Tuesday May 31, 2011
The Nest- Dining Room
Indianapolis, Indiana
11:17 AM Local Time
“What the hell is going on in here?” my husband demanded as he burst in the doorway between our kitchen dining room. “Why are you two screaming?”
Cassie and I both jumped in surprise and looked up from my laptop computer’s screen. For a second, we both blinked, too stunned by the interruption to properly respond. Finally, Cassie spoke up. “Sorry, but we weren’t really screaming. I was just showing Wendy this really adorable vid-”
“Well, don’t do that! I heard you from the garage,” Terrence interrupted irritably. “Theresa and I thought one of you was hurt or something, Jesus..”
I looked over at Terrence, and was surprised to see that there was a measure of relief on his face, although irritation certainly was there as well. Behind him, in the kitchen watching us curiously, stood my daughter. I grimaced, and sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you two...”
Terrence shrugged, apparently accepting my apology, and tugged at the Tony Stewart (old-school, back when he drove #20 Home Depot Car!) t-shirt he was wearing. He strode into the room. “So what were you watching?”
“Nothing,” I shot back. “You’ll just make fun of it.”
“What makes you say that?” Terrence protested, leaning over Cassie’s shoulder to get a better view on the laptop computer screen. “It’s a YouTube video. I watch YouTube all the time!”
“Yeah, but this isn’t really like the ‘Top Ten Mortal Kombat Fatalities of All time’ or ‘Greatest Hockey Fight EVAR’, or anything like that,” Cassie replied, looking at Terrence mildly. “I don’t think you’ll be into it.”
“What? I’m a sensitive guy!” Terrence protested. “I teared up at the end of Moulin Rogue, remember?”
“Really?” Cassie asked skeptically, before turning to look at me for confirmation.
I nodded. “Though I specifically remember him saying ‘I missed a Cubs game for THIS?’”
“Oh, shut up and play the damned video,” Terrence growled.
“Terry, language,” I softly reminded, looking over at our daughter.
Terrence cringed, and shot me a lopsided, apologetic smile. “Can she watch this?” he added. “PG-rated?”
I nodded, and Cassie scoffed. “DEFINITELY G-rated,” she said.
“Alright.” Terrence turned to Theresa. “Wanna watch a video, kiddo? See what mommy and Cassie thought was so cute?”
“Yeah!” Theresa exclaimed, and bounded into the room. Terrence scooped her up in his arms, and nodded to Cassie, and my nanny hit play, the YouTube video once again playing. In it, two cats- a larger gray one, and a tiny orange-furred kitten, were sleeping next to each other. Cassie and I ‘awwed’ again as the smaller kitty began to paw at the air in its sleep, until the larger cat reached out with its paws, embraced the kitten, and pulled it in tight against her. Even Theresa giggled at the touching scene.
Terrence, however, was unimpressed. “That’s it?”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t get it.”
“No, I get it,” Terrence said, setting Theresa down and looking over at me. “Mama cat hugs baby kitty. I just don’t see the appeal. Heck, whenever Theresa hugs Chanticleer like that, you yell at her!”
“Terry, she was squeezing him so hard Chant couldn’t breathe. He was WHEEZING,” I countered. “It’s not the same.”
“Whatever,” Terrence said with a nonchalant shrug, looking back at the computer screen. “Probably not even mother and kitten. The big one has gray fur, and the little one has orange and white-”
“And that matters how?” I demanded. “I have red hair, and Theresa has brown.”
“Yeah,” Terrence replied, suddenly looking thoughtful. “You think the hospital switched kids on us? OW! I’M KIDDING!” he protested, as my closed fist rammed into his shoulder, and he began to rub it.
“Not funny!” I looked at Terrence severely for a couple of seconds, then looked over at Cassie, who was still seated at the dining room table, watching us in amusement. Theresa, meanwhile, apparently had become inspired by the video, and was searching under the table for Chanticleer. She’d have no luck- the cat was sleeping upstairs on my bed, and I was hardly about to volunteer that information.
“Oh, almost forgot to mention,” Terrence said, more serious this time, all though he was still rubbing his shoulder. “I booked our flight for Los Angeles. Leaves Sunday morning from Chicago- we’ll have to leave the RV there for a week. I assume you’re coming, Cassie?”
“I was planning on it,” our ever-vigilant nanny said softly.
“Okay, it’s gonna be a long trip. We leave Thursday for my race in Joliet, then Friday and Saturday there, Sunday we fly to Calgary, then to Los Angeles, spend the week there, then back to Chicago after Wendy’s match Thursday night, then we drive to Pennsylvania on Friday, and I race at Pocono on Saturday.”
