her legs around my waste, while bringing one arm around my neck and the other across my belly, digging her middle and index finger into my navel while squeezing the area around it in a vicious scissored belly claw. At first, I was afraid; I was petrified… nah. I was defiant and I was trying to get free by rocking back and forth as she pulled us both over to where she was on her back and I was laying on top of her… trapped. But the shocking pain and the tightness around my waist and legs had me immobilized and desperate. I had no sense of how much time was left in the round. I had to sense of anything other than pain and humiliation. And her voice…

“Quit, Laurie. I’m not going to let go or let you get up this time. This is the end. This is where you give up. Bitch, I don‘t even know why you‘re here. What made you think you could win? What made you think that just because you went through some shit, you could be a fighter and compete with me? Give up, Laurie. Give up.”

“I… I…” I couldn’t believe the pain I was in, but for all the things she was saying, none of it hurt like knowing that she was right. I could usually take a beating and keep getting up. I could keep fighting because I wanted to prove to my bigmouth opponent that I was somebody and that she had underestimated me. But I realized that on this particular day, I couldn’t do that to Rumor. I couldn’t do anything to her. She had me. She found me. And she was destroying me and could beat me with ease, even on my best day. I couldn’t put a dent in her. One more hard press and I let her have it.

“I give up… you beat me.”

She held on long enough to tell me, “That’s a good little piggy.”

She let me go and looked me in the eyes. First, she was smiling, but her face got serious and we stared at each other as the tears welled up in my eyes. Was she going to give me my respect? Was she going to admit that I hurt her? Was she going to tell me that I did the best I could?

“I just want you to look good into my eyes… the eyes of the woman who beat you.”

I rolled into a fetal position and cried, holding my tummy and not caring who saw. I was a proud fighter, but Rumor reduced me to nothing. She beat me, and I’ve been beaten before… but not the way she beat me. Not the way she owned me. I saw her lick my blood off her fingers.

“So, this is that Lakota blood I’ve been hearing so much about?” she said jokingly to Frankie J., who was doing a post fight interview with her, “Tastes pretty weak.”

Of all her comments and jabs at me, that hurt more than anything.

“Maybe Laurie should take up drinking and cocaine like her buddy Baby Liz over there, add some kick or punch to this. But she isn’t much of a puncher or kicker anyway.”

I couldn’t believe the disrespect, but then again, it was Rumor.

“She never hurt me. She got me with a crotch kick and who wouldn’t react to that? She had no skills and I don’t why she’s even here. She’s a joke and I’m sure she would’ve never shown her face here if she could go back and do it over again.”

So, nobody beat me like her. After that, I could barely look at her. I could get into arguments with the other girls in the house and even fights with them, but not Rumor. It was that feeling deep in the pit of my stomach, that depressing but erotic feeling of total defeat and submission and I never gave myself the chance to know if I liked it or not because I was too busy crying.

I stand up and look at my cell phone. I had to play the whole thing out in my mind. Do I want to be a fighter or don’t I? Do I want to prove to the world that I can make it, even though I have so many fans now who already know I can? What is it that I want and does it even matter anymore? Am I just destined to be back and forth, from the Badlands to Baton Rouge, fighting here and there, beating one girl down, losing to another? I pick up the phone and get ready to call Siena, but a letter catches my eye. I open it and read it.

“Dear Laurie,

You ruined my life. You broke me and you’re the reason why my Mother is dead. I have done nothing but think about the moment when you are beaten at my feet and you look me in the eyes and apologize for the hurt you’ve caused me and my family. I have no career. I have no Mother. A while back, I didn’t even have the ability to walk. But I’m almost there, Laurie. I’m almost to the point where I can come for you. And believe me, I’m coming for you. We’re going to finish what we started and this time, they’ll be plenty of people to see it. I want you in a cage fight.

Sincerely,

Nirvana Nina Lopez”

I had almost forgotten about her just that fast. There are so many girls who are just angry with me and my brain tells me they have no reason to be, but my heart hurts because they are. I call Siena and when she answers the phone, I say five words…

“I’m ready to come back.”

