Gladiator Page #4

Yeah, I know.

Well...

Miss Higgins asked me

to give you this.

You're really applying

to junior college?

Also...

...your paper on Mark Twain.

Miss Higgins read it in class.

She says you're full of promise.

Yeah, that's me. Full of promise.

It's nothing to make fun of.

Well, I don't have time for school

right now.

I gotta fight.

You told me you weren't fighting.

That was a lie because

I gotta fight four more times.

Nobody has to fight.

- No?

- No.

Be honest. You want the money.

But it's illegal, Tommy.

I know.

But if I don't fight,

Horn will kill him.

How do you know your dad

won't keep gambling?

I can see it. It's in his eyes.

He's kind of like he was

before my mom died.

- When did she...?

- About a year ago.

The big "C."

I'm sorry.

It's when I started boxing.

Punch the feelings out, I guess.

This is my house.

Good deal.

I have to go.

Dawn!

Mom's waiting at the diner.

I'm sorry, Dad.

I didn't realize the time.

Bye.

See you at school.

Flick it.

I'm gonna get you, Snow White!

Tomorrow night I'm gonna

get you, spic.

Just for being his friend.

Don't be talking that Spanish sh*t...

What was that?

Told him to go f*** a goat.

Good.

I owed you that.

See you later, amigo.

You're terrific, man.

You got some hammer, huh?

Thanks, Romano.

Here I go.

They're calling, kid. You're up.

Come watch me, hombre.

I'm gonna dance until he's dizzy.

Come at me, son.

Fighter's stance.

You see? You're fighting head-on.

Eye to eye.

That is not the way.

Like this.

To an angle. Back, right.

Fighting is not hitting.

Any fool can hit.

Fighting is making

the other fellow miss.

He miss.

He think. He worry.

It's a mind game, huh?

I knew a fellow once.

He won a fight with one arm.

One arm!

His spirit told him to win.

His mind showed him how.

And his body delivered!

I'm gonna kill that motherf***er.

Damn it!

You're beautiful.

Stick and move. Stick and move.

- He called me a spic.

- So what? You are.

Give it to me. Give it to me!

Come on.

Fix my hair.

What's the matter with you?

Concentrate on this fight.

Hey, great fight, man.

- Great fight!

- Dude, right on.

Break! Break!

Stop the fight!

Come on. Get him out of there.

It don't pay to be your friend.

Get off me!

I'll kill his ass!

You're next! You're next!

F***! F***er.

- Where's Romano?

- I don't know names, just bodies.

They carried him out of the ring.

He was unconscious.

I sent him to the hospital.

What hospital?

Horn makes the arrangements.

If you'll excuse me,

I'd like to complete this exam.

Hey, kid.

Hey, Dad. How you doing?

Charlie Mannman says that

I can sell ice to Eskimos.

In a blizzard, that's what he says.

That's great, Dad.

So you got the old touch back, huh?

Everything's rolling right along.

How about you?

How's things in school?

It's good.

Nothing's wrong? Those goons ever

show up and bother you again?

No, they never came back.

No, no, I'm fine.

Really.

So when are you coming home?

I'm not gonna be back

for another couple of weeks.

I put a check in the mail for you.

Yeah, I got it. Thanks.

Okay, good. Well...

You take care then, okay?

All right, you take care too.

Bye-bye.

All right, bye.

Mr. Riley.

Would you mind joining

the rest of the class?

Papers on my desk.

Can you stay a moment, Mr. Riley?

You haven't been to school

for a few days.

Can you tell me what's going on?

I'm sorry. I can't.

That's too bad.

You have a gift

for language, Mr. Riley.

But talent is a common thing.

People waste it every day.

They abuse it.

They take it for granted.

Success comes not from what

God has given you...

...but what you do with it.

It's really up to you.

Thanks.

Are you okay?

Romano's in the hospital.

- Is he bad?

- I think so.

I'll see you at the diner, okay?

My mom hired a new dishwasher.

I'll see you tomorrow?

Romano Essadro.

Is he a patient there?

E- S-S-A-D-R-O.

All right. Thank you.

If I was you...

...I'd start looking at the County

Hospital for the Poor and Indigent.

Hey, Romano, it's Tommy Riley.

No use in knocking that door.

Doc say he in a gang war.

Bastards leave him brain-dead.

Romano, wake up.

Buddy, wake up.

Wake up!

I've given your instructions.

I want a nice clean fight.

Now shake hands.

How's Romano? Is he dead yet?

I mean, he dead, ain't he?

Listen! Listen to me!

You're angry.

That's what's gonna

get you beat!

Anger is your enemy!

It's like I told you.

It's a mind game!

Outthink him!

And then get in there

and out-fight him, okay?

That's all right. I ain't gonna wait.

Give it to me now.

How's your new girlfriend, huh?

How's Dawn?

I'll have to get me

a little bit of that.

That's it! Hit him, hit him!

All right!

Come on! Drop him!

- Finish him!

- Put his lights out!

I think we may have our boy.

Come on! Hit him, hit him!

Finish him, finish him!

What, are you working

on a merit badge?

Hey, my man.

You're something else.

Hey, hotshot.

This is the white boy I told you

saved my black ass.

Appreciate that, because

I love his ass.

And that's my Black Beauty.

Say hi.

You want a lift?

You want to hold her?

Sh*t, Linc! You gotta teach that

child to hate white folks, man.

This is a pretty sweet car, Lincoln.

Horn's renting it.

What he calls one of my perks.

On account of

I'm his "Numero Uno Negro. "

Horn's a real scumbag.

What, you just now realize that?

Tell you, the whole world's

crammed full of them, my brother.

Thanks.

Oh, my God. I'm sorry.

I'm really sorry.

Don't worry about it.

See, that's holy water.

You're baptized now!

All right. Thanks for the ride.

I knew you were fighting

Shortcut tonight.

Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano...

...Barney Ross. You know what I mean?

No.

Come on, kid. Billy Conn?

Carmen Basilio?

"Slapsy Maxie" Rosenbloom?

Micks, wops, kikes!

The guys you'd fight

in the old days.

Tough white guys.

Just like you.

They had a need, just like you.

What do white kids need today,

a haircut?

Money for their own car so they

don't have to borrow daddy's keys?

Let's go, Lincoln.

Think about it.

That's enough.

You all right? You all right?

I'm okay. I'm okay.

Just look at my finger.

He wasn't hit that hard.

He was last week.

When he got kicked in the head

by that heavyweight.

Same thing happened to my friend

Choo-Choo Charlie.

What?

Didn't lay off like he was supposed to.

End up paralyzed.

What's the matter with him?

It could be nothing.

It could be a bleed.

- Bleed?

- Blood vessel in his head.

It's not serious, though,

if he rests.

I'm recommending a 60-day layoff.

How you doing?

No drama, hotshot.

Sixty days.

It comes with the territory.

What's Enrico doing

in the ring with Tiny Tim?

What do you think he's doing?

He's trying to knock him on his ass.

I'm supposed to fight Enrico.

You were, but...

...we found a last-minute replacement.

Going for the jackpot.

Mr. Horn's offering 20 G's

to the winner.

No time for charity, kid.

Go for it.

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