Brinus was in line for breakfast at the hotel. His new duke’s sash was delivered to him during the afternoon of his first fight. It was a white ribbon with his family’s seal on it. The seal was a navy blue and light blue shield with a two-headed lion, a tiger, a cauldron bear, and an interstellar dragon in each of the squares. Brinus saw a fan watching him from a distance and wrote his signature on a napkin.
No one acknowledged him despite his celebrity status. He navigated the line with the mastery of a Magi officer. He was in his military uniform and getting some eggs and bacon. The food on Earth after the collapse wasn’t as processed as before the collapse and, therefore, had a lot more flavor. It also needed more salt to stay fresh, but it smelled richer and tasted a lot better. The colors were also more bright without the need for artificial dyes.
He sat at a table. Brinus noticed how many people were smoking in the breakfast room. He saw several ads for tarken tea brands with happy families smoking over dinner or colorful ads with teenagers smoking in groups. He wondered how much the advertising influenced his decision to smoke. Now that he was on a medical vape, the room bothered him. He finished his food and was stopped by a girl before going out for some air.
She offered her electronic pad. “Can you sign it?”
Her father grabbed her up and put her on his shoulders. “I’m SO sorry about that, your grace.”
“No problem. Hey kid, find a good company to apprentice with, and don’t become a felon. Or stay in school and go for the STEM fields.”
Brinus handed her a napkin with his signature. Truthfully, he had signed it ten minutes ago because he knew this girl would approach him.
The father shook his hand and thanked him.
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Ten minutes later, Brinus was at the hotel bar with a glass of whisky in front of him. The drinking age in the North American Federal Republic was 18. He received a text to meet someone named Mrs. Truelove and a picture of her on his TriQuarter. Yes, Brinus was having whisky at 7 a.m. He shook his leg against the stool and twirled his vape between his fingers really fast.
The air was thick with cigarette smoke, which made Brinus’s throat sore. He smelled the alcohol, which had an earthy, wood-like smell. This particular bar was typical of an early 21st-century hotel; it looked 70 years old, however. Behind him was a wall of earth-brewed alcohol made with earth grains. The brands were craft-brewed, as the collapse of corporate America took with it the brewing companies.
Mrs. Truelove sat next to Brinus at the bar. “Drinking at seven in the morning before the fight?”
Brinus noticed she was unnaturally symmetrical as if she were 99% perfect; she was thin but not too thin, and she was unnaturally pretty; if Brinus were attracted to women, he would find her irresistible. Her skin had a creamy complexion, and her legs were long and lean. He recognized her immediately as an elf despite not having pointy ears.
“What happened to your ears?” he asked, pointing at her ears.
“It’s a birth defect.”
Brinus nodded
“Why are you here at this hotel?”
Brinus looked at Mrs. Truelove and sighed. “To me, this is paradise.”
Cathay laughed and crossed her legs. “You’re an odd one.”
“I spent most of my life in poverty until a year and a half ago.”
“Obviously.” She giggled again, which Brinus found annoying.
Brinus squinted his eyes and frowned, he asked defensively, “Are you making fun of me?”
Mrs. Truelove regained her composure and then said, “No, Mr. Helios, I apologize. It’s just that you’re not at all what I imagined when I was going to meet a duke. Let’s get to business. What do you want from your fighting career?”
Brinus laughed and then slapped his hands on the bar. “I ain’t got no choice. Do you know how I ended up in the ship’s fight club?”
“You got into a fight with four bullies and put two of them in the medical ward for a week.”
Brinus nodded, taking a pull from his vape.
“Do you resent being in the fight club?”
“I did at first, but I enjoy it now.” Brinus took a couple of more pulls from the vape.
“Your mom wants you to quit.”
Brinus rolled his eyes and sighed, “Fuck, I never hear the end of it from her. I already tried to quit once and nearly hit Simmie in a nic fit. That’s when we decided I’d go on the medical vape. What’s your opinion on smoking?”
“I think it’s gross.”
Brinus took another sip of his coffee and then laughed. “Why? Everyone does it.”
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“I’m from the Federation. We have different views on it than yous guys do.”
“Pattaban renamed the Federation: The People’s Democratic Federal Republic.”
Mrs. Truelove laughed hysterically for a few moments and then said, “Pattaban’s a liar, a tyrant, and a mass murderer. I’ll never call it anything other than the Federation.”
“I saw the public executions on the news.”
Mrs. Truelove laughed even harder, drawing the looks of several people in the bar. “That was all show! He only purged the dissidents!”
Brinus put a $100 credit chip on the bar to pay for the whisky and tried to leave because of the disruption they were causing.
He turned to the bartender. “You can keep the change. We need to go.”
Brinus left his agent. She then got on the phone. “So we have a trophy mom client, but the kid seems cool despite his record. I don’t want to work with the mother, so as soon as Brinus hits 23, I am working exclusively with him.”
“Understood.”
She terminated the call.
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Tannerbom Stadium, 10:00 a.m.
Brinus was having his hands and feet wrapped. He had a cotton candy-flavored Nicopop in his mouth. The cold air of the air conditioning tickled his bare back and chest. He also had a pair of gym shorts on and was barefoot with his right foot and ankle wrapped. There were ten suckers next to him, and he was a lot more relaxed. His body posture was calm, and he felt smooth like butter.
The room was small at about 6x8 rectangle. It had a medical cabinet, a stretching table, a pile of gym chalk next to Brinus a sink, and a medical cabinet. There were four beige drywalls and a wood-paneled ceiling.