“It’s fine,” Cassie replied, smiling slightly. “I’m used to long-trips with you guys now. And a week in L.A. should be fun!”
“Just make sure we bring sunscreen, and a lot of it,” I said, sighing. “I’m not going to be much good out there if I’m sunburned. But Terry, how come you booked our flight? Why didn’t you have Pollaski do it?’
“Couldn’t get ahold of him,” my husband replied, shrugging. “It’s weird. I tried him several times.”
I bit my lip, and looked at Terrence. “He always answers his phone,” I replied. “Or he calls back immediately. I wonder what-” suddenly, my mind shot back to the previous night, where Pollaski and I had been talking with several other FFW wrestlers on Twitter, only for Pollaski to suddenly go quiet. I had jokingly suggested that maybe he had a heart attack, but... “Oh God...” I exclaimed, turning pale.
“What?” Terrence asked, looking at me in concern.
“I... think he’s dead.” I whispered.
*BAM!*
Terrence, Cassie, and I jumped nearly a mile at the sound of our front door swinging open, slamming into the wall. After we had composed ourselves, Terrence shot me a sly wink. “Well, there he is. So unless he’s a zombie coming to eat our brains...”
“Shut up, Terry,” I growled, then raised my voice. “Pollaski, would you please stop swinging our front door open... like.... that...”
My voice trailed off as Pollaski came into view. He obviously wasn’t a zombie- in fact, he was looking about as good as I had ever seen him. His hair had been cut, he was clean shaven. But the most alarming element about my manager was that his usual t-shirt/Hawaiian shirt and shorts combo was gone, replaced by a tuxedo.
As the three of us stood in shock, Pollaski shot us an ear-to-ear smile, took a deep breath, and to our utter shock, slowly began to sing.
“I never thought that life could bring
Me anything but the mundane things”
It wasn’t the worst singing voice I had ever heard (and as a former community theater director, I had heard a lot of them!), baritone in nature. Nonetheless, I felt my jaw drop, and I was aware that my compatriots were having similar reactions. A quick look at my husband saw him mouthing ‘wtf’ as he stared at Pollaski.
“But in one moment my cellphone rings
A Tweet that makes me sing
Now I have a golden ticket!
I've got a really hot date on Sunday Night”
“Is... he... is he really singing Willy Wonka?” Cassie whispered. I nodded silently. Even if I could have found words, my mouth was still hung open, so all I could really utter was a strangled-sounding squeak.
Pollaski picked the tempo up a little, grabbing a giggling Theresa and beginning to dance with our four year old around the room.
I simply wrote my column for fun
Always trying to piss off someone
But with Samantha my words struck a chord
Now I have a huge reward.
And I have a golden ticket!
I have a golden girl her name is...
Pollaski was swinging Theresa by her arms in the air, but paused in mid swing, and set her down. He rubbed his chin. “Her name is... uh...”
“Jaclyn Swedberg?” I finished, rolling my eyes. My fears that this ‘arrangement’ Samantha had made could only end in disaster wasn’t being alleviated any.
Pollaski snapped, and pointed at me. “Thank you! I knew there was a ‘J’ in there somewhere!” He then cleared his throat.
“And I have a golden girl her-”
“You’re done!” Cassie, Terrence and I all managed to exclaim simultaneously.
“You’re sure?” Pollaski asked, arching an eyebrow. “I have more.”
“Maybe later,” I said flatly. “Dan, I-”
I found myself being cut off by Cassie. “Why are you so happy?”
Pollaski’s grin returned, and he looked over at Cassie. “Okay, so get this. Yesterday, I was writing my column, which is COMPLETELY awesome and everyone should read by the way. Anyways, I was fairly complimentary of Samantha, because she, well, is a genius. And well, Samantha read the column, loved it, and as a reward, she got me a DATE WITH A PLAYBOY BUNNY!”
There was another moment of silence. Pollaski’s ear-to-ear grin was plastered on his face, while Cassie returned his look with disgust. Terrence, meanwhile, seemed to be hardly paying attention, as he had taken out his phone, and was apparently texting. The silence was finally broken, to my horror, by my daughter.
“Why would you want to go out with a rabbit?”
“Theresa,” I said, walking over to her side, and kneeling in front of her. “If, God forbid, you remember this conversation ten years from now, I will explain it to you then, okay? Now, go upstairs and... get a game or something.”
“But...”