To Be Continued…  



« Last Edit: March 08, 2013, 06:26:17 AM by howardcosell »
"When people walk away from you... let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you... and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

*

Offline howardcosell

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2013, 05:21:44 PM »
Thank you, Jessika! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm enjoying doing it because not only is it paying honor to such a wonderful person like Laurie, it's allowing me to reintroduce some of the old guard as well as introduce some new people. There's a lot more to come and writing Laurie is easy because she's given me great info and she's got a great charm to her personality.
"When people walk away from you... let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you... and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

*

Offline Laurie Breeze

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #8 on: March 08, 2013, 11:59:38 PM »
Howard,

I'm speechless, honestly. I've read the new chapter three times now, it's more than just great. Great doesn't even begin to describe it! It's so real, so true, I don't even mind taking that brutal beating from Rumor because you captured me perfectly. I said it before, it's like you sneaked inside my head.....all the thoughts, all the emotions I have in the story couldn't be more me if I wrote it myself.

I don't know what you have in store for me but I can't wait to find out!

Thank you, thank you for this wonderful gift!  :-*

hugggzzzz 'n xoxo

~Laurie~

PS -- Rumor is still a total shit! Just sayin'!  :D
We're on a circuit of an Indian dream
We don't get old, we just get younger
When we're flying down the highway
Riding in our Indian Cars

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Offline howardcosell

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #9 on: March 09, 2013, 06:26:04 AM »
If that's what it's doing, then I'm doing my job  ;) Thank you for being willing  :)
"When people walk away from you... let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you... and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

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Offline Kayla

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #10 on: March 09, 2013, 11:26:30 AM »
Hmmm, great action there & Laurie was certainly not going down without a fight (and a crotchkick  ::)) - tee hee!  ;D :D

Hugs
Kayla
« Last Edit: March 09, 2013, 11:27:32 AM by Kayla »
Naughty - but oh, so NICE! :-)

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Offline howardcosell

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2013, 01:54:19 AM »
Thank yo, Kayla! Despite losing to your new protege, Laurie did get her shots in. She's certainly got a lot of heart ;)
"When people walk away from you... let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you... and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

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Offline Laurie Breeze

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2013, 10:56:22 PM »
Hmmm, great action there & Laurie was certainly not going down without a fight (and a crotchkick  ::)) - tee hee!  ;D :D

Hugs
Kayla

Whatever it takes, Kayla!  ;)


Thank yo, Kayla! Despite losing to your new protege, Laurie did get her shots in. She's certainly got a lot of heart ;)

Sometimes too much heart for my own good, Howard!  ;)  Smart thing woulda been to just stay down after the first time she decked me but I don't fly that way.

xoxo

~L~
We're on a circuit of an Indian dream
We don't get old, we just get younger
When we're flying down the highway
Riding in our Indian Cars

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Offline howardcosell

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #13 on: June 01, 2013, 05:29:02 AM »
Now and then, I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy, you could die
I told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it’s an ache I still remember

You can get addicted to a certain kinda sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I’ll admit that I was glad that it was over

But you didn’t have to cut me off
Make it like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don’t even need you love, but you treat me like a stranger
And that feels so rough

No you didn’t have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records
And then change your number
Guess that I don’t need that though
Now, you’re just somebody that I used to know…
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know…

“Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye featuring Kimba

Joanne… what the hell are you doing? What the hell are you thinking? Battered and bruised, beaten and loosed again. What the hell is wrong with you? Katrina… Katrina, of all people? You had to try her again? And the result is the same… you lose. If you didn’t come from that famous wrestling family, you’d be in some other territory, not in OPW, not it the biggest female fighting federation in the world…

I’m backstage at an OPW event for the first time since the Ultimate Catfighter finale. The online ticket to Minneapolis was in my email before I got off the phone with Siena. I remember her final words.

“Lars, if you’re gonna do this, remember; it’s your ass.”

