Post by lucasbalkan on Jun 14, 2020 14:54:28 GMT -5
I think it was the way it moved. It must have been that. I was only 4 or 5 and I was walking with my parents. All of a sudden a snake slithered across the path, a few yards ahead of me. It paid me no heed, of course, and my father put his hands on my shoulder to stop me moving nearer but I had frozen in place. It had disappeared into the grass now but I was very, very concerned that it would reappear. As I grew older, my revulsion and distrust of snakes continued to grow.
In late summer of 2018, I was working two jobs. I was still driving an Uber in the evenings but I was also helping a friend by working in a removal truck on weekdays. I say friend, he was more of an acquaintance that I took pity on.
His name was... unimportant. Let’s call him Frank.
Frank was always just around my block. When I wasn’t driving my Uber, I bumped into him a lot. He was Puerto Rican and he had a few kids. I never cared to count how many. He told me that he used to work for the Postal Service but that something happened that forced him to leave. He never told me what that was and I didn’t think it was really my place to ask. He had a… wife, I think, who I sometimes saw him with. Although, more often than seeing them, you would hear them. They were a volatile couple, to say the least. So, having left the Postal Service, he needed a job and used the money that he had left to buy a van. He started moving stuff for people who would pay him, just like I would move people who would pay me. I guess we had some sort of affinity in that respect but, honestly, we met mostly when we were both smoking in the street. He never seemed to have a lighter and he knew that I carried matches. So, we’d have a smoke, have a chat and complain about everything and anything.
One such day, smoking on the street, Frank approached me in a frenzy. I reached into my pocket for my matches without thinking but when I offered them to him, he waved them away. This got my attention more than his babbling. He would never turn down a smoke, surely something was seriously wrong. Maybe his wife/girlfriend/opponent was unwell? Maybe one of the kids?
“Lucas, I need your help. I’m desperate.”
I waited for him to continue.
“My deadbeat brother-in-law was meant to help me with a job today but he’s disappeared. Probably high. I’m totally screwed, man. I have to go, like, now!”
Ah, he was married… Mystery solved. I could see where this was going, however.
“Will you come and help me? It shouldn’t be more than 4 or 5 hours, you’ll still be able to start your Uber shift at the same time!”
Meh.
“…I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll split all the money with you. 50/50. After gas and expenses…”
I sighed and stood up. I nodded and we walked to his van to head off to move the possessions of someone who could not or would not do it themselves. He did split the money, so I didn’t think much of it. He asked me to keep helping him and while the money wasn’t great, it wasn’t by the books so I just pocketed the little money that I did get for smokes, drinks and food. I needed to save my taxable income for my inevitable visa fees. So, I kept making deliveries, meeting Frank on the street for a smoke (he’d use my matches) and driving an Uber at night. Wash, rinse, repeat. Was it good work? No. Was it good money? No. Was it convenient for a time? Yes.
Until one day. Frank said his wife was ill, Frank said that he had to rush to the hospital and find someone to look after the kids, Frank said that it was an important job that we couldn’t miss.
“Could you do it alone, Lucas, please? I’ll owe you one.”
I shrugged. Didn’t make much difference to me. The work wasn’t hard and I would just take a little more for my own “expenses” before splitting the fee with Frank later. Sick wife? Sure, but we’ve all got to eat. I drove the van downtown and stopped outside the address that he had given me. It was a little nicer than the usual places we picked up from, I guess Frank had gotten lucky. I hit the buzzer and was let into the building. When I got to the apartment that we were moving things from, an older woman answered. She looked like she might also be Puerto Rican (or Cuban or Dominican…) but I wasn’t sure. She did, however, make an assumption that I was.
“Hola, esta aqui…”
She gestured towards the next room as I followed, about to explain that I wasn’t Latino. We walked into the lounge of this pretty nice apartment and amongst a sea of boxes to be moved, there was a tank. At first glance, I assumed… fish. You know, because, that’s what normal people keep in tanks. Nope.
