{The scene opens with Roxi sitting at the dinner table looking at her phone. It was mid-afternoon, a rare day off from training work at the Hero Academy. Roxi looked at her phone, and then at the clock on the wall just to double check, and then stood up as her mother was headed towards the door.}
Roxi – I got it, Mom.
Elizabeth – Oh, you want to pick him up?
Roxi – I don’t get to do it often. You sit this one out.
Elizabeth – It's no trouble.
Roxi – It's fine, I promise.
{Elizabeth finally concedes and Roxi takes her keys and purse, and heads to pick up Nate from Kindergarten. While driving, she gets a phone call from Keira, which she patches into the car’s audio system.}
Roxi – Hey.
Keira – Hey, Wait... where are you? Are you driving?
Roxi – I'm picking up Nate from school. Why?
Keira – Did something happen to your mom?
Roxi – No. I just wanted to do it. What did you need?
Keira – I was just... I was gonna ask if you were gonna make that Monkey bread pizza again.
Roxi – I can. I would have to check if I have everything at home first.
Keira – Okay. Just wondering, it was really good last time.
Roxi – Did you really just call me about food?
Keira – … What?
Roxi – Then again, I should know who I’m talking to. Must be a slow day there?
Keira – They're taking the ring down.
Roxi – I see. I will make the pizza, you don’t need to worry your pretty little head.
Keira – Mmkay.
Roxi – Alright, I’ll see you at home.
Keira – Okay.
Roxi – I love you.
Keira – I love you too.
Roxi – Bye.
Keira – Bye.
{Roxi hangs up and soon pulls up to the school, waiting for the kids to be let out before exiting and smiling as she spots Nate and kneels down to hug him as he runs into her arms.}
Nate – Mommy!
Roxi – Hi baby! Did you have a good day?
Nate – Uh-huh. Where’s Gramma?
Roxi – She's at home.
{Roxi notices Nate is holding a piece of paper and looks at Nate.}
Roxi – What's this for?
Nate – For uh... T-Ball.
{Roxi takes the paper and looks at it. It’s a signup sheet complete with all details for a summer t-ball league.}
Roxi – Where'd you get this?
Nate – They passed them out. They said who wants one, and I said yes.
Roxi – So... you want to play T-Ball?
Nate – Uh-huh. My friend Danny is gonna play and we can on the same team.
Roxi – I didn’t know you liked T-Ball, or baseball, or any sport.
Nate – I wanna play with my friend. Can I play?
{Roxi looks concerned about this entire situation and sighs.}
Roxi – Mama and me will have a talk about it, okay?
Nate – Okay.
Roxi – Let's get home, Mama is craving pizza again so we gotta make it.
Nate – Okay.
{Roxi and Nate get in the car and Roxi fastens Nate in and drives home, the whole time thinking about the implications of Nate playing sports and starting this early. Once they are home, Roxi lays the flyer on the table and begins looking for ingredients to make the monkey bread pizza. After finding everything she needs, she sets them aside for a later date, and then her phone rings again and Keira is on the line.}
Roxi – Hey.
Keira – Hey.
Roxi – What is it now?
Keira – I just... it crossed my mind just now. Are you trying to steal my match?
Roxi – What?
Keira – You made it sound like you wanted a fight with Krystal.
Roxi – Hey, hold on, she is trashing me, and you in the same breath.
Keira – Yeah, Let me handle it.
Roxi – I'm not just gonna get disrespected.
Keira – I got it. Don’t worry about it.
Roxi – Whatever, hey uh... I’m actually glad you called, there’s... something I need to talk to you about.
Keira – Oh?
Roxi – Yeah just... we’ll talk about it later, I just needed to make sure you were aware.
Keira – Is something wrong?
Roxi – No, it’s just... I need to show you.
Keira – Why are you being vague?
Roxi – Okay, look, don’t freak out, but Nate –
Keira – I'll be home soon.
Roxi – I..
{Keira has already hung up and Roxi shakes her head.}
Roxi – Well, I made that ten times worse.
{Roxi goes back to making the monkey bread pizza as Elizabeth walks in, carrying the flyer in her hand.}
Elizabeth – You going to let him play?
{Roxi sighs, not wanting to have this conversation right now.}
Roxi – I don’t know.
Elizabeth – What the harm?
Roxi – I just think he’s a little young.
Elizabeth – He's six.
Roxi – He's... jeez he’s six, you’re right. What happened?
Elizabeth – They grow up.
Roxi – I suppose you’re right.
Elizabeth – He's going to start wanting to do a lot of things.
Roxi – I know. I guess I thought I had more time.
Elizabeth – I think it’ll be good for him. Get him outside and let him play, make friends, the things that little kids do. He’s not a toddler anymore.