I know, Siena. I feel like I’ve been getting my ass kicked my whole life, but that’s what life is, isn’t it? It’s to be enjoyed and endured. I guess I’ve been doing more enduring than enjoying, but tonight, that all changes. My road to the top begins here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have to say, I feel more confident than usual. I never thought I would. I’ve never been a fan of wresting or MMA. It was Joanne who got me involved. Once Joanne got into Ultimate Catfighter, I had to follow. And heck, the free training with Team Rachel was great and helping me. Even if I couldn’t stand Gemma Rox, she helped me improve my fighting a lot. I got to learn from Rachel Apache, the greatest female fighter of all time, her sister Sage, who was a cool ass chick, and Love, who turned out to be pretty cool, but one of the most sarcastic blondes I’ve ever met. She could take your head off though.

Joanne was on Team Samantha, but she secretly rooted for me and I rooted for her. We always said that no matter what happened, we’d still be cool. That’s the business. Friends fight in this business all the time. But things just didn’t work out the way they should’ve for us. Joanne and I ended up fighting in the tournament… and I beat her. I came out acting like I didn’t want to hurt her, then I let her have it. I could tell she didn’t really want to fight me, but I came to win and I unloaded on her with a barrage of punches to her face and when her hands came up, I went after her tummy, where I knew she was weak. She went down and I got caught up in the moment and did something that I regret. I used her finisher, her face sitter, on her and she submitted. If she got a shot in, I wouldn’t know because I had her from the jump. This was her big opportunity, and I messed it up for her. But that’s the business and I thought we’d still be cool afterward, but she barely has spoken to me since. And you know what? I’m not ashamed to admit that it hurts. It fucking hurts.

I watch Katrina body slam my blonde friend all over the ring. I watch Katrina, the 5’7” 150 lb light brown skinned Black girl with the strong thick body and the tattoos, who Joanne and I were both with in that Ultimate Catfighter house, I watch Katrina, who intimidates the shit out of me, and I’m not ashamed to admit it, beat the brakes off Joanne… again. The Hurricane Powerbomb finishes her off. I see Joanne’s back and head bang off the mat and after the 1,2,3, Katrina steps over her like she’s nothing takes the microphone in her hands as the crowd boos.

“That’s what I do!! I beat bitches’ asses and no motherfucking body in the back can stop me! There ain’t no bitch badder than me. That’s why Beth keeps ducking me. That’s why she won’t give me a shot at the OPW Television Championship. But that’s okay, with your little blonde ass. Keep running, Beth. You’ve got to come see me sooner or later and I‘ll kick your ass like I did your twin sister. Or I just might decide to come see you and lay your little fake blonde ass out… like I did this fake blonde bitch right here. Anybody who wants some, can come get some.”
 
Katrina
{alt}

The good thing about Siena Blaze is that she knows how to run a business. She, Howard Cosell and Too Sexxxy created Ultimate Catfighter and while it was said that only one contract with OPW was up for grabs and that it would go to the winner, Siena signed all the girls. Some got developmental deals and are wrestling in other territories and others are on the main roster, like Katrina.

“Well, looky here, looky here,” I turn around and see the woman who reached out to me and became my friend during that time period after UC. My 5’2” blonde buddy from Louisiana, Jonica. I give her a hug. She’s dressed in a white t shirt and blue jeans with flip flops to match the ones I’m wearing, but I’m dressed in a black shirt with a dream catcher design and black jeans. I chose black for tonight because it just fit’s the mindset I want to project.

“You’re on the card tonight, Joni? I say with a smile, “I didn’t see you on the segment screen on the wall.”

She smiles that down home, wholesome smile of hers, a genuine smile, and flaps her electric blonde hair, “I heard you were here, so I decided to show up to see you do your thing. And you’re next. I can’t wait to see the way the crowd erupts when they see you come through that curtain. Laurie Breeze is back and she’s kicking ass and taking names!”

“Well, I don’t know how much ass I’m going to kick tonight,” I say with a smile, “I gotta ease my way back into this, heh heh. Just sayin’”

“Well, you better get out there,” she says smiling, “I’ll be watching.”

We hug again and I head for the curtain. I have no idea what I’m gonna say. This wasn’t exactly the way I thought it would play out. I thought I’d just sit down with Siena and she’d hook me up with a few matches to get my feet under me before I got after my intended target… Rumor Winfield.

