Post by Jackson Felix Coltrane on Aug 5, 2018 21:27:14 GMT
The scene opens up and we are in a big, dimly lit room. Bookcases surround the walls around the room and they are filled with every kind of book known to man. The object giving the only light to the room, besides the faint sunlight coming through the blinds is a spectacular chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. Behind a big oak desk sits a sturdy man. In his late 60’s, he writes something down on a notepad while we hear “Toccata in D minor” by Bach playing softly from his desktop computer. His hair is greying and near balding but that doesn’t seem to be bothering him as he continues to write on his notepad. His desk is adorned with the office desk gear, a pen holder, stapler, even a name plate that reads “Maxwell Coltrane” front and center on his desk. He puts his pen down and reaches into his drawer to grab a yellow highlighter.
In walks his son and one of the newest members of Phoenix Wrestling, Jackson Felix Coltrane. His hair and beard look well groomed, as if he just came back from the barber. He’s dressed in his favorite suit, grey jacket with grey pants and a black tie.
“Hello, father.” Jackson says as he walks into the room.
Maxwell doesn’t look up at his son as he keeps highlighting on his paper.
“Ah, Jackson. I was wondering when you would come back,” Maxwell takes his readers off and looks up at Jackson. “Had enough of trying to be a tough guy have you?”
Jackson puts his hands on his hips, “Nice to see you too, Father.” He shakes his head, “And what is that supposed to mean?”
"What I mean,” Maxwell puts his readers on his desk, “Is that I’m sitting here, jotting down notes from your match with that professional wrestler Tyberius King, and it doesn’t look pretty son. You’re a lot better with accounts then you are in that ring. Are you going to stop this little experiment now?”
Jackson sighs and sits down in the chair across from his father. “This is what I want to do. I know I’m not the best at it, but this is my dream. I wasn’t the best when I started working for you either, but going to college, getting my degree in accounting, I got better at it over time. That’s how it will work with this too.”
His fathers eyebrows furrow and a vein starts to show on the side of Maxwell’s head. “I can’t have that, Jackson!” Maxwell stands, his hands on his desk, leaning over it, staring down his son. “You are the CFO of the company I started for THIS family! The name of the company is Coltrane & Son’s for Christ sakes! You are my only son. I need you here more then just part time Jackson.”
Jackson looks down at the floor, then slowly back up to his father. “Listen, Dad, as much as I enjoy the work we do, this is not my dream. This company will be fine with me working only part time. We will not lose money. People living here in Phoenix in this desert heat will still need their air conditioner’s fixed, replaced, or repaired. But I have to start living the life I want to live, not the life you set before me.”
Maxwell stares at his son once more before sitting back down and crossing his legs. “If this…” he pauses, “If this wrestling dream of yours doesn’t pan out, I expect you to come back to work full time. Like I’ve said many times, this business will soon be yours and it will need your full attention for it to run and provide for you and your family.”
“You got it father,” Jackson leans back in his chair. “Why do you have a name plate on your desk in your own house?” Jackson motions to the name plate on the desk as he get’s up to leave.
“They are for any potential clients I invite over! You smartass!” His father yells to his back as Jackson leaves the room.
Jackson turns the knob handle to open the door but it’s obstructed by someone on the other side.
“Oh damnit!” a woman exclaims.
“Mom! Are you okay?” Jackson asks as he comes out of the room. He looks at the door then back to his mother with a puzzled look on his face. “Were you listening to us?”
There stood Jackson Coltrane’s mother, Roxanne Coltrane. She is a lovely looking woman. She is aging but still very beautiful. You could tell that once she was a classic beauty. She has on a long black formal dress. Her long blonde hair shows the highlights and lowlights in the dusky light of the hallway as it hangs down to the middle of her back. In her delicate hand holds a dirty martini, extra dirty. Her diamond ring shimmers off the glass.
An aloof smile plays on her face, “Jackson, my dear son!!” She throws her arms around Jackson in a warm embrace. “Come, we must sit and talk. Let your father grow fatter in that oversized computer chair of his.”
They walk out of the hallway and into the sitting room. Family pictures adorn the walls here. Pictures of a rigid Maxwell and his beautiful wife Roxanne right after their wedding. Following that picture is a family portrait with a pre-teen Jackson and his towhead and blue eyes. More pictures; Jackson and his father in suits as they pose outside of their first store front for “Coltrane & Sons” on Central Avenue just South of Indian School Road, right in between downtown and uptown Phoenix. Jackson take a seat on his father’s favorite recliner as he admires these pictures. His mother takes a seat on the adjoining sofa as she sets her martini down on a coaster. Roxanne eyes her son looking at the family photos.
