Rab #4 ("Proper English" version)
Jul 27, 2016 16:50:10 GMT -5
Post by David on Jul 27, 2016 16:50:10 GMT -5
Stood outside the Lion’s Den training center, wearing a pair of denim shorts and a red sleeveless t-shirt, is Natalie McKinley. The person she is looking for - her cousin Rab - soon appears; he is wearing a pair of grey shorts and a blue t-shirt, and is carrying a gym bag.
Rab smiles upon seeing his younger cousin.
Rab: ‘Alright, cousin! Waiting for me?’
Natalie: ‘Who else would I waiting be for, Rab?’
Rab shrugs.
Rab: ‘I don’t know - you could have been here for someone else. What brings you here?’
Natalie: ‘Well, for the past couple of months, you’ve been asking me to come and visit you - and so, here I am!’
Rab nods.
Rab: ‘It’s good to see you, cousin - this is a nice surprise.’
Natalie: ‘It’s good to see you too, Rab.’
Natalie playfully punches Rab on the arm.
Natalie: ‘Come on - I’ll give you a lift to your apartment.’
Natalie leads the way towards a Nissan Versa Note.
Rab: ‘Do you own this car?’
Natalie: ‘No, I rented it.’
Natalie unlocks the car and gets in; Rab puts his bag on the back seat, before then sitting down in the front passenger seat, next to Natalie.
Natalie: ‘I know you sent me your address, but I’m still going to need you to give me directions to your apartment.’
Rab nods his head.
Rab: ‘I can manage that.’
Natalie starts the car and pulls out of the parking space.
Rab: ‘Go right.’
Natalie does as instructed.
Natalie: ‘What do you do with yourself in Greensboro, when you’re not training?’
Rab: ‘Drink; either at a bar or at home - it doesn’t matter which.’
Natalie: ‘Perhaps you ought to use your free time to have some elocution lessons.’
Rab frowns.
Rab: ‘Elocution lessons? What do I need elocution lessons for?’
Natalie: ‘Because, Rab, you’re not back in Scotland now - most of the people you come into contact with here in the US find it difficult to understand what you’re saying: I think it was Peaches, who tweeted a few days ago that she was trying to have a conversation with you, but that she didn’t know what you were saying.’
Rab scoffs at the suggestion that he needs elocution lessons.
Rab: ‘Well you’re not from Scotland, and you don’t have any trouble understanding me.’
Natalie: ‘Yes, but I have the advantage of having known you for twenty-four years.’
They come to an intersection.
Rab: ‘Go straight on.’
As the journey towards Rab’s apartment continues, so does his conversation with Natalie.
Rab: ‘What about your accent? You’re not from the US, and no-one has any problems understanding you.’
Natalie: ‘Yes, but that’s because my accent is nowhere near as strong as yours is; the only time people get confused by something I say, is when I throw the occasional Welsh word into a conversation.’
Rab is still not convinced.
Rab: ‘I’ve got friends back home who watch the videos I record to talk about my matches; if I started using proper English in them, I can guarantee that within twenty-four hours of my next video being posted online, I would have a message from at least one of my friends saying, “I saw that video of you talking like a fucking bender - care to explain yourself?’
Natalie laughs.
Natalie: ‘Maybe you’re right. It’s something for you to think about, though.’
Rab: ‘Yeah, well, don’t hold your breath.’
They come to another intersection.
Rab: ‘Keep going straight on.’
Again, Natalie does as instructed.
Natalie: ‘ Your next match is when - next Thursday?’
Rab: ‘Next Friday.’
Now it is Natalie’s turn to frown.
Natalie: ‘Aren’t the Lion’s Den shows usually on a Thursday?’
Rab: ‘Yeah, usually, but for whatever reason, the next show is taking place on a Friday.’
Rab shrugs his shoulders.
Rab: ‘It’s nothing to do with me - I just turn up when they tell me to.’
Natalie: ‘And I saw that your next match is a rather important one, isn’t it?’
Rab: ‘Yeah, I’m two wins away from getting a shot at the Old North Championship - which might be a big ask, seeing as I’ve only won two matches in total so far in my career.’
Natalie: ‘You mean, two matches out of the three that you’ve competed in - you’ve won twice as many matches as you’ve lost.’
Natalie smiles at Rab.
