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Scene 1
Off Camera
==========
Marie
Annabelle Jones has many things to be thankful for; her career as a
professional wrestler, to be loved by her family, to have a husband who loves
her and is willing to care not only for her but for her son, and the list of
things she is thankful for and grateful for could go on and on; she is
especially grateful for her recent victory over Katelyn Buehler at Taking Hold
of the Flame. It was the third win in
the Best of Five series and it secured Marie the victory in the series as a
whole. For Marie the win meant a great
deal for two reasons; first, she finally and definitively proved that she was
the better athlete between her and Katelyn Buehler. It was a professional rivalry that had dated
back years, back to the days when both were wrestling for the Independent
Wrestling Cartel. Marie had long
believed it should’ve been her as the winner of the Last Stand Rumble, not
Buehler. She believed it should’ve been
her as IWC World Champion, not Buehler.
In a way, Marie now feels vindicated.
The other
reason Marie feels good about this victory is probably the most important
reason of them all, for this win has finally opened the eyes of SCW
management. On the next Breakdown The
Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling is going to challenge Andrew Raynes for
the SCW Adrenaline Championship. And
this championship opportunity she has against Raynes is vindication of
something else from Marie; namely, her double life.
A dinging
sound signals the arrival of the elevator.
The doors slide open and only one person steps out, for there is only
one person crazy enough to be out this late at night and it is Marie Jones
herself. Though she has on the same
attire she was wearing back a few days prior to Taking Hold of the Flame when
she secretly went out clubbing under the identity of Lynette Williams. She is dressed up in a short and tight black
leather skirt with a lace up side, black high heeled boots, and a leopard print
halter top. Her natural red hair is
concealed by the black haired wig she is wearing. Her black nail polish matches her black
lipstick.
The hotel
lobby was classy; though perhaps it was too classy for most individuals. It has
all the corporate taste for opulent items with plenty of personality. The floor was tiled in fine marble, which
made every step echo. A chandelier made rainbow colors dance across the
luxurious lobby. Embroidered silk sofas surrounded a large, flat-screen
television. The twin doors that led into the lobby were a pristine white with
golden handles. The desk was made of amber-colored wood and a green granite
top. Exquisite paintings hung from the rich, red walls. Even the door hinges
were engraved with swirls and elegant designs. The domed ceiling rose at least
100 feet high.
She walks
casually past the receptionist desk and gets about midway through the lobby
when a familiar voice calls out to her…
“It’s dangerous for little girls like you to
be out this late, don’t you think?”
Marie stops
dead in her tracks. She sighs and turns
around to spot, several feet away, her identical twin sister, Kimberly
Williams. Kimberly is wearing torn denim
jeans, black sneakers, and a t-shirt that reads “STABBY!” on the front in hot
pink letters. Kimberly is quite
intelligent, Marie knows this and she doubts that she could fool her with her
Lynette act. But then again, she does
want to see how good she is at concealing her identity, she wants to see how
good she is at being Lynette. This could
be a good challenge for her. Thus Marie
places her hands on her hips and glares at Kimberly, steeling herself for this
challenge ahead.
“Not a little girl, babe. And what I do is none of your business.”
“How rude!” Kimberly remarks as she
slowly starts to inch closer and closer to Marie. “Is that any way to speak to your favorite person ever?”
“Favorite person? Really?” Marie scoffs. “I don’t even know who you are.”
“So that’s how you want to play it, then?”
Kimberly nods her head. “Ok then, let me introduce myself…my name is
Marie Jones and even though I am married to a sweet man, I like to cheat on him
by dressing up as a hooker and going out at all hours of the night doing God
knows what…”
“It isn’t like that!” Marie
exclaims. Her anger causes her to forget
the act she is trying to pull off. “I am
not cheating on…”
Marie’s
voice trails off until she is silent, as she suddenly realizes what Kim just
did “…Arthur…”
“Gotcha.” Kimberly says with a knowing
grin.
“Look, Kim, I don’t what you’re playing at,
but I gotta go and where I go is none of your damn business, ok?”
“No,” she folds her arms over her chest
and stares impatiently at Marie “not
until I have some answers.”