“You know that business means everything to your father,” she says, stirring her drink with a toothpick. “Oh!” Roxanne exclaims loudly. “I’ve been so rude, Jackson, sweetheart, can I get you something to drink? A Manhattan? Whiskey Sour?”
“Mom, no, I’m okay.” Jackson clasps his hands together and rests his chin on them. “And I know it means everything to him. He can just be an asshole about it sometimes. You’d think, after all these years, he would give a damn about what I want to do. About MY dreams. But that dickhead can careless.”
The language directed towards his father would probably make any other mother flinch but not Roxanne. Jackson was free to be himself around his mother whereas around his father, it was the complete opposite. Over Jackson’s life, his dad constantly dragged him in the direction he wanted him to go; what he thought was best. It was a blind love. Jackson’s mother on the other hand had always supported him. She supported him as a kid, encouraged him to follow his interests and supported him even more so as an adult. Because of that he found he had tried to do everything in his power to make his father proud of him. He graduated high school top of his class. That wasn’t enough. He went to college and after eight long years took home a Master’s degree in accounting and started working for his father’s business but it seemed that wasn’t enough for him either. His father always wanted more out of him. It was all business for him.
Roxanne sighs, “You know he cares about you. He just doesn’t know how to show it.” She takes a sip from her drink and sets it back down. “But enough about him, I want to hear about your match at Phoenix Wrestling! I watched it on TV and you did so good!”
This was typical of Roxanne Coltrane. She was always in Jackson’s corner. Whereas his father was always working when he was younger, never being able to make it to Jackson’s baseball games or wrestling matches, Roxanne was there supporting him and encouraging him. She noticed his athletic ability at an early age and how competing in sports made him focus and put a smile on his face.
“Thanks mom,” Jackson says as he puts an ankle up to rest on the other knee. “But that was tough. Tyberius is a serious competitor who knew what he was doing in that ring. He kind of toyed with me there which I did not appreciate but I guess I did hold my own against him. I definitely gave it my best shot. Not a lot of people can say they faces Tyberius King in their first ever televised match. That has got to benefit me in the long run. I would love to get a rematch against him someday in a regular wrestling match.”
“Well I know you did your best son, and with more practice and experience under your belt, you’ll get better. You should call your friend who owns that gym over by Sunnyslope and see if he can help you out with your grappling technique,” she says as she gets up to head for the kitchen to refresh her drink.
“Wow, you’re right. I didn’t think about that. I wonder how Ron is doing? It’s been a while.” Jackson says, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his phone to shoot Ron a message.
“So,” Roxanne says loudly from the kitchen as she makes herself a new drink, “What do they have you doing for the third night of the Iron King Tournament. I know you’re out of the tournament but they must have some match planned for you.”
“Actually, I have a really great opportunity in front of me,” Jackson calls back to his mother as he finishes up his text and puts his phone down on the coffee table. “It’s kind of surprising actually.”
“What is surprising dear?” Roxanne asks as she comes back to the sitting room with a drink in hand and takes up the spot she had occupied before.
“It seems they took some of the people who were eliminated in the first round of the tournament and stuck them in a six-man elimination match where the winner will receive a shot at the Rising Phoenix Championship.” Jackson says, a little smile playing on his lips.
“Oh, honey! How exciting! Who are the people you’ll be facing?” Roxanne takes a gulp from her drink and puts a pillow behind her back for support.
“They are all very formidable opponents. Fenix Shields is one of them. He is a striker who probably would have done very well on the first night of the tournament if he didn’t leave himself so open to Inoue’s strikes. I’m hoping he does the same so I can take advantage of that part of his game. Then there is a guy named Richard Roque who is actually a really good man that was taken completely off guard in his match against Rowyn Starr. He has a ton of wrestling experience as well. Although he is bigger than Tyberius King, I believe my match with him will serve me well in dealing with Richard in the ring. He’s about the only man I really respect in this match,” Jackson’s phone ‘whooshes’ indicating a text message has been received that he ignores for now as he continues, “Then there is Shooter Reed.”