“Don’t argue with me Theresa!” I said sharply.
“I never get to be in ANY of the fun talks!” Theresa pouted, as she moped towards the stairs.
“And you have no idea I jealous I am of you right now,” I said quietly after her.
“DUDE!” Terrence’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I wheeled to see my husband staring at his phone, his mouth open in amazement. “Holy CRAP!”
“I know, right?” Pollaski snickered.
“Terry! What are you doing?” I exclaimed.
“Well, every time I ask you who or what something is, you tell me to Google it. So I did.” Terrence responded mildly, then burst out laughing. “Boy am I glad I did!”
“Give me that!” I snarled, ripping the phone from my husband’s hands. I was tempted to fling it against the wall, and it honestly took every ounce of my self-control to not do so. Instead, I squeezed the Android in my hands. Maybe I’d ‘accidentally’ break it this way...
Terrence however, was undaunted. “Dude, we only have five days! We gotta get you ready! You know what we absolutely need in this case?”
Pollaski stopped in the middle of an impromptu jig, and looked over at Terrence. There was another short moment of silence then-
“OLD SPICE!” Both men exclaimed with a double fist-bump.
“Ditch the monkey suit, though” Terrence continued. “You’ll look like a dork wearing that in a Wal-Mart,”
“Oh yeah, that’ll be a new thing,” I heard Cassie hiss behind me under her breath.
Pollaski grimaced, and nodded. “Yeah, I should change. Sides, like you said. It’s five days. Damn thing’ll get dirty by then. I still have that t-shirt and shorts here, right?”
“Yeah, it’s in the laundry room,” I replied, although my dagger-filled glare was still leveled at Terrence.
“Cool. Give me a few.” Pollaski said, then hurriedly walked out of the room.
Terrence grinned as Pollaski left, then turned back to me, his grin fading. “For the record, you’re way hotter than this Jaclyn Smith chick.”
“Swedberg,” I icily corrected. “Smith was one of the Charlie’s Angels. But you wouldn’t know anything about THAT, would you?”
“Would this be a bad time to say that you look really, really cute when you’re jealous?” Terrence asked, grinning.
I narrowed my eyes, “I’m not jealous.” It was a flat-out lie, of course.
“Right,” Terrence replied, his grin returning. “Oh come on. Pollaski says he’s going out with Miss freakin’ April, and you don’t expect me to look? And it’s not like I’ve never seen you looking at a good-lookin’ guy. You kept taking glances at Christian Kincaid at the 500, that’s for sure!”
“That pig?!” I scoffed. “I was merely making sure he and his HAREM didn’t do anything that would embarrass us and our other guests!”
Terrence chuckled. “If you say so hon.” He leaned in, and kissed me on the cheek, then gently wrest his phone from my hands. “Now come on. Our very good friend Daniel Pollaski has a date of his life, and we should be supportive, okay?”
I gave a half-hearted smile. “I know, but something about this-”
I was interrupted by Pollaski returning, now in a Batman T-shirt and a pair of khaki cargo shorts. “Aight, let’s roll, Twistaman,”
Terrence gave me another kiss on the cheek. “See ya later, hon.”
Terrence and Pollaski headed out the door, laughing and smacking each other on the shoulder, leaving me and Cassie alone in the dining room. I sighed deeply.
“I don’t like this, Cass. I know she’s my boss, but I don’t trust Samantha Star at all. She seems like the type of person who’s only friendly to you as long as you’re useful to her. I don’t like what she did at Conviction. I don’t like that she’s suddenly taken Val Belmont’s sister under her wing, and I certainly don’t like that she’s suddenly setting my manager up with dates. All of it just reeks of a plot, and not one I want to be a part of.”
I expected my nanny to respond, but all I heard was the sound of Terrence’s Charger, roaring out of the driveway and up the street. I looked over. “Cass-?”
I was shocked to find Cassie livid, her fists clenched at her side, her face thunderous. She was staring at where Pollaski had been, her teeth bared in a snarl.
“Cassie?!”
My mentioning her name a second time seem to jolt her from her enraged stupor, and she looked over at me. “What?”
I was taken aback by the abrupt response. “Are you okay?” I asked, my voice filled with concern.
“Yeah. Never better. I’m just peachy-fucking-keen.” Cassie snarled.
“Wha-” I started to ask, but my voice died in my throat as Cassie stormed by me, heading to the front door. I heard it open, and then slam behind her, leaving me alone in the dining room, confused out of my mind.
What the HECK had just happened here?