Marie is
uneasy. She can tell that the lobby is
empty except for the receptionist, who is paying absolutely no attention to
their conversation, thankfully. Still,
she is nervous of being found out. She
is already way too deep into this Lynette Williams act and she does not want to
be found out.
“Fine, we’ll talk but not in here. Let’s go outside.”
“Sure thing, chief.”
Marie leads
the way and Kimberly follows her out of the lobby, through the automatic
sliding doors that lead to the parking lot area out directly in front of the
hotel. It is very late and this parking area
is dimly lit but the city of New Orleans is still alive and Marie has plans on
enjoying the evening as Lynette. At
least, she did until Kimberly confronted her.
She needs to get this over with and find a way to deal with Kim. Hopefully Kimberly won’t tell anyone about
this.
“Ok Kim, first of all, how much do you know?”
“About you and about this ridiculous getup?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing except that
you’ve been regularly sneaking out looking like a whore the past couple of
weeks.”
“I do not look like a whore!”
“Yes, you do.” Kim snickers.
“Whatever.” Marie rolls her eyes. “But are you telling me the truth? Is that
really all you know?”
“Yes, that’s honestly all I know. Seriously, Marie, you have to learn to trust
me. What would I have to gain out of
telling the world that my sister has been sneaking out at night looking like a
slut?”
“Seriously, Kim? You’d have plenty to gain.”
“You know, you’re right! I remember a time when I was super jealous of
you being the favorite Jones girl; even Jessica still is slightly jealous of
your status as mom’s favorite. If the
world knew what you were doing then Jessica and myself could have a shot at
becoming the new favorite…your reputation amongst the wrestling world would
take a hit though…and especially in the fashion world, that top is horrendous…”
“KIM!”
“Sorry!” Kim chuckles lightly. “I’m just messing with you. You’re my sister, I love you, and that petty
jealousy crap is over. I wouldn’t dare
think of using this to hurt you.”
Marie sighs
with some relief. “Thanks, Kim.”
“Don’t mention it, sis. All I want to know is why you’re doing it. I mean, this is something I’d do and wouldn’t
bat an eye…well, except for the clothing you’re wearing…I’m more fashion-savvy
than that…”
“Please quit insulting me like that, Kim.”
“Sorry.
Point is, that’s like something I would do. And my boy Johnny wouldn’t care if I did this
kinda shit and cheated on him. Hell, he cheats on me right now and I’m cool
with it. But I thought you valued the sacrament of marriage or whatever it is
the religious folks say.”
“I do value my marriage to Arthur, I really
do.”
“It doesn’t look like it.” Kim says with
a smirk. “I mean, I don’t know for a fact
you’re cheating, but you are dressed provocatively…and horrendously might I add…and
you are going out at night without telling him.
Something is clearly up, sis. You
can’t hide anything like that from a trickster like me.”
Kimberly has
a point, she realizes with some disappointment.
Jones sighs and nods her head.
“You’re right, Kim; what I’m doing right now…or
rather what I’ve been doing…it is something more along the lines of what
someone like you would do. And that’s
not coincidence.”
“It’s not?”
“No, it isn’t. The fact is that I envy you, Kim.”
Kimberly
eyes grow wide with shock. This was the
last thing she expected to hear come out of her sister’s mouth.
“You envy me? Sis, I’m a basket case
recovering sociopath and yet you envy me?”
“I envy you because of your freedom to do
whatever you want.”
“You have that same freedom, Marie.”
“No, I don’t.” She shakes her head. “Despite being twins, you and I were brought
up differently under different households.
It wasn’t your fault you got a sociopath to raise you. Mom wasn’t much different but she did drill
into my head the value of right and wrong, primarily because she didn’t want me
to make the same mistakes she did. She
wanted me to live by the rules. And
believe me, Kim, I’ve tried. I have
tried so hard to do things the right way and yet I see people personally and
privately happier than I am. I see
people committing acts that should have them in prison or at the very least
forced to attend a drug rehab program and yet those individuals are the heroes
to the fans in Supreme Championship Wrestling.
Those are the people who get all of the opportunities.”
“Yeah but wait a sec,” Kimberly frowns, studying
her curiously “don’t you have a shot at
the Adrenaline Championship?”
