Chapter 7: Not Quite Failure

Ron and Dave shook hands at the end of the match. The coach held their wrists as they did, then raised Dave's hand to signify his victory. Most of the guys in the immediate area clapped politely. Ron congratulated Dave as they cleared the mat for the next match. Looking to the other end of The Pit, Ron saw that Tony had beaten Paul. Since Ron had beaten Tony earlier the Middleton Mad Dog's 126-pound lineup was finalized. Dave was the varsity wrestler, Ron was the 'B' team wrestler, Tony was third string and Paul was fourth.

Ron was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Dave told him, sincerely, that he had wrestled a very good match. He was also surprised at the number of other wrestlers who praised his efforts. Ron started to feel not so bad about loosing, again.

"Stoppable, see me after practice!" Coach Winters ordered. "The rest of you, if you don't have any matches left, clear out. We need the room to finish up here."

Since the coach had told Ron to wait, Ron decided that he had an excuse to stay in The Pit and watch the rest of the matches. So he tried to learn as much as he could from the other wrestlers. Oscar, who was in the 167 pound division, easily pinned his single opponent to make varsity. Finally all of the matches were over and the starting lineup had been finalized. Ron waited for the coach, preparing himself to be chewed out for his performance.

"Stoppable, what do you think about your last match?" The coach asked Ron when they were alone in The Pit.

"I just wasn't good enough to beat Dave, Coach."

Coach Winters looked at Ron for several long moments. "They told me that you had something of an inferiority complex." He mused, "Ron, let me tell you something about that match you lost. Dave has wrestled since he was a freshman. I took over two years ago during Dave's sophomore year. Last year he wrestled varsity at 119 and had a winning record. Dave is one of the guys I was counting on to make varsity and produce this year and he hasn't disappointed me."

Ron cringed upon hearing himself compared to a successful person once again.

"Snap out of it Stoppable! What I'm trying to say is that you've surprised the heck out of me out there. You have been wrestling for less than two months and you came within a gnat's wing of beating a guy who has a very good chance of placing at the state tournament this year."

"Really?" Ron couldn't stop the amazed question from popping out.

"Yes, really," Coach Winters grinned, "now this has two implications for you my young friend. The first is with this team. Dave was one of the guys I was counting on to make the varsity. He's at 126 and will represent us well there. We are much weaker at 132. Randy's good, but he just isn't at the level that you and Dave are. We will challenge again in two weeks and I want you to move up to 132. Didn't you say you were having some problems keeping your weight under 126?"

"I can try harder coach."

"Don't. You already have no non-glandular fat on your body. Every pound you're putting on is lean muscle. Keep bulking up and challenge at 132 in two weeks."

"Will do coach, what's the second implication?"

"Cheerleading. It's only fair for you to let Possible know that you will probably be on the varsity squad in a couple of weeks. I'll keep my promise and give you one day off each week as long as you aren't varsity. But the minute you make varsity you will be in here every day. Understood?"

"Yes coach!"

"Good enough and good job, now hit the shower."

Ron took a quick shower and hustled over to the main Gym to walk Kim home. His discussion with the coach had him running late and he didn't know if she would still be there. Considering how upset she had been this morning he hoped that she didn't think that he had stood her up.

He walked in the front door. From the lobby he could see Kim sitting, alone, on the bleachers. She had her head down and looked like she was crying. She hadn't seen him yet so Ron retreated back to the front door and faked tripping over his gym bag with a loud 'whoa' thrown in. Then he walked through the lobby. Kim had regained her composure by the time he reached the gym.

"So, good to see that wrestling hasn't affected your footwork," she said in a weak voice.

"Hey KP, glad you waited for me," her red eyes were obvious so he felt it was safe to ask, "what's wrong KP?"

Kim looked at him for several seconds. She was clearly trying to decide if she should tell him or not. Finally she shook her head. "No big," she said. "Let's go home."

Ron let the matter drop. Kim would tell him in her own time, if at all. The two walked out of the gym and started home. They didn't talk, which was unusual. Kim usually wanted to talk about cheer drills, her classes, or even what the lunchroom had served up. Ron watched her out of the corner of his eye. Several times she appeared about to speak but didn't. Finally they reached the intersection where they would separate.

"You didn't give me a real answer this morning," Kim said, in the same weak voice from their walk to school.

"What was the question again?"

"Why don't you ever come over any more? You were just ready to say goodnight and head to your house. You used to walk me all the way home. It isn't all my mom's cooking is it?

No, it's the fact that I'm desperately in love with you and keeping you at arm's length keeps the pain down. He thought. He said, "Kim you have a boyfriend now. It just isn't proper for me to be hanging at your house."

"So it's Josh?"

"Not so much him but I know that if I had the greatest girl in Middleton as my girlfriend, I sure wouldn't like guys hanging with her at all hours. I don't want to cause any problems between the two of you."

Kim's eyes brightened and she actually smiled a little. "I can handle Josh, I just don't want to lose my best friend."

"You aren't losing me KP. I'm here whenever you need me. If you want to talk, go on a mission, or use me as a punching bag, I'm game." I'm also game if you want to go on a date, to a dance, or look at me like you've looked at your boyfriends and crushes. But there's no way I'm going to ask since the answer will be no.

She smiled, really smiled, for the first time that day. "Thanks Ron, that really means a lot to me. Want to stop over for a bit?"

"I'd love to KP but observe gym bag full of workout clothing. If I don't get them into a washer within the next half-hour both clothing and the bag itself will start to ferment."

Her smile faltered. Ron quickly continued. "I'll stop by your house tomorrow morning if that's fine. The whole thought of wearing a 180-proof jockstrap turns my stomach, among other things."

Kim's smile returned in full force, at least before she covered her mouth and giggled. She suddenly jumped forward and gave him a big hug. "You're the best friend anybody could ever have. Never forget that."

She then sprang back, flashed him a dazzling smile, and skipped towards home with her head held higher than he had seen it for the last two days. Man but he hated it when he did something right and didn't know what it was!