==========
Off Camera
==========
A rebound is
what Marie Jones needed and that is exactly what she got with her victory over
Konrad Raab on a previous Breakdown. She had held out some hope that she would
finally get the break she deserved; she had held out hope that she would get an
opportunity at a championship. And yet
she wasn’t even scheduled to compete on the next edition of Breakdown. Perhaps it was just a mere oversight or
perhaps Mr. D thought he was being kind in giving her a break, but that’s not
how Marie saw it. In her eyes, it was SCW’s way of saying that she wasn’t
important enough to be on the show. In
her eyes, it was more than just a simple oversight. It was their way of saying they didn’t need
her.
It further
exasperates the professional frustrations for Marie Annabelle Jones, who
already believes she is being overlooked and unappreciated by Supreme
Championship Wrestling. Now with her
hopes of getting back into the Adrenaline Championship picture seemingly dashed
when Dylan Howell ruined Marie’s first opportunity and now that Christy
Matthews is the number one contender, Marie has to accept reality and move
on. The silver lining is that she is in
a Television Title Eliminator against Cassidy Carter. Is Marie just being pacified by Mr. D?
Perhaps, but she is grateful for this opportunity to potentially win her second
SCW Television Championship.
Professional
difficulties are not the only issues that plague Marie Jones. She is also having troubles at home involving
her husband Arthur. This time Marie
cannot blame anyone else but herself.
Marie was the one who chose to cheat on him with Blake Mason.
As with most
mistakes people make, she didn’t really think any of it through. She didn’t think about any of the potential
consequences. Marie was simply tired of trying to do things the right way and
wait for the reward that she felt she rightfully deserved. So she decided to do whatever she
wanted. She decided to live for the
moment. She lived for the thrills and
the chills. It’s a decision that nearly
cost her the marriage and definitely ruined the trust Arthur once had in her.
Marie
realizes and accepts the fact that she did wrong, but she still has her doubts
about right and wrong. In a word, Marie
Annabelle Jones is having a crisis of faith.
That brings her to one place…
The Convent
of Our Lady of the Annunciation towers high in the sky. Marie knows this place very well; beyond the
fact that this is associated with her home parish, this is also the convent
where her mother spent the formative years of her teenage life as a nun in the
Roman Catholic Church. It is an
awe-inspiring sight, to say the very least.
White marble steps lead up to a pair of impressive large brown oak
doors. The sides of this building are
beautiful red brick that towers high into the sky, topped off by a white cross
at its peak.
Jones stands
across the street from the Convent as she stares in awe at this building. The curious thing about this is the fact that
she is here at the convent at all. In
the past when she’s had a crisis of faith she’s gone to the priest to get his
advice. This is different. For some reason, Marie feels the priest will
not give him the answers she needs to hear.
But there is another person she feels that she can trust.
Marie is
wearing a long flowing black maxi skirt, black high heeled pumps underneath, a
white silk blouse, and a matching floral print black blazer. Her long red hair hangs unrestrained to
shoulder length. Angelica walks across
the street and stops at the foot of the stairs.
She puts one foot on the first step when she hears it.
“Hello, Annabelle.”
Startled,
Marie turns around and finds a woman, slightly younger than Marie’s mother
Angelica Jones, standing not too far away from her. The woman is dressed in the full nun’s habit,
black robe and all. A pleasant smile is
on her face. She is instantly certain
that this is the person she wanted to see.
“Sister Maria, is that you?”
“The one and only. You must be Sister Angelica’s daughter.”
“That’d be me.”
Marie is the
first to make an approach. She walks to
Sister Maria and embraces her in a tight hug.
The similarity in their names is not lost on either of the women. Angelica Jones named her daughter after her
good friend from the convent Sister Maria.
That just shows how much Angelica felt about Sister Maria as a close
friend and confidant. Marie herself had
never met Sister Maria before but had heard numerous stories about her. This is why she wanted to meet with her
rather than a priest. If anyone could
help her with her personal issues and specifically her crisis of faith, it
would be Sister Maria.
