Chapter 19: First Match

Kim walked into the Middleton High Gymnasium and showed the man in the ticket booth her student pass. It was Tuesday night, three days after she had interrupted her best friend's first kiss. Tonight Ron would wrestle his first varsity match and Kim intended to be there no matter how awkweird things between them had become. The varsity teams were warming up on the mat as she walked into the main Gym. Looking around, she spotted Felix up on a balcony with a video camera. She went up and joined him.

"Hi, Felix," she greeted him, "what are you doing up here?"

"Oh, hi Kim. I'm taping the matches. The guys like to go over them to find out what they can do better."

"How did you get roped into this job?"

"Ron asked me, Oscar and him got into the habit when the season started. Coach found out and asked me to tape all of the matches. Since I was here anyway to watch Ron, it wasn't any trouble."

Kim fought down a rush of guilt. Ron was her best friend and she hadn't even bothered to show up for any of his matches! Sure they were only 'B' matches but he had always been there for her whenever he could. Her guilt trip was cut short when Monique showed up.

"Hey girlfriend," Monique greeted her, "come to see what kind of moves your partner has? Or have you come to admire his butt in that tight uniform?"

"Monique!" Kim couldn't do much more that blush.

Monique and Felix both laughed at Kim. Kim glanced around the auditorium. There weren't as many people in the audience as would be here for a basketball game so she was able to spot Tara, Hope, and Marcella sitting in a small group, right behind the wrestling cheerleaders. They would undoubtedly add their voices to their fellow cheerleaders' chants during the matches. Kim thought about joining them then decided against it. She wasn't an 'official' cheerleader for this event and she had a good view of the mat, with a couple of friends, where she was.

The teams lined up on opposite sides of the mat. An announcer called off each weight class then the two opponents at that weight class. As each boy's name was called he would run to the center of the mat, shake hands with his opponent, then run back. After all of the competitors had been introduced the teams lined up again and faced the flag. The pep band wasn't present so instead of standing for the National Anthem, the cheerleader's led the audience in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. That done the matches started with the lightest weight class.

Much to her surprise, Kim enjoyed watching the matches. Her kung-fu training allowed her to appreciate the combination of speed, strength, and skill that the boys brought to bear against each other. While wrestling wasn't a combat sport, (no sport with rules is really a combat sport) she could easily grasp the concepts of body control, leverage, strength-to-weight ratio and quick reactions that the sport honed. If one of the combatants managed to move a hand as much as six inches it could alter the entire match. Middleton wrestlers won three of the first five matches. It was now Ron's turn.

Back on the Middleton side of the mat, Ron had been keeping himself stretched and warmed up. Dave had just pinned his opponent at 126. Oscar got right in Ron's face while the ref raised Dave's hand.

"Don't be nervous," he said, "this is just another match. You're NOT going out there because someone else is sick or hurt. You're going out there because you're the BEST that this school can put on the mat." Ron nodded. "Now you know what you wanna do?"

Ron nodded again. He had worked out his best moves well before match time.

"Just go out there and do it to him so fast and so strong that he won't be able to do anything back!"

Ron was ready. He pulled off his sweats, snapped on his headgear and ran out to meet his opponent, sharing a high five with Dave as they passed each other. He shook hands with his opponent and retreated to the Middleton side of the circle. The ref held one hand out between the boys, the other up. Both boys tensed for the confrontation.

Kim didn't know why she was surprised by the way Ron looked. She knew that he had to have an athletic build. After all, how many teens (besides her) regularly snorkeled across two miles of open ocean, then scaled a sixty foot cliff, then low-crawled through two hundred yards of ductwork, then dodged a half dozen hired thugs to reach some fiendish device, then sprinted a quarter mile to escape said device's explosion? How many teens could do the acrobatic stunts he did, while wearing a full Mad Dog costume? She was surprised by the amount of lean muscle he had put on his frame. His demeanor also surprised her. He moved forward with no hesitation and engaged his opponent when the ref started the match.

Ron moved forward and hand-sparred with his opponent. Both boys were trying to catch and control each other's wrists. Ron made a quick circle to his opponent's left side. The other boy circled to face him. As he did so, he stepped forward with his right foot. Ron pounced.

He's fast! Kim thought. As soon as Ron's opponent had stepped forward Ron had made a fast move opposite the direction they had been circling, sweeping low and extending his long right arm. A split-second later he was back on his feet with his opponent's right foot in his hand. The other boy hadn't been able to shift his weight fast enough to dodge Ron.

Ron didn't hesitate after his Ankle-Sweep had worked. Just like when he had wrestled Dave, he pulled his opponent in and tripped his left foot. The other boy fell but unlike Dave, he didn't manage to completely scissor his hips. Ron lunged up the other boy's body, secured a Half-Nelson and turned him the rest of the way onto his back.

Kim was amazed at how quickly Ron had gained the upper hand. The other boy had been caught off guard for only a moment and was now in big trouble. Ron had him on his back and was putting all of his weight on him, trying to break down his desperate bridge. The cheerleader's took up a chant of "Pin…Pin…Pin." Kim found herself joining in. Ron's opponent tried shifting to both sides. Ron kept tightening his hold until…

The referee slapped the mat and blew his whistle. Ron looked at him, surprised, for a moment before releasing his opponent and jumping gleefully to his feet. He quickly got himself under control and helped the other boy up. The two boys returned the circle and shook hands. The referee held up Ron's hand while the announcer said "Winner…by pin…from Middleton…Ron Stoppable." The crowd cheered. Kim and Monique both jumped up and down while Felix pumped his arms.

Ron had won his first varsity match with style.