Body Slammed! by Ray Villareal Read Free Book Online Page B

griping. Although he would never admit it to anyone, Jesse was glad when his father left for his match in Atlanta.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    A t a little after eight, Jesse arrived at Wendell’s house. He knocked, but no one came to the door. He could hear a dull, whirring sound coming from inside. He knocked harder until his knuckle hurt. The whirring stopped. A moment later, Wendell’s mother opened the door. Her face was rosy and covered with perspiration. Her gray T-shirt was also sweaty.
    â€œHello, Jesse, come in,” she said, trying to catch her breath. She removed a towel from her neck and wiped her face. “Please excuse my appearance; I was exercising.”
    Her bedroom door was open, and Jesse could see a treadmill in there. She led him to the den where the guys were watching Monday Night Mayhem . Wendell’s mother returned to her bedroom and shut the door. The whirring sound started again.
    â€œHi, guys. Have I missed much?”
    â€œNot really,” Wendell said. “The show opened with Lance Redwine talking about how he was going to beat the Ice Man for the title tonight.”
    â€œHe’s not, is he?” Goose asked. He and Bucky sat on the couch sharing a bag of Fritos. Wendell was seated on the recliner next to them, nibbling on a rice cake.
    Jesse pulled up a wooden rocking chair and joined them. “I don’t think so,” he said. “According to my father, the ACW likes Sloane as their champion, so they’re planning to let him have a long title run.”
    The guys appreciated any information Jesse gave them about the wrestling industry. They saw themselves as “smarks.” A smark is a fan who knows that pro wrestling is scripted but can enjoy it for what it is, unlike a “mark” who believes that wrestling is real.
    â€œNow they’ve got this jobber, TJ Masters, getting killed by Solomon Grimm,” Goose said.
    â€œYeah, he’s getting killed by Solomon Grimm,” Bucky said.
    Grimm worked TJ over with hard chops to the chest. Then he swung him to the ropes with an Irish whip and whacked him with a clothesline when TJ sprang back. Grimm picked him up by his hair and took TJ back down with a belly-to-belly suplex. Jesse knew TJ was okay, but like the guys said, it sure looked as if Solomon Grimm was killing him. Grimm lifted TJ to his feet, clamped on a full nelson, and slammed him face first onto the mat. It was Solomon Grimm’s finisher, the Grimm Reality. He rolled TJ over and made the pin. The referee slapped his hand on the mat three times and the match was over.
    Solomon Grimm’s arm was raised in victory while the crowd booed. But Grimm wasn’t finished. He jerked away from the referee, stomped on TJ’s chest and kicked him out of the ring. The referee scolded Grimm, but he just laughed savagely as the audience continued to boo.
    The show went to a commercial break.
    Goose wadded his empty Fritos bag and threw it at the TV. “Man, I don’t know why the ACW puts on these squash matches. Nobody likes to watch them.”
    â€œI was just getting ready to say that, Goose,” Bucky said. “Nobody likes to watch them.”
    Where did the ACW find that jobber, anyway?” Goose asked. “Sacking groceries at Walmart?”
    â€œHey, don’t knock TJ,” Jesse said. “He’s cool.”
    Goose took out a package of Oreo cookies from a plastic grocery bag. “You know him?”
    â€œYeah. He and my father are friends. Actually, TJ lives here in San Antonio.”
    Bucky tee-heed. “Well, since TJ and your dad are such good friends, maybe your dad ought to teach him how to wrestle.”
    â€œYeah, maybe your dad ought to teach him how to wrestle,” Goose repeated in a high voice, mocking Bucky.
    Bucky gave him a dirty look.
    Goose passed around the Oreo cookies bag. Bucky and Jesse grabbed some cookies, but Wendell waved the bag away.
    A few minutes later, Monday Night