“You are definitely her child,” Maria
says, running her hand along Marie’s cheek “you
look so much like her in the face, in the eyes,”
“And the hair?” Marie asks, flicking
some of her long red locks of hair back behind her.
“Of course the hair.” Sister Maria
chuckles. “It runs in the family, I take it?”
“It does.
My mom has it, my aunt has it, and all my sisters have it except one.”
“A beautiful red-headed family! God truly does work in wondrous ways!” She
rests a hand on Marie’s shoulder. “Did your
mother tell you about the time she left the convent, my dear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It was tormenting for her. She was not sure if she’d ever be reunited
with her sister again. And to learn that
she had to give you and your sister away, that saddened me and I know it
saddened her. She hated having to do it
but she only did what she felt was right.
I hope you understand that.”
“I admit that it is tough to accept it.”
Marie says with a sigh. “I sometimes give
my mom a hard time.”
“So she says. The guilt over her actions, I’m sure, is what
drove her to some of the insanity that plagues her to this day.” Tears form
in Sister Maria’s eyes. “But seeing you today brings my own heart
hope. Your mother and your aunt are
reunited. Your mother is reunited with
her beloved children. It truly is a miracle
of God and I am thankful to see you as evidence that God is still active in
this world. Your mother is so close to
full healing, Marie. She needs your
forgiveness for that.”
The mention
of forgiveness snaps Marie back into reality.
Forgiveness is what brought her here in the first place. She sought out her husband Arthur’s
forgiveness for cheating on him and while he did forgive her she still feels
extreme guilt. Marie also still feels as
if life isn’t being fair to her. She
feels as if her attempt to live life the right way is an exercise in futility. Marie feels as if she’ll never get rewarded
for her attempts to be good.
“I can try to forgive her, but I can’t make
any promises. God knows I need
forgiveness myself. That’s kind of why I
wanted to meet you, Sister Maria. I need
forgiveness.”
“You seek me out for forgiveness? The priest can grant that. He is the intermediary for Christ.”
“Maybe so, but he wouldn’t understand what I’m
trying to say.”
“And I would?”
“Maybe.”
The nun
smiles warmly. “Well in that case, I do
know of a good spot we could go and talk.”
Marie nods
her head and turns to follow Sister Maria down the street. She has an idea of where they are going. Angelica mentioned this place before, a place
where she and Sister Maria used to go and talk frequently during their time
together at the convent. It isn’t that
far down the road when Marie spots a sign that reads “Danny’s Coffee”.
“How did I know we’d end up here?” Marie
says grinning from ear to ear.
“Probably because your mother told you all
about this place.”
Jones
follows Maria up to the entrance of the small coffee shop. Maria pushes the door open and steps inside. Marie follows in after her. Inside we see several tables and booths. There is a white counter and a middle age
woman with brown hair working behind the counter. Maria and Jones approach the woman at the
counter who turns to them and smiles.
“Maria!
Greetings!”
“Hello, I think you know what I want.”
“A vanilla mocha?”
Maria nods
her head.
“That’s right.”
“And what does your friend want?”
“This is Marie Annabelle Jones; Angelica’s
daughter.”
“Angelica?”
Sister Maria
nods her head. The woman working the
counter turns to Marie.
“Nice meeting you, dear. What can I get you?”
“French Vanilla.”
Marie turns
to face Maria. “So you and mom still
frequent this place?”
“Oh yes, we have so many fond memories of
this place to ever quit going. It’s
nostalgic.”
“I understand.”
The woman
behind the counter finishes with the coffees.
She passes them across the counter to Jones and Maria. Marie picks up her cup and Maria picks up
hers. After each woman takes a sip, they
find their way to an empty table at the far end of the café where they can be
alone and have a private discussion.
“Thanks for meeting with me, by the way. I’m sure you have other things you could be
doing right now than listening to my problems.”
“Oh don’t mention it, my dear.” The nun
answers, shaking her head. “Your mother
helped me a long time ago. This is the
least I could do. Besides, helping
people in need is what I was called to do.”
