As you can see, it kinda sucks when you work so hard to be noticed, only for it to mean jack. I was faced with an impossible task – how do you make people care?

Easy. The same way I made them care the first time – just keep fighting.

But with wrestling, see, just fighting ain’t enough. There’s all kinds of ins and outs to the performance side of things. Which is why the first week of school ends with a big supercard, usually designed for the freshmen so they get the rundown of how things work in pro wrestling. To along with that, all the champions who haven’t graduated have ourselves some title defenses against some tomato cans to show just how dominant we are and scare all the little fresh babs.

I have to face Union Jack, who is quite honestly, the lowest ranked wrestler in the Technical division. I really wish he weren’t the caricature of a whole nation. But he’s a good guy if you hang with him out of the ring. Likes Downtown Abbey a bit too much for my taste, but whatever floats his boat.

The second we step in the ring, it’s pretty clear we’re the tutorial. We’re also the curtain jerkers. I thoroughly enjoy having just been told no one cares about us, but at the shows, it is our purpose to not only produce a great match, but get the crowd pumped and invested for everyone else.

Ruck Fules, man.

Whatever. So I face Union Jack, who is the cockiest douche ever.

So dear freshmen and any other uninitiated whelp, listen up. Wrestling, just like every other storytelling medium you’ve ever encountered, has good guys and bad. It has heroes and villains. These lines are archaic and have evolved ever so much, but for now, they live.

See, I’m what you call a face – folks like me, I fight fair, and fight for all that is good while doing everything I can to steal the show. Ain’t I a stinker?

Then there are the heels. Usually arrogant and full of themselves, they’re the bad guys. They cheat to win and, in general, are complete bastards. See dictionary under Watts, Counselor.

“I’m gonna take that title because I have the power of the entire Doctor Who fandom on my side! HAAAAAH!!”

A statement so silly doesn’t make Union Jack a heel.

“And knowing more about Doctor Who than everyone else in the entire world makes me better than you!!”

That makes him a heel.

He puffs himself up and madly rushes in only to eat my finisher, the superkick. Just a sudden, glorious, theatrical foot punch to the jaw. He drops like a weight. I simply cover him as the referee does that dramatic windmill count, but it’s academic. He could count to ten and the chap wouldn’t get up.

And that’s that, kiddos. I defend this thing once every thirty days and hopefully, I get into a good college.

I look to the crowd to play to them a little bit, my defended title held high…but the bleachers are painfully empty. What few kids are there are giving me golf claps. Only a very small section seems to be any kind of enthused. I decide to play to them, getting my fair share of instant gratification.

In my shallow celebrating, I can still clearly hear some blonde in the latest fashion surrounded by two flunkies tapping on her phone. I can hear her because she’s very rudely saying what she’s typing out.

“Like seriously? Yawn. No one cares if you stomp some BBC nerd. Technicians are so #WrestleCrap!”

I instantly stop my posturing and snarl their way. “What was that!?”

The preppy snatches just giggle and saunter off. When they leave, in their place, stands some person in a hoodie. I can’t make out their face the way the show lights are hitting. They’re fairly tall but that’s about all I can tell.

It doesn’t help that I can feel a burn in my eyes and its blurring my vision.

“What? You got somethin’ to say too, hood boy? I’ll kick your ass too, right now!

The figure in the shadows raises their hands defensively.

“Thought so.”

There is still a fair bit of cheering behind me. It becomes white noise as I try and stifle the tears and the side effect runny nose.

This title is my heart. Those fans are my blood. This ring is my world. What I can do in it is my life.

How do you make someone care about your life?