“Unnnhhhh!!!” that sound is me going down on my ass with a blonde haired semi-nude girl on me… Joanne. Somebody tossed her into me through the curtains. And of course, it would just happen to be Katrina.

“Bitch, I just kicked your ass for the umpteenth time, and you’re STILL talking shit?” she says as she kicks Jo hard in the ribs and gets some of my side too.

“Uggghhhh!! You totally beat me again! But fuck you, Katrina!” Jo is rolled off of me and she is on her back as Katrina stands over her and puts the boots to her, stomping on her belly over and over again.

“Bitch, you must get off on getting your ass kicked,” the brown skinned bombshell says, “I’m going to give you an overdose tonight!”

“That’s enough,” I say, getting to my feet and wondering what was literally thrown into me, “She’s had enough, Trina. Get off of her.”

She turns her attention to me, “And what the fuck are you going to do about it, huh?”

She starts moving towards me and I automatically start backing up. I really don’t want any part of her. I look around to see if anyone is around, but the doors are closed and there isn’t even a cameraman in sight other than the same people standing around with no intention of interfering, aids, interns, guys who set the ring up and get you a cup of coffee, people who pretend to look at something on the computer screen so you can think they’re working.

“This is none of your business, Laurie,” she says, poking me above the heart with her finger, “But the problem with bitches is that they don’t know how to stay in their own lane.”

“I didn’t ask for your help, Laurie!” Joanne yells from on the ground, “I could totally take her out.”

“Shut up!!” Katrina says, turning her head ever slightly, and I think about taking a swing while she’s distracted, but she looks dead in my eyes and fear has me. She knows what I was going to try and she smiles.

“That’s what I thought,” she says, and she walks away just as Joanne is getting to her feet

“Come back here and fight, you bitch!” she yells, but Katrina keeps on going. I walk up to Jo and look at her. Her nose is bloody. Her big beautiful eyes are a little swollen and that curious smile she always has is gone. She doesn’t look bad; she just looks beaten.

“And what the fuck do you want?” she says, “Come back to gloat?”

“Jo, what are you talking about? I say. What is wrong with her?

“My entire career is totally screwed because of you,” she says, “I have only won two matches since you beat me. Only two. Do you know how that feels? It’s like you’re this black cloud hanging over my head and no matter what I do, you’re still there.”

“I just came back today,” is my response, and I’m pretty confused, “Don’t blame me for your losing. You were losing before you met me.”

“Fuck you.”

“I don’t want it to be this way, Jo. I always thought we were better than this. I thought we could still be friends. I owe you for helping me learn fighting and for sparking my interest. I wouldn’t have made it as far as I did in Ultimate Catfighter if it wasn’t for you and I wouldn’t be here tonight if it wasn’t for you either.”

“And what about me? You beat me and then, you disappeared. You never gave me a rematch, Laurie. I was the one who was going to have the promising career, not you! I was the one who is supposed to be on her way to the top of the mountain. But you used me. You didn’t even care about fighting until you decided to copy me!”

Now I know she’s losing her mind.

“Copy you?” I say, “How the fuck did I copy you? We were on different teams and we had to fight each other. You knew there was a chance of that when you signed up, and we said that no matter what happened, we‘d still be friends. You didn’t honor your end of the bargain and now you‘re acting like I‘ve been here the whole time stopping you.”

“You never cared about me,” she says, but she’s knows I’m right, “You never gave a shit about me. You were just a groupie. I’d email you every day. Even when you would disappear because of your other obligations and stuff, I would still check on you. I would still try to get in contact with you. But I needed something, you were nowhere to be found and after Rumor beat you and you told me we were going to come to OPW together and shock the world, you went back to Badlands and never came back… until tonight.”

“Bullshit.”

“I know you are, but what am I?”

“You know what, Joanne?” I can see this is going nowhere and she needs medical attention, “Get over it. You have my number. You give me a call when you’re ready to resolve this in a civilized fashion.”

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you too, bestie.”

As soon as I turn around, the clothesline hits me right across the throat and I go down hard on my back. My head hit the concrete floor and it’s spinning… Katrina. She’s standing over me.