========================
Wednesday June 1, 2011
The Nest- Living Room
Indianapolis, Indiana
3:21 PM Local TIme
[Well, that was a bit chaotic, wasn’t it?]
[Anyways, we’re stayin in The Nest here, moving things over to the living room, where we open with Wendy Briese sitting on the couch. Wendy seems to have fully acquiesced to the heat of summer, and is wearing a white sundress. Whatever trepidation and confusion that Wendy felt earlier seems to have vanished, and she looks positively thrilled to be in front of the camera.]
“Well, we did it!”
[Wendy grins excitedly at the camera]
“I owe all the thanks in the world to my two tag partners for that match. Crystal, Kassandra, you two were brilliant, and together, we got the job done. The three of us should be proud of the victory we had at Conviction, that’s for sure.”
[Wendy’s smile fades slightly.]
“But, obviously, that’s not the end of the road for us. Towards the end of the month, the second phase of the Chase will happen, and this team will be forced to implode, the three of us to face each other, because despite what happened at Conviction, there can only be one of us walking away the ultimate winner in this contest.”
“After seeing what both of you can do in the ring, I have to say, I’m more nervous about the second round of this competition than ever. I still think that I have what it takes to walk out the winner of the Chase, but I know that in the coming weeks, neither of you are going to make things easy for me, that’s for sure.”
[Wendy’s smile brightens again, until she’s grinning like she did at the start]
“But next week on Velocity, one more time we get to go out and show the world what the three of us can do. And this time-”
[Wendy pauses, and takes a deep breath, her emerald eyes dancing with excitement]
“With all due respect to our previous opponents, these are EXACTLY the types of people that I’ve been wanting a crack at ever since I signed up for Femme Fatale Wrestling. The Evolution Championship is something I would be honored to hold, and these are three women who have accomplished that feat. These are three women who are among the best that FFW has to offer.”
“These are three women I REALLY want to beat.”
[A small, lopsided smile]
“It’s nothing personal against them, of course. All of them are amazing wrestlers who deserve every accolade that has been heaped upon them. But that’s exactly why I want this win. If we can beat Colleen, Undine, and Robbyn Helmsley in a single night, there isn’t a person on the FFW roster we won’t be able to beat.”
“What’s shocked me the most about this contest is that I’ve heard some people, including Colleen’s own manager, write it off as a meaningless exhibition. Well, it might be an exhibition, but it sure isn’t meaningless to me.”
[Wendy pauses for just a second, and frowns, her voice softening just a tad.]
“This isn’t something you’ll hear a lot of wrestlers talk about, and maybe it’s not something I should bring up... but I know full well that my victory in the Chase for the Crown isn’t guaranteed. A lot can happen in the final two stages. And I don’t know how many of the other girls think this, but I’m always left wondering- what happens if I fail? What happens if I’m not the winner? What becomes of me then?”
“Only one of us CAN win, and for the losers, well, its the bitter sting of defeat, and the unknown, where the only certainty is that you won’t have accomplished what you wanted to. But if we win Thursday, at Velocity, and prove that we’re every bit as equal to the last three Evolution Champions, then maybe for the two of us that don’t win the Chase, the fall won’t be as far.”
[A deep sigh]
“But I also know that this could be the point where gamesmanship comes into play. Kassandra mentioned her fears going into the last match that either Crystal or I might try to screw her over, a ridiculous assessment given what was at stake. But it’s different now. I don’t know what’s in Kassandra or Crystal’s hearts, but they might not view this match the same way I do. They might not see the opportunity that arises from a victory, only the opportunity that can be found in treasonous duplicity. After all, if one of us were to be taken out during this match, it supposedly will give the other two an advantage in the next round.”
[Wendy shakes her head]
“I really hope that’s not the case, and that we’re all better than that. You can count on my commitment to this team, and know that I’m going all out to win this, and I hope that my teammates are willing to do the same. But I can promise this- I take umbrage to being stabbed in the back just as much as anyone else would, and you can my retribution upon any traitor will be swift, harsh, and damning.”
[A long pause, and Wendy smiles again]
“But I really hope that’s not the case. What the three of us did at Conviction was a thing of beauty, and given that our opponents themselves are hardly a unified front, there’s no reason that lightning can’t strike again. So Crystal, Kassandra, train hard over the next few days. I’ll see you guys in Los Angeles, and we’ll give the FFW fans an encore performance for the Anniversary show. Just please, keep this team on an even keel for just another week, until this match is behind us.”
[A deep breath,]
“I think the rewards for doing so might just be greater than any of us realize.”