“Shooter Reed!” His mother exclaims happily, taking a drink and putting the glass back down. “I love that name!”
“It is a nice name Mother,” Jackson says, laughing just a little bit as his mother starts to feel the effects of her drinking. “But the name is about the only thing he has going for him. Shooter Reed I don’t know much about, only what I saw from him in his non-tournament match against Azazel in which he was absolutely overpowered by him. The dude just rubs me the wrong way and I’m really looking forward to shutting this douchebag up. There will be so many damn people in the ring, I hope I get the chance to."
“Well let me see,” Roxanne sits up and counts off the wrestlers on her fingers. “I guess that leaves two more Jackson.”
“You’re right mom,” another laugh from Jackson. Seeing his mom intoxicated and childish always made him laugh. “Horace Jackson is one of the last two and to be honest, this dude is a freak. He is a beast. But for some reason he wasn’t able to tap into his beast mode against Asger. Probably because Asger is a beast himself. I will definitely have to look out for this man in the match, although he probably won’t be too good at sneaking up on people much.”
His mom giggles and then hiccups. She quickly covers her mouth and thinking it might help, finishes off her martini glass.
“And that just leaves me with Hirooki Rajin. He’s somewhat of I wild card here mom. He wasn’t on either card for the Iron King Tournament. But that’s okay because I still cannot overlook him. I can’t overlook anyone in this match. He is probably the most dangerous man in the match because not a lot is known about him. And I can really say that about everyone in this match for me. I’m new here. I don’t know a lot of these men and women. But I got my feet wet in that ring on the second night of the tournament. Now, I can turn my attention to the wrestlers of PW, as we will be spending a lot of time together. Who knows, maybe losing to Tyberius was a blessing in disguise? I’m not MMA material, that will come in time with training. But I do know how to wrestle, and I never thought I would get an opportunity to be on the fast track to a prestigious title here in Phoenix Wrestling. I’m going to approach this match with everything I have. I will not let my guard down against these men. If I learned anything from my match with Tyberius, it’s that I can’t take anything for granted. I’m going to fight hard for this. But I won’t look past these men to Lance Winters, not yet. First, I prove myself in this match. I am really excited for this chance Mom,” he looks over at his mom who has fallen asleep and snoring softly on the couch.
Jackson smiles and goes to get a blanket from the closet in the hallway. He comes back and covers his mom up, tucking her in and giving her a kiss on the forehead.
“I love you. Sweet dreams."
Jackson grabs his car keys off of the kitchen counter and takes a last look at his sleeping mother before he turns out the light and heads to leave through the front door.
In walks his son and one of the newest members of Phoenix Wrestling, Jackson Felix Coltrane. His hair and beard look well groomed, as if he just came back from the barber. He’s dressed in his favorite suit, grey jacket with grey pants and a black tie.
“Hello, father.” Jackson says as he walks into the room.
Maxwell doesn’t look up at his son as he keeps highlighting on his paper.
“Ah, Jackson. I was wondering when you would come back,” Maxwell takes his readers off and looks up at Jackson. “Had enough of trying to be a tough guy have you?”
Jackson puts his hands on his hips, “Nice to see you too, Father.” He shakes his head, “And what is that supposed to mean?”
"What I mean,” Maxwell puts his readers on his desk, “Is that I’m sitting here, jotting down notes from your match with that professional wrestler Tyberius King, and it doesn’t look pretty son. You’re a lot better with accounts then you are in that ring. Are you going to stop this little experiment now?”
Jackson sighs and sits down in the chair across from his father. “This is what I want to do. I know I’m not the best at it, but this is my dream. I wasn’t the best when I started working for you either, but going to college, getting my degree in accounting, I got better at it over time. That’s how it will work with this too.”
His fathers eyebrows furrow and a vein starts to show on the side of Maxwell’s head. “I can’t have that, Jackson!” Maxwell stands, his hands on his desk, leaning over it, staring down his son. “You are the CFO of the company I started for THIS family! The name of the company is Coltrane & Son’s for Christ sakes! You are my only son. I need you here more then just part time Jackson.”
Jackson looks down at the floor, then slowly back up to his father. “Listen, Dad, as much as I enjoy the work we do, this is not my dream. This company will be fine with me working only part time. We will not lose money. People living here in Phoenix in this desert heat will still need their air conditioner’s fixed, replaced, or repaired. But I have to start living the life I want to live, not the life you set before me.”
