Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2017 18:10:15 GMT -5
:::OFF CAMERA:::
Angel aka Michelle Dougan had been best friends with Lilly Parker since they were three years old. They had met at a gymnastics class and funny enough, Michelle had been one change that Lilly's Gram had accepted.
So when Lilly had begged her best friend to find a way to come to Japan for her next match, the petite blonde had obliged.
After a ritualistic screaming and hugging fest, they had made it back to the hotel room Lilly was staying in. They discussed plans for ordering room service with greasy food and hot fudge sundaes. Watching girly movies and braiding hair. The quintessential sleepover there could be but all of that came to a screeching halt rather abruptly at the mention of a twitter comment.
“That douche Zach is still talking shit about you. Saying you fucked with his family and they're all ganging up on you now. You can’t even defend yourself... how low is that... bloody cowards. That Coda chick is all talk.”
Lilly looks up at her friend, immersed in her phone. She gently takes it from Angel’s fingers and puts it on the night side table.
“I don't care.”
Angel is baffled. Lilly gives her friend a full genuine smile.
“Look at it this way, if I were really insignificant and not a threat, Coda and the others wouldn’t need to try to convince their followers they were better than I am. She’s scared that I might actually be a threat and a woman like that.. well it's obvious this is a mask to hide some other pain. It's easier to be behind the mask because letting people see it gives the illusion of weakness. I don't hide anything. I am upfront about everything. I don't shy away from mentioning my parent's accident. About my Gram’s anxiety. About my own nervousness in the ring. I lay it all out there but you know what happens every time I step out there? I see all those fans and they are cheering for me. It reaffirms that I picked the right career.”
Angel appears baffled.
“Aren't you upset, though?”
Lilly laughs.
“Silly Chelly... of course not. Twitter is so silly, why do you think I don't have one? People get into silly arguments or do the back and forth thing and it totesily doesn’t do a thing except get under people's skin. So am I intimidated by Coda getting on her phone and making threats? Nope. And Mr. Miles even complimented me saying I was a dark horse. People don't bet on me to win but then I do. I am not going to put much stock in a lady that has to hide.”
She smiles again at her friend.
“Mr. Miles... I don't understand why Mr.Scott put him in our match. Yes, he fits the age requirements but he's already a big name and the GOL champion. He should be in the Heavyweight division. He will be tough but I just have to be smart about it all.”
Angel looks longingly over at her phone on the table. She was being forced to listen to her friend and as much as she loved Lilly, sometimes her positivity was a bit on the sickening side of sweetness.
“And Honey. Well, she’s just the nicest girl I have ever met. We’re going to have each other's backs. At least until the end but even so, I have the advantage of having more experience and more training. Plus Avery knows her moves which puts her at a disadvantage.”
She holds her head up confidently.
“That's great Lil. I'm glad you're not letting any of them get to you but what about Zach. That guy is really grinding my gears by saying all that stuff about you. I wish he would just shut his big....handsome....”
Angel seems to look beyond the walls of the hotel, her mind wandering off into a fantasy. Lilly snaps her fingers in front of her friends face a couple times before she shakes her head.
“Sorry...”
Lilly shrugs.
“You find him attractive. That's okay.”
“Don't you?”
Once again Lilly's shoulders give a nonchalant shrug.
“I mean I guess. I haven’t really paid much attention to his looks if I'm honest. Besides that when someone is as arrogant and....” she stops herself.
“I’m not going to go there.” she shakes her head. “People like Zach are hate dealers and I will not be a part of it, however, if he still wants to think I screwed his family over, then there isn't anything I can really do about that except to keep reminding him that I loved his grandfather like he was mine. Guilt does weird things to people. He wants to blame others so that he can somehow absolve himself of abandoning his own family.”
Angel suddenly pulls Lilly into a crushing hug.
“Never change Lil-Lil!”
***
Lilly stands in front of a concession booth. She smiles brightly, side ponytail swinging. She's dressed in a bright pink T-Shirt with the words, “Make Love not Hate” across the front. It is pulled over her wrestling gear.