[Fade]
The Nest- Dining Room
Indianapolis, Indiana
11:17 AM Local Time
“What the hell is going on in here?” my husband demanded as he burst in the doorway between our kitchen dining room. “Why are you two screaming?”
Cassie and I both jumped in surprise and looked up from my laptop computer’s screen. For a second, we both blinked, too stunned by the interruption to properly respond. Finally, Cassie spoke up. “Sorry, but we weren’t really screaming. I was just showing Wendy this really adorable vid-”
“Well, don’t do that! I heard you from the garage,” Terrence interrupted irritably. “Theresa and I thought one of you was hurt or something, Jesus..”
I looked over at Terrence, and was surprised to see that there was a measure of relief on his face, although irritation certainly was there as well. Behind him, in the kitchen watching us curiously, stood my daughter. I grimaced, and sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you two...”
Terrence shrugged, apparently accepting my apology, and tugged at the Tony Stewart (old-school, back when he drove #20 Home Depot Car!) t-shirt he was wearing. He strode into the room. “So what were you watching?”
“Nothing,” I shot back. “You’ll just make fun of it.”
“What makes you say that?” Terrence protested, leaning over Cassie’s shoulder to get a better view on the laptop computer screen. “It’s a YouTube video. I watch YouTube all the time!”
“Yeah, but this isn’t really like the ‘Top Ten Mortal Kombat Fatalities of All time’ or ‘Greatest Hockey Fight EVAR’, or anything like that,” Cassie replied, looking at Terrence mildly. “I don’t think you’ll be into it.”
“What? I’m a sensitive guy!” Terrence protested. “I teared up at the end of Moulin Rogue, remember?”
“Really?” Cassie asked skeptically, before turning to look at me for confirmation.
I nodded. “Though I specifically remember him saying ‘I missed a Cubs game for THIS?’”
“Oh, shut up and play the damned video,” Terrence growled.
“Terry, language,” I softly reminded, looking over at our daughter.
Terrence cringed, and shot me a lopsided, apologetic smile. “Can she watch this?” he added. “PG-rated?”
I nodded, and Cassie scoffed. “DEFINITELY G-rated,” she said.
“Alright.” Terrence turned to Theresa. “Wanna watch a video, kiddo? See what mommy and Cassie thought was so cute?”
“Yeah!” Theresa exclaimed, and bounded into the room. Terrence scooped her up in his arms, and nodded to Cassie, and my nanny hit play, the YouTube video once again playing. In it, two cats- a larger gray one, and a tiny orange-furred kitten, were sleeping next to each other. Cassie and I ‘awwed’ again as the smaller kitty began to paw at the air in its sleep, until the larger cat reached out with its paws, embraced the kitten, and pulled it in tight against her. Even Theresa giggled at the touching scene.
Terrence, however, was unimpressed. “That’s it?”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t get it.”
“No, I get it,” Terrence said, setting Theresa down and looking over at me. “Mama cat hugs baby kitty. I just don’t see the appeal. Heck, whenever Theresa hugs Chanticleer like that, you yell at her!”
“Terry, she was squeezing him so hard Chant couldn’t breathe. He was WHEEZING,” I countered. “It’s not the same.”
“Whatever,” Terrence said with a nonchalant shrug, looking back at the computer screen. “Probably not even mother and kitten. The big one has gray fur, and the little one has orange and white-”
“And that matters how?” I demanded. “I have red hair, and Theresa has brown.”
“Yeah,” Terrence replied, suddenly looking thoughtful. “You think the hospital switched kids on us? OW! I’M KIDDING!” he protested, as my closed fist rammed into his shoulder, and he began to rub it.
“Not funny!” I looked at Terrence severely for a couple of seconds, then looked over at Cassie, who was still seated at the dining room table, watching us in amusement. Theresa, meanwhile, apparently had become inspired by the video, and was searching under the table for Chanticleer. She’d have no luck- the cat was sleeping upstairs on my bed, and I was hardly about to volunteer that information.
“Oh, almost forgot to mention,” Terrence said, more serious this time, all though he was still rubbing his shoulder. “I booked our flight for Los Angeles. Leaves Sunday morning from Chicago- we’ll have to leave the RV there for a week. I assume you’re coming, Cassie?”
“I was planning on it,” our ever-vigilant nanny said softly.
“Okay, it’s gonna be a long trip. We leave Thursday for my race in Joliet, then Friday and Saturday there, Sunday we fly to Calgary, then to Los Angeles, spend the week there, then back to Chicago after Wendy’s match Thursday night, then we drive to Pennsylvania on Friday, and I race at Pocono on Saturday.”
