Friday, August 24, 2018
Malibu, California
Claire's Shop
2:04 PM PDT
Usually the near hour long drive from home to Claire’s was a relatively peaceful one as drives in the Los Angeles area go. For Seleana Zdunich, this had always been an eye-opening experience. Nothing in her life up to when she moved to this area had prepared her for what felt like the open warfare that is driving in Los Angeles. She hadn’t had to drive much in her native Sweden and driving in Christchurch tended to be more like driving in a relatively small town when she had done it there. She was used to some mass transit and some traffic, but nothing like what was a usual day on the freeway here. Christina and Brittany had both told Seleana she would get used to it but if she really felt uncomfortable, she should get somebody else to drive for her but she’d accepted the first part as the true gospel of the situation.
Driving in Los Angeles, especially on what always felt like the wrong side of the road to her, was just one more thing she was have to adjust to and learn to get used to upon moving to the States. After a little over a year now, she liked to think she had the hang of certain things and yet, some, like this drive, always managed to still make her a little nervous, especially in Christina’s pink lamborghini. The license plate reading “PRFCTN” didn’t make her feel any less nervous but she was learning to deal with it. As she walks from her car to the door of the place, she can’t help but smile at the thought of having made it safely one more time.
She opens the door and is quickly greeted by a five-foot-nothing blonde woman, seven months pregnant, the small woman’s texas accent kicking in hard as Seleana walks over and hugs her.
Seleana Zdunich: Heya Shay Shay, how’s it?
Shay Kenyon smiles back at the towering Swede.
Shay Kenyon: Imma gettin’ there, Sel. Brutus is downstairs like usual.
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: How often are you taking him out?
Shay shrugs, stretching out her back.
Shay Kenyon: Me personally, not as often as I’d like but I kinda can’t by myself anymore. He’s a big ol’ boy and don’t know he can’t just pull me along.
Seleana grins.
Seleana Zdunich: I will see what can be done.
She quickly goes downstairs to see Brutus, returning an hour later nodding happily.
Seleana Zdunich: Awesome as dog!
Shay smiles back.
Shay Kenyon: He is… gonna be weird when Dean finally takes him back. He’s been here since December and it’ll feel so…
She trails off and Seleana nods, the smile dimming slightly.
Seleana Zdunich: You are attached to him?
Shay shrugs, trying not to cry.
Shay Kenyon: Damn hormones…
She shrugs again and then nods to Seleana.
Shay Kenyon: It won’t be so bad if Dean is back in Pismo Beach. Then I can go see him any time I want.
Seleana nods and then hugs Shay reassuringly.
Seleana Zdunich: He looks like he would enjoy that, such a good boy.
Shay nods, taking in the full sight of the statuesque Swedish woman.
Shay Kenyon: So, what’s really wrong?
Seleana frowns in confusion.
Seleana Zdunich: Really wrong?
Shay nods knowingly.
Shay Kenyon: Sel, you come over here all the time and it ain’t like y’all’s shoppin for sex toys or vids or nothin’. You walk in, you talk to me, you play with Brutus and then you go to the gym up the street to make sure you don’t take any of Brutus home with you to Christina…
Seleana just stands there thunderstruck as Shay forces a small smile for her.
Shay Kenyon: I mean, God bless you for helpin’ me with the dog and for findin’ a way to do it without hurting your poor wife with her allergies and all but I can’t say you ever look that happy lately so what’s goin’ on?
Seleana still can’t find the words having been caught completely off-guard.
Seleana Zdunich: I…
Shay quickly nods to cut her off.
Shay Kenyon: Don’t you dare say, “nothin’”, Miss Seleana! I done seen you in here all mopin’ like too many times to be buyin’ that shit!
Seleana is caught off-guard by this all over again.
Seleana Zdunich: Moping?
Shay shrugs, looking almost apologetic for having used that particular word.
Shay Kenyon: As much as you mope. It ain’t like y’all look all depressed but your smile just seems a little less intense certain times is all. So, what’s up?
Seleana nods slightly.
Seleana Zdunich: I… don’t know?
She walks with Shay over to a couple of chairs and then both sit behind the counter.
Seleana Zdunich: I just… thought more would have happened by now.
Shay frowns in confusion.
Shay Kenyon: With what? You ain’t happy in y’all’s marriage?
Seleana shakes her head almost immediately, her eyes going wide at the mere suggestion.
Seleana Zdunich: Oh, no, no, that’s awesome! Christina is the best thing to ever happen to me and Brittany has been more welcoming than I expected her to be to the idea of me. My marriage is wonderful.
Shay smiles genuinely at this.
Shay Kenyon: Ok… then, you miss y’all’s other job?
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: I’m ok with how things are at the moment with animals. I did that for ten years and I still get to with the odd one here or there like Brutus. If I went and found a new job, I would be afraid I’d get attached too much to the older ones and I don’t know that I am ready for that yet.
Shay nods, ideas percolating inside her brain as she does so.
Shay Kenyon: So… not working in that field is probably a good thing for ya right now?
Seleana nods happily.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, at the moment…
Shay nods and then ponders the situation for what seems like forever. Finally, after a few minutes, she nods to Seleana.
