Page 166 of The Breaking Pointe
middle.Ironically, I know he’s waiting to say the most insufferablethingtome,whenthisshouldbeamoment of team sportsmanship. His face is already flushed and his stance is wide with his chin jutted out. It all screams overly confident and compensation overload. Laughable, at best.
Before I can walk up to Daniel, Trey grabs my arm and pulls me back, uttering, “Do not say shit about the debacle with Noelle.”
I glance at the crowd, then back at him, whispering, “I can’t just lie.”
“Well figure something out, Cole. They don’t need details or any run downs.It doesn’t look good,” he chastises me, still keeping his voice low.
I sigh and nod, continuing a paced walk onto the stage. Meeting Daniel in the middle, I can see everything about him much more clearer.His tight lipped smile, his twitching jaw. The way his pupils dilate and waver in size as he gapes at me.It’s all in high definition, and it’s not a nice view.That alone gives me enough reason to not take him seriously. Yet this is the competition, and he’s as serious as the day I lost my mother.
“You know you’re as weak as they come, right?”he hisses. No greetings or anything. Straight to insults, I see.
“That’s rich, coming from someone who needs substances and aids to gain skill,” I seethe, keeping my voice down with a smile to mask our tension.
“You just won’t roll over and give up, will you?”he responds, pessimistically.
“No.Not until I win, and I haven’t done that yet,” I combat his words with mine, adding a polite smirk.
FeelingthegentletapofTrey’sfingersonmyshoulder,I
get the cue to take my seat at my table, waiting for the next set of instructions.A blonde reporter sitting amongst the small crowd of other journalists speaks into her microphone, whilst reading her stapled papers.
“We’re going to get started with the questions, since we know you gentlemen have places to be. We’ll start with Mr. Aguado, and then you, Mr.Kennedy.Then we’ll go back and forth with answers,” she states, looking at us both for approval.
Nodding once, I sit upright in my seat, giving my full attention.A man with glasses and a gravelly voice then takes his turn. “Mr. Aguado, I would like to know your opinion on branding, and how it’s gotten you this far.You seem to have this internet and stage presence that represents royalty, in a way. You even call yourself ‘The King’. Do you think recent charges have tarnished that image?”
Good to know they’re getting right into the personal questions.
Daniel lets out a short laugh that sounds sinister, but charming to the unknowing ear.“Do I? Hell no.But am I still the king? Damn right.” He nods, glancing in my direction. “It takes a man to earn that title.I didn’t make it myself.The people did. What happens in the ring matters more than a children’s cereal brand, don’t you agree?”
Hisarroganceissopainfultolistento,JesusChrist.
The blonde journalist directs her attention toward me now. “Mr. Kennedy, thoughts?”
I clear my throat, looking around at everyone’s unreadable facial expressions.
“Uh, my opinion on branding? Well I think who’s watch- ingusisjustasimportantaswhat’shappeninginthering.
If you think about it, most of our fanbases are filled with fathers and their kids.Those kids are the future us, and the future of my career.Not only that, but they’re easily influenced.So that’s who I’m here to impress,” I explain in a straight forward tone.“And they like Golden Crunch cereal, so, a win is a win.”I smile, adding the last part to amuse myself.
I amused some others too, catching a few bits of laughter in the audience.
Moving on from the previous guy, another reporter gets ready to ask her question. This time a woman with a much softer, polite voice.
“Colton—can I call you Colton?”she asks, shaken by her own words.
I smile, finding her face in the back of the room, nodding. I’m shocked nobody else is calling me by my first name.The last name thing feels like I’m bigger than what I am.
“Okay, Colton, do you feel like upping your weight class was a smart move?You won against him before and you were in a smaller class. Does it matter?” she asks, sounding excited by her own words.
Licking my lips, I lean into the skinny microphone to speak. “I think it comes to maybe third place on the list of any of the requirements I had for this. Obviously I can hold my own.” I shrug, huffing softly. “But I did get lucky. I would say that these days, I’m much more comparable now that my mental is good.I’m the healthiest I’ve been in a long time, so to answer your question—no, it doesn’t matter. What matters is being one hundred percent in every aspect so that you can give your all.”
Thewomannods,asifsheknewIwasgoingtogivethat
answer, smiling at me proudly before sitting down.
The audience turns their attention to Daniel, now. “I think that’s bullshit,” he says.
Of course you do.Your brain cells are sizzling into nothing.