“In that case let me drop this problem on
your lap; I cheated on my husband with another man.”
Sister Maria
is calm and quiet for a few moments, nodding her head slowly as she takes it
all in.
“I see.
What led to you giving in to this temptation?”
“It wasn’t lust, that’s for sure.” Marie
says, sipping her French Vanilla. “It was
something silly. Something stupid…”
“It couldn’t have been too silly or stupid
for you if it led you to taking such a drastic move.”
“Oh it was silly. Trust me.”
“Tell me what it was then. What led you to cheat on your husband?”
Marie sets
her cup of coffee down and sighs. “It’s
just that for so long I have tried to do things the right way, in life and in
my career. My sister Kimberly lives life
on the edge and she’s so happy, joyful, and carefree. Professionally I watch people break the rules
in SCW all the time and yet those who break the rules get rewarded while I, a
person who follows all the rules, gets constantly overlooked.”
“I understand how that can be frustrating.”
“More than just frustrating; I should have
been given an Adrenaline Title match because I had the champion beat when a
lunatic interfered and drew a disqualification.
That lunatic then is GIVEN a title match without having to earn it yet I
have to EARN another title shot at Rise To Greatness?”
“Your mother told me about that. You lost, didn’t you?”
Marie nods
her head. “Yes, and then August 15th
Breakdown I rebounded and won a match.
Great, but then I was left off the card for the following week while my
next opponent, Cassidy Carter, got a match?
Hell, Carter has been on television front and center for a long time now
and why? All because she’s a degenerate
like that clown she’s married to Ace Marshall.”
Marie sighs
and shakes her head. “I was taught that
by doing the right thing I would be rewarded and yet the more I watch, the more
I observe the fans and SCW eating up these maniacs and perverts getting all the
opportunities and face time while “normal” people like me barely get any face
time and barely any opportunities. Don’t
get me wrong, I’m grateful that this match against Cassidy Carter is a
Television Title eliminator. And it does
give me some reason to hope that maybe Mr. D is coming to his senses, but then
again I’m also left to wonder if this is just to appease me? I’ve been calling him and SCW out on their
hypocritical booking. Are they hoping
that I’ll just shut up because I have a Television Championship opportunity?”
There is a
pause as Sister Maria sips on her vanilla mocha. Marie just stares, waiting for her new friend
to answer with her words of wisdom.
Sister Maria places the cup of coffee down and sighs.
“I understand your frustration. It isn’t easy to follow the right path.”
“No shit…” Marie blushes “…sorry.”
“God would never put any obstacle in front
of you that He didn’t think you could overcome.”
“Those are just words. And I’ve heard those words before from the
priest and from my own mother. They aren’t
very comforting right now.”
“I apologize but those words are true. You can overcome this, Marie. But just understand that when you see others
engage in wrongdoing and, at times, downright evil acts, while it may be
tempting to engage in those acts yourself, you need to keep your eyes
focused. You need to keep your eyes on
the prize.”
“Those are still just words. And it’s easier said than done.” Marie
sighs as she shakes her head. “I
appreciate you trying, Sister Maria, but this isn’t helping me at all.”
“So you’re still tempted to give in to
temptation?”
“Why not?
Giovanni Aries attacked Mr. D and Selena Frost and no repercussions. Dylan Howell attacked Andrew Raynes and got
REWARDED with a championship match.
Regan Street pile drove Mr. D and only got a thirty day suspension. What’s the point in trying to play by the
rules?”
“You’re asking the wrong questions, Marie.”
“Then what’s the right question?”
“You said yourself that acting in this
manner nearly drove your husband away from you.
Are you seriously willing to risk your marriage for this?”
==========
Off Camera
==========
The words from
Sister Maria stuck with Marie Annabelle Jones the entire day. The final question that the nun asked her
before their conversation came to an end was what really stuck out in her mind:
Is Marie willing to risk her marriage?
