peace.
Each and every match in the time between 10:30 till 12, was to see who would be in the final four matches of the day. His was the first match of the morning, and he easily beat his opponent. That didn't mean he would be the top wrestler of the meet.
After lunch he and the other wrestlers for the afternoon had to choose a number out of a hat. He chose number 1. That meant he would wrestle in the first match. That was his lucky slot he knew. He got all his energy out, then could relax while the others wrestled.
The rules for who was in the final was simple. The top 6 wrestlers were in groups of 2. The top two in the points after the first three matches in the afternoon would wrestle in the finale.
Before Chris entered the mat area he looked over at the stands. He found Scott and Scott's mother, and smiled at them. Then he turned back to face his opponent. With a look of readiness for battle, he entered the battlefield. Chris went over to his enemy and shook his right hand. That was the last kind thing he would do for the next three minutes.
This was the closest thing to war that a boy would ever know. It was either kill or be killed. He had to beat down this other boy, within the rules of the sport. He was picked to be on top. Chris got into position, and when the whistled blew, he used a couple tricks he had been keeping for the final couple matches. His opponent went down without much trouble at all.
Two minutes after the match started, the other boy went out of the circle, and Chris won the match.
He jumped up and the ref held his arm up.
The crowd from the school went wild. He only had eyes to see what Scott was doing. He found his friend clapping and cheering louder than many.
Something inside of Chris was feeling things he hadn't felt before. He found that it was Scott's opinion he cared about more than anyone else.
What was happening to him? He thought that something was wrong, but then he understood that this wasn't wrong but just something that was building since he met him.
He ran over to the bench and his team mates that were there to watch the event slapped his hand. He looked up into the stands and smiled in his friends direction. Chris hoped that Scott knew the smile was just for him.
The heart wants what it wants, and from the speed of his heart, Chris knew what his heart wanted right then was to run into the stands.
He would wait on that.
The final match seemed to be so far away. Chris worked hard to be in the finals, and he made it.
Everyone was cheering when the final match of the day began. He was one of two people that would be named grand champion after it was all over.
Time seemed to stand still when he and the final opponent stood face to face. All he could see was his father, who would be yelling at him. His father wouldn't approve of his feelings about Scott. He would try to tell him that he was just confused, and that in one week he couldn't have feelings for someone.
The anger that he felt for his father, gave him strength. Chris looked at the other boy and saw his laughing father staring back at him. When the whistle blew to start the final match, many people thought it would be an easy slaughter. The prize for first place was 200 dollars. It would be enough for a nice dinner and many movies with Scott.
When the ref separated them the first time, Chris was up by 1 point. That was when both he and Scott had a flash. Inside their minds they saw the family of Scott's opponent. They were a poor family. The two boys didn't know how they knew, but they could
Matt Christopher, Stephanie Peters