“And just so you know, Laurie,” she says, “I don’t take orders from anybody. That’s what you get for trying to tell me what to do.”

“Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size?” I look up and see a tall blonde standing and facing Katrina. This woman has to be at least 6’ tall and she looks like Jennifer Lawrence, blonde hair, blonde eyes, swimsuit model figure. She’s in a blue cut off and matching shorts with red boots, a Superman symbol is on her top… this must be Supergirl Kara.



“Bitches just can’t stay out of my business,” Katrina says and with that, she kicks Kara in the stomach

“Ummmm!!!” the blonde doubles over, but she grabs Katrina around the waist, lifts her up and runs with her, slamming her into the opposite wall. Both of them are stunned, and they start throwing punches. Kara is nailed in the jaw with a right cross that widens her eyes and Katrina grabs her, looking to knee her to her belly, but Kara breaks her grip with a double chop, drives an uppercut into Katrina’s belly, forcing out an “OOF!!” from her and lifting her off the ground, then drops her with a knee to her face. Kara is still favoring her stomach and jaw and Katrina is getting up

“You’re gonna pay for that Superbitch”

“You’re in Minneapolis, Katrina, my home town” Kara says, letting the brown skinned beauty stand, “You said you’d come to a woman’s back yard and kick her ass. This is mine. Come and try.”

The cameras and security have made it and the two are separated. I look and don’t see Joanne anywhere in sight. I start to try and clear my head before I go out there and talk to the crowd, to announce my return. I see Samantha, the self-proclaimed Queen of OPW, making her way towards me. She’s 5’9” about 144 lbs, with long wavy red hair, aqua green eyes and honey brown skin. She’s an exotic beauty and she was the other coach on Ultimate Catfighter. But she’s known for shooting her mouth off and being the biggest villain in OPW. The only difference between her and other loudmouth bitches is that she backs up her talk. She’s won every major title in OPW at least twice now.


Samantha/Leila Arcieri
{alt}

“Hello, Samantha,” I say. I really don’t know how to approach her. She’s a rich snobby bitch with a big mouth, but some of my enemies have been her enemies. But she did coach Rumor, Praggy, and Katrina… and Joanne.

“Well, that was pretty pathetic,” she says, “I saw your ‘effort’ against Katrina. You looked like you were about to shit yourself.”

She has a mouth that always looks like it’s smiling. She looks down at me in her designer clothes and Minnetonka boots (an expensive version of UGGS).

“Here’s some advice for you, kiddo,” she grins, “You could be scared as shit and nobody will know it if you play it right. I guess Rachel didn’t teach you that when she was coaching you. Everybody is afraid of something and we could die in that ring. That’s the name of this game we play. Oh, and don’t trust any women in who are under 5’8” and have blonde hair. They are all flakes. Now, that’s all you’re gonna get out of me.”

She bumps me as she goes by. I wasn’t expecting her to be anything but rude to me. But Gemma told me that Samantha is a nicer person when there are no cameras around. Something in me just goes. I walk to the curtain and give the girl with the headphones on a nod.

The first thing that goes wrong is the theme music… “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar is NOT the music I requested, and it plays. But when I come from behind that curtain, I’m met with overwhelming cheers. I’m shocked, totally shocked at the outpouring of love these people are showing me. But I don’t take a slow walk. I move pretty quickly to the ring and get in. I see blood stains. I don’t know who’s blood it is, but it’s not the first time I’ve seen blood on a mat. I take the microphone and look around as the fans chant “LAURIE BREEZE” and “WELCOME BACK” loudly and proudly. I’m almost in tears but my mind is racing. I wasn’t sure if they would even remember who I am.

“You know,” I start… okay. I’m just going to say whatever comes to mind, “I had a speech all ready to go. I knew what I was going to say, but there’s a bitch in the back named Katrina Jackson who decided to sneak attack me and I forgot all of it. Who does this bitch think she is, trying to hit me?”

I hear the crowd chanting “KATRINA SUCKS!!”

“But that’s the thing about OPW and I guess that’s why I came back. I may not look like a fitness model. I may not have a black belt or title belt or any of that stuff. But I am who I say I am and I am an ass-kicker and a bitch-beater!!”