“Yes, next Breakdown against Andrew
Raynes. And don’t get me wrong, I’m
grateful for that opportunity. I intend
to walk away as the new champion. But
Kim, how long did it take for SCW to grant me this opportunity?”
“You know, most would hear what you just
said and tell you that it’s all sour grapes on your part. But I know you better than that, sis. And I know most peeps wouldn’t go and do what
you’ve been doing just because of sour grapes.”
Marie shakes
her head. “You’re right, this isn’t just
sour grapes. I may have to maintain the public image of Marie Jones, I may have
to grin and bear it publicly even though I may not always agree with the
decisions made by SCW management, but what I can do is see what it’s like being
you.”
“Me?!”
“Yes, I want to see what it’s like to live
free and to just act on a whim.”
“Does living free and acting on a whim
include cheating on your husband?”
Marie
frowns. “Are you judging me, Kim?”
“No, Marie.
You should know me better than that. If you cheat on ol’ Arthur I really
couldn’t care less. I just remember how
much it meant to you to find someone who could be a father figure for your son.”
“Yeah…” Marie’s voice trails off as she
thinks of her young son Sean.
“I recall how you were panicking. You thought you would never find that right
guy to be a male role model for Sean but then finally Mr. Right came
along. Finally you found Arthur. You had the family dynamic you always
wanted. Are you willing to risk all of
that just for the sake of seeing how things look from my side of the fence…from
the dark side?”
I have to, Kim.” Marie nods her head. “For my own sanity I have to see what it’s
like to be you.”
“Fine, I won’t judge you.” Kim remarks,
nodding her head. “And I don’t care if
you hurt Arthur, but if this act ends up hurting my nephew, then I’ll hurt you
back.”
“Is that a threat, Kim?” Marie asks,
arching her brow.
“It’s a promise. And you really have yourself to blame,
Marie. You were the one responsible for
this damnable conscience I have.” Kimberly sighs and turns to start walking
away. “Anyway, have fun Marie.”
“It’s Lynette. My name is Lynette Williams.”
==========
Scene 2
Off Camera
==========
We open in a
club in New Orleans later that night.
Lights are flashing upon the dance floor of this club. Brilliant purples and greens and all of the
other colors of the rainbow so intense and so rapid-fire that it would be
enough to send almost anyone into an epileptic fit. Lynette Williams, better known to the rest of
us as Marie Annabelle Jones, is dancing with a large burly muscular individual
with a faded white t-shirt, black leather jacket, and black pants. He isn’t very good on his feet and Marie is
dancing circles around him, even with a margarita in one hand.
“What’s wrong, babe? Can’t keep up with me?” Marie asks with a
shit-eating grin on her face.
“I’m tryin’ my best, hot stuff. Yer just too, uh...um....somethin’ footed...”
He says with
a slurred voice, seeming to indicate he may have had slightly too much to
drink. The smell of alcohol on his
breath is further indication of that.
Jones knows this as she has been getting him drunk the entire time. It’s
the type of game her sister Kimberly would play. Get the man drunk, then have her fun.
“I think the word you’re looking for is
fleet footed.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“Well you’re definitely not as fleet footed
as moi, but then again, who the hell is?”
She looks
down at her margarita and is about to take another sip when she spots something
out of the corner of her eye.
“Well it’s about time…”
“What is it?”
“Nothing that should concern you, babe.”
She plants a kiss on his lips and then hands her margarita over to her burly
dance partner. “There, it’s all yours!”
“Thanks, but I didn’t...uh, I didn’t...I
didn’t get yer number!”
“Oh, silly me!”
Marie
quickly snatches a napkin off of a table and reaches in between her cleavage
where she kept a pen. She scribbles a
number on it and hands it to the burly dude who grins from ear to ear at his
new prize.
“Here you go, stud.”
“Can I...uh...keep the pen?”
“Sure!
Why not!” She hands it over.
“A smell to remember me by.”
“Yeah!”
With that
Marie turns and leaves the man behind.
She has a smirk on her face as she walks over to a table where a
familiar seems to be waiting on her. She
sits down across from this man...the man known to the wrestling world as Blake
Mason.
“I saw what you were doing over there.
Impressive.” Blake smirks.