Rab: ‘I’m not being pessimistic, cousin, I just know that I’ve got quite a challenge ahead of me - starting with my forthcoming match against Josh Mitchell. I admire Josh; I just hope that when I set foot in the ring with him, I’ll be able to beat him.’
As the drive towards Rab’s apartment continues for him and Natalie, the scene fades to black.
Rab smiles upon seeing his younger cousin.
Rab: ‘Alright, cousin! Waiting for me?’
Natalie: ‘Who else would I waiting be for, Rab?’
Rab shrugs.
Rab: ‘I don’t know - you could have been here for someone else. What brings you here?’
Natalie: ‘Well, for the past couple of months, you’ve been asking me to come and visit you - and so, here I am!’
Rab nods.
Rab: ‘It’s good to see you, cousin - this is a nice surprise.’
Natalie: ‘It’s good to see you too, Rab.’
Natalie playfully punches Rab on the arm.
Natalie: ‘Come on - I’ll give you a lift to your apartment.’
Natalie leads the way towards a Nissan Versa Note.
Rab: ‘Do you own this car?’
Natalie: ‘No, I rented it.’
Natalie unlocks the car and gets in; Rab puts his bag on the back seat, before then sitting down in the front passenger seat, next to Natalie.
Natalie: ‘I know you sent me your address, but I’m still going to need you to give me directions to your apartment.’
Rab nods his head.
Rab: ‘I can manage that.’
Natalie starts the car and pulls out of the parking space.
Rab: ‘Go right.’
Natalie does as instructed.
Natalie: ‘What do you do with yourself in Greensboro, when you’re not training?’
Rab: ‘Drink; either at a bar or at home - it doesn’t matter which.’
Natalie: ‘Perhaps you ought to use your free time to have some elocution lessons.’
Rab frowns.
Rab: ‘Elocution lessons? What do I need elocution lessons for?’
Natalie: ‘Because, Rab, you’re not back in Scotland now - most of the people you come into contact with here in the US find it difficult to understand what you’re saying: I think it was Peaches, who tweeted a few days ago that she was trying to have a conversation with you, but that she didn’t know what you were saying.’
Rab scoffs at the suggestion that he needs elocution lessons.
Rab: ‘Well you’re not from Scotland, and you don’t have any trouble understanding me.’
Natalie: ‘Yes, but I have the advantage of having known you for twenty-four years.’
They come to an intersection.
Rab: ‘Go straight on.’
As the journey towards Rab’s apartment continues, so does his conversation with Natalie.
Rab: ‘What about your accent? You’re not from the US, and no-one has any problems understanding you.’
Natalie: ‘Yes, but that’s because my accent is nowhere near as strong as yours is; the only time people get confused by something I say, is when I throw the occasional Welsh word into a conversation.’
Rab is still not convinced.
Rab: ‘I’ve got friends back home who watch the videos I record to talk about my matches; if I started using proper English in them, I can guarantee that within twenty-four hours of my next video being posted online, I would have a message from at least one of my friends saying, “I saw that video of you talking like a fucking bender - care to explain yourself?’
Natalie laughs.
Natalie: ‘Maybe you’re right. It’s something for you to think about, though.’
Rab: ‘Yeah, well, don’t hold your breath.’
They come to another intersection.
Rab: ‘Keep going straight on.’
Again, Natalie does as instructed.
Natalie: ‘ Your next match is when - next Thursday?’
Rab: ‘Next Friday.’
Now it is Natalie’s turn to frown.
Natalie: ‘Aren’t the Lion’s Den shows usually on a Thursday?’
Rab: ‘Yeah, usually, but for whatever reason, the next show is taking place on a Friday.’
Rab shrugs his shoulders.
Rab: ‘It’s nothing to do with me - I just turn up when they tell me to.’
Natalie: ‘And I saw that your next match is a rather important one, isn’t it?’
Rab: ‘Yeah, I’m two wins away from getting a shot at the Old North Championship - which might be a big ask, seeing as I’ve only won two matches in total so far in my career.’
Natalie: ‘You mean, two matches out of the three that you’ve competed in - you’ve won twice as many matches as you’ve lost.’
Natalie smiles at Rab.
Rab: ‘I’m not being pessimistic, cousin, I just know that I’ve got quite a challenge ahead of me - starting with my forthcoming match against Josh Mitchell. I admire Josh; I just hope that when I set foot in the ring with him, I’ll be able to beat him.’
As the drive towards Rab’s apartment continues for him and Natalie, the scene fades to black.
