Recidivism: Part 3

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January 3^rd, 2019

Off Camera

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Justice is an important value for Marie Annabelle Jones. Justice, or more specifically fairness, is so important to her that she has gone up against her own family in the name of fairness.  Now she has most recently cast her lot in with possibly the least popular group in SCW right now, Dark Fantasy, all in the name of obtaining what she feels is fair.

Fair for her means receiving the opportunities she feels she rightfully deserves and yet has been denied for so long.  Since then she has received a world championship match against Sienna Swann at the End of the Year Special.  She may have lost and while that loss definitely stings, the silver lining for The Crown Jewel of Professional Wresting is that she finally received the world title match that UWA never would grant her.

Fairness and justice also means making sure others get what they deserve.  Marie Jones feels that her good friend, Melinda Jade, has not been treated fairly by the judicial system.  Immediately upon being released from prison after serving ten years for armed robbery, Melinda and Marie were themselves victims of an attempted robbery.  Melinda managed to wrestle the gun away from the attacker and thus allowed the two of them to get away.

That should have been a happy ending to what could easily have been a tragic nightmare.  Yet now, in a sad twist of fate, Melinda is being charged with possession of a firearm, which is a violation of her parole, and now faces the very real possibility of going back to prison.

Luckily, Marie does have at least one ace up her sleeve in the form of her aunt Kayla Jones.  No, Kayla isn’t much of a legal eagle, but Kayla’s foster brother is.  That is what brings Marie and Melinda to the law office of Oliver Hardy Jr.

The office was a state of half organized clutter; it was painted grey, and it had only one floor-to-ceiling window, which faced the main road.  On the mahogany desk there were three drawers on the right hand side, and a swivel chair occupied by Oliver Hardy Jr., who is dressed in a nice pair of khaki pants, brown dress shoes, and a Carolina blue button up shirt.

Also on the mahogany desk we see a desktop computer, several stacks of paperwork, pens in a tin, floor to ceiling bookshelf, books leaning against one another different directions, a notebook lying open, and a stack of papers sitting under a turtle-shaped paperweight. In a corner, the air conditioner was blasting at medium, and there was a swivel chair in the middle of the office. A bookshelf, bursting with books was in a corner, with yet another stack of papers under a paperweight that was shaped to look like a tuft of grass. A few pens were lying on the papers, but some had fallen onto the top of the bookshelf.  Off to the side was a filling cabinet with paper work stacked on top, water dispenser with no cups.

In front of the desk in two chairs seated next to one another are Marie Jones and Melinda Jade.  Marie is dressed in a black skirt that stops just below the knee, black peep toe high heeled patent leather pumps, a red blouse, and her signature black leather jacket.  Melinda is wearing a pair of denim jeans, black boots, and a green blouse.  Off to the side of Oliver’s mahogany desk is Kayla Jones, Marie’s aunt.  Marie isn’t sure why she was so insistent on coming with them.  This is just a simple meeting between Melinda and Oliver and Marie knows Oliver and knows how to get to his office.  She could have brought Melinda by herself.

Marie has her suspicions as to why Kayla was insistent upon coming. But she is keeping her mouth shut for now.  Right now this is about Melinda Jade and this last grasp, hoping that Oliver Hardy Jr. can, in some way, help her get out of this sticky situation.

“Well Ms. Jade…”

“Melinda.” She responds, correcting the young lawyer.

“Right; well, Melinda, my sister gave me a very brief overview of your case before you came.  I did some research of my own.  Care to tell me why you were incarcerated in the first place?  I know it was armed robbery.”

“Yeah, it was at a local convenience store.  Those were my primary targets, convenience stores and gas stations.  I was hooked on drugs badly at the time and needed money to buy some.”

“But you are clean now, correct?”

“Absolutely.” She nods her head. “Drug free.”

“And you never killed anyone in these robberies?”

“I did fire the gun but never with the intent to kill, always just as a warning shot to scare the shit out of them.”

“Good.  Now regarding this incident that occurred after you were released.  I know what the authorities are saying but I want to hear your side of the story.”