“The suckers help a lot.”
“They should; they have AA nicotine in them. Are you ready for me to wrap your other foot?”
“Yes, sir, master chief.”
The chief began wrapping the right foot and said, “It’s a full house today."
A man came into the dressing and up to Brinus. He offered his hand with a big toothy grin. “I’m Tailor the Sailor. You must be Smokestack Helios. Why are you sucking on candy before the fight?”
Brinus smiled and laughed, “They’re nicopops. Want one?” Brinus offered him a sucker with sad puppy-dog eyes. He even started fake crying.
Tailor laughed and folded his arms in front of his chest. “You’re cute. The fake tears are a nice touch.”
Brinus flashed his stained teeth in a screw-you smile. “I’m taken.”
“Maybe your husband will be my bitch soon.”
They both laughed and Tailor the Sailor slapped Brinus’s shoulder. “Look forward to kicking your ass today.”
“Me too.”
They both laughed again, and he walked away.
Brinus noticed Tailor was smaller, at 5 feet 8 inches, and had 220 lbs. of muscle. He had to admit that Tailor was pretty intimidating.
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Round 1
11:00 am rolled around, and both fighters ran out into the ring. The people booed and jeered at Tailor and Began chanting Brinus over and over again. Brinus wasn’t fiending for nicotine this time, so it was much easier to concentrate. The bell sounded, and the crowd made a giant wave, with one hundred thousand fans going all around the stadium. Brinus felt a rush of energy as his body charged from the level of positivity directed his way. He could taste the electricity like a succulent holiday meal.
This time, Brinus did not immediately charge his opponent after the round one bell rang. Instead, he circled him and stayed out of his range. Based on his last two defeats, he adjusted his strategy. As they circled each other, the crowd quickly became less enthusiastic. People were chanting, Kick his ass, and fight, fight, fight. To end it quickly, Tailor entered a position Brinus recognized was meant to bait newbies in the fight ring. Brinus put his hands to his face in a fighting posture and waved at Tailor to get him.
Tailor decided to accept the invitation. He was just a kid, and it was just a warm-up fight. How hard could it be? Yes, he was a magic user, and it looked like a heat haze was forming around him. However, he appeared to be respecting the rules. Just as he was about to charge, he realized there were 100,000 people in the stands; 2,000 streamers were in the media box; also, the crowd was behind Brinus. It didn’t feel like a typical warm-up. It felt like a prime-time match. Therefore, treating it like a prime-time match was necessary.
He stood at attention and gave Brinus a salute. For the first time, Brinus saw the navy tattoo on his forearm. It was game-on now. The next round was going to be all-out. The first round was called, and a commercial break was called. The crowd booed at both of them, and one of the spectators threw a bag of popcorn at Brinus. It hit him in the face as he walked off to the side.
Round 2
Once the second round began, the crowd started yelling, Fight! Fight! Fight! This time, Tailor the Sailor came at Brinus hard and fast, like a hurricane of pure rage. It almost overwhelmed Brinus and probably would have if he wasn’t a magic user. Brinus dodged and weaved his opponent’s punches. The crowd began chanting, Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Brinus knew Tailor would tire out at the furious pace he was approaching him with. Tailor began to run out of breath two minutes into the fight.
He was also covered head to toe in sweat. After Tailor stopped and went into a defensive posture, Brinus took advantage of his moment of weakness and slammed his fist into Tailor’s liver. Tailor fell to his knees, and Brinus kicked him in the stomach. He crumpled on the ground and screamed in pain.
The referee came between them and began counting down from 20 as Brinus stood, and the crowd was silent. The ref hit 20 and held up Brinus’s wrist. The crowd screamed so loudly that it vibrated the stadium. Brinus was escorted off of the floor by police as people rushed the ring in a human mass wave.
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Three Days Later, Brinus was in his quarters; he only wore gym shorts. He was in the game room with Simmie. Simmie was in Brinus’s lap and lay on top of him. Simmie had his own vape pen, similar to Brinus’s. They both blew Os with their medical vapes and were discussing life. Brinus and Simmie also had on their wedding rings.
“I’m famous. What do you think of that?”
Simmie turned over to where he was nose-to-nose with Brinus. “I know. I’m married to a famous fighter.” He smiled and then began making out with Brinus for thirty seconds. They finally separated, and Simmie rested his head on Brinus’s chest and wrapped his arms around his body. “What’s it like to be loved?”
“It is really weird. I never had a long-term relationship. People seem to enjoy being around me. I ain’t never got any of this as a kid, and I don’t think I’m worthy.”
“Everyone deserves love. Especially people like you who never got it as a kid... but really? Do you have to yell out Harper’s name when you climax? I’m not Harper.”
“You are Harper to me.”
Simmie didn’t know what to say and chose not to say anything. Brinus began twirling his finger on Simmie’s chest as he fell asleep on top of Brinus on the couch with his arms wrapped around him. Brinus had never been famous before. He wondered if he could handle it.
There was a knock on his door. He reached for his triquarter and saw that it was Mrs. Truelove and his mother.
“What do y’all want?”
Mrs. Truelove spoke first. “You need to set up your social media accounts, and you need to get ready for your media tour.”
“I’m cuddlin’. Y’all can wait.”
Marci yelled. “Now Brinus!”
“Y’all’ll wake Simmie.” Brinus shut off the doorbell and turned off his triquarter.
Brinus just wanted to relax for a few minutes before getting ready for his press tour.