My eyes snapped back as I realised that there were no fish. In fact, it was a jet black snake, as thick as a beer bottle and filling the pretty large tank. I tried to look away but I couldn’t. This… thing was slithering over itself in this tank and I was supposed to think this was just a regular, everyday thing. I couldn’t see its head but I felt a chill right down my spine. That’s not a euphemism, I actually felt it in my spine. It must have been a few minutes that I stood staring at this and ignoring the older woman who was talking at me. I think at first she was explaining something but then noticed that I was not listening and had started to berate me.
“Estas escuchando? Oye! Idiota…”
I finally broke my stare at the snake and turned around. She started to talk again but I had to cut her off.
“Listen, I don’t speak Spanish. I’ve not understood a word you’ve said. And I’m not moving that… thing.”
She seemed taken aback but the surprise gave way to anger. I was an idiot, I should be thankful for my job, I shouldn’t say such things about a beautiful creature, she would demand some of the money back for this job, who didn’t speak Spanish in New York?
Wait. Hold on.
“What did you say? Demand money back? You haven’t paid me yet.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Not you. The other man. I wired the money to him yesterday. Such a nice man. HE speaks Spanish.”
Has he…? No, surely not. I called the only other person I knew on our block, another Uber driver named Mohammed. I figured that he’d have seen Frank leave for the hospital with his wife or kids and that this old bat was talking bullshit.
“Mo, have you seen Frank today?”
“I saw you two speaking in the street earlier, he left in a cab an hour later. Whole family. Suitcases, everything. I think he’s left. I thought you guys were tight? Did he not tell you?”
No, he did not. I started to piece it together. This woman had paid him three times our usual rate upfront and he’d sensed an opportunity. He took the money and he took his family and he left. He’d often talked about wanting to move out of NYC, to a variety of different places. And here I was, standing here with nothing but a van and a pissed off old man. Oh, and a fucking snake.
A snake like Frank. That motherfucker felt he was entitled to take from me. Everything from matches every day, right up to thousands of dollars. He wasn’t to be trusted and I’d made a real mistake. It was convenient for a while but I was too comfortable to see that he was going to betray me. Very, very often this seems to be the case. You let someone in and they find the smallest avenues open for manipulation and exploitation. So, it’s important to keep your eyes wide open and be ready, just in case.
If you catch them then, well, like a snake… best to cut their fucking head off.
So, Robert, we’re teaming together. The bold Viper of SFT (and ICW and maybe more). I don’t like you. Don’t take it personally, I dislike you no more so than anyone else on the roster though, to be honest. However, I accept that you are a necessary evil for now. You are a talented athlete and while I couldn’t care any less for the tales of your father, grandfather and great-grandfather… It’s clear that wrestling is something that you are good at and something that you care about. Although, not as much as you care about yourself.
We’ve fought before and I’m sure we’ll fight again but for the sake of the Lethal Lottery, we need to fight together. Who knows, we might be an effective unit. My intelligence, braun and aggression and your… Well, you’ll be there too.
Nah, I jest. You’ll be a useful ally this week. However, more so than not really liking you, I certainly do not trust you. I’ll be watching you closely in Montreal, Robert. Almost as closely as I’ll be watching you, Candace and Cassandra.
Candace, you seem different since last I spoke. Almost like you have experienced some bereavement, all this talk of coffins and graves. Of course, I know what you have lost.
No longer a champion but here you tell me that you are faster, stronger, smarter than me and Robert Saints. Him? Perhaps. Me? I don’t think so, sister.
You’ve beaten Robert before? Another thing that we have in common. However, I think this is where we can draw a line under our comparisons and commonalities.
There is one final thing though. Something that I think we all considering in this tournament. Do you trust your partner?
I think I have made my feelings clear. I don’t like nor trust Robert but I’m willing to accommodate him for now. And, well, he showed up.
Your partner on the other hand... Where are you Cassandra? Too caught up in your comfortable life with Reno and Sevyn?
