|
Kermit
Too much time on my hands
Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2006 4:52 am
Posts: 1107
Location: Arizona
|
 Shot through the heart, and you're to blame
The hallway outside Valerie Stern's office was busy. Endgame had just ended, and of course, the head of TCW was busy. Darkness won the big belt from Dante, Kermit lost his Bleeder title to Freya and he was injured in the process. Matt Strikmore was injured as well thanks to a brutal attack by Drakus. Titles changed hands, wrestlers got injured, a ton of stuff happened at the biggest show of the year. So Valerie Stern was busy, too busy to see young Aaron Keening for a long while.
But Aaron had time to wait. In fact, that's all the young man ever seemed to do lately was wait. While stars like Darkness, Freya, and David Hardy got big matches, Aaron was still to new to the game to get into the big dance. And given his low man on the totem pole status, his Endgame match against Atomic Welfare was dropped. Sure, if gave other, bigger matches more time on the card, but it was a bit of a blow to the young musician. Too much it reminded him of all the rejection letters or phone calls he had received in California while he tried to make his mark. It brought back memories of pop stars liking his music, but wanting their name as co-writer (and 10% of the profit to boot) for either changing a word or two, or for nothing other than them thinking they deserve it. And Aaron felt the same way here. Under the shadow of the big guys and never getting the chance to break out. So here he stood in the hallway, waiting for Ms. Stern to have a moment she could spare for him.
It was a very long wait.
He passed the time the way he normally did. Strains, chords, and melodies flowed through his head as he tried to arrange them in a pleasing order. His current side project was a String Quartet piece, done in a Baroque style. A fluid main theme that danced between two violins with a slightly whimsical counter melody on the cello, was all tied to together with the long and balancing notes of the Bass. And while the tune was lovely, he was stuck. Composers block he called it. He needed a secondary melody to break up the first, yet that still tied into the themes he was presenting. He had tried several options so far such as giving the Cello the lead, or maybe changing the key, but for all his talent, this single block was preventing the completion of his piece. And he had to smile as he mentally worked out notes and chords in an attempt to create this second tune. He knew, deep down, that once this melody block was broken, the flood gates would open and Aaron would have this work finished to his satisfaction within days. If he could get over this hump that is.
"Mr. Keening?"
The voice of well dressed man, an assistant to Ms. Stern, broke Aaron from his musical thoughts.
"Ms. Stern will see you now." he spoke quickly before walking away, off on another errand.
Aaron straightened his shirt and brushed himself down. When seeing the woman who holds your career in her hands, you had to make sure you were clean and free of lint and fuzz. Impressions are everything. Once he was confident that he looked well enough, he knocked on the office door.
"Come in." came the female voice from the other side, and Aaron followed the order.
"Evening Ms. Stern." he said politely with a nod before closing the door.
"Yes Mr....?"
Aaron sighed inside.
"Keening Ma'am. Aaron Keening. I am one of the newer member to your roster."
"That's right. Your match got cut tonight didn't it?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"And you're here to complain or gripe or bitch about it right?"
Valerie focused a stern gaze onto Aaron as if daring him to raise a ruckus about the loss of his match.
"Actually Ma'am, I just had a question. This isn't my first match to fall off the card. Yes yes, I know I am new and don't really have the drawing power that Darkness or Dante or Hardy have, but, I wanted to know when I would get my chance ya know? Not complaining, not bitching, just want to know when. Or even how I can show you that I can draw fans."
Valerie smirked.
"Let's be honest Aaron. You're boring."
Aaron was slightly take aback by her bluntness.
"Don't get me wrong, you have skill in the ring that's for sure. But this business is not just about your skill, as it is about your presence and your personality. The wide eyed plucky rookie routine you have is cute and all, but it doesn't stand out. Kermit, he stands out. DeSean, he stands out. Darkness, he really stands out. And those guys cause the fans to line up and buy tickets in every city we go to. Frankly, you don't. You're too........um......nice."
"Too nice? What, you want me to be mean and threaten people around here? Do you want me to wind up like Shamrock, locked in a jail cell?"
"No, but you need to harden yourself up. The baby face hero gimmick is good to start, but not something that fans want see every show. Just look at the reaction John Cena is getting over in the WWE. Fans don't like the knight in shining armor."
Aaron sat down, a little perplexed.
"But Ms. Stern, this isn't some gimmick I am playing. This is who I really am. I am the nice guy."
Valerie smiled softly, but Aaron couldn't tell if it was friendly, or mocking.
"And that's sweet Aaron. But if you want bigger matches, you need to show me you're a draw."
"And how do I do that?"
"Well, how about this. At Friction you will be in a Triple Threat match. I have a new guy coming up named Red Barker who needs a match, and let's throw in K.I.D. for some draw power. Show me you can perform and make that match interesting, and then we can talk about your future card placement."
Aaron nodded.
"Fair enough Ma'am. Thank you for your time"
Valerie did not respond, instead already focused on the next little fire she had to put out. As Aaron walked away down the hall, he couldn't stop thinking about what she said.
Fans don't like the knight in shining armor.
He surely wasn't that goody goody, he was just Aaron. Friendly, nice, decent. Why is that so hard to cheer for?
_________________
When the going gets tough, I get tough henchmen
|
."