“It’s fine,” Cassie replied, smiling slightly. “I’m used to long-trips with you guys now. And a week in L.A. should be fun!”
“Just make sure we bring sunscreen, and a lot of it,” I said, sighing. “I’m not going to be much good out there if I’m sunburned. But Terry, how come you booked our flight? Why didn’t you have Pollaski do it?’
“Couldn’t get ahold of him,” my husband replied, shrugging. “It’s weird. I tried him several times.”
I bit my lip, and looked at Terrence. “He always answers his phone,” I replied. “Or he calls back immediately. I wonder what-” suddenly, my mind shot back to the previous night, where Pollaski and I had been talking with several other FFW wrestlers on Twitter, only for Pollaski to suddenly go quiet. I had jokingly suggested that maybe he had a heart attack, but... “Oh God...” I exclaimed, turning pale.
“What?” Terrence asked, looking at me in concern.
“I... think he’s dead.” I whispered.
*BAM!*
Terrence, Cassie, and I jumped nearly a mile at the sound of our front door swinging open, slamming into the wall. After we had composed ourselves, Terrence shot me a sly wink. “Well, there he is. So unless he’s a zombie coming to eat our brains...”
“Shut up, Terry,” I growled, then raised my voice. “Pollaski, would you please stop swinging our front door open... like.... that...”
My voice trailed off as Pollaski came into view. He obviously wasn’t a zombie- in fact, he was looking about as good as I had ever seen him. His hair had been cut, he was clean shaven. But the most alarming element about my manager was that his usual t-shirt/Hawaiian shirt and shorts combo was gone, replaced by a tuxedo.
As the three of us stood in shock, Pollaski shot us an ear-to-ear smile, took a deep breath, and to our utter shock, slowly began to sing.
“I never thought that life could bring
Me anything but the mundane things”
It wasn’t the worst singing voice I had ever heard (and as a former community theater director, I had heard a lot of them!), baritone in nature. Nonetheless, I felt my jaw drop, and I was aware that my compatriots were having similar reactions. A quick look at my husband saw him mouthing ‘wtf’ as he stared at Pollaski.
“But in one moment my cellphone rings
A Tweet that makes me sing
Now I have a golden ticket!
I've got a really hot date on Sunday Night”
“Is... he... is he really singing Willy Wonka?” Cassie whispered. I nodded silently. Even if I could have found words, my mouth was still hung open, so all I could really utter was a strangled-sounding squeak.
Pollaski picked the tempo up a little, grabbing a giggling Theresa and beginning to dance with our four year old around the room.
I simply wrote my column for fun
Always trying to piss off someone
But with Samantha my words struck a chord
Now I have a huge reward.
And I have a golden ticket!
I have a golden girl her name is...
Pollaski was swinging Theresa by her arms in the air, but paused in mid swing, and set her down. He rubbed his chin. “Her name is... uh...”
“Jaclyn Swedberg?” I finished, rolling my eyes. My fears that this ‘arrangement’ Samantha had made could only end in disaster wasn’t being alleviated any.
Pollaski snapped, and pointed at me. “Thank you! I knew there was a ‘J’ in there somewhere!” He then cleared his throat.
“And I have a golden girl her-”
“You’re done!” Cassie, Terrence and I all managed to exclaim simultaneously.
“You’re sure?” Pollaski asked, arching an eyebrow. “I have more.”
“Maybe later,” I said flatly. “Dan, I-”
I found myself being cut off by Cassie. “Why are you so happy?”
Pollaski’s grin returned, and he looked over at Cassie. “Okay, so get this. Yesterday, I was writing my column, which is COMPLETELY awesome and everyone should read by the way. Anyways, I was fairly complimentary of Samantha, because she, well, is a genius. And well, Samantha read the column, loved it, and as a reward, she got me a DATE WITH A PLAYBOY BUNNY!”
There was another moment of silence. Pollaski’s ear-to-ear grin was plastered on his face, while Cassie returned his look with disgust. Terrence, meanwhile, seemed to be hardly paying attention, as he had taken out his phone, and was apparently texting. The silence was finally broken, to my horror, by my daughter.
“Why would you want to go out with a rabbit?”
“Theresa,” I said, walking over to her side, and kneeling in front of her. “If, God forbid, you remember this conversation ten years from now, I will explain it to you then, okay? Now, go upstairs and... get a game or something.”
“But...”
“Don’t argue with me Theresa!” I said sharply.