“Pretty clear cut, really.” Melinda states dryly.  “Marie and I had just left a Verizon store when some ass with a gun came over to rob us.  I snatched the gun from him and pointed it at him.”

Melinda sighs and shakes her head. “It was dumb of me, I know.”

“No!” Marie exclaims angrily, almost indignantly. “What you did was brave.”

“Marie, please…” Melinda’s voice trails off but Marie wants to hear none of it.

“Anyone else in that situation would have been frozen in fear.  Hell, even I had no clue how to handle that situation and in my career I’m in high pressure situations all the time.  But you were calm, cool, and collected.  You wrestled that gun away from him and that saved our lives.”

“If I may interject,” Oliver chimes in, causing Marie and Melinda to turn their attention back to him “there are a few details that could definitely help me out here regarding this incident.”

“Like what?” Marie asks.

“Well, was the gun hers?”

“No.” Marie answers immediately.

“Did she shoot him with the gun?”

“No.” Marie again responds quickly.

The lawyer glanced down at his paperwork as if considering options. It was a gesture he'd learnt to perform in order to placate potential clients who were likely to display high emotions on being rejected.  He glanced up, serious but kindly remarked…

“Good news and bad news.  The bad news is that Melinda has a huge obstacle to overcome in the form of her previous crime.”

“That’s not fair!” Marie exclaims. “She served her time for that!”

“This may be true and while we want to think that justice is blind, the reality of the situation is that everyone has preconceived views that may or may not be fair.  One such preconceived view that most people in this country have is that once a criminal, always a criminal.  People want to talk a big game about giving ex-convicts a second chance upon release but in reality they don’t.  That’s why it is very difficult for people like Melinda to get jobs upon release.  Employers are reluctant to give them a chance.  The same holds true for the justice system.  The mere fact that she has a record will work in favor of the prosecuting attorney if we decide to take this to trial.”

“You mean to say that they’re gonna try and argue that just because she was guilty of a crime in the past, that means she is guilty now without even bothering to pay much attention to the real facts of the case?”

“Pretty much.” Oliver nods his head. “It may not be right but it is a good argument to make and you had better believe that the state will use that argument to its fullest advantage.”

“That’s terrible.” Marie sighs and shakes her head. “Well if that’s the bad news, what’s the good news?”

“The good news is that unlike others in a similar situation, Melinda has a lot working in her favor.  Melinda did not own that gun and she did not introduce it into the incident; your attacker did.  That plus there is the mitigating factor that you already mentioned, Marie…sure, she did eventually have ‘possession’ of the gun after wrestling it away from the guy, but she used it to save your life.  Not only that but her record of how she spent her time in prison will work in her favor.  She spent her time taking classes to learn how to improve herself so that she could turn her life around.  That is a mitigating factor too and a defendant like Melinda could use as many mitigating factors as she can get.”

“So do you think you can get her off the hook?” Marie asks.

“Maybe…” Oliver’s voice trails off “…I do know some judges that are friendly to me.  If I can get lucky enough to get her trial moved to one of their jurisdictions I think I can almost safely say we can guarantee the charges will be dropped.”

“Seriously, dude?” Melinda remarks, her eyes immediately lighting up upon hearing those promising words.

“Oh absolutely.  You have a few great mitigating factors, the gun was never introduced into the equation by you, you never actually used it anyway, and all that combined with a friendly judge should be enough.” Oliver Hardy Jr. reaches into his desk drawer and produces several sheets of paperwork and slides it across the table to Melinda. “There will be some paper work you need to fill out.  Just standard stuff, mind you.  I’m doing this pro bono but even I have to have this filled out to keep it on the up and up.”

“I understand.” Melinda nods her head.

“In the meantime,” he looks at Marie and then at Kayla “you two may want to go and sit outside in the lobby?  This is going to be long and boring.”

“Sure.” Kayla nods her head and stands up. “Come on, Marie.”