“Glad you think so, but I could’ve done
better. That was nowhere near the level
of shenanigans Kimmie usually perpetrates. Had it been Kim she would’ve kept it
up until he was unconscious and then she would’ve had her way with him.”
“Your sister has her ways, I’ll give her
that. I’ve always been curious about one thing, does she really stab people?
She does say stabby stabby quite a lot.”
“Can you keep a secret?”
“Lucky for me I have no one to tell.” He
shrugs. “Sure. I can keep a secret.”
“Good, because I can keep a secret too.”
She winks. “If you catch my drift. Plausible deniability and all that shit.”
“Noted. Always comes in handy.” Blake
nods. “Thanks for prodding me to come out
tonight. Don’t think I’ll be the best company. I am about to go through my
second divorce. I’ll try not to be too much of a killjoy.”
“Yeah, I heard all about it. Lynette is sad for you but selfishly happy
for her sake.”
“I figured.” Blake sly smiles. “I won’t bore you with how I’m feeling. A
distraction for a few hours would be nice.”
“Yeah, I get the feeling. It’s part of why I’m here, not just for the
distraction but for the thrill. People
like my sister and so many others in SCW and out in society do whatever they
want and they get no consequences. And
they’re so happy. I want to see what
that’s like. I want the thrill of what
it’s like to live on the edge, knowing I cheated on my husband, shit like
that...but Kimberly found me out.”
Blake raises
an eyebrow. “How?”
“It’s my identical twin, Blake. She knows me.
Plus she’s completely unlike normal people. She caught me in the hotel lobby late night
tonight as I was leaving. She recognized
me.” She chuckles. “I guess I was
foolish to think I could get anything past her.
She’s too damn smart.”
“Siblings usually are. I did the best I
could to put on a happy face. Victor can see through me. Even Drake, mind you,
we aren’t that close. He knows the face I give public doesn’t reflect how I
have felt for the longest time. Anyways, this is a good thing. You said you
wanted a thrill. Kim figured out your dual identity. Doesn’t that spike the
nerves? Gives you an adrenaline rush? A spike of paranoia?”
“You know, you’re right.” She grins
knowingly. “It was great because even she
thought I was going too far. She went as
far as to warn me that if this hurt my son that she’d hurt me back. I got Kim to threaten me. So not only do I have to worry about keeping
this from Arthur but I have Kim watching me at all times. For once I feel what it’s like to live on the
edge. I feel what it’s like to be those
other nutcases in our business who get all the thrills and chills of doing
something completely insane. I feel…”
She throws
her head back and laughs out loud “...I
feel alive!”
Blake stands
up, walking over to Marie’s side of the table he grabs her hand. “Follow me.”
“Why not?” She gets up and starts to
follow him. “Following a strange, still
temporarily married man to God knows where sounds like my idea of a great
time!”
Blake leads
Marie through the crowd who are more concerned with their own business. Doesn’t
take long to reach one of the bathrooms in the club. He peaks in to make sure
no one is in there, with the coast clear, he pulls her in. He locks the door
ensuring no one is going to barge in. He has Marie pinned between him and the
door.
“Here is where you have a choice. You can
unlock this door, walk out, do whatever feels natural to you, I’ll respect
that. Or, you can make out with me like your life depended on it. In the end
it’s your choice. Not mine. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t be talking right
now. But I don’t want to be the guy that force you to do anything you’re
uncomfortable with.” Blake runs his hand through her hair, looking at her
with a deep seated lust. “One thing to
fantasize about crossing the line, it's another to cross it. I want Marie. Not
Lynette. Make your move. Ball is in your court.”
“You want Marie?” She reaches up with
her hands, takes a good grip on the wig and pulls it off. She casts it aside and lets her long natural
red locks of hair flow down. “You got
her.”
“Good. The door or kiss me.”
“I think you already know what my decision
will be…” she pauses momentarily to let him think about it before she leans
in and begins to passionately kiss him. He doesn’t object to this whatsoever as
he matches her passion tenfold.
He pulls
back slightly. He looks into her eyes. “If
there is no place you need to be, we can take this show elsewhere.”
“Arthur is still asleep back at the
hotel. If he wakes up and I’m gone…”
She pauses and ponders the question for a moment “...actually, you know what? I
could get Kim to fill in for me with Arthur.