“I never get to be in ANY of the fun talks!” Theresa pouted, as she moped towards the stairs.
“And you have no idea I jealous I am of you right now,” I said quietly after her.
“DUDE!” Terrence’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I wheeled to see my husband staring at his phone, his mouth open in amazement. “Holy CRAP!”
“I know, right?” Pollaski snickered.
“Terry! What are you doing?” I exclaimed.
“Well, every time I ask you who or what something is, you tell me to Google it. So I did.” Terrence responded mildly, then burst out laughing. “Boy am I glad I did!”
“Give me that!” I snarled, ripping the phone from my husband’s hands. I was tempted to fling it against the wall, and it honestly took every ounce of my self-control to not do so. Instead, I squeezed the Android in my hands. Maybe I’d ‘accidentally’ break it this way...
Terrence however, was undaunted. “Dude, we only have five days! We gotta get you ready! You know what we absolutely need in this case?”
Pollaski stopped in the middle of an impromptu jig, and looked over at Terrence. There was another short moment of silence then-
“OLD SPICE!” Both men exclaimed with a double fist-bump.
“Ditch the monkey suit, though” Terrence continued. “You’ll look like a dork wearing that in a Wal-Mart,”
“Oh yeah, that’ll be a new thing,” I heard Cassie hiss behind me under her breath.
Pollaski grimaced, and nodded. “Yeah, I should change. Sides, like you said. It’s five days. Damn thing’ll get dirty by then. I still have that t-shirt and shorts here, right?”
“Yeah, it’s in the laundry room,” I replied, although my dagger-filled glare was still leveled at Terrence.
“Cool. Give me a few.” Pollaski said, then hurriedly walked out of the room.
Terrence grinned as Pollaski left, then turned back to me, his grin fading. “For the record, you’re way hotter than this Jaclyn Smith chick.”
“Swedberg,” I icily corrected. “Smith was one of the Charlie’s Angels. But you wouldn’t know anything about THAT, would you?”
“Would this be a bad time to say that you look really, really cute when you’re jealous?” Terrence asked, grinning.
I narrowed my eyes, “I’m not jealous.” It was a flat-out lie, of course.
“Right,” Terrence replied, his grin returning. “Oh come on. Pollaski says he’s going out with Miss freakin’ April, and you don’t expect me to look? And it’s not like I’ve never seen you looking at a good-lookin’ guy. You kept taking glances at Christian Kincaid at the 500, that’s for sure!”
“That pig?!” I scoffed. “I was merely making sure he and his HAREM didn’t do anything that would embarrass us and our other guests!”
Terrence chuckled. “If you say so hon.” He leaned in, and kissed me on the cheek, then gently wrest his phone from my hands. “Now come on. Our very good friend Daniel Pollaski has a date of his life, and we should be supportive, okay?”
I gave a half-hearted smile. “I know, but something about this-”
I was interrupted by Pollaski returning, now in a Batman T-shirt and a pair of khaki cargo shorts. “Aight, let’s roll, Twistaman,”
Terrence gave me another kiss on the cheek. “See ya later, hon.”
Terrence and Pollaski headed out the door, laughing and smacking each other on the shoulder, leaving me and Cassie alone in the dining room. I sighed deeply.
“I don’t like this, Cass. I know she’s my boss, but I don’t trust Samantha Star at all. She seems like the type of person who’s only friendly to you as long as you’re useful to her. I don’t like what she did at Conviction. I don’t like that she’s suddenly taken Val Belmont’s sister under her wing, and I certainly don’t like that she’s suddenly setting my manager up with dates. All of it just reeks of a plot, and not one I want to be a part of.”
I expected my nanny to respond, but all I heard was the sound of Terrence’s Charger, roaring out of the driveway and up the street. I looked over. “Cass-?”
I was shocked to find Cassie livid, her fists clenched at her side, her face thunderous. She was staring at where Pollaski had been, her teeth bared in a snarl.
“Cassie?!”
My mentioning her name a second time seem to jolt her from her enraged stupor, and she looked over at me. “What?”
I was taken aback by the abrupt response. “Are you okay?” I asked, my voice filled with concern.
“Yeah. Never better. I’m just peachy-fucking-keen.” Cassie snarled.
“Wha-” I started to ask, but my voice died in my throat as Cassie stormed by me, heading to the front door. I heard it open, and then slam behind her, leaving me alone in the dining room, confused out of my mind.
What the HECK had just happened here?