Marie is thrilled that her aunt’s foster brother can help Melinda.  Still, she is always nervous around him.  His father, Oliver Hardy Sr., raped her when she was younger.  Yet he and Kayla both were also victims of Oliver Hardy Sr. and his abusive ways.  Despite this, Marie still finds it difficult to be around him.  He looks so much like his father and brings back painful memories.  But this was a necessary evil, especially if it means he can get Melinda off the hook for the ridiculous possession of a firearm charge.

The other thing that bothers Marie about today’s visit is the fact that Kayla is here at all.  There was no need for her to come as Marie knew the way to his office.  Perhaps Kayla just understood Marie’s apprehension towards Oliver and wanted to be there to make her feel better?  But that’s not what Marie thinks.  Marie thinks there are ulterior motives afoot.

Still, Oliver asked for them to step out of his office and Kayla is now standing at his office door, motioning for Marie to follow her.  Marie reluctantly stands up out of her chair and follows Kayla out of the office.  Marie shuts the door behind her.

“It looks like your friend is going to be ok.” Kayla remarks, breaking the ice.

“It would certainly appear that way.”

“I have to admit, though, when you told me about what happened, I thought Melinda was done for.  Like Oliver says, right or wrong, people just automatically make assumptions about people, including ex-convicts.  She was going to have a big mountain to climb in order to overcome this parole violation charge anyway but it seems as if Oliver has a way out for her.”

“Well it is the least he could do, all things considered…” Marie’s voice trails off.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kayla asks with an arched brow.

“Oh don’t play dumb, Aunt Kayla.  You know what his father did to me…what his father did to you…”

“And what his father did to him.  Don’t forget that he was a victim too, Marie.”

“Maybe…” Marie sighs and shakes her head “…I don’t know.  I guess I just still have a hard time letting go of the past.  Especially considering how much he looks like his father.  It’s almost like they were twins.”

“I know and considering what his father did to you, I can understand you having trouble letting go of that.  And I’m not even here to ask you to let go of that.  What I am asking you to do is not to judge someone based on their past, especially if they are trying to turn their back on their past and turn over a new leaf.”

“Here it comes.” Marie rolls her eyes. “You’re preaching to the choir, Aunt Kayla.  I know this all too well, or have you already forgotten about the fact that I am the only person alive on this planet who was willing to stick her neck out for Melinda? Her own family has disowned her and wants nothing to do with her.  She has no friends except me.  Everyone else would look at her as just another common criminal who is getting what she deserved but I don’t think she deserves to be treated like garbage by society immediately upon release.  She already paid her dues to society and should be given a second chance.”

“Yet you subconsciously judge Oliver, despite the fact that he had nothing to do with his father’s crimes.  Not to mention the fact that you are always judging your mother.”

This is exactly what Marie was afraid of.  She’s been under the microscope of her family ever since she threw her lot in with Katya and Dark Fantasy.  But Marie thinks she is justified in doing what she did.  She thinks she is on the right side of history.  Marie believes that what she is doing is fair and just and she does not wish to be judged for her actions.

“So now the truth comes out.” Marie chuckles lightly. “I kind of wondered why you decided to join us on this little trip and I had my suspicions but now I know I’m right.  Mom is upset that I’m pissed off at her and so she went crying to her baby sister instead of dealing with me herself.”

“Your mom didn’t say a damn thing to me, young lady.  I wanted to get you by myself for my own reasons.  For starters, I don’t care that you aligned yourself with Katya and Dark Fantasy.  I know your mother hates it but I don’t care.  That’s your decision and if you can live with it then more power to you.”

“Really?”

“Of course.  Your mother doesn’t like talking about it, and neither do I for that matter, but we both have done worse in our own respective careers.  Who are we to judge you for something you did that you think is for the best?”

“I know it is for the best.” Marie growls.

“Be that as it may, the point is that I don’t judge you.  And I would ask that you do the same in return and stop judging your mother.  She beats herself up enough over her past as it is.  She doesn’t need you to assist her in beating her up over her past.”