The crowd cheers. I get to hear my name again.

“They can all come!! I want to fight every last one of them, especially Rumor Winfield. Rumor, the last time we were in a ring together, you beat me fair and square. You made me submit to you. But I’m back now, and I’m going to beat the shit out of you… just sayin’”

I give a smile and the crowd is enjoying it. And after the night I’ve had so far, I’m enjoying it too.

“All of them, Rumor, Katrina… I saw Samantha backstage and she was walking around with her nose turned up in the air trying not to smell the bullshit coming out of her mouth!! I’ll even take on Serenity!! I’ll take on Diana Majors!! I’ll take on Glory!! I’ll fight Beth and take her belt from her!! I hear the OPW World Title is vacant because Rachel Apache retired. I may enter that tournament and kick all their asses. Then I will be the OPW World Champion.”

Oh shit… I got a little carried away. I take a moment to breathe because I am really running on anger over what happened earlier and simply not knowing what to say. Rumor, Katrina, and Samantha are all heels (wrestling jargon for bad guys). I can talk shit about them and be fine with it. But the other ones I named… not so much. I’m not worried about Beth. She’s incredibly talented, but she’s on 5’ tall and weighs 100 lbs. She looks like Hayden Panettiere, so I’m physically bigger than she is, but I would know better than anyone that size doesn’t matter in a fight. Then there are the other three I named. Serenity’s 5’10” somewhere between 140 and 170 lbs of solid. She looks like Serena Williams and she’s held every title in the company and even Rachel said she’s the best fighter in the world not named “Rachel Apache.” 5’9” 140 lb Diana Majors is the daughter of the late Dina Majors, who was a big time female wrestler before female wrestlers were as famous as they are now. She’s got a classic wrestling style, lots of holds and great moves. And she looks like Lynda Carter, which means she looks like her mother.

And then there’s Glory, who everyone knows. If Rachel Apache is 1, then Glory is 1A. Glory is 6’2” 170 lbs of pure warrior. She looks like Rosario Dawson, but she puts her hair up in a Mohawk when she fights. She’s got great technique and she’s really mild mannered and friendly outside of the ring, the kind of friend who’ll show you the ropes and give you tips on places to eat and stuff like that. The kind of friend I am. But in the ring, she’s pure rage, pure power. And she’s always smiling, even when she’s hurt. I guess I better say something to cover that up…

“I’ll take on all those bitches!!!”

Serenity/Serena Williams


{alt}

Diana Majors/Lynda Carter


Glory/Rosario Dawson
{alt}

{alt}

Beth/Hayden Panettiere
{alt}

Okay, it still came out wrong. But before I can say anything else, “Devil Woman” by Clete Francis plays and out comes a familiar face to a bunch of boos… Praggy. She stops on the ramp and stares at me. Praggy and I fought before. You could say I got that mess thrown into me because of Joanne too. I took up for Joanne against Praggy and ended up in an impromptu cage fight against her. She beat me, but I definitely got my shots in. I definitely got a good piece of her and I haven’t forgotten about it. Long black hair, Indian woman with an hourglass figure, 5’6”, claims she’s only 120 lbs, but that’s bullshit because I’m 120 and 5’1” and she’s a lot bigger than I am. Wearing a black and green cross top, revealing her soft stomach and large “obvious” navel, and a matching pair of bell-bottomed pants and green boots. She’s holding a microphone and we are staring dead into each others eyes.

Sana Khan/Praggy
{alt}

“Hi Laurie,” she says in a mocking tone, “I know you are so happy to see me and I am so happy to see you.”

“What do you want, bitch?” I say, “This is my time. Nobody invited you to interrupt me, now take your fat ass backstage because I don’t want any of whatever it is you’re selling.”

“But you just said you were back,” she says and she starts walking towards the ring, “See, I remember the last time you and I fought and for all your tough talk, I mopped the floor with you. I mopped you all over the cage and you got my email address and sent all these messages, claiming I better watch my back. Then we were in the Ultimate Catfighter house together and all you did was talk, talk, talk. But you know that if we had faced each other in that tournament, I would’ve beaten your mouthy ass again, worse than I did the first time and worse than Rumor did.”