Marie feels
it is wrong and unfair that so many people act outside the rules and yet
seemingly get rewarded and praised for their wrongdoing. If they get praised and rewarded for breaking
the rules, both rules of society and rules professionally, then it stands to
reason that maybe Marie could reap some of those same rewards. It is that logic and that thought process
that led Marie to creating the Lynette Williams identity and thus cheat on her
husband Arthur with Blake Mason. But
instead of getting any great reward from her action she seemingly has created
even more difficulty for herself, as her marriage with Arthur is now on rocky
ground at best.
Currently
Marie finds herself in a pink nightgown sitting in a comfortable cream colored
chair in the master bedroom of her Boston, Massachusetts home. She has a newspaper in hand and is reading it
(staring blankly at it, to be precise) when the door to the bedroom opens. The redhead doesn’t even notice when her
husband Arthur walks in wearing nothing but his boxers, seemingly ready for
bed. He stops at the King sized bed and
turns to face his wife curiously, who still doesn’t even notice his presence.
“Marie?”
“Huh?” She looks up from her newspaper
at Arthur and sighs. “Oh…I didn’t notice
you were here.”
“Clearly.
What are you reading?”
“Nothing, really.”
“I kind of figured.” He smirks. “You never do read much of the newspaper.”
“Cute…” she casts the newspaper to the
side “…but you’re right, I really wasn’t
reading. I was just trying to distract
myself.”
“Why?
What’s wrong?”
“I…uh…made a new friend today.”
“Really?
What’s his name?”
“Seriously, Arthur? HIS name?
Why are you just assuming it’s a guy?”
“Good point,” Arthur remarks, nodding his
head “your mother is dating another
woman, I suppose you could too.”
“Damn it!” Marie exclaims as she shoots
up out of the chair and storms over to the bed. “Just forget about it!”
Arthur may
have been justified in his teasing of Marie but seeing her like this does make
him somewhat repentant. He walks over
and joins her on the bed.
“I’m sorry, Marie.”
“No, don’t apologize. I had that coming. To be perfectly honest, if I really got what
I had deserved, I wouldn’t have you next to me right now. I’m lucky…”
“Hush,” he runs a hand through her long
red hair. “I told you, we’re going to
work through this, no matter how long it takes.”
“It just isn’t fair!” Marie exclaims
with tears rolling freely down her cheek. “I
do everything right, I play by the rules, and I get nothing for it, meanwhile
those who break the rules constantly and never do anything right get praised
and rewarded constantly. I make ONE slip
up and do ONE thing wrong and my life is damn near ready to fall apart!”
“It was a rather big thing you did wrong,
babe.”
“I know and I don’t want to sound like I’m
making light of what I did, it’s just frustrating right now the way I see so
much hypocrisy all around me, especially in SCW, and I let that hypocrisy damn
near ruin our marriage.”
“I know and I hate seeing you get the short
of the stick at work, especially since I know how hard you work. You do deserve better at SCW. But this…” he motions to Marie “…this isn’t the Marie Annabelle Jones I
fell in love with.”
“Then who am I?” Marie asks through tear
filled eyes.
“You remind me of that arrogant, elitist,
bitch who was so full of herself back in IWC, back when she was being influenced
by Silas Mason. The Marie I fell in love
with wouldn’t be making excuses for what’s happening in her career right now
and damn sure wouldn’t let what’s happening in her career affect her personal
judgment. She would just keep trying to
do her best.”
Marie pauses
as she reflects upon the words of her husband.
She motions for some tissue.
Arthur grabs a box and hands it to Marie. She quickly takes some tissue and blows her
nose and wipes her eyes of some of the tears.
“You’re right, I have been letting my
frustrations regarding my professional career cloud my judgment. It nearly cost us our marriage and I won’t
let that happen again.”
“Good, this is another good first step
towards restoring what we had.”
“But that woman you spoke of, she may have
been a bitch to deal with but she didn’t take any shit from anyone. She took what was rightfully hers. I’m not going to let opportunities slip by me
again. I swear to God I won’t. If that
means I’m a bitch, then so be it.”