“It’s not as simple as you may think, Aunt Kayla.” Marie shakes her head. “Angelica walked out there with Sasha on my crowning glory in SCW, the night I was announced as the winner of the fan vote for the world title match.  Mom walked out there and, side by side with Sasha, started lecturing me about the decision I made.  You want me to quit being so damned judgmental?  Well it works both ways.”

“I agree with you on that, and I have no problem talking to your mom about it, but only if you promise to go easy on her.  She’s had it rough lately.”

“Rough?!” Marie starts laughing. “Are you kidding me?  Was winning the tag team elimination chamber rough for her?  Was it rough on her to kick Bree and Andrew’s asses to become the new SCW World Tag Team Champions with James Evans?  Or better yet, maybe having the SCW collectively kiss her ass by handing her an award for tag team of the year that she damn sure didn’t earn because she hasn’t even been back in SCW for just a few months while other teams have actually been here busting their asses and they get ignored?  Was that rough on her?  Explain to me how exactly this has been rough on her?  Because the way I see it, she walks right back in after promising to leave and SCW bends the knee and me, I’ve been here and haven’t left despite some turbulent times, and I get ignored!”

Kayla rears back and slaps the taste out of Marie’s mouth. It stings and she rubs her face but more than anything it surprises Marie.  She wasn’t expecting this.

“Shut up you spoiled brat and listen to me for just a moment!  Your mom never spanked you, hell she n ever gave you any real discipline at all, because of the guilt she felt over how she gave you up at birth and then killed your father. When you miraculously came back into her life and she got to raise you she never once disciplined you because she felt guilty.  That was a mistake.  Had you been a child of mine I would have beaten your ass over this kind of disrespect.  Now let me give you a sharp reality check ok?  Your mother is depressed right now.”

“What?” That’s the only reaction Marie can muster.  She’s still in shock over being slapped but also in shock over the revelation of her mom being depressed.

“She does a good job of hiding and she hasn’t said anything to anyone, not even me, until just recently.  I managed to pry it from her.  But it makes sense.  Her GCW career is on a downward spiral.  She still feels partially responsible for that kid, Dustin, overdosing and killing himself.  You once again seem bound and determined to shut her out of your life and you know damn well how crazy that makes her.  The only thing she has going for her is the SCW World Tag Team Championship and even there she feels that she isn’t holding up her end of the bargain.”

“How depressed is she?” Marie asks, afraid of the answer.

“She claims she’s not suicidal, if that’s what you’re worried about.  Believe me, that was the first question I asked when she told me this.”

“I…had no idea…”

“No, because you’ve only been thinking about yourself.” She points towards Oliver’s office door. “Try to imagine Melinda in there.  You said that her parents have disowned her, right?”

“Yes.” Marie says, nodding her head.

“You have a mother who would move mountains for you.  You should consider yourself lucky.  But you want to disown her. So do me this favor, Marie, this one tiny favor, and in return I’ll do you a favor and try to get your mother to back off of you regarding your recent career choices.  Go easy on your mother, let her know you love her.  Some people, like Melinda, don’t have parents who love them.   So be appreciative for what you have.”

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January 4^th, 2019

Off Camera

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The bar curves into the room, dark in the barely lit room. Through the windows, the diamonds of lead panes, trickles the sallow light of street-lamps. The smell has changed over the years. Once it was of cigarette smoke only, the perfume that clung to clothing, skin and furniture alike. Now it is stale beer and body odor. There are establishments that are more like restaurants now - all clean with waiting staff. Not here.  It was always a den of debauchery, alcoholism and the great unwashed of the town. It still is. No-one comes here with anything wholesome in mind.

It’s where Kimberly Williams feels most at home.  It’s a ways outside of Boston, Massachusetts.  Very few know of it and even the authorities tend to ignore it.  In return, the ownership of this small, run down, depraved little place tries to ensure nothing gets too out of line.  Perhaps that is why Kimberly likes it so much?  This bar is like the black sheep of all other bars; just as she knows she is the black sheep of the Jones family.

