New Brunswick, New Jersey
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
6:48pm Eastern Standard Time

I’m so sick of this bullshit, Rande!

Pestalance sits at a table in Rutgers’ College Avenue Student Center across from a very attractive young woman who is angrily glaring at him. Pest looks up from his playbook confused as he responds.

Huh?...What are you talkin about?

You never have any time for me. We never spend any time together. It’s always football, or class, or practice, or some other bullshit excuse for why you can’t focus on me.

Pest tilts his head to the side and holds his palms up.

Yo, what chu mean? We spend mad time together like every day.

The female rolls her eyes before responding.

Really?! A couple hours…A couple of hours in which we don’t do nothing and you don’t take me anywhere?

Pest gives her the “boo face.”

We just went out to dinner two nights ago, Erica.

“Stuff Yer Face!” You took me to fuckin “Stuff Yer Face!” Whoopee fuckin doo. You know something Rande, you’re full of shit. Maybe I should find someone who appreciates a girl like me. What would you think about that?

Pest thinks for a moment, nods his head, and stands putting on his jacket and putting his playbook in his bag.

I think that’s a great idea.

Erica’s jaw drops.

Wha…what?!?

Pest slings his bag over his shoulder.

I think that’s a great idea…you should do that. I’m here on a scholarship to play football. I don’t have a job, and I don’t have much money; but I spend the little that I do have on you and this is how you act? That just shows me that you are unappreciative, manipulative and honestly…

Pest shrugs his shoulders.

A straight up fuckin asshole. So go find someone to treat you the way you “deserve” to be treated since I obviously treat you so bad. I’m done doing this with you.

Erica’s lip begins to quiver and her eyes begin welling up before anger crawls across her face. She slams her hands on the table, stands making her way over to Pest, and…

SLAP!

Pest’s head moves right and downward in reaction to her hand connecting with his face. The impact is so load that people in the immediate area turn to see what’s going on. After a second Pest looks back at her in confusion.

You just gonna hit me like dat? In public…in front of everyone?

Yeah…what you gonna do? You gonna hit me back.

Erica punches Pest in the chest causing little to no damage.

Come on! Hit me! Hit me back! Hit me so I can call the cops, get you arrested, and get you kicked out of this fucking school. Hit me so I can ruin your life like you’ve ruined mine! HIT ME!!!!

Pest purses his lips, shakes his head, and walks away. As he walks out of the student center Erica continues yelling.

YEAH THAT’S WHAT I THOUGH MOTHERFUCKA! WALK AWAY! AND YOU CAN’T BREAK UP WITH ME CAUSE I’M BREAKING UP WITH YOU!!!!!!!

Erica sits back down, places her face in her hands and begins to cry. The shot freezes as we hear Pest’s voice.

So that’s Erica…Erica and I were together for a year and some change. Man…Erica was bad as fuck! First time I saw her I was too shook to even speak to her; had someone else do it for me. I honestly didn’t think I had a chance with her. Sure, I was the new hot shot sophomore football player that everyone was talking about, but she wasn’t even in to football. “Too barbaric for her taste” was what she always said. But somehow I pulled her, and man did I like her a lot. So much in fact that the around the time that I broke up with her, I was considering proposing to her the end of my junior year. Dodged a bullet on that one huh?

The image fades out and into a picture of the two together on the football field after a game.

At the beginning of that year plus that we were together I thought she was perfect. Super smart, funny, interesting, and my god look at that body. I thought I was the luckiest guy on the planet, especially being that it was my first real relationship. I mean, I had girlfriends before, but this wasn’t any of that puppy love bullshit we go through in high school. This was some real shit right here.

The image changes to the two sitting on a couch hugging; Erica with a huge smile and Pest with his mouth open making a borderline silly smiling face.

Look at us, everyone said we were the perfect couple…Hell at first we were, at least I thought so. Everyone talked about finding a love like ours one day. If only they knew what was really going on towards the end.

The images changes again to a picture of the football team celebrating after a win. Pest is holding his helmet up in the air yelling. Behind him we can see Erica who appears to be very unamused.

Erica grew to resent everything football related. Honestly, Erica resented anything in my life that didn’t directly relate to her. At first it was subtle things; she’d throw some pussy my way on volunteer workout days ensuring I stayed with her instead. Conveniently show up on nights that I was supposed to study film and throw her tits in my face. That matured to full blown arguments on days that I had mandatory practices or gym days.

Now we see a still image of the moment Erica’s hand connected with Pest’s face.

That wasn’t the first time Erica had hit me; the first time in public, but not the first time. When things were starting to go downhill Erica would hit me when she didn’t get her way. She’d always try to excuse it as being out of love. “I just love you so much and you make me so angry!” she would say. I had fallen for that line so many times. So many times I should have left and didn’t cause she had gotten in my head, my heart and my dick. I couldn’t think straight when I was with her.

The last time she hit me…in front of everyone like that…It took every bit of strength not to put her ass though that table. As much as I wanted to knock her out I knew that her threats of ruining my life and getting me kicked out of school were real even if she didn’t mean those words so I just walked away.

I felt a sense of freedom when I broke up with her, but man…did it fuck with my head.

A new image…one of Pest being carted off the football field with his leg in an air cast.

