Post by Danielle Basch on Jun 30, 2017 22:00:29 GMT -5
Valley Plaza Mall
Bakersfield, CA
Friday, June 30, 2017
The camera opens with a wide shot of the mall’s food court before zooming in on one restaurant in particular... Hot Dog on a Stick. Turning away from the counter, we see WCG superstar Danni LeBlanc walking toward one of the tables, carrying a pair of the eatery’s signature dish, along with a lime-flavored lemonade. She sits down, picking up one of the deep-fried delicacies, dipping it into a glob of ketchup and mustard as she looks into the camera and smiles.
Danni: What’s a little good-natured competition among friends? The way I see it, it’s all a part of life. From the time we’re kids until the day we die, it’s almost inevitable that we find ourselves at odds once we set our sights on the same prize.
She pauses, long enough to take a bite of her food and a sip of her lemonade. Once her mouth is clear, she leans against the table, holding her hot dog as if it were an extension of her hand.
Danni: Of course, when we’re kids, the adults tell us we have to “wait our turn.” Once we’re adults, however, the competition gets tougher, because the stakes are that much higher. Now, waiting our turn isn’t an option, especially when there isn’t anyone to tell us otherwise.
This Saturday, I will step into the ring against four people I hold a great amount of respect for... and some guy that just showed up on the scene and managed to find himself in a championship scenario straight out of the gate. And well, since “first” rhymes with “worst,” I guess that means I’ll be starting off with you, Zach Sears.
She smirks into the camera, pulling the lid off of her drink to grab one of the lemon wedges out from amongst the ice cubes. She sinks her teeth into the fruit, grimacing as the sour juice hits her tongue before removing it from her mouth and setting it aside.
Danni: Zach Sears... the name sounds vaguely familiar. The self-styled “Demon Knight” of West Coast Genesis...
She shakes her head, taking a sip of her lemonade to get the bitter taste out of her mouth.
Danni: I look at you, and the last thought that would enter my mind would be “demonic”. You’re not that much different than me, though, in the sense that we’ve both come up from the ashes of one company, looking to make a fresh start someplace new. But now, you step into my territory, my home turf, looking to knock me and everyone else out of contention. Yeah... not on my watch!
She scoffs.
Danni: There’s a small part of me that is pissed off that someone like you can just come in here, and right off the bat, you’re handed a title shot. To hell with the rest of us that have busted our asses and actually EARNED the right to compete in this match, huh?
Nah... to be honest, I’ve seen it happen before. Hell, the guy even managed to get away with the belt. Does that mean that in this instance, lightning will strike twice?
Danni shakes her head, her eyes narrowed as her face fills with determination.
Danni: Not so long as I have anything to say about it.
She punctuates her words with a defiant smirk, replacing the lid on her lemonade as she continues.
Danni: But Zach Sears isn’t the only dog in this fight; he’s just the only person in this match that HASN’T earned my respect. Now to address the four of you I actually like, starting with you, Jess Hardy.
I guess you could call us the WCG originals. We were among the first people to sign with West Coast Genesis, so we’ve been here since Devlin Scott first flipped the switch on the lights. We’ve busted our asses, and now we finally get a chance to see some payoff for all of our hard work. Not only that, but we get to make history while we’re at it!
But here comes the part that sucks. You see, even though you’re one of the few girls in the WCG locker room that hasn’t taken a complete shit on me without even seeing what I’m about, you and everyone else in this match find yourself standing between me and the South Bay Championship. Yeah, people are telling me that I should aim higher; that I should be going after the West Coast Championship, but I disagree. You and I both know that a chance to fight for ANY championship should be considered an honor. I look forward to facing you, but at the same time, if it comes down to you and me up on that ladder, I won’t hesitate to shove your ass down to the canvas.
Again, she dips her hot dog into the ketchup and mustard, taking a slightly bigger bite this time. The rounded white stick protruding from the unbitten end peeks out from within the center, so she pulls the rest of it off, setting it into the tray.