The arena isn't very busy as it's before the show starts. The person behind the counter notices her and smiles!
“Lilly... what are you doing out here? Fans will be here soon, you don't want to get mobbed!”
The woman is one that had been employed by Redemption as a Merchandiser. She even travelled to all the shows to oversee the booths personally. Lilly had spoken to her on a few occasions and found her to be pleasant and intelligent.
“Rita! Yes, I just wanted to purchase something.”
Lilly nods to the wall where the replica belts hung. Rita looks at them and back to Lilly.
“Really?”
“Yup.”
She puts 4500 yen on the counter.
“The Young Lions one please.”
Rita shrugs and takes one from under the counter and hands it to her, taking the money and putting it in the cash box.
Lilly puts it over her shoulder.
“Won’t be long until you have the real one there.” Rita smiles and Lilly shrugs.
“I hope so but if not I just keep working for it. Bye Rita, enjoy the show.”
***
:::ON CAMERA:::
The shot opens with the beaming face of Lilly Parker. She is wearing a pink shirt, rainbow lettering across the front saying, “Make Love, not Hate.” across the chest. Her side ponytail swinging slightly. The most noticeable thing though is the replica Young Lions belt on her shoulder. She waves.
“Hello from Yokohama, Japan. I am of course Lilly Parker coming to you now to give all my American... no. Scratch that... all my fans WORLDWIDE the biggest hug ever!”
She moves forward and seems to give the camera a hug. It shakes a little before she moves back.
“Well. Doesn't that make you feel good? I know I needed a hug. But anyway, the reason I am making this video is to talk about a match I am in tonight. A match that would put me in contention for this belt.”
She pats the replica.
“This one is just a pretend belt and I plan on giving this as a prize. I want all of you super duper special friends out there that design me the best new T-shirt. I will take submissions until our next PPV where I will pay for the winner to come to sit right in the VIP section. But I have gotten off topic again. This belt...”
She smiles
“It represents the future of wrestling. The person that wins this belt is showing the world that they have what it takes to be the best in their group. I know I have what it takes to be the best. I want to be the one leaving the ring a winner. I don't have to threaten my opponents either. If I did that, I would just be a meanie face. They all have the skills to deserve to be in this match, otherwise, they wouldn’t be in it. I showed that I am tough. Courtney decided to be a big baby two weeks ago and hit me with the real version of this belt, then go on to say I was cheating.”
She chuckles.
“Well, that's just being a sore loser. If I had lost I wouldn’t have been mean about it. Part of being a good athlete is accepting your limitations. Maybe if she focused more on training harder instead of finding new names for herself every minute she could have been able to pin me. She needs to have a feelings inventory. That's what I do whenever I find myself getting too upset.”
She gives a short nod.
“Coda is a great talent with a reputation but I think she is way too angry. When you let any emotion take total control like that it never leads to good things. Anger is the worst. Right behind pride, arrogance, and Jealousy. These are the cancer emotions. Once you let them in, they just keep spreading until it's infected everything including your soul. But I’m glad that she is thinking about me by taking the time to belittle me on social media but yet not in a promo. Being a wrestler isn't just about how good you are in the ring. It's about Charisma too. You have to relate to the people coming to see you. If she were Japanese it would also mean honor. Respect. Things she doesn't seem to have. I have learned a lot in my weeks here in Japan.”
She smiles.
“Mr. Avery. I thank you for your kind words. I have a lot of respect for your skills and career and can sympathize on how it feels to lose your family to a drunk driver. I am not sure what has been going on with you lately but everyone has bad days. I just hope yours start to look up.”
She looks down at her wrist where she has a bright pink My little pony watch.
“Oh. I am running out of time. Last but certainly not least... Honey. You are as sweet as your name and we have become fast friends. You are one to admire for your perseverance. And you know I will have your back. When it's just us at the end... well afterward I will have no hard feelings and I know you won't either.”
She sighs, putting her head to one side.
“Well time to go R.Dupers. I will see you out there and remember... be happy!”
She waves before the screen goes dark.