Kimberly also knows that this would be the perfect place to take Melinda so she could be able to relax, if only for a little bit.  This is what brings them here, as they walk into the bar from the front entrance.  Kimberly feels relaxed and for the most part, so does Melinda.  But Marie does not feel so relaxed.  For starters, this place doesn’t give off good vibrations.  It feels unsafe to her.  And after the incident outside the Verizon store, Marie isn’t sure it is a good idea to place Melinda into any situation that could potentially get her into any more danger.

Still, Kimberly was insistent.

“I don’t like this, Kim.” Marie says, scanning the area, noticing a pool table near the center with several bikers there playing pool.  Several drunks near the back of the bar and, surprisingly, a near empty bar area itself near the front completes the look.

“Let’s be honest, sis, you don’t really like anything.” Kimberly says, snickering.

“You’re exaggerating.”

Even Melinda cannot help but laugh a little as the twin sisters bicker amongst themselves, but she tries to keep it to herself as they find three seats at the bar.

“Am I?  C’mon, sis, I invited you to come have fun with me on New Year’s Eve!”

“You mean the night I had my world title match and you competed in the end of the year invitational?”

“Oh yeah…” Kimberly pauses to rethink her argument, then snaps her fingers “…OH!  Well how about last month when I asked you to go partying with me?”

“The way I recall you invited me to go with you to throw things at old people.”

“Hey now!  Don’t knock it until you tried it!” Kimberly says with a laugh. “You really need to loosen up a bit and try to have fun.  Pull that stick out of your ass and do something useful with it.  Like, say, beat the living crap out of Katya and Dark Fantasy.”

“No chance, Kim.” Marie shakes her head. “Katya has given me the best chance at getting a fair play in SCW.”

“Ok then, can I bash her head in then if you won’t? Or maybe I’ll gut her like a fish!”

“KIM!”

Melinda cannot contain her laughter any longer.  She starts laughing and cannot stop.  Marie scowls but Kimberly just grins from ear to ear.

“I can’t believe you’d laugh about Kim here wanting to disembowel my boss.”

“I’ve been in prison, Marie, I’ve heard worse and I can tell when people mean it or are just talking shit.  Besides, Katya isn’t really your boss.  Am I right?”

Marie sighs. “Technically her father is the boss.  But…”

“Well there you go!”

“I like her!” Kimberly declares, slapping Melinda on the back.

“Of course you do.” Marie hops up off of the stool. “I’m going to the bathroom.  If the bartender ever gets here to take the order, just get me a water.”

With that Marie walks off.  This leaves Kimberly alone with Melinda.  Kimberly and Marie may look identical but their personalities are vastly different.  Melinda was never a believer in nurture over nature but now, after meeting Kimberly, she believes it. Kimberly is Marie’s identical twin, the closest thing nature has to human cloning.  Yet despite being Marie’s “clone” she in no ways acts like Marie.  Kimberly was raised in a very ruthless, heartless, cutthroat world whereas Marie was coddled and protected most of her life.  Melinda almost respects Kimberly slightly more than she respects Marie, simply because she feels Kimberly would understand truly how rough she had it in prison.

“So, do you drink or are you a prude like my sister?” Kimberly asks with a cheesy grin on her face.

“I used to drink but that all came to a halt after going to prison.”

“You know you can start back tonight if you wanted to.”

“I know but I don’t think so.” Melinda sighs. “It may be best if I remain sober.”

“Suit yourself.” She chuckles and motions to the bartender. “Watch this…”

Kimberly leaned on the bar, her lovely red locks of hair lying over one shoulder of her sequined dress. She lolled her head to one side, pushing out her red lips just a little. She wasn't drunk yet but she liked to give the impression that she was. The bartender was there to take her order in a flash, eyes dropping only momentarily to her low-cut neckline. She twiddled her hair in a seemingly absent-minded way and giggled girlishly…

“Hey babe!  Eyes up here…” She smirks knowingly “…that’s a good boy.  What would your girlfriend think, eh Seth?”

“What can I get you get, Kim.” The bartender, Seth, asks.