That way we can finish this thing tonight the way it should.” She smirks
deviously.
“Definitely.” Blake bends down to grab
Marie’s wig. He hands it to her. “Might
want to put this on first before we leave, avoid prying eyes. Call Kim from the
car. She’ll do her thing. For the rest of the night I have you to myself.”
==========
On Camera
==========
The good
book tells us that straight “is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
I think that’s
a rather good metaphor for the season we have entered into, The Rise To
Greatness season. It’s around this same
time of the year that everyone in Supreme Championship Wrestling knows that they
have to buckle down and bring their A-Game each and every time to that squared
circle, they have to be at their very best each and every time that bell rings
if they want their road to the greatest event in SCW’s calendar year to be a successful
one.
But that
path we are on that leads to Rise To Greatness is not an easy road. The road is very narrow and while the gate
may be straight the path itself is a winding path with many twists and turns
and unexpected potholes and obstacles that may hold us up. You just have to be prepared for everything
and anything that this industry can throw at you.
Last year I
stepped up my game in a big way and became SCW United States Champion. Unfortunately I stumbled along the way; I got
careless and overconfident and I lost the championship. Instead of walking into Rise To Greatness as
the defending champion I walked in as one of three challengers.
I was lost
in the shuffle.
Now I look
at you, Andrew Raynes, and I see a little bit of myself. You are a proud champion and you are proud of
what you’ve accomplished. You have every
reason to be proud of being currently the longest reigning champion out of all
of the current champs. It is quite the
accomplishment. You’ve been on a roll,
beating anyone and everyone SCW puts in front of you. And if you’re anything like me, you have the
future in mind…maybe you’re thinking about your own path to Rise To Greatness
and who you may defend your championship against at that big event? Or maybe you’re thinking about an old rival
by the name of Dylan Howell who just won’t go away?
I get the
feeling that that’s exactly what you’re thinking about, Raynes. And if you are then consider me the Ghost of Rise
To Greatness Past because that’s what happened to me last year. I was focused on other things, I let my guard
down, and a competitor who got real hot at the right time took me down and took
my title.
It can
happen to you and it will happen to you.
As good as you may be, you cannot deny that I am on fire right now. I performed excellently in the world title
contendership series, defeating multiple former world champions in the
process. I would go on to challenge and
defeat Donovan Kayl at Retribution. I
won the SCW Television Championship. I
beat Katelyn Buehler in a Best of Five Series.
Do you think
I can weather the storm? I damn sure
feel like I can, because I feel pretty damn unstoppable right about now.
For me the
tables have turned from one year ago. No
longer am I the cocky champion; now I’m the young upstart who is on fire and
ready to take that next step. And you,
you are playing the role I was playing. You are that cocky champion.
Funny how
life works, isn’t it?
You may
think your path to Rise To Greatness is clear and straight, just like many of
these devastating storms which ran rampant up and down along the gulf coast and
the east coast of the United States. But
this time will be different. This time
there’s a Phoenix ready to knock that storm off course. This storm won’t rage on, it will sputter off
and die.
You’ve been
on top for a long time now, Raynes, and I give you credit for such a long and
dominant run. But I’m hungrier than you,
because I’ve been away from the top for far too long and I want that top spot
back. I’m ready to chart my own path to
Rise TO Greatness while I put your own future into question.
I’ve fought
too long and too hard now, busting my ass week in and week out against the best
SCW has had to offer in order to prove myself worthy of this spot; I’m not
going to throw it away. I’m not going to
waste this opportunity that I have.
What makes
this time of year so special is because how you compete this time of year is
what defines you going forward. You can
be forgiven for an occasional mishap or dropping the ball at other events but
the closer you get to Rise To Greatness, the more those mistakes you make
become evident, clear, and unforgiveable.
Last year I was wrestling at my best until I let one mistake cost me
everything I had at that point.
This year
there will be no mistakes and that’s bad news for you, Raynes, because I will
be looking to exploit any and every mistake that YOU make. This year you will have to wrestle the
perfect match in order to continue on your path, otherwise I’ll swoop in and
knock you down from your lofty perch. It’ll
be me who gets to write her own path to Rise To Greatness.
