COLONEL. Like I said, you need to toughe...

COLONEL. Like I said, you need to toughen up. You’re still too soft for your own good. And trust me, women never go for soft guys who get pushed around like you.

ELIJAH. (slightly more anger) ...THAT, I've noticed.

COLONEL. I used to be one myself, before I realized that life wasn’t gonna get better on its own. I had to come and get it myself, and more than that, I needed to WANT it. How bad do you want what it is you want out of life?

ELIJAH. Really, really bad.

COLONEL. It's funny...you'd never know it, by lookin' at that sorry ass face of yours.

ELIJAH. (frustrated) I swear, I do. I just...I don’t know how to express it to others.

COLONEL. So, you hide behind the door of a bathroom stall, behind your bedroom door with PornHub, and hope no one will see what it is you want?

ELIJAH. I...I-

COLONEL. Maybe you shouldn’t have come here, after all. Maybe you’re just too much of a pussy, for your own good.

ELIJAH. (annoyed) What?

COLONEL. Maybe you can’t be helped, after all, because you’ve already given up on life at just 17 years old, all because you couldn't put yourself out there enough to find a date to your senior prom.

ELIJAH. (angry) Shut up.

COLONEL. Make me. Oh, that’s right. You’re too weak and too small to defend yourself. It really is a shame that those jocks were just a couple inches taller than you, when you know that with the right skills, a f@#king 10-year-old girl could probably beat the sh#t outta all three of them. If only you’d spent MORE time preparing yourself for the next fight, and LESS time being a sick freak- (Elijah - who gradually gets angrier over the course of the Colonel’s line - stands up quickly, and punches the Colonel in the face. The Colonel is mostly unfazed, at first, but then laughs.)

COLONEL. Finally! (Elijah expresses instant shock toward himself. Not regret, necessarily, but he cannot believe what he just did.)

ELIJAH. I...I-I’m sorry, please don't-

COLONEL. No! That was a great punch!

ELIJAH. What?

COLONEL. I thought you’d never do it, but you’re on your way.

ELIJAH. So...you’re not mad that I hit you?

COLONEL. Haven’t you been listening this whole time? We've been trying to find your inner motivation to fight back. Now, you’re finally starting to get it.

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