Today, for letter I, I have another deleted scene form All It Takes. This time from chapter two, where Kian runs into a young fan at the park. Enjoy ...
A thud against the bench brought my attention back to the par, and I saw a young boy running towards the ball he’d just kicked in my direction.
“Sorry,” he said, picking up the ball. His eyes locked onto mine, and recognition passed over his face. “You’re Kian Murphy, aren’t you?”
“Aren’t you a little young to be watching MMA fights?” He only looked about ten.
“That’s what Mum said, but Dad still took me to your last match. You know, the one when you beat David Prince for the championship? It was epic. When I grow up, I wanna be just like you.”
Plenty of people told me I was good. That I deserved to be champion. This was the first person to ever say they wanted to be like me. It was Browne who got all the attention from fans. Trying to think what he’d do in a situation like this, I remembered the time we’d ran into some fans on a night out. Rather than being pissed off they’d interrupted us, he’d happily posed for pictures and signed things for them.
“Hey kid, do you want me to sign something for you? And does your mum or dad have their mobile with them? Maybe we could take a picture together.”
“Dad’s pushing my little sister on the swings. I’ll get him.”
The boy rushed off with the ball tucked under one arm, as I tried to think what I could sign for him. I didn’t have anything on me, but was sure they’d be some promotional pictures back at the gym.
As I waited for the boy and his family to return, I sent a text to Davi, letting him know what was going on, and not to start laying into me when I came back.
I slipped my phone in my pocket, as the boy came running up to me, his father trailing behind carrying a little girl in his arms.
“I didn’t believe Jack when he told me,” the dad said when he reached us.
I laughed. “Yeah, I bet. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. I’m Joel, you’ve already met Jack, and this little lady is Abigail.”
“Jack mentioned you and him are fans.”
“Yeah, we were there for your match against Prince. Congratulations, man.”
“Thanks. So do you wanna head over to the gym? I can sign some stuff for you and you can get some pictures.”
Jack started dancing around his dad’s legs. “Can we Dad? Can we?”
“Are you sure it’s not an imposition?” Joel asked.
“Not at all.” I gave him a genuine smile.
This was the first young fan I’d interacted with. Now and again, I got a guy in a pub wanting to buy me a drink, but I’d never experienced anything like this. Suddenly, I was taken back to my own childhood, when Dad has taken me to his gym.
Thanks for reading. If you're interested in reading All It Takes, it can be found at claredugmore.com
Until next time,
And for anyone interested in an A-Z Challenge based on the literary world, with writing, marketing and publishing tips etc. head on over to Curiosity Quills Press. Today I'm blogging about writing in first person!
Don't forget to check back tomorrow for J is for Josh Browne.
Until next time,
Aww, that was sweet of Kian. :)
ReplyDeleteLove your picture. Sweet little babies. How cool would it be to be recognized by fans? How you interact with them says a lot about your character.
ReplyDelete