========================
Wednesday June 1, 2011
The Nest- Living Room
Indianapolis, Indiana
3:21 PM Local TIme
[Well, that was a bit chaotic, wasn’t it?]
[Anyways, we’re stayin in The Nest here, moving things over to the living room, where we open with Wendy Briese sitting on the couch. Wendy seems to have fully acquiesced to the heat of summer, and is wearing a white sundress. Whatever trepidation and confusion that Wendy felt earlier seems to have vanished, and she looks positively thrilled to be in front of the camera.]
“Well, we did it!”
[Wendy grins excitedly at the camera]
“I owe all the thanks in the world to my two tag partners for that match. Crystal, Kassandra, you two were brilliant, and together, we got the job done. The three of us should be proud of the victory we had at Conviction, that’s for sure.”
[Wendy’s smile fades slightly.]
“But, obviously, that’s not the end of the road for us. Towards the end of the month, the second phase of the Chase will happen, and this team will be forced to implode, the three of us to face each other, because despite what happened at Conviction, there can only be one of us walking away the ultimate winner in this contest.”
“After seeing what both of you can do in the ring, I have to say, I’m more nervous about the second round of this competition than ever. I still think that I have what it takes to walk out the winner of the Chase, but I know that in the coming weeks, neither of you are going to make things easy for me, that’s for sure.”
[Wendy’s smile brightens again, until she’s grinning like she did at the start]
“But next week on Velocity, one more time we get to go out and show the world what the three of us can do. And this time-”
[Wendy pauses, and takes a deep breath, her emerald eyes dancing with excitement]
“With all due respect to our previous opponents, these are EXACTLY the types of people that I’ve been wanting a crack at ever since I signed up for Femme Fatale Wrestling. The Evolution Championship is something I would be honored to hold, and these are three women who have accomplished that feat. These are three women who are among the best that FFW has to offer.”
“These are three women I REALLY want to beat.”
[A small, lopsided smile]
“It’s nothing personal against them, of course. All of them are amazing wrestlers who deserve every accolade that has been heaped upon them. But that’s exactly why I want this win. If we can beat Colleen, Undine, and Robbyn Helmsley in a single night, there isn’t a person on the FFW roster we won’t be able to beat.”
“What’s shocked me the most about this contest is that I’ve heard some people, including Colleen’s own manager, write it off as a meaningless exhibition. Well, it might be an exhibition, but it sure isn’t meaningless to me.”
[Wendy pauses for just a second, and frowns, her voice softening just a tad.]
“This isn’t something you’ll hear a lot of wrestlers talk about, and maybe it’s not something I should bring up... but I know full well that my victory in the Chase for the Crown isn’t guaranteed. A lot can happen in the final two stages. And I don’t know how many of the other girls think this, but I’m always left wondering- what happens if I fail? What happens if I’m not the winner? What becomes of me then?”
“Only one of us CAN win, and for the losers, well, its the bitter sting of defeat, and the unknown, where the only certainty is that you won’t have accomplished what you wanted to. But if we win Thursday, at Velocity, and prove that we’re every bit as equal to the last three Evolution Champions, then maybe for the two of us that don’t win the Chase, the fall won’t be as far.”
[A deep sigh]
“But I also know that this could be the point where gamesmanship comes into play. Kassandra mentioned her fears going into the last match that either Crystal or I might try to screw her over, a ridiculous assessment given what was at stake. But it’s different now. I don’t know what’s in Kassandra or Crystal’s hearts, but they might not view this match the same way I do. They might not see the opportunity that arises from a victory, only the opportunity that can be found in treasonous duplicity. After all, if one of us were to be taken out during this match, it supposedly will give the other two an advantage in the next round.”
[Wendy shakes her head]
“I really hope that’s not the case, and that we’re all better than that. You can count on my commitment to this team, and know that I’m going all out to win this, and I hope that my teammates are willing to do the same. But I can promise this- I take umbrage to being stabbed in the back just as much as anyone else would, and you can my retribution upon any traitor will be swift, harsh, and damning.”
[A long pause, and Wendy smiles again]
“But I really hope that’s not the case. What the three of us did at Conviction was a thing of beauty, and given that our opponents themselves are hardly a unified front, there’s no reason that lightning can’t strike again. So Crystal, Kassandra, train hard over the next few days. I’ll see you guys in Los Angeles, and we’ll give the FFW fans an encore performance for the Anniversary show. Just please, keep this team on an even keel for just another week, until this match is behind us.”
[A deep breath,]
“I think the rewards for doing so might just be greater than any of us realize.”
[Fade]
