Brie Schuhart vs. Zoey Jae Oh - Small Beginnings

Somebody was laughing at her. She couldn't hear it. Couldn't feel it. She wasn't even really aware of it.

Her subconscious knew it well enough though, feeling the slaps against her cheeks and translating through one assumption after another what was likely going on in the world around her, even if she couldn’t perceive it. She’d been in this state enough times to become a bit more accustomed to it. She wasn’t so far gone that she was unable to make out anything beyond her own, little head troubles. There was still some of the pain left over. A light throbbing in the back of her head, a bad sore spot on either side of her shoulders from where Brie’s knees had landed, they were still there.

They were just all faint, uneasy feelings way off in the distance, drawing closer and closer each second. Breathing was a little hard, as if something were pressing down on her chest. Her shoulders felt heavy, like a couple of weight were holding them down. Slowly but surely, however,

“TWO!”

Zoey stirred underneath the little Canadian, her eyes barely cracking open at the sound of the referee’s voice. The stage lights slowly receded, allowing her to see half-clearly, barely making out the arm’s pinning her down and the petite wrestler staring her down from above. The Korean-American’s face twitched, barely able to move her body up an inch before she went to try again. Her left hand rose a few inches off the ground, a half-baked attempt to bring the kawaii wrestler off of her...only to fall limply back to the floor, her hand meeting the canvas at the same exact time as the official's.

“THREE!”

And just like that, Zoey’s career had managed to hit the lowest low possible. She wasn't getting paid enough for this shit, and definitely not for what came next.

Despite having the TKD wrestler at her mercy, Brie knew that with Zoey's unpredictability, the tables could have turned at any moment. She had done so before. Their match had gone back and forth numerous times over its duration. The little Canadian was too exhausted to continue fighting, however. Brie watched with anxious reservation as the referee slammed the mat once, then a second time. The match had to end. But then her opponent's hand began to make a subtle, slow movement and this caused a sharp chill to trickle through Brie's petit frame. The thought running through Brie's mind was becoming all too familiar to her: Please, don't get up again. Her fears were then alleviated when Zoey's arm fell limply to the mat, just at the exact same moment that the referee made the third and final tap.

The atmosphere at in the arena had reached a new height of intensity and loudness that hadn't been heard before or during the match. Brie couldn't process it, still shaken by the outcome of everything. All she could do was roll off of Zoey with the energy of a banana slug and wave at the crowd. Despite her bruised face and with one hand over her chest, she still wore a smile. Not bad for someone who just came out of kindergarten. Kindergarten. That word kept gnawing at the back of Brie's mind. She would turn to face Zoey. Although the bigger woman was likely knocked out, Brie didn't care. "I guess that's what you get for underestimating me," with a content grin stretching across her lips. And now she had Zoey for 24 hours on a set date of her own choosing according to the contract that both wrestlers agreed to.

As for what Brie had planned? She wasn't sure. She didn't know if she would even make it this far. Winning her first match? It seemed to be a rather lofty expectation at first. But now, this raised other questions in her mind. What else could she do in a league like this? Rather than continue to taunt or deride Zoey more, Brie flipped her hood over her head and squeezed between the ropes at an even pace and headed for the lockers. While humoring these ideas was fun, she really needed to see a doctor…