[caleb storm 01] - all signs point to lauderdale

October 2013
Somewhere in New Glarus, WI

"So why do you want to work here at Culver's?" the man asked.

"Well, I'd like to start saving for my plans after high school. I plan on going to school out in California, so I'd like to have some saving and spending money for when I get there," the young man said, fidgeting and adjusting himself in the hard chair of the fast food restaurant's booth.

"What qualifications do you possess that may help you here with the company?" he asked.

"Well, I like to think I'm a bit of a people person, and more than anything I think that I could be a valuable asset while I'm here," the boy responded.

"Well, son...your references were spectacular and you seem like a wonderful young man based on the rest of this interview. Would you like to start this weekend?" the man asked, extending his hand.

"Absolutely, sir!" he said with a smile, shaking the older gentleman's hand and knowing that the motions to make his dream come true finally had traction. "Danny Gerrard will not let you down!"

**********
I hate this town
'Cause no one can understand
I just can't be tied down
Nothing comes between me and my plans...
**********

January 2014
New Glarus, WI

"Can you believe this is the last time we're gonna do this?" Danny Gerrard said as he looked around at his friends. A couple of his friends were already committed to going to the University of Wisconsin a few miles away in Madison. Other friends were going to Northern Illinois University, not far but still a move. A friend even had applied to Bradley, leaving him the only one who hadn't told the small circle of friends his plans. Coming up next to him, holding a beer, a blonde girl snuck under his arm and leaned in as he looked around the room. Thanks to an unbearably bad cold front that had invaded the Midwest for New Year's, Danny and friends had canceled their annual bonfire in favor of sitting around someone's fireplace, turning on some music, and enjoying the last winter vacation of their high school lives.

"Did you decide what you're doing yet?" one of them asked him, Danny smiling.

"I'm going out west, actually," he replied, reaching for his drink and taking a sip. "There's been rumors the (R)Evolution Wrestling Dojo is starting to take students for classes again, so I'm finally going to live that dream."

"Pro wrestling? Like that spandex and flippy stuff? Dude, that's pretty fucking lame," another friend replied.

"What's lame about it? There's more athleticism there than a lot of athletes. It's no different than throwing my money into going there to become an actor or actress. I've wanted to do this for years, and it's not like any of you haven't known this," he said. "How many times have we gone to local shows together? We did that fun one in Milwaukee last summer," he said as he looked out.

"Yeah, but that's like a social thing. Don't you want to do something like actual school?" the blonde girl asked him, sliding out from under his arm and looking at him in confusion.

"Don't get me wrong, if this goes south, I'll enroll in the college out there. I'll probably major in something like communication or something like that, but this? This is what I've waited my whole life for. The first time I saw New Era Wrestling come through Milwaukee, I knew this was the one thing I wanted to do," he said to her as he looked at them. "This is the one chance I have to live my dream. Not just that, but it's run by my favorite wrestler of all time. How do I pass up that opportunity? It's the perfect storm," he said. "Don't you guys remember back then? You wanted to be the lost Ashton brother and I was Caleb Storm, The Next Impact! We wanted this more than anything!"

"Yeah, but we grew up, Danny," one of his friends said. "Dreams like those don't last forever, and how many people really make it? How many of the people who throw themselves into this actually get a payoff? Dan, you work at Culver's. How's that going to help?"

"I don't know," he said, his smile fading. "But if I want this bad enough, nothing is going to stop me from having this."



June 2014
New Glarus, WI

The caps had been thrown. The diplomas had been handed. In a town where the population was so small, these kids had all attended elementary school together, it was a big deal when people knew one of them was leaving for good. The rumors grew louder and louder through the spring semester that Danny Gerrard wasn't just leaving New Glarus for greener pastures, but he was going to to become a professional wrestler. After a successful season on the wrestling team where he had been Sectionals champion and then placing fifth in the state, Danny was ready for the test. Waving at everyone after graduation, he quietly made his way home. His parents had tried to stop him already, telling them that they would only support him financially in a limited manner. He had already shown him a bank account that had been well stocked thanks to filling all the time he could at Culver's. The limited help came in the form of savings bonds they had purchased for him before he was born, thus creating a little extra room. Even if they had not vehemently approved of his decision, his family would still love and support him because Danny hadn't just shown them he was determined, but that he had thought everything through.

There was a lot of packing that day, even a little bit of tears. An only child, Heidi Gerrard was not prepared to watch her baby boy fly the nest. Thomas Gerrard, however, kept the stoic nature for the family, though even he couldn't help hugging his son. Deep down inside, he was proud he had raised a boy that was goal oriented, something shown by his work. As the first big trunk was tucked into the car, the second was on its way out when a figure showed up in the driveway by Danny's Kia Soul. The same blonde girl from New Year's was there, probably as expected. High school sweethearts never seemed to really part without a word.