Oh well. Another time perhaps.
After all, this is just the first step. The path towards dominating SFT again is long and winding, as it encompasses more than just me. However, as long as we are all aware of what to look out for.
No more snakes in the grass.
In late summer of 2018, I was working two jobs. I was still driving an Uber in the evenings but I was also helping a friend by working in a removal truck on weekdays. I say friend, he was more of an acquaintance that I took pity on.
His name was... unimportant. Let’s call him Frank.
Frank was always just around my block. When I wasn’t driving my Uber, I bumped into him a lot. He was Puerto Rican and he had a few kids. I never cared to count how many. He told me that he used to work for the Postal Service but that something happened that forced him to leave. He never told me what that was and I didn’t think it was really my place to ask. He had a… wife, I think, who I sometimes saw him with. Although, more often than seeing them, you would hear them. They were a volatile couple, to say the least. So, having left the Postal Service, he needed a job and used the money that he had left to buy a van. He started moving stuff for people who would pay him, just like I would move people who would pay me. I guess we had some sort of affinity in that respect but, honestly, we met mostly when we were both smoking in the street. He never seemed to have a lighter and he knew that I carried matches. So, we’d have a smoke, have a chat and complain about everything and anything.
One such day, smoking on the street, Frank approached me in a frenzy. I reached into my pocket for my matches without thinking but when I offered them to him, he waved them away. This got my attention more than his babbling. He would never turn down a smoke, surely something was seriously wrong. Maybe his wife/girlfriend/opponent was unwell? Maybe one of the kids?
“Lucas, I need your help. I’m desperate.”
I waited for him to continue.
“My deadbeat brother-in-law was meant to help me with a job today but he’s disappeared. Probably high. I’m totally screwed, man. I have to go, like, now!”
Ah, he was married… Mystery solved. I could see where this was going, however.
“Will you come and help me? It shouldn’t be more than 4 or 5 hours, you’ll still be able to start your Uber shift at the same time!”
Meh.
“…I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll split all the money with you. 50/50. After gas and expenses…”
I sighed and stood up. I nodded and we walked to his van to head off to move the possessions of someone who could not or would not do it themselves. He did split the money, so I didn’t think much of it. He asked me to keep helping him and while the money wasn’t great, it wasn’t by the books so I just pocketed the little money that I did get for smokes, drinks and food. I needed to save my taxable income for my inevitable visa fees. So, I kept making deliveries, meeting Frank on the street for a smoke (he’d use my matches) and driving an Uber at night. Wash, rinse, repeat. Was it good work? No. Was it good money? No. Was it convenient for a time? Yes.
Until one day. Frank said his wife was ill, Frank said that he had to rush to the hospital and find someone to look after the kids, Frank said that it was an important job that we couldn’t miss.
“Could you do it alone, Lucas, please? I’ll owe you one.”
I shrugged. Didn’t make much difference to me. The work wasn’t hard and I would just take a little more for my own “expenses” before splitting the fee with Frank later. Sick wife? Sure, but we’ve all got to eat. I drove the van downtown and stopped outside the address that he had given me. It was a little nicer than the usual places we picked up from, I guess Frank had gotten lucky. I hit the buzzer and was let into the building. When I got to the apartment that we were moving things from, an older woman answered. She looked like she might also be Puerto Rican (or Cuban or Dominican…) but I wasn’t sure. She did, however, make an assumption that I was.
“Hola, esta aqui…”
She gestured towards the next room as I followed, about to explain that I wasn’t Latino. We walked into the lounge of this pretty nice apartment and amongst a sea of boxes to be moved, there was a tank. At first glance, I assumed… fish. You know, because, that’s what normal people keep in tanks. Nope.
