Round 1 Action

The Tournament

Round 1 Leo Rameriz (offense) vs Alyson Kerrigan (defense)

1-25-2035

The pizza restaurant was jam packed, not surprising for a Friday night. The two people manning the registers couldn't get their acts together, further delaying things. The area in front of the registers was small and cramped, so there was no line as such. A dozen people mobbed against the counter, and whoever was the most aggressive was the next to be served. Behind the crowd, several more people sat on a small bench, straining their ears for their names to be called. The door was right next to the register, and even more people entered and pressed through the crowd on their way to be seated, or lingered in the vain hope that they might order a take away pizza sometime this century.

Everyone was pressed together, everyone was irritable, everyone was in a hurry to get what they came for and return to their respective lairs to eat in peace, away from this madness. A couple people were in such a hurry they gave up and departed without being able to even order.

He was on one side of the crowd, next to the door. Alyson was on the other side of the crowd, talking to the other clerk. She happened to glance to her left, and their eyes met.

Time stopped. Irritation, hunger, the crowd, everything was forgotten except for Him and Her. Alyson glanced away again, quickly, like a frightened doe. She explained again to the clerk what her order had been, and explained again that she had not been asked for a name, just her phone number. She repeated her phone number again. After saying the last digit, she glanced over at Him again. He was staring at her, and seemed to have taken in the number she'd just uttered. His face was tight, impassive. When Alyson turned, He quickly glanced away, echoing her motion a moment ago.

Alyson felt warm, excited. What could she say? How could she indicate interest? Anything she did could open herself up to humiliation. What if He was involved with someone? She knew NOTHING about Him whatsoever. Absolutely nothing except how it had felt when His eyes met hers. There was no protocol for what to do.

Alyson was suddenly away of the crowd again. She caught several irritated glances at her. It was annoying people how long she was taking up here.

She glanced in his direction again. He was signing a credit card slip. She leaned forward but couldn't make out the name before the clerk ripped it away and put it in the register drawer. She could have leapt across the counter and throttled his clerk for suddenly being so prompt.

Her clerk interrupted her thoughts by saying that the order had been discovered and it was ready. How did she want to pay?

Alyson didn't want to pay! She didn't even want the Italian sausage and cheese pizza with extra anchovies anymore! She didn't want anything except for the courage to say something, anything, before the man departed.

Another worker brought up a small to go pizza box and tried to hand it over the counter to him. "Italian sausage, cheese, and extra anchovies!" The worker called out.

Alyson was stunned! He had ordered HER pizza! He was the only other person on the planet who liked anchovies!

The worker was short and couldn't extend it far enough, so Alyson knocked an old lady to the side, leaned up on her tippytoes, ripped the box from the worker's hands, and handed it to Him.

He met her gaze and smiled for the first time. The smile transformed His face. Oh, He was so gorgeous. It was such a warm, lovely smile. If Alyson had been warm before, she was sweltering now. Taking the box, still smiling warmly, He said, "thank you."

And then He turned and left.

But...?

Alyson stood there, paralyzed. What could she do? What could she possibly say if she ran after Him? "Hi, I'm interested in you, care for a date?" That simply wasn't done. She'd die of embarrassment if He already had someone or wasn't interested. No way.

The clerk was braying again about how she wanted to pay, and others were making irritated noises about her getting on with it.

Alyson turned and paid the clerk and snatched the pizza from him and forced her way out of the bursting building.

There was no sign of him. He was already gone.

Cursing herself, near tears, Alyson ran for her car, the forgotten and unwanted pizza clutched loosely in one hand.

Alyson's grandmother, who'd raised her, was standing next to her car. "You're a loser, Alyson! You always have been, you always will be!"

"Oh Jesus God, not now, grammie! It's not fair that you nag me even after you're dead!"

"There are two kinds of people in this world," Grammie screeched, her bifocals clouding her piercing green eyes. "Winners and losers! Can you guess which camp you march with, Ally McLoser?!?" A pickup truck rounded the pizza building. It was Him! He had been parked on the other side of the building and He'd come around to get out on Fares Ave instead of the street on that side!

The pickup truck slowed to wait for a break in traffic before leaving the parking lot.

"I'll show you Grammie!" Alyson screamed, eyes bulging, at her nonexistent grandmother. She ran to the front of the truck, and blocked His progress just as he was about to start moving again.

The object of her sudden infatuation looked at her quizzically.

Alyson raised on hand in the universal "STAY" gesture, then raced around the front of his truck and up to his side window.

He lowered his window. "Can I help you?" He seemed slightly ticked off.

Oh crap. She should just make a lame excuse and get the hell out of here. She was about to do just that when something within compelled her to speak. "Um, hi, listen. I know I'm gonna sound like an idiot, but can I ask you out?"

"Can you what?" He asked, leaning forward.

Alyson's face felt a thousand degrees. She was sweating, and the pizza box in her left hand felt like it weighed a million pounds. Again, she felt the strong urge to turn about and flee, this time without even making an excuse. If he shot her down, or worse, laughed at her, she'd die right here in the parking lot.

"Will you go out on a date with me?" She said louder. A little too loud, and she immediately regretted it.

There was an awful second before he replied, and then he was smiling warmly. "It'd be an honor."

A shudder passed through the world...

Alyson opened her eyes. There had been no violence so she recovered quickly. She was up off her bed and in Leo Rameriz's face before her opponent could do more than sit up.

"What the HELL was THAT?" Alyson hissed, jerking a thumb over her shoulder as if the game computer were right behind her.

Leo smiled brightly. It was a very attractive smile, and she had no doubt it had fluttered the hearts of thousands of his countrywomen. "That was a very fine victory for you, my dear."

"That was a load of bullshit, that's what that was! How did THAT ever get through committee? Is anyone even awake over there? That wasn't a game, that was your masturbatory fantasy!"

Leo's eyes opened wide. His eyebrows raised.

"Oh, don't give me that shocked look! I've read the tabloids! I know all about your fantasies about me! About the wall of pictures you have dedicated to me, your Nubian Love Goddess! Isn't that what you call me?" She flipped her dark hair from her eyes and stabbed his chest with one finger. "Well I hope you got your rocks off, because that's your only shot at embarrassing me! Fawning over you while we're waiting for pizza! Give me a fucking break!"

She stormed past him, shouldering aside several gaping reporters.

"If I were you, I would examine why this has angered you so much!" Leo called after her helpfully. He turned his winsome smile to the first reporter to reach him. "She loves me." He gushed.

Home

Gabrielle Sallor (offense) vs Kurt Shilling (defense)

Damien Johnson (offense) vs Kyle Devore (defense)

Katya Floski (offense) vs Kim Jong (defense)

Anne Layden (offense) vs Sissy Crydom (defense)

Harry Brown (offense) vs Eli Vaquez (defense)

Blake Ezor (offense) vs Julie Amore (defense)

Max Fields (offense) vs Roland Windom (defense)

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