“Scotch please!” She points to Melinda. “Water for her and water for the prude also!”

“Scotch for you, water for the newcomer, and water for your sister.  Got it.”

With that the bartender walks off.  Kimberly smirks as Melinda chuckles lightly under her breath.

“How did he know you meant Marie when you said prude?”

“Seth and I are tight.  I always tease that I’m gonna make him leave his woman for me.  I’ve told him all about Marie and how she’s a great big prude.”

“Well can you tell me a little about yourself, Kim?” Melinda asks.

“What do you want to know?  I do like long walks on the beach and throwing things at old people…”

“Yeah, you mentioned that.” Melinda chuckles. “I meant more of your background.  You must have some kind of an interesting story to tell.  But Marie never told me about you when she visited me in prison.”

“I’m not surprised.  I am the black sheep of the family, don’t ya know?”

“Really?  That’s surprising.  You seem fun.”

“Well our family isn’t known for fun.” Kimberly says with a wink.

“Still, where did you come from?”

“Well a magical thing happened when a mommy and a daddy love each other and…”

“Not the sex talk!” Melinda says with a laugh. “You know what I mean!”

“I know, but no one wants to hear my background.” Kimberly scoffs.

“You’re wrong.” Melinda remarks. “I do.”

The bartender returns with two glasses of water and a scotch.  Melinda takes a sip of her water and Kimberly turns up her scotch and takes a big swig of it before placing it back down on the bar counter.

“Alright, guess it’s a good thing that I got my scotch because I’m gonna need to be good and loaded to tell this story.” Kimberly smirks knowingly before taking another big swig.

“Our mother was a nun.  Not sure if Marie told you that part.”

She did.” Melinda nods her head, taking a sip of her water.

“Anyway, mom was a nun.  And you know what nuns or any religious person in the Catholic Church isn’t supposed to do?  Well she did it.  With a loser named Sean Williams.  My daddy!”

“Wow, that was definitely scandalous.”

“It was.   Mom was tempted to have an abortion but instead chose to give us both up at birth.  Long story short, Marie ended up in an orphanage while I was taken home and raised by a sociopath.  Now when mom left the convent and got back on her feet financially to the point where she could receive full custody again, she took Marie back.  But my foster parent was raising me off the grid.  So as far as everyone else knew, mom included, I was dead.  But did that matter to me?”

Kimberly shakes her head. “No, I had no clue and I didn’t care anyway.  I blamed mom for everything wrong with my life.   I learned some things from my foster mom.  I learned how to be sneaky, how to be stealthy, I learned how stalk people.  I stalked mom and Marie.  I saw how mom treated her like a goddess.”

Kimberly bangs her fist on the bar counter. “I hated her for that!  And what’s more is that I was jealous of Marie.  She had all the luxury and pampering of living a sheltered life while I was begging for the scraps that fell from society’s table.  Plus mom would always say that Marie was her favorite, that Marie kept her sane, kept her together.”

“But she thought you were dead, right?” Melinda asks.

“Yes, but that didn’t matter to me.  I wanted to be Marie.  I wanted her life.  And since we were identical twin sisters I knew of the perfect way to become Marie.” Kimberly swigs down the rest of her scotch and slams the glass down on the counter. “I kidnapped her.  I kidnapped her, locked her in a basement in the middle of nowhere, and I proceeded to replace her.”

Tears start to form in Kimberly’s eyes. “Yet she forgave me.  I didn’t deserve forgiveness but she forgave me.  Not only did she forgive me but she helped me let go of my anger and helped me to deal with my psychotic tendencies.  She taught me right from wrong.  And that’s why I feel so guilty over what I did.”

“But she forgave you, Kim.” Melinda remarks. “And you fixed your relationship. That’s fucking awesome!”

“She forgave me but I’ll never forgive myself.” A flash of anger enters Kim’s eyes. “And heaven help anyone who tries to hurt Marie.  I will fucking murder them!  That includes Katya and those damn whores she hangs out with, Syren and Ravyn!  One day they will hurt Marie, I know it, and when they do, I will gut all three of them!”