Shay Kenyon: Then, wrestling?
Seleana starts to answer but catches herself. She sits back in the chair and visibly starts to question herself and how she feels on this subject.
Seleana Zdunich: I…
She trails off, looks away and then shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: För fan i helvete!
Seleana almost looks like she wants to slap herself.
Seleana Zdunich: I am… disappointed in myself.
Shay frowns, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Shay Kenyon: Why?
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: I…
Shay pats her on the hand.
Shay Kenyon: It’s alright, Sugar…
Seleana tries to smile and Shay pats her hand reassuringly again.
Shay Kenyon: I mean, are you upset with yourself for not doing as well as you think you should?
Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: No, I am not surprised at my record, in that I am not surprised with all the good opponents I’ve had that I have many losses. The only surprise to me is that Christina and I almost defeated the Boardwalk Angels and I did manage to defeat Amy Santino last week. I know I am not Christina or Brittany…
She shrugs sadly.
Seleana Zdunich: I’m not even Alexi or Zenna…
Shay cocks her head.
Shay Kenyon: Sel, how many matches have you had?
Seleana looks her in the eyes, shocked by the question.
Seleana Zdunich: What?
Shay nods, this time more forcefully.
Shay Kenyon: How many matches have you had? Like, total between LAW and SCW?
Seleana stares at her fingers and starts counting out loud.
Seleana Zdunich: En, två, tre, fyra, fem, sex ... nej, fem…
She nods as if coming to a conclusion.
Seleana Zdunich: En, två, tre, fyra, fem, sex, sju, åtta, nio ...
Nodding again, Seleana looks to Shay.
Seleana Zdunich: Fourteen.
Shay nods, grinning knowingly.
Shay Kenyon: Now, say that out loud again.
Seleana stares at Shay and then nods, smiling as comprehension dawns.
Seleana Zdunich: I have had fourteen wrestling matches in my life.
Shay nods again.
Shay Kenyon: So…?
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: I am doing awesome as for somebody who has had to face the likes of Mercedes Vargas, Christina, Amy Santino, Elizabeth Blackwell, Evie Baang, Brittany, Zoey Madigan-Star and Mama Red with no experience!
Shay nods, her agreement apparent.
Shay Kenyon: So, what’s the problem?
Seleana looks at Shay, a realization dawning.
Seleana Zdunich: The Hollywood Angels…
Shay cocks her head, both confusion and curiosity written all over her face.
Shay Kenyon: What’s wrong with them?
Seleana bites her bottom lip, looking somewhat overcome.
Seleana Zdunich: They have not really happened because SCW does not use tag teams.
Shay’s jaw drops in shock.
Shay Kenyon: They don’t have tag teams there?
Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: Not right now, only mixed.
Shay looks as if she can’t believe her ears.
Shay Kenyon: Mixed?
Seleana nods slightly.
Seleana Zdunich: Mixed gender, one man and one woman each. It is the only tag team division SCW has at the moment. If they had a regular one again, I’d be keen but that does not seem like it can happen. The rosters are not large enough. Christina had always said we would be a team and I was keen for it to happen. We had the one match against the Boardwalk Angels and we almost knocked them off but we never got to team again. LAW had Christina looking for singles gold and I only had five matches there. My sixth was supposed to be on the show that never happened because the place closed.
Shay nods sympathetically.
Shay Kenyon: That sucks.
Seleana nods her agreement.
Seleana Zdunich: Yes and now Christina wishes to retire somewhat as an active competitor so it may never happen after all. Brittany does not seem interested and even if she was…
She trails off but Shay nods as she connects the dots.
Shay Kenyon: SCW has no division for the two of y’all to compete in anyway.
Seleana nods and then exhales heavily.
Seleana Zdunich: Do I really let it show so much? I do not wish for this to weight on Christina or Brittany. They usually have enough to worry about without having to listen to me whine about not being in a tag team with people who don’t need me holding them back at the moment.
Shay crosses her arms.
Shay Kenyon: Seleana Valentina Zdunich, don’t y’all ever talk about y’allself like that ever again, do you hear me? You ain’t no drag on anyone! You brighten us all up!
Seleana stares at Shay and gets another emphatic nod from the small blonde Texan.
Shay Kenyon: Don’t you give me no sass on that, Sel! I know you brighten me up all the time when I’m feelin’ downright awful with my pregnancy and I’d bet money you do the same for both Christina and B-Brat. I know you do it for both your sisters too so don’t do this to y’allself!
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: I just..
She exhales forcefully again and then nods.
Seleana Zdunich: I guess i just haven’t found my place or my groove yet. I know she didn’t mean to have the Hollywood Angels crash like this but I can’t help feeling disappointed that they’ve never gotten a chance.
Shay reaches out and holds both her hands.
Shay Kenyon: Be patient. None of y’all is dead and SCW seems to be rollin’ right proper so, who knows, maybe you still got a shot. In the meantime, keep bein’ you and keep learnin’. Like you said, you only had fourteen matches so far. You still got a lot to learn in that ring and y’all doin’ great in your development!