"You were serious, weren't you?" she said.

"I kept my promises to my family. I got accepted to the University of Wisconsin, Marquette, Carthage, and even UW Whitewater. I know this is the right thing for me, you know? So many people spend their whole lives aspiring for something but never chase it and wonder where the time went and if they could have done it. I don't want those regrets, Hailey. I wanna go into this and I wanna know I gave it everything. If I fail, at least I tried and I can hold my head up high. If I succeed, who knows where life can take me? This is what's calling me though, and it's not too late to come with if you want," he said with a smile, nudging his head in the direction of the gray car.

"Dan, I just...you know I can't. I've got my dreams and this isn't gonna work. I'll go to campus, meet a guy, get drunk, and you won't be around. It would be one thing if you were going to find a school around here that we'd be a few hours apart, but you're going to the other side of the country and I'm not into that idea. Maybe we both knew what this was," she said to him as she approached him, giving him a hug. "Give 'em hell then, okay?" she said. "I think it's stupid, don't get me wrong, but I know that I can't be the one struggling with you when I've got my own dreams. I'm not that kind of girl."

"I understand," he told her, half smiling. "Good luck, okay?" he said as he nodded, returning the hug. "And hey, do what you have to, nothing is stopping me from this."

She nodded as his dad brought out the last trunk for his son, all before she walked across the street and returned home.

"So this is it, Dan. You ready for the adventure?" Thomas asked him.

"I've waited a long time for this," he said to her as he smiled, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Your mom wants me to tell you that if you get tight, call home," he said. "And we'll fly out as soon as we can," he said.

"It's fine. The school knows you're my emergency contact in case of an injury and I've got my living arrangements all taken care of thanks to the school," he said.

That was a half-truth.

"What your mother didn't want me to do was make sure you had a little more," his father said as he reached into his wallet and produced a few hundred dollar bills. "I dipped into the college fund we set up for you. Your mother doesn't know I split it between giving to you and something else. Besides...I suppose this is what's taking the place of college," his father laughed.

"What's the other thing?" Danny asked.

"Your mom always wanted to see actual Switzerland, so...we're going next month," Thomas smiled. "We'll have a good time. Good luck, Daniel. Just remember New Glarus when you reach those stars you want.

"I'll never forget New Glarus, dad. New Glarus gave birth to Caleb Storm," he smiled as he helped his dad load the car. "To the future and to the dreams," he said.

"To the man you'll become," Thomas said as Danny got in his car, starting to turn the ignition. One last shared glance between father and son, and Danny started to pull out of the driveway, window rolled down as "Homecoming" by Kanye West played. It was going to be a long drive, over 2000 miles between Danny and a dream.

But miles didn't mean anything to a boy who felt he had nothing to lose.

And a man with nothing to lose was one who could do anything and everything.

**********
I hate this town, it's so washed up
And all my friends don't give a fuck
They'll tell me that it's just bad luck
When will I find where I fit in?
**********

My name is Caleb Storm.

Monday night, I wrestle in my first ever professional match when I team up with my classmates to take on Duke Togo, Venus, Phil Bertrand, and Aries Reed. It's the four top students of the second class meeting an overwhelmingly talented second class.

Can you believe it? These guys are huge! Aries Reed just wrestled on the last EXODUS iPPV. Duke Togo is a former RW Tag Team Champion! Venus is one of the top stars in the school now, and Phil has been one of the toughest to put down in the company. It's a lot of known quantities against four unknown ones. The safe bet would be choosing the four that have stormed the RW roster and made it their home.

But sometimes, it's the unknown that gives someone an advantage...and that's where we come in.

I don't know what Damon Alexander, Anderson Cobalt, and Elizabeth Lannister bring to the table, but I know what I do. I bring heart, I bring soul, and I bring a drive that can't be measured or shaken by any regular means. What I bring is fire, determination, and the will to win. In front of the entire world, I have an opportunity to make my mark on the world and become a star overnight with my classmates, and do you think I want to give that up? Do you think I want to lose that?

Never. Not once.

Monday night, there will be no greater test than to prove to the world what I'm made of, and I'm going to do that when the four of us take RW by storm and show the world that the next generation of (R)Evolution stars have arrived, and we are not going to cower to the first class!

We've had time to talk and taunt on Twitter, and that's been fun and good, but Monday night, (R)Evolution Wrestling gets...Taken By Storm.

And that's a promise.