==========
On Camera
==========
I admit, at
times I do tend to beat a dead horse.
And perhaps this is one horse that has been beaten to death and back
again as many times as I have repeated it. So I won’t bore you with the details of how
Dylan Howell unfairly and unjustly got a title match that he did not deserve at
Rise To Greatness. What I will say is
that either my message is finally getting across or maybe, just maybe, Mr. D is
just trying to shut me up, maybe he’s just trying to appease me, because now I
find myself in a Television Title Eliminator.
Which means, with two victories I would be a two time SCW Television
Champion.
Don’t get me
wrong, I am definitely happy about this opportunity that I have; I am grateful
to have this opportunity to win back the SCW Television Championship and I do
not plan to squander it. I admit, I had
plans of bigger and better things. I am
The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling and that means I don’t sit and rest
on my laurels. I think long term. I had been thinking in terms of Supreme
Champion, because had I beaten Andrew Raynes I would have just been two titles
short of that goal; World Tag Team and World Heavyweight.
Maybe now
you can understand why I was a little bitchy when that lunatic idiot Dylan
Howell interfered in my match?
But I don’t
want to seem ungrateful and besides, I will take any and all opportunity given
to me to further prove myself and to cement my status as one of the greats here
in SCW, especially if that means winning back a championship I never should
have lost in the first place. So yes, I
want to make it perfectly clear that I am definitely thankful to have this
opportunity to compete in the Television Title Eliminator.
Yet, there
is still a little something about this that bugs the hell out of me.
Cassidy
Carter is in the match.
What the
hell has she done to deserve this opportunity?
I’m not sure what she’s done to DESERVE the opportunity but I can tell
you what she’s done lately.
She’s lost
just about all of her matches since May of this year.
She’s been
an obnoxious, annoying pain in the ass to one and all.
At least the
case can be made that I belong in that match.
I don’t even need to bring up the travesty that occurred with the
Adrenaline Championship. The fact is
that I have been winning. I beat Dante
McCaffery and I beat Konrad Raab. Sure,
I had a slip up at Rise To Greatness, but that doesn’t change who and what I am
and what I am capable of.
I am STILL
the woman who has held the United States and Television Championships. I am STILL the woman who beat former world
champions in the world title series and came oh so close to earning a title
shot. I am STILL The Crown Jewel of
Professional Wrestling and I have proven time and time again that I deserve
opportunities such as this.
Cassidy
Carter, you are nothing but the sidekick of a traveling sideshow carnival act. The only reason you get any notoriety at all
is your association with Ace Marshall, who is a former World Champion. Without him no one who know who the hell you
were.
Another
reason you get blessed with opportunities such as this is because of the insane
antics that you and Ace always seem to get yourselves involved in. Week in and week out you seem to raise the
bar in terms of absurdity and ridiculously horrible things that you can think
of to make a total mockery out of this sport.
And just when the world thinks you can’t raise the bar any higher, you seem
to find a way to be even more outrageous.
You’re also
lucky; you’re lucky to be working for a company that seems to reward bad
behavior. How else can you explain a
total degenerate loser like you getting a title shot like this? It makes no sense. It boggles the mind.
I am not
going to complain about it, though.
Complaining about it has gotten me nowhere. If I want to make real change then I need to
act upon my words. That means kicking
your ass for however long I damn well please until I feel the time is right to
put you out of your misery by driving your empty head into the mat with an Ave
Maria.
I wouldn’t
worry too much, Cassidy. You won’t be
forgotten. You’ll still get an
opportunity here and there despite your losing streak continuing indefinitely,
you will still get chances gift wrapped to you on a silver platter despite me
kicking your ass. As long as you
continue to break the rules and be Ace’s sideshow freak when the two of you do
whatever horrible act you do next, you’ll get rewarded. That’s what this company does, after
all. It rewards bad behavior.
What you
will not get is a shot at the SCW Television Championship. That opportunity belongs to me and to me
alone and you, Ace, Mr. D, nor anyone else in SCW will stop me.
