The Wolf

The Wolf was a very tall guy with Sammy Hagar hair on the other side of the atrium (courtyard) in my dorm. I think he had vision problems because he always wore glasses and had trouble fiding the person talking him. No mater - he was one of the big party animal types that everyone knew of but few people knew. People yelled his nickname (WOLF!!!) whenever they saw him, exchanged a few trite lines (You gonna be at the TKE thing this weekend? YEAH!) and that was all I ever saw or knew of him. Except for when he discovered or was told I had a talent for burping loudly. I was challenged to face him some night in the future he said, so I agreed.



It was late one night when the duel was called, impromptu. I was in my room, and across the atrium there was a party, probably in Wolf's room. I heard my name being called so I went to the window. A few of Wolf's handlers told me it was time. I said fine. They went inside and dragged Wolf to the window. He told me to go first, probably so he could finish me off with a finale.



I let my best burp go. There is not to describe here - it was just a long, loud, deep burp that made my chest and a few windows rattle. I can't get into Mark Twain tall-tale like descriptions of how it woke earthworms in the February soil or anything like that. Let's just say it iwas long, loud and deep.



Once the echoes subsided, I looked back down to where Wolf and his handlers were. Wolf had a beer in one of those big plastic, dixie cups, and his other arm draped limply to his side. For the first time, it seemed as if his usual blank stare really was a blank stare, and his jaw was dropped.



"You win," He said. "I can't compete with that." He went back inside and one of his handlers patted him on the back. The noise from the party did not seem as loud as before as the pall of defeat settled across the atrium. It's not nice to defeat a well-loved legend, and I did not suddenly earn all the respect and love he got from his friends.