I Get Distracted

But before I could do anything I heard giggles coming from the bleachers nearby. My curiosity got the better of me and I looked to my left to see a group of what seemed to be high school mean girls. Four of them. The was they were lined up gave me serious cheerleader vibes. The one standing in front of the rest spoke up.

“Look at this loser, about to get beaten by a woman!”

As I was busy staring at 4 random teenagers, Jill took the advantage. Before I could even turn back, she had gotten my arms separated and now had my right hand stretched next to her. I immediately felt the pain of the hold, as if my arm was about to be dislocated. I tried to hang on, but I knew it was futile at this point. I tapped quickly on the mat to signal my submission. I had lost my first-round match and had only the loser’s bracket to look forward to.

She got up gracefully and offered me a hand, but I refused saying I needed some time to rest. Jill thanked me for a good match and then walked off, leaving me laying on the floor of the gym, looking at the ceiling.

Just then I could hear footsteps approaching, then I saw the face of non-other than the leader of the mean girls’ clique, her face staring down at me from above.

“I hope you know you’re the first guy to lose today.” I couldn’t maintain eye contact and looked away from her. “Wow, too spineless to even look a teenager in the eye as she’s talking to you, what a surprise.” She giggled as she finished her sentence and then started walking off. “Come on girls. We should go watch a match where the guy isn’t a total pussy.”

The deepest shame I had felt in my entire life washed over me. Never before had I been talked down to by anyone outside my family, and even then it had been almost six years. But now, a bitchy girl had my number. I got up as quickly as I could and walked into the bathroom to get my shit together before the next match.

I had to get over my last match. Sure it was an easy loss but I was going up against the best of the best that the girls had to offer. Now I had to look forward to my next match and try not to bottle the whole thing. All I needed to do was pin the next girl and enjoy the rest of my day watching everyone battle it out.

And it was indeed another woman I was fighting. Given that only 5 guys had lost their first round matches, it was unlikely that I would face them. 3 of them seemed to be skinny freshmen or sophomores that probably got matched with older or more athletic women. The only surprise was one member of faculty who lost his match, but even then, he was probably over his prime and not in the best shape.

It was embarrassing to be the only “strong” guy to lose his first match, but I quickly pushed all those feelings down and got ready to go on with it. I checked the board to see my next match and was caught off-guard.