My eyes snapped back as I realised that there were no fish. In fact, it was a jet black snake, as thick as a beer bottle and filling the pretty large tank. I tried to look away but I couldn’t. This… thing was slithering over itself in this tank and I was supposed to think this was just a regular, everyday thing. I couldn’t see its head but I felt a chill right down my spine. That’s not a euphemism, I actually felt it in my spine. It must have been a few minutes that I stood staring at this and ignoring the older woman who was talking at me. I think at first she was explaining something but then noticed that I was not listening and had started to berate me.
“Estas escuchando? Oye! Idiota…”
I finally broke my stare at the snake and turned around. She started to talk again but I had to cut her off.
“Listen, I don’t speak Spanish. I’ve not understood a word you’ve said. And I’m not moving that… thing.”
She seemed taken aback but the surprise gave way to anger. I was an idiot, I should be thankful for my job, I shouldn’t say such things about a beautiful creature, she would demand some of the money back for this job, who didn’t speak Spanish in New York?
Wait. Hold on.
“What did you say? Demand money back? You haven’t paid me yet.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Not you. The other man. I wired the money to him yesterday. Such a nice man. HE speaks Spanish.”
Has he…? No, surely not. I called the only other person I knew on our block, another Uber driver named Mohammed. I figured that he’d have seen Frank leave for the hospital with his wife or kids and that this old bat was talking bullshit.
“Mo, have you seen Frank today?”
“I saw you two speaking in the street earlier, he left in a cab an hour later. Whole family. Suitcases, everything. I think he’s left. I thought you guys were tight? Did he not tell you?”
No, he did not. I started to piece it together. This woman had paid him three times our usual rate upfront and he’d sensed an opportunity. He took the money and he took his family and he left. He’d often talked about wanting to move out of NYC, to a variety of different places. And here I was, standing here with nothing but a van and a pissed off old man. Oh, and a fucking snake.
A snake like Frank. That motherfucker felt he was entitled to take from me. Everything from matches every day, right up to thousands of dollars. He wasn’t to be trusted and I’d made a real mistake. It was convenient for a while but I was too comfortable to see that he was going to betray me. Very, very often this seems to be the case. You let someone in and they find the smallest avenues open for manipulation and exploitation. So, it’s important to keep your eyes wide open and be ready, just in case.
If you catch them then, well, like a snake… best to cut their fucking head off.
So, Robert, we’re teaming together. The bold Viper of SFT (and ICW and maybe more). I don’t like you. Don’t take it personally, I dislike you no more so than anyone else on the roster though, to be honest. However, I accept that you are a necessary evil for now. You are a talented athlete and while I couldn’t care any less for the tales of your father, grandfather and great-grandfather… It’s clear that wrestling is something that you are good at and something that you care about. Although, not as much as you care about yourself.
We’ve fought before and I’m sure we’ll fight again but for the sake of the Lethal Lottery, we need to fight together. Who knows, we might be an effective unit. My intelligence, braun and aggression and your… Well, you’ll be there too.
Nah, I jest. You’ll be a useful ally this week. However, more so than not really liking you, I certainly do not trust you. I’ll be watching you closely in Montreal, Robert. Almost as closely as I’ll be watching you, Candace and Cassandra.
Candace, you seem different since last I spoke. Almost like you have experienced some bereavement, all this talk of coffins and graves. Of course, I know what you have lost.
No longer a champion but here you tell me that you are faster, stronger, smarter than me and Robert Saints. Him? Perhaps. Me? I don’t think so, sister.
You’ve beaten Robert before? Another thing that we have in common. However, I think this is where we can draw a line under our comparisons and commonalities.
There is one final thing though. Something that I think we all considering in this tournament. Do you trust your partner?
I think I have made my feelings clear. I don’t like nor trust Robert but I’m willing to accommodate him for now. And, well, he showed up.
Your partner on the other hand... Where are you Cassandra? Too caught up in your comfortable life with Reno and Sevyn?
Oh well. Another time perhaps.
After all, this is just the first step. The path towards dominating SFT again is long and winding, as it encompasses more than just me. However, as long as we are all aware of what to look out for.
No more snakes in the grass.