She gets in the ring and she’s about three feet away from me. I just stare at her with a sneer on my face. I can’t stand her and she knows it. My blood is pumping and the energy from the crowd is only getting it going more and more. There’s a tension that exists in this ring. A tension between two fighters who can feel the energy, feel the attraction, it’s like nothing else. It’s almost sexual, but instead of wanting to kiss or embrace or have sex, you want to rip her throat out and choke her with her own tongue. There’s just something about her I don’t like. I don’t know if I’ve ever liked anybody I fight, but people like Praggy, with her upper class attitude and the fact that she’s been so dismissive of me… I hate her.

“Why don’t you just get out of here, huh Laurie?” she says, “Why don’t you take yourself back to whatever part of No Man’s Land you come from. Whatever shitty, inbred, motorcycle riding, garbage pail kid town you come from, where people fart in public, probably chew with their mouths open and watch on dirt roads with no shoes on. Go back to that garbage place where all the pride of the people died many years ago. You aren’t even a real Indian. I am. Your historians couldn‘t even get that right. You’re just a pathetic excuse for a fighter, for a woman. You’re not even--- GUUUUHHH!!!”

My foot. Her stomach. I watch my toes disappear in her navel and see her eyes widen and her body jerk forward. I feel her exhale on my leg and her hands go to her belly. Praggy and I have the same weak spot, just ask us. Her navel is large and it swells when it’s hit or pressured. My navel pretty much shocks me and drops me. I remembered that from my fight with her. She’s weak there.

“You… you fucking bitch…” she’s huffing and puffing and I’m loving it. I’ve got a mad on now. I don’t need a referee, but I see one coming. I didn’t say I was having a match tonight, but I really don’t give a shit. Maybe he’s coming to break this up, and if that’s the case, I better make it worth his while. I hit her face with punches, over and over again. I watch her head swing from side to side and feel my fists battering her back against the ropes. Praggy, oh Praggy, you fucked up this time. You caught me on the wrong night. She brings her arms up to protect herself, so I go back to the belly. I slam my fists into her navel over and over again.

“Guuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh!!!”

“Ooooooooooofff!!!!”

“Ugggggghhhhhhhhh!!!! Huuuuuuuuuuuuggghhhh!!!”

That’s right, bitch. You’d probably want a huggggggg from me as a sign that I accept your apology for showing your face up here tonight when I---- “GUUUPPP!!!”

I feel a horrible pain in my stomach, followed by a much worse one lower… bitch kneed me in the crotch. I’m down on my side and she’s leaning on the ropes, holding her belly. She gets her bearings, grabs me by the back of my neck and my ass, then yanks me up and slams me across her knee. OOOOOOFFF!!!! My belly explodes against her knee and I’m down again.

“Familiar position for you against me, eh bitch?” she says and kicks me right across the mouth, then stomps on my kidneys. It hurts. She’s wearing steel toed boots and I know the bottoms have some extra support or something else on them because these stomps are abnormally painful.

“What’s wrong, Laurie?” she says between stomps, “Don’t tell me you’re going to quit like you did against Rumor? You are worthless, Laurie. Just a worthless slag who has no place being here. This ring is for professionals, not amateurs like you. I’d heard you beat up Nina Lopez, but I find that hard to believe because your skills are even worse than they were the first time I beat you down. Take it, Laurie. Take this beating just like you‘ve been taking beatings you‘re entire life. The definition of a loser. I don‘t even know you and I know so much about you.”

That’s it… that’s IT. At some point, you’ve got to realize that what you allow is what will continue. I’ve allowed people to walk all over me and I’ve fought back and lost more than I’ve won. I’ve had bitches just like Praggy back home, trashing me. Some of them are even in my own family or people I grew up with. I’ve always been a footstool for bullshit. But not anymore. She stops stomping and it gets quiet. I can’t hear the fans chanting, but I can feel them stomping and clapping for me. She must be getting tired. I feel her hands grabbing the back of my shoulders to turn me over and as soon as she rolls me over, I head butt her and kick her right in the crotch.