Melinda is silent for a moment.  Being in prison has indeed helped her to tell the difference between when someone is making a threat in jest and when they are serious.  She can tell that Kimberly is deadly serious when she makes this threat.  It is at this moment that Marie returns from the bathroom.  She hops back up onto her stool and sees the water.  Immediately she takes a sip.

“Good, drinks are here.  Did you guys miss me?”

“Of course!” Kimberly says in an overly cheerful voice, almost as if she flipped a switch from psycho to happy.

“So, Marie, I couldn’t help but overhear that you and Kayla were having a rather intense conversation outside of Mr. Hardy’s law office yesterday.  Is everything ok?”

Marie nods her head. “Yeah, everything’s fine.  Kayla was just telling me about mom being depressed.”

“You didn’t tell me.” Kimberly states.

“It’s nothing to worry about, Kim.  It’s just mom being melodramatic as usual.”

“Well if you don’t mind me saying, I think you should probably talk to her about it.  Whatever is wrong, talking to you about it would probably help.”

“Yeah, that’s what Kayla says.” Marie sighs. “But I don’t know, she’s done this before and sometimes I wonder if she just gets into these moods in order to get attention for herself, you know?”

“Marie, babe, depression is real.” Melinda says in a very serious, stern tone. “Believe me, I know.  I had friends in prison who suffered from it.  Shit, I suffered from it the first few years of my sentence.  Your mom could be faking, but depression itself is not fake.  It’s real, believe me.  The safest thing to do would be to at least talk to her.”

“Fine…” Marie sips more of her water “…I’ll talk to her.  But I make no promises.  Like I told Kayla, it goes both ways.  She needs to hear what I have to say as well.”

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On Camera

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We open in front of an SCW logo backdrop.  Kimberly Williams steps into view from stage right.  We know it is Kimberly because she is wearing torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a t-shirt which reads “May I Please Disembowel Katya” in hot pink lettering.  She smirks at the camera before waving playfully.

“Well hello again, Supreme Championship Wrestling!  My hamster Caligula convinced me to throw my hat into the End of the Year Open Invitational and while it didn’t go the way I had hoped…honestly, I had hoped I would get eliminated much sooner so I could go out and party with Abi and Dawn and the three of us could throw things at old people!  But you pathetic losers couldn’t eliminate me fast enough!  You weren’t good enough!  And you know what my pet hamster Caligula said to me immediately after the show was over?  He said ‘fuck, that Sienna Swann is a hot little bitch!’…oh, no, sorry, that’s the second thing he said to me after the show was over.  The first thing he said to me was that I should officially make my move from Emerge to SCW.”

She jumps up and holds her arms out wide open, as if expecting a hug from the SCW universe. “So here you go, ladies and gentlemen!  You get me from here on out!  Congratulations!  Or sucks to be you, depending on your perspective.  Blame Caligula, it’s damn fault.  Stupid hamster, putting ideas in my head.”

Kimberly relaxes her pose and snickers. “So where to begin?  Well, I guess I’m going to begin with a tag team match!  Me and my prudish sister against Darth Andrew Raynes and Darth Dustin Adams.  Raynes and Adams, current GCW tag champs, against me and Marie, former GCW tag champs!  Oh, wait, sorry, nothing outside of SCW matters, am I right?  So where’s the overenthusiastic nerd in stupid glasses to scream about how this is the HISTORIC first time ever me and Marie have ever teamed up?!  Because I refuse to perform without him!  I want him, damn it!  I also want a pony!”

It is at that moment when Marie Annabelle Jones, The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, enters the scene from stage left and stands next to Kimberly.  By contrast, Marie is dressed much nicer in black leather pumps, a knee length skirt, a red silk blouse, her signature black leather jacket, and sunglasses covering her eyes.

“Damn it.  I was afraid you’d show up.” Kimberly remarks, making a pouty face.

“Someone has to bring sanity to the table, Kim.”