Danni: Moving on, we come to one of the first people in West Coast Genesis that I could ever consider a friend, Ruby Rose. I’m almost envious of the amount of support you’ve managed to garner coming into this match. Every time I log into Twitter, I see an almost never-ending stream of tweets from people telling you how “You’ve got this!” and “Get that title!” Me? Most of the people that would throw their support behind me in a match like this are already in the match, so they’re pretty much out for themselves, and I can’t fault them for that. That’s okay, though. While the Twitterverse has chosen you as their pick to win the big prize, I’m not worried. All I need to do is look at that South Bay Championship belt, and think about the cities represented in the sideplates. Every one of those cities is a place where I’ve spent a good amount of time. Wrestling shows down at the Forum in Inglewood... shopping at Del Amo in Torrance, playing Poker and Blackjack at the Hustler Casino in Gardena... and of course, the city where my journey began, El Segundo. You may have half of Twitter behind you, but that belt represents the place that I’ve called home for the last 22 years of my life! Nothing personal, Ruby, but that title WILL be around my waist, even if I have to go through you to claim it.
She slips the straw of her lemonade between her lips, guzzling the green liquid until only half remains in the cup. She pushes it away, a satisfied gasp leaving her mouth as she smiles.
Danni: And now, onto one of what I think I’ll call the Oceanside Connection, Austen Blackwell. I can remember when the only thing we had to think about was whether I’d come out and hit the gyms in your neck of the woods, or you’d head up the coast to check out the gyms in my neighborhood. The idea: we’d be gym buddies, keep each other motivated while we bust our asses to get into shape. What happened? Next thing I know, we’re more like travel buddies, sharing a private jet as the bunch of us fly off north of the border! You’re a tough guy; you’ve proven that much in the ring. But I can’t let our friendship stand in the way of me achieving my goal. I’m just as likely to risk taking a leap off the ladder as you are if it means making sure there’s no one else in the ring that can stop me from getting what I want, but I know you realize that it’s nothing personal.
She picks up the hot dog remnant, gripping the deep-fried cornbread crust as she dips it in the ketchup and mustard. She stares at the swirling pattern of red and yellow as the colors eventually begin to combine into a muted shade of orange. Dropping the hot dog, she looks back into the camera with a smile on her face that masks the more somber expression in her eyes.
Danni: And I guess it could be argued that I’ve saved the best for last, because the final person I’m going to address is none other than the Corporate Colossus, the chiseled beast that managed to capture my heart... my boyfriend Donovan Basch.
Donny, when we first met, my first inclination was to annoy you as much as I possibly could, simply because you came off as the kind of man that felt content to sit behind his own self-constructed brick wall. And I meant every word when I said I’d shove my foot up your ass if given the opportunity. But you yourself invited me behind that wall, and in doing so, you’ve opened me up to new experiences that I never would have even considered doing. If you would have told me a year ago where I’d be both in my personal and professional life, I more than likely would have looked you dead in the eye and said you were a fucking idiot.
But I have to put the personal aspect of our relationship, not to mention our working relationship outside of the squared circle, off to the side for one night, because I have to look at you not as my boyfriend, but as one of five other faces standing between me and my destiny. Sorry, Spidey... that title is MINE!
She stands up and pounds her fist against the table, which makes her tray rattle against the surface for a second. She takes a moment to clear her throat and collect herself.
Danni: It’s been over a year since I set out on this path alone, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s high time this waist had some gold around it. Friend, foe, or soulmate, I’ve made it abundantly clear that it doesn’t matter who you are... I won’t hesitate to send every single one of you down to the mat as hard as I can, and do my damnedest to make sure that you stay there while I climb that ladder and claim my prize... the South Bay Championship! After this is over, I know most of us can leave the business of boots to asses in the ring, but feel free to come after me if you want a shot at the gold. I know I’d do the same thing....
As if on cue, Danni looks past the camera, which pans over to show Donovan Basch enter the food court, a look of relief on his face as he catches sight of his girlfriend.
Donovan: THERE you are! I’ve been looking all over the mall for you.
Danni: I told you I was gonna grab food while you were in the bathroom.
He pauses, nodding his head.
Donovan: Fair enough. Anyway, I’m feeling a little hungry, myself....
Danni grabs the partial hot dog, handing him the rest of the tray, minus the lemonade, as she smiles.
Danni: Here... you can have the rest. I’m gonna finish this one, then head off to Spencer’s...
Donovan: For what?
Danni: To buy up ALL of their black lights so that I can set them up on the yacht for my birthday party!
Without another word, she giggles and runs off, leaving Donovan with her tray.
Donovan: Wait a minute... Spencer’s is on the other end of the mall!
He takes a step as if to follow, but the growl in his stomach stops him. He looks down at the lone hot dog on the tray, and shrugs.
Donovan: Might as well, even if she didn’t leave me the lemonade....
He sits down and begins to eat as the scene fades out.
*FIN*