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Off Camera
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A bar in
Belfast, Northern Ireland is rather quiet on this dark, rainy night. Most people do not want to get out in this
weather. The only ones present on this
night are the bar regulars. You know the
crowd; those who have a pattern and a part of that pattern includes enjoying a
night out at least once a week (usually more).
For someone
like Mark O’Brian, consistency is a good thing.
He learns certain patterns and he gets used to those patterns. Whenever that set pattern breaks it tends to
upset him. He tries to figure things out
and for someone who isn’t that bright to begin with it tends to be hard to
figure out what’s wrong.
His sister
Sophie has always been a little bit on the sociopathic side of the persuasion. At times she would seem downright emotionless
and cold. At times she would be a
verifiable monster. But Mark didn’t seem
to mind. He just assumed that was who
his sister was.
Only lately
he noticed her sudden change. That
change came about due to a dramatic reconnection with an old acquaintance and
now Sophie seems to be far more pleasant and happy than she used to be. That change is very unusual and bothers Mark.
One thing
that has not changed is Mark and Sophie’s regular visit to this particular dive
on the outskirts of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Mark can count his blessings that some things do not change, even if
Sophie’s personality seemingly has changed.
Mark and his
sister Sophie find themselves at a table near the back of the of this seemingly
empty bar. Mark is dressed in denim
jeans, black boots, a black “SCW” t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. His sister Sophie is wearing a long, ankle
length floral print skirt, flip flops, and a black “SCW” t-shirt that matches
her brother’s. Her long black hair hangs
down unrestrained to shoulder length.
Mark has a glass of an unknown alcoholic beverage in front of him and
Sophie, by contrast, has a glass of simple water sitting in front of her.
“I’ve come to a conclusion, brother.”
Sophie’s voice is dry and stoic, almost the way it used to be before her change
in personality.
“Yeah, what’s that?” Mark asks in a
curious tone. He tilts his beer bottle
up in the air and swigs on some alcohol.
He is genuinely concerned about his sister. For the longest time he thought he knew
her. He thought she was just a bitter,
or rather emotionless individual, who constantly berated him and took out her
angst and frustrations upon him.
Mark never
seemed to mind it. He didn’t mind
because he cared for his sister and if that made her feel better, then so be
it. He just assumed that was the real
Sophie O’Brian. Recent events involving
an old acquaintance of hers has proven that the real Sophie O’Brian is a
completely different individual altogether.
Sophie has feelings and emotions.
Sophie seems to care for her brother in ways that she had not cared
before.
It’s enough
to worry Mark, because this isn’t like his sister. She seems happy but this isn’t the Sophie he
knows. He watches her carefully as she
half-smiles and shrugs her shoulders. “I think I’m going to take a break from
SCW.”
“You’re taking a break?!” Mark says as
he nearly spews his drink from his mouth. “Why?”
“I already accomplished what I wanted to
accomplish.”
“So becoming Television Champion is all you
wanted to achieve?” He chuckles. “Such
low standards.”
“Oh hush!” Sophie exclaims with a smile
on her face. This is another thing that
bothers Mark. He intentionally baited
her to see if she’d lash out like the old Sophie but she didn’t. This is rather disconcerting. “My time in SCW was valuable, no doubt, but
I need a break. I found myself. That’s all I needed, brother.”
“Well I’m glad you got something out of it;
even if it wasn’t much.”
“Oh don’t be like that. I may return later; trust me, being a former
SCW Television Champion isn’t my only desire.” She takes a sip of her
water. This is another difference Mark
notices about his sister. She isn’t the
heavy drinker she used to be. She has
changed a great deal and Mark has noticed it.
“That’s good...” his voice trails off “…the Sophie I know would not be satisfied
with just one title reign under her belt.”
The raven
haired beauty tilts her head to one side. “You’re
worried about me, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am!” Mark exclaims,
drinking another big gulp of his beverage. “You’re
my sister and I know you, at least I thought I knew you. This person is completely different. She’s…”
“She’s the real me, mate.” Sophie
remarks slowly, consolingly. “This is who
I really am. Not some construct to
protect myself. This is me and Mark, you
need to get used to it.”