Kimberly sticks her tongue out at Marie but The Phoenix ignores her slightly deranged sociopath of a sister.

“So here we go!  Andrew Raynes and Marie Jones match number one million, six hundred thousand, three hundred, and forty two. How original!  I wouldn’t put it past Sasha to book this match.  Her and Mr. D just can’t think outside the box.  They can’t think of something new and original to give to the fans.  That’s another reason I really like the way Katya handles things.  She doesn’t do the same thing over and over again.”

She points at the camera. “Or maybe YOU wanted this match, Raynes?  Maybe you asked for this because you are the type of person who cannot let go of anything.  The day I die, if you outlive me, you’ll probably dig up my body and challenge my corpse to a wrestling match because you’re so fucking warped in the head that you cannot move on.  You have to stay attached to the same old shit.  I’m moving on from the likes of you…or at least I’m trying to move on.  We had our matches, that’s it.  I’m done with you and I have no intentions on being locked in a never ending feud with a lame piece of shit like you for the rest of my SCW career.  I aspire to bigger and better things than that.”

“Technically this is kinda different, sis.” Kimberly opines. “I mean, I’m gonna be there as well as that hippo float from the Christmas parade!”

“Oh right, I forgot, it’s a tag match!  I guess my sister Kim and your pal Adams being there makes this special in the eyes of SCW, right?” Marie shakes her head. “Not me.  Same old, same old in my eyes.  It’s still Marie and Andrew going around in the same vicious cycle.  You may be interested in living in the past, Raynes, but not me.  It’s a brand new year and a brand new me.  I am looking forward to my future while you still remain in the past holding onto every god damn grudge you can think of.”

“Birds fly, planes fly, and you know what else flies?” Kimberly asks. “Time.  Time flies and if you’re not careful, you will be left behind.”

“Kim’s right.” Marie remarks, nodding her head. “Time is not your friend.  Time is your enemy, Raynes.  You refuse to move on, you insist upon remaining stuck in the past, and that is going to be your downfall.  Everyone else, myself included, will move on without you.  I am done with you, Raynes.  You can dress it up as a one on one, a title match, a chamber match, or a tag match, it doesn’t really matter what you want to call it, I am through with you and if that means putting your ass on the shelf once and for all to do it then so be it.”

Marie motions with her thumb to Kimberly. “And I have the ability to follow through on that threat because I have backup.  Better yet, I have a weapon.  Her name is Kimberly Williams and she’s done some heinous, unspeakable things in her life.  She’s the weapon and I have my finger on the trigger…”

“I’m a weapon?!  Can I be a knife instead of a gun, though?  Because STABBY! STABBY! STABBY…”

“Shut up, Kim!” With that, Kim goes silent. “As I was saying, she’s the weapon, and I will use that weapon if necessary to put you and your dumb gorilla away for good.”

Kimberly snickers. “Now Marie, gorillas are smart creatures.  Don’t insult them like that.  Adams is more like a hippo.  Raynes, though, looks like a weasel.  I’ve eaten weasel before.  It tastes nothing like chicken, by the way.  I hear that human flesh tastes like pork.  Not that I’ve ever tried any…” Kimberly winks playfully.

“…enough about the Donner Party, though.  We are going to have a party, boys and girls, we are going to raise hell, and Andy, you want to talk about embracing the hate, I was BORN INTO HATE you stupid bastard!  I was RAISED amongst HATRED!  As dirty and rotten as you can get, I can get just as bad, if not worse.  So you and your reject from Hungry Hungry Hippo better not fuck with me!”

Marie steps over in front of Kimberly, who playfully waves at the camera before Marie speaks to conclude things…

“It’s a new year and a time for new beginnings in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  But before we can begin new things it appears as if myself and Kimberly have to close the door on an old rivalry.  All things must come to an end and this, too, will have its conclusion.  But you won’t get to write the final chapter in this rivalry.  Kimberly and I are going to be the authors of this final chapter.  We decide how this ends, whether you like it or not, and whether you like it or not, this ends, one way or the other, on Breakdown.”