“Uhhhh!! GAAWWLLL!!!”

Yes, Praggy. The gall of me. I grab her breasts and use them to yank myself back to my feet. I look her right in her eyes and the very second she gets ready to attack, I stick four of my fingers into her navel and press upward on it.

“GUUUUUUUUUHHHHH!!!!”

She’s backing up and I’m staring right in her face. This is an understanding, Praggy. It’s an understanding that you may have beat me the first time. You may have gotten me and gotten me good… but not this time. Not this time at all. She’s frozen as she backpedals to the corner. I’m too close to her for her punches and the belly claw has that nerve in her keeping her from wrestling me, which is how she beat me the last time… along with belly punches.

“You underestimated me again, bitch,” I press harder and see the look in her eyes and feel her exhale, “I didn’t come all the way back here to lose to you again. This time, I’m walking out of here with my hand raised. This time, I’m the one who’s going to make YOU submit to me. You hear me, bitch?”

“Laurie… I… I…” is all that comes out of her mouth, so I slam a knee into her belly, yank her out of the corner and tackle her, making sure to slam my shoulder into her stomach hard. I’ve got her down and her arms go up to protect her face, so I’m delighted to abuse her stomach even more. The groaning and moaning she’s making is music to my ears. After what Rumor did to me, and what Praggy had done to me before, it’s a great feeling to have my fists sinking into somebody’s belly for a change instead of vice versa.

“Give up, Praggy, and I might let you walk away from this!” I shout in her face

“No more,” she says, “I surrender. Please, not my belly.”

“Not your belly?” I say; I’m raging now, “Not your fucking belly? Fuck you and your belly!”

I slam fist after fist after fist into her navel and watch it swell up. I see the referee reach to pull me off. Is this a match or not? I’m completely confused. He spent the whole fight watching. He must be new. But I’m not letting her go. I keep pounding her and that’s when it happens.

“UNNNNNNHHHHH!!!!!!!”

That’s my voice and I feel wetness on the back of my head and feel my body fall across Praggy’s as the confused referee counts the 1,2,3. I guess I won… but what the fuck just hit me.

“I told you I’d be watching, Laurie,” she says and she kicks me over. It’s Jonica, standing there, holding the handle of the banjo that I imagine she just smashed over my head.

“I know I helped you and all, but you know how it is, babes,” she says, smiling a sick grin, “This is a cutthroat business and you coming back means you are in my way. Well, you were in my way until I smashed a banjo across your fucking head! Ahahahahahahahaha!!!”

She steps on my stomach and presses down. I let out an “Ohhhhhhhhh…”

“You like that, Laurie,” smiling she is, but she spits in my face, “Welcome back to OPW, Breezy Baby.”

She stomps on my stomach and I curl into a fetal ball. I watch her leave with tears in my eyes. I feel terrible. This wasn’t the way the night was supposed to go. I got into an argument with Joanne, attacked by Katrina, and had a banjo smashed over my head by Joni. What the fuck is this? I guess the show is over and I was the last segment. Siena had a lot of faith in me because I see on the giant screen above the entrance advertising next week’s show. Nina Lopez, the girl who hates me, the girl who claims I ruined her career and life, will be there. I’m also been scheduled, without my permission, in a six woman tag match. My partners are Supergirl Kara and Joanne. Our opponents are Praggy, Katrina, and Jonica. Great. Just great.



The refs help me to my feet and I hear the crowd cheering for me as we start to make our way to the back, but I push the refs off of me. I’m going to walk under my own power… walk alone. And that’s fitting, because I am alone here. I thought I had friends, but now, I see I have no one.

To Be Continued…
« Last Edit: June 01, 2013, 05:38:09 AM by howardcosell »
"When people walk away from you... let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you... and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

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Offline Kayla

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Re: The Art of Losing
« Reply #14 on: June 01, 2013, 05:53:37 PM »
Great to see you back too, Howard. And with some great action & amazing 'sound effects' as well! LOL!  ;D ;)

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Naughty - but oh, so NICE! :-)