Maxwell stares at his son once more before sitting back down and crossing his legs. “If this…” he pauses, “If this wrestling dream of yours doesn’t pan out, I expect you to come back to work full time. Like I’ve said many times, this business will soon be yours and it will need your full attention for it to run and provide for you and your family.”
“You got it father,” Jackson leans back in his chair. “Why do you have a name plate on your desk in your own house?” Jackson motions to the name plate on the desk as he get’s up to leave.
“They are for any potential clients I invite over! You smartass!” His father yells to his back as Jackson leaves the room.
Jackson turns the knob handle to open the door but it’s obstructed by someone on the other side.
“Oh damnit!” a woman exclaims.
“Mom! Are you okay?” Jackson asks as he comes out of the room. He looks at the door then back to his mother with a puzzled look on his face. “Were you listening to us?”
There stood Jackson Coltrane’s mother, Roxanne Coltrane. She is a lovely looking woman. She is aging but still very beautiful. You could tell that once she was a classic beauty. She has on a long black formal dress. Her long blonde hair shows the highlights and lowlights in the dusky light of the hallway as it hangs down to the middle of her back. In her delicate hand holds a dirty martini, extra dirty. Her diamond ring shimmers off the glass.
An aloof smile plays on her face, “Jackson, my dear son!!” She throws her arms around Jackson in a warm embrace. “Come, we must sit and talk. Let your father grow fatter in that oversized computer chair of his.”
They walk out of the hallway and into the sitting room. Family pictures adorn the walls here. Pictures of a rigid Maxwell and his beautiful wife Roxanne right after their wedding. Following that picture is a family portrait with a pre-teen Jackson and his towhead and blue eyes. More pictures; Jackson and his father in suits as they pose outside of their first store front for “Coltrane & Sons” on Central Avenue just South of Indian School Road, right in between downtown and uptown Phoenix. Jackson take a seat on his father’s favorite recliner as he admires these pictures. His mother takes a seat on the adjoining sofa as she sets her martini down on a coaster. Roxanne eyes her son looking at the family photos.
“You know that business means everything to your father,” she says, stirring her drink with a toothpick. “Oh!” Roxanne exclaims loudly. “I’ve been so rude, Jackson, sweetheart, can I get you something to drink? A Manhattan? Whiskey Sour?”
“Mom, no, I’m okay.” Jackson clasps his hands together and rests his chin on them. “And I know it means everything to him. He can just be an asshole about it sometimes. You’d think, after all these years, he would give a damn about what I want to do. About MY dreams. But that dickhead can careless.”
The language directed towards his father would probably make any other mother flinch but not Roxanne. Jackson was free to be himself around his mother whereas around his father, it was the complete opposite. Over Jackson’s life, his dad constantly dragged him in the direction he wanted him to go; what he thought was best. It was a blind love. Jackson’s mother on the other hand had always supported him. She supported him as a kid, encouraged him to follow his interests and supported him even more so as an adult. Because of that he found he had tried to do everything in his power to make his father proud of him. He graduated high school top of his class. That wasn’t enough. He went to college and after eight long years took home a Master’s degree in accounting and started working for his father’s business but it seemed that wasn’t enough for him either. His father always wanted more out of him. It was all business for him.
Roxanne sighs, “You know he cares about you. He just doesn’t know how to show it.” She takes a sip from her drink and sets it back down. “But enough about him, I want to hear about your match at Phoenix Wrestling! I watched it on TV and you did so good!”
This was typical of Roxanne Coltrane. She was always in Jackson’s corner. Whereas his father was always working when he was younger, never being able to make it to Jackson’s baseball games or wrestling matches, Roxanne was there supporting him and encouraging him. She noticed his athletic ability at an early age and how competing in sports made him focus and put a smile on his face.
“Thanks mom,” Jackson says as he puts an ankle up to rest on the other knee. “But that was tough. Tyberius is a serious competitor who knew what he was doing in that ring. He kind of toyed with me there which I did not appreciate but I guess I did hold my own against him. I definitely gave it my best shot. Not a lot of people can say they faces Tyberius King in their first ever televised match. That has got to benefit me in the long run. I would love to get a rematch against him someday in a regular wrestling match.”