Three weeks later…the injury happened. Man…that day sucked. I actually saw Erica right before that game. She ignored me…I mean, I ignored her too, but she wouldn’t even look at me. Maybe it was shame, or guilt…was more than likely cause she was an asshole. I wasn’t thinking straight the rest of the day; next thing I know someone’s shoulder pad is pushing my knee the wrong direction.

An image of Pest in the hospital giving the camera the thumbs up is seen.

Do I blame Erica for me getting hurt…Naw. It’s football; shit happens. Do I think her fucking my head up didn’t help the situation…hell yeah.

The final image fades out and we find ourselves inside the same student center. Pest is seated in the same chair at the same table. The room is barely light from the minimal lighting being that the center is closed.


New Brunswick, New Jersey
Sunday, March 25, 2018
1:28am Eastern Standard Time


So why do I share this story with the world? Why do I tell everyone about such a shitty experience in my life?

Couple of reasons.

One: because people need to know. People need to know that abusive people hide in plain sight. No one believed me when I told them what was going on. It was either, “Oh, Erica would never do something like that!” or people looked at it like it was a joke. For some sick reason society views a man getting beat up by a woman as the funniest shit ever.

Pest shakes his head.

Two: Because it 100% pertains to my current situation. Now, I’m not trying to paint Mandii as some sort of Domestic abuser. So please don’t misinterpret what I’m trying to say here. That’s not it at all. What I’m saying is the same thing I’ve been saying from the very beginning…

Mendii is a bad bitch

Just like Erica was a bad bitch.

And in this capacity I was having a hard time dealing with it.

Pest shrugs.

Which explains the reason why I appeared to be doing a lot of double talking. See I got this thing where I deal with fucked up shit with humor. I try not to take things so seriously, so I joke. Most of the time it works, this time…not so much.

And I was doing everything I could to not say the real reason why there’s been a pit in my stomach when it comes to this match, but at this point the best thing I can do is just be honest.

Mendii, when I looked at you I saw Erica…not THE Erica…just an Erica. A fine ass woman that wants to punch me in the face. And it was fucking with my head.

Pest lets out a long sigh.

I had a dream last night, right, and it was really fucking weird. I’m standing in the ring, waiting to face you, and Erica comes out. I felt my heart sink and my stomach knot up. I wanted to beat the hell out of her for all the times that she put her hands on me…all the times she fucked with my head. But I couldn’t…I couldn’t move…couldn’t think…couldn’t breathe. She stood in front of me and dared me to hit her, just like all those other times before and I couldn’t do it.

I just stood there.

But when I woke up, I realized something. I realized that I don’t have to just stand there. This time I can fight back. When you raise your hand at me, I can break it. And I don’t have to feel bad or guilty about it; I don’t have to worry about any repercussions. Cause it’s all in the spirit of competition. And that pit that has been in my stomach this entire time…gone! I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me; I feel free for the first time in a long time. I feel ready to step into that ring with you and dominate, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

I’m gonna dominate because now instead of just seeing an Erica, I’m gonna be seeing THE Erica standing across that ring from me. I’m gonna use every ounce of the pain she caused me, every bit of manipulation see used against me as fuel to give you the type of beating that you have never experienced in your life. And it’s gonna feel so fuckin good!

A smile comes across Pest’s face that would give chills to a normal person.

I’m gonna enjoy every second of it.

Mandii, you could show skin; you could not show skin. Wear a mask, or a helmet; paint your face, wear a burqa.

Pest shrugs

Doesn’t matter to me cause it’s not gonna be you that I’m seeing. Your body is merely a vessel for someone else as far as I’m concerned. A manifestation of the “Ghost of Bad Bitch past” that I have to defeat. Which makes this match bigger and more important than my last.

Pest chuckles.

So much for all that meaningless victory talk huh, Mandii. The victory that I get over you was never meaningless to begin with. This is bigger than a championship…this is a personal victory. This is a victory over every woman that uses manipulation in any manner. And just for the record, whether you have to or like to manipulate is irrelevant because at the end of the day you still manipulate.

You know what…Let me get off of this Erica bullshit for a second so I can address some things with you directly.

I’m very sure that you have earned your respect in this industry. I’d never try to take that away from you. I’m not trying to diminish your accomplishments. You’ve done a lot and you’ve earned that. Real talk. But I gotta say, you talk a lot about how disappointed you are in me…I’m disappointed in you.

I’m disappointed because you think that I’m not paying attention to what’s going on around me. Mandii, I’ve watched every match of yours I could find. I watched you win that championship in person. I was backstage during your match; and to keep it funky, I was low key rooting for you. I’ve dug your style since back then.

I even watched the match you had with your ex that resulted in that nice little permanent necklace you have (Which by the way was really tough to watch).

I know a lot about you Mandii…partially because you’re fine as fuck and I want to get to know you, but also because you are competition.

So in a nut shell, this match is a big deal to me. You’re gonna help me get rid of some demons and in the process elevate me up the ranks. I’m prepare mentally and physically to step in that ring and beat you. And you have no idea what’s about to hit you.

Oh…and by the way…I don’t know what the deal is with you and Wraith, but maybe we can get together and kick it after all of this is said and done. Just saying.

Pest cuts a sly smile.

Holla at cha later… bad bitch!