Seleana leans over and hugs the diminutive blonde.
SL: Tack, Shay Shay.
Shay can’t help but smile.
Shay Kenyon: Y’all welcome, Cat. Now go get ‘em!
Two hours later…
Friday, August 24, 2018
Los Angeles, California
Hollywood Hills
The Home of Christina & Seleana Zdunich
4:05 PM PDT
The camera opens upon Seleana in the living room sitting on the couch. She sits forward, resting her chin on her hands.
Seleana Zdunich: Brittany…
Her head stays rested on her hands while her gaze moves to the floor.
Seleana Zdunich: The last time we had to face each other, you know I did not take the idea very well at all. I did not like the idea of having to strike you in any way. It made me feel dirty just thinking of such things. What kind of stepmother would I be if I put my hands on you like that?
Her head leans down so that instead of her chin, it is now her forehead that rests on her hands.
Seleana Zdunich: many people told me I needed to get over it if I was going to compete in the same sport as you and your mother because sooner or later, this very thing would happen. They all told me I had to accept that these things are commonplace and we just had to accept the matches and agree that we would compete to the best of our abilities and let each other know that no matter what happened in the match it would not change our relationship outside the ring.
She lifts her head off her hands and exhales heavily.
Seleana Zdunich: I also admit that your promo last time did hurt. I did not understand right away how such things could be said. How could you say such things and could you truly feel that way towards your mother? And if you did truly feel that way about her, what did that mean for how you felt towards me?
Her gaze finally moves up to the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: I did not know at the time what all you were going through but I was always happy to help any time you came to me. It made me feel good that you really did trust me as you have and that I could be allowed to try and be at least somewhat of a parent to you. I cannot promise I did that job well, but I tried as best i could.
She nods, smiling sadly.
Seleana Zdunich: I love you, Brittany. You are my own. You are as close as I am ever going to get to having a biological child and as such, I would do anything to help you, protect you. You have helped me just as much as you say I have helped you. You were there to help me understand so many things along the way with your family and you helped integrate me in ways I did not know I even needed to know about. Thank you for letting me in, thank you for being the wonderful, strong young woman you are!
Nodding again, Seleana stands up.
Seleana Zdunich: I cannot argue with anything you said about this match. You have pursued this longer and you have more experience than I do in almost every way imaginable when it comes to this sport, this business and most of your mother’s other businesses. She has groomed you for everything and I cannot say that I am more talented than you either. I am obviously gifted physically in ways that you are not since I am eight inches taller and consequently bigger and stronger but you have ways to make up for that difference i cannot even begin to fathom. You have already won championship standing while I am still just trying to gain any standing in wrestling. I had five matches in LAW and I’ve had nine here so far and while I’ve some and lost some, I can say I’ve learned at every turn.
She shrugs, almost laughing despite herself.
Seleana Zdunich: I mean, how can I not when I’m in the ring with the likes of you, your mother, Mercedes Vargas, Evie Baang and Amy Santino?
She nods again, her eyes momentarily moving off the camera to contemplate the level of talent she’s just named.
Seleana Zdunich: That is a lot of gold in that statement…
Shaking herself, Seleana looks back up into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: This is an important match and I can promise you, Brittany, if you beat me I will have made you earn it properly. I am not going to hold back in this match because you and several others have shown me the way on it. We go into this match as stepmother and stepdaughter and that is how we will come out of it. Nothing will change my love for you, Chickie and I hope you can say the same about me.
Smiling, she nods sweetly to the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: But that love does not translate to a lack of drive from me to defeat you. In order to survive in this sport, I must learn, I must adapt and I must move forward and right now that means I have to step up to your level just like I did last week with Amy Santino.
She clasps her hands together in front of her.
Seleana Zdunich: I need you to give me your best, Chickie! I need you to come at me with everything you have so that I can see where i am! I need you to hit me with everything you have so I can learn everything there is to learn! I need your help to become one of the Hollywood Angels your mother always told me we would all be. There is only one way the Hollywood Angels get their halos, at least in my case, and that’s going through you in this Gold Rush Tournament.
She squeezes her hands together and then nods pointedly to the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: I need to know who I can be, Brittany and you’re the one who’s going to teach me! The winner goes to the finals against either Dani Weston or Aviana faith for a shot at Mikah but more importantly, the outcome will show us definitively if I have managed to be able to say I belong in this family when it comes to the ring. You can say your mother feels like she didn’t do the family name justice and you may even feel that way yourself but I’m the one who had far to go and now we will see how far I have come. I’m the one who got accused of having a job due to nepotism and I’m the one who has more to prove.
She rubs her hands together and then nods once again.
Seleana Zdunich: You’ve already proven you are your mother’s daughter. You’ve tasted victory and you’ve tasted championship status. I’m the trophy wife that shouldn’t be here until I prove otherwise and to do that, i have to prove that I can do more than just walk to the ring and look pretty before the bell rings. I have to prove that I look even better when it’s all on the line and I am aiming to do just that.
The camera zooms in tightly on Seleana’s face.
Seleana Zdunich: This match, the Cat gets her Angel wings and we see how far I can fly!