“That’ll be hard to do.” He shakes his
head.
“You know what you should be doing?”
Sophie asks with a smirk on her face. “Emerge.”
“Oh yeah…”
“Seriously, Emerge is your opportunity to
shine.” Sophie insists. “It’s always
been about me, dear brother, all the while you’ve supported me and my
goals. I never supported you in your
professional endeavors.” Sophie shakes her head. “I’m guilt ridden…”
“You shouldn’t be. I helped you because I love you.”
“And I do appreciate it, but it’s time for
you to prove what YOU can do. You should
stop being my sidekick and start being the leading man in this show. This is YOUR opportunity, Mark. Emerge can give you that and you need to take
advantage of your time here.”
“You know, you’re right…” Mark scowls“…I have an opportunity to bust my ass and
make something of myself. Yet there are
people who want to be clowns, people who want to waste that opportunity.”
He slams his
fist on the table. “Zero!”
“Your next opponent I presume?” Sophie
inquires.
“Yeah,” Mark growls angrily “he’s a little clown making a fool of this
sport and of anyone and everyone he encounters.
He thinks this is just a damn game.
It isn’t!”
“Then I think you know exactly what to do.” Sophie
winks knowingly at her brother Mark.
“Damn right!
I’m going to crush that piece of shit!
His Emerging days are OVER!”
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On Camera
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I get
it. I really do get it. I understand how so many people look at me and
judge me. They think they know who the
fuck I am.
They think
I’m just Sophie O’Brian’s sidekick. I’m
her heavy; I do her dirty work for her.
And you know what? I’m to blame
for having that impression. Damn near
all my career…shit, my life even…I felt my job was to help my sister. I had no problem being there for her and
making sure she achieved her goals, both professionally and personally.
That’s what
any good sibling would do, right?
Joining
Emerge is my opportunity to shine on my own.
It is a chance to show each and every one of you that I am more than
just a sidekick and more than just a heavy.
My goal in Emerge is to leave you with a lasting impression of who the
hell I am and to make sure you no longer know me simply as Sophie’s brother but
as Mark O’Brian, the mother fucking Sherman Tank!
I’ve been
grinding through Emerge trying to accomplish that goal. Has it been easy? Hell no!
But I’ve been fighting and clawing to earn my way.
Then you have
goofs like Zero; clowns like him think everything is a joke. He has the same opportunity as I do and yet
he’s wasting it with his antics and fooling around. Do you honestly think I’m going to just let
that slide? Do you honestly think I’m
going to let people like that get away with making a mockery of MY sport?
Not now and
not ever.
You are the
little comedian of Emerge, aren’t you Zero?
I already know what you’ll probably say; you’ll mock me as Sophie’s
little bitch. You’ll mock my desire and motivation
towards this sport. You’ll make fun of
my intelligence. And that’s fun,
boy. Go ahead. But I’m just going to skip the back and forth
banter and get straight to what telling you exactly what I plan to do to you.
I’m going to
break you in half.
That’s
right, I’m not even going to bother with the whole teaching you about respect
crap or teaching you a lesson. People
like you can’t learn a damn thing anyway.
I’m just going to pummel you into the ground. I’m going to beat you so bad that you will
regret ever being a part of Emerge and you’ll go crawling back under whatever
rock your puny little ass came from.
You think
you’re cute with your little costume and mask don’t ya? You’re nothing to me, little boy. You’re nothing but a goof playing dress up
pretending to be a hero. Newsflash, ya
worm; there are no true heroes. Not
really. Just a couple of guys and gals
trying to make do…
That’s what
I want. I want to make do…I want to make
something of myself…I want to go places and damn it if I’m going to let some
costumed punk kid with a God complex stop me from achieving my damn goals!
You don’t
have goals, Zero, and that’s part of the problem. No goals means no accomplishments. Your only achievement that you’ll have is
knowing that you served as the stepping stone…MY stepping stone…towards bigger
and better things. I do plan on going
places, Zero, and it’ll be at your damn expense.