“Well I know you did your best son, and with more practice and experience under your belt, you’ll get better. You should call your friend who owns that gym over by Sunnyslope and see if he can help you out with your grappling technique,” she says as she gets up to head for the kitchen to refresh her drink.
“Wow, you’re right. I didn’t think about that. I wonder how Ron is doing? It’s been a while.” Jackson says, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his phone to shoot Ron a message.
“So,” Roxanne says loudly from the kitchen as she makes herself a new drink, “What do they have you doing for the third night of the Iron King Tournament. I know you’re out of the tournament but they must have some match planned for you.”
“Actually, I have a really great opportunity in front of me,” Jackson calls back to his mother as he finishes up his text and puts his phone down on the coffee table. “It’s kind of surprising actually.”
“What is surprising dear?” Roxanne asks as she comes back to the sitting room with a drink in hand and takes up the spot she had occupied before.
“It seems they took some of the people who were eliminated in the first round of the tournament and stuck them in a six-man elimination match where the winner will receive a shot at the Rising Phoenix Championship.” Jackson says, a little smile playing on his lips.
“Oh, honey! How exciting! Who are the people you’ll be facing?” Roxanne takes a gulp from her drink and puts a pillow behind her back for support.
“They are all very formidable opponents. Fenix Shields is one of them. He is a striker who probably would have done very well on the first night of the tournament if he didn’t leave himself so open to Inoue’s strikes. I’m hoping he does the same so I can take advantage of that part of his game. Then there is a guy named Richard Roque who is actually a really good man that was taken completely off guard in his match against Rowyn Starr. He has a ton of wrestling experience as well. Although he is bigger than Tyberius King, I believe my match with him will serve me well in dealing with Richard in the ring. He’s about the only man I really respect in this match,” Jackson’s phone ‘whooshes’ indicating a text message has been received that he ignores for now as he continues, “Then there is Shooter Reed.”
“Shooter Reed!” His mother exclaims happily, taking a drink and putting the glass back down. “I love that name!”
“It is a nice name Mother,” Jackson says, laughing just a little bit as his mother starts to feel the effects of her drinking. “But the name is about the only thing he has going for him. Shooter Reed I don’t know much about, only what I saw from him in his non-tournament match against Azazel in which he was absolutely overpowered by him. The dude just rubs me the wrong way and I’m really looking forward to shutting this douchebag up. There will be so many damn people in the ring, I hope I get the chance to."
“Well let me see,” Roxanne sits up and counts off the wrestlers on her fingers. “I guess that leaves two more Jackson.”
“You’re right mom,” another laugh from Jackson. Seeing his mom intoxicated and childish always made him laugh. “Horace Jackson is one of the last two and to be honest, this dude is a freak. He is a beast. But for some reason he wasn’t able to tap into his beast mode against Asger. Probably because Asger is a beast himself. I will definitely have to look out for this man in the match, although he probably won’t be too good at sneaking up on people much.”
His mom giggles and then hiccups. She quickly covers her mouth and thinking it might help, finishes off her martini glass.
“And that just leaves me with Hirooki Rajin. He’s somewhat of I wild card here mom. He wasn’t on either card for the Iron King Tournament. But that’s okay because I still cannot overlook him. I can’t overlook anyone in this match. He is probably the most dangerous man in the match because not a lot is known about him. And I can really say that about everyone in this match for me. I’m new here. I don’t know a lot of these men and women. But I got my feet wet in that ring on the second night of the tournament. Now, I can turn my attention to the wrestlers of PW, as we will be spending a lot of time together. Who knows, maybe losing to Tyberius was a blessing in disguise? I’m not MMA material, that will come in time with training. But I do know how to wrestle, and I never thought I would get an opportunity to be on the fast track to a prestigious title here in Phoenix Wrestling. I’m going to approach this match with everything I have. I will not let my guard down against these men. If I learned anything from my match with Tyberius, it’s that I can’t take anything for granted. I’m going to fight hard for this. But I won’t look past these men to Lance Winters, not yet. First, I prove myself in this match. I am really excited for this chance Mom,” he looks over at his mom who has fallen asleep and snoring softly on the couch.
Jackson smiles and goes to get a blanket from the closet in the hallway. He comes back and covers his mom up, tucking her in and giving her a kiss on the forehead.
“I love you. Sweet dreams."
Jackson grabs his car keys off of the kitchen counter and takes a last look at his sleeping mother before he turns out the light and heads to leave through the front door.