Tyreek's Short Story

Posted by Tyreek Speedwell in College English · Pahomov/Rhymer · B Band on

The jet rises. It’s full of superheroes. One hero asks me “what you say your name was again? Iron Wolf, Captain Wolf, Lone Wolf, Werewolf?” Actually, my friends call me Al. “What’s that short for? Alfred? Ally?” The others chuckled. Actually, it’s short for Alpha. “Why do they call you that?” It was my nickname when I was a boxer. I was undefeated. 45-0 with 46 knockouts. 46? Yeah, I knocked out a ref once. Everyone laughed. “Okay, Al… how come this superhero crap doesn’t scare you?” Al reaches into his suit and pulls out a chain. The charm was heart shaped. He opened it and revealed a picture inside. Who’s that? That’s the love of my life… or at least was before the accident. “What happened to her?” No one knows. She’s my motivation. One day, I was in a championship match. My opponent was tough. No one, but her believed that I could win. At the time her and I were dating for about three months. I fought hard. Punches were flying back and forth with ruthless aggression. Then, he hit me with a hard right hook and knocked me to the canvas. I struggled to even get my head off the mat. All I could hear was her screaming at me to get back up. I never heard her sound so scared in my life. I got up after the referee counted to seven. Everyone couldn’t believe it. My opponent came back to try to finish the job. He threw another right hook, but this time I ducked. Then, I countered with a left hook. He fell to the mat. The ring started to fill with reporters. I couldn’t see with the flashes and bright lights in my face, but somehow I saw her approaching me. Her expression crowded with tears, but balanced out with a smile. I remember seeing her mouth moving. I didn’t know because I was too busy staring at her beautiful face telling myself she was the one. I kissed her luscious lips and hugged her tightly. Since then, I knew I could get through anything because she always had my back. This is the first time that I’m going into a battle alone. “You’re not alone Alpha. We’re your brothers. Ain’t that right fellas?” Everyone agreed. “We got your back no matter what.” Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. The jet lands. Alright team, roll out!

Author's Note:

Ken Kesey throughout his novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, uses a way to express his main character Chief Bromden. I used Kesey’s style of using important traumatizing flashbacks as something that shaped the protagonist or narrator into who they are in the present. Kesey uses Bromden’s past of being taught how not to be a Native American by someone he looked up to as way to explain why he is confused on his identity especially his culture. My main character’s source of motivation and determination is explained the same way through his flashback to a time where it first developed.
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Comments (5)

Shamus Keough (Student 2019)
Shamus Keough

1: I would say Tyreek did succeed in his piece. He used the story of Alpha's past fights in a great way and the story really made me think a lot about the character.

2: I am still thinking about the superheroes, wondering some things about them, and also wondering what happened with the accident. If the love of his life is alive?

Vivian Pham (Student 2019)
Vivian Pham
  1. Based off of the author's note I think that you did a good job on identifying the traumatizing moment and the transition to introducing the topic was well thought out. You effectively incorporated Kesey's strategy when constructing a memory as one that was traumatizing that made the person who they are.
  2. I liked your comparison to how the character is comparing him to a "lone wolf," and the last couple lines of your story went back to the symbol, I think that something you could have expanded on, it was interesting.
Marcin Czapla (Student 2019)
Marcin Czapla

1) You succeeded in the use of a flashback to express your character's motivation. 2) I would have liked to hear more about what happened to his girlfriend, you mention an accident and that no one knows what happened, but then you go into a memory of a fight where she was present. Was the accident at that fight? What sort of accident was it? Did he become a superhero and join the team to find what had happened to her?