Roxi – You don’t have to rub it in.
Elizabeth – Roxi, you haven’t missed anything important, he’s just growing up. This is a natural thing.
{Roxi sighs and nods.}
Roxi – I just wonder what Keira is going to say about it. At the end of the day, she babies him more than I do.
Elizabeth – He needs to grow, and I know Keira loves Nate, but... it’s time. If he doesn’t start developing socially now, he might never.
Roxi – I guess I’ll just have to break it to Keira that way. I just don’t know how she’s going to take it.
Elizabeth – She can get mad, but this isn’t about her, it’s about Nate. Let the boy grow.
{Roxi leans back in her chair and looks at the flyer before nodding to herself.}
Roxi – Thanks, Mom.
Elizabeth – I've got a pretty good grasp of this mom thing now. And the gramma thing. But, if you are in a split decision, I’ll vouch for you, and him.
Roxi – I might need it.
{Roxi hugs her mom, and then goes back to making the Pizza as the scene fades.}
{Later, after the family has eaten and Nate has gone to bed, Keira is finishing up her training and Roxi is waiting outside with the flyer in her hand. Keira smiles as she walks up to Roxi, but sees the flyer and gets confused.}
Keira – What's this?
{Keira takes the flyer and looks at it.}
Roxi – Our son brought that home. It’s what I wanted to talk to you about.
{Keira double takes and is still a little confused.}
Keira – T-Ball? He wants to play T-Ball?
Roxi – Yeah.
Keira – And you said...?
Roxi – I said that we would talk about it. I’ve given it some thought and I wanted to give you the chance to do the same. So, what do you think?
{Keira begins to say something, but Roxi holds up her hands.}
Roxi – Hang on, I know what you’re thinking. He could get hurt.
{Keira nods, but still doesn’t say anything.}
Roxi – But I talked to my mom, and I think now is the time we need to let him develop. I mean, he could get hurt any day doing anything. And what are we supposed to do? Wrap him in bubble wrap his whole life? I know, Keira, it’s hard, I realize that he’s six, which is ridiculous when I stop and think about it, but the point is, he can’t physically be a baby the rest of his life. He has to get out there and experience things. We can hold his hand forever.
{Keira looks at the paper, nods and then hands it back to Roxi.}
Keira – They wear helmets, right?
Roxi – Well... yeah.
Keira – And he’s gonna compete against kids his own age, right?
Roxi – Yeah.
{Keira shrugs.}
Keira – Okay.
{Roxi turns her head slightly, expecting to hear more, but Keira just wipes her face with a towel and throws it around her neck. She stands up and looks at Roxi, who is bewildered.}
Keira – What?
Roxi – What do you mean, what? I thought you’d... be less agreeable to this.
Keira – You explained pretty thoroughly. I think you’re right. We have to let him go out and do things he wants to do at some point, and we shouldn’t try and keep him away from things. Hell, he doesn’t even know how to ride a bike. We should get him a bike, by the way. But, anyway... You’re right, your mom is right. We have to let him be a kid.
Roxi – I thought this would be harder.
Keira – You may have softened me up with the monkey bread pizza.
{Roxi shakes her head and sighs.}
Roxi – I suppose I did.
Keira – If he wants to play with his friends, let me play, but we should show him what to do and all that. Maybe he’ll excel and become a good baseball player or something in the future. Let’s encourage this instead of trying to fight it. Goodness knows we’re not getting any younger.
Roxi – Yeah... Well, I’m glad we came to this agreement.
Keira – Me too. Plus, it gives you and me less to worry and stress about since we got stuff we need to take care of at work.
Roxi – Right. In fact, I’m going to take my turn.
Keira – Knock yourself out.
{Roxi heads in to do her own training as the scene fades.}
{The next day, Roxi has gone all out purchasing T-Ball equipment for Nate. She begins hauling the boxes in and Elizabeth and Keira are both stunned. Roxi looks at them and sets the box down, holding her hands up}
Roxi – What?
Keira – T-Ball isn’t until the middle of June. And the flyer says they will have a coach and they will teach them.
Roxi – There's nothing wrong with getting a leg up.
Keira – I don’t think it’s that serious.
Roxi – Well, maybe it is, you don’t know.
Keira – Really?
Roxi – Look, I bought a t-ball stand, and a glove. That’s all he needs right now. And we’ll do a little practicing, and it’ll be fine.
Keira – You are going to train him?
Roxi – Yes, Keira, I played softball in high school.
Keira – That was 20 years ago.
Roxi – Yes? So? It’s not like baseball or softball or whatever ball has changed that much.
Keira – I just don’t want you to go overboard.
Roxi – He needs the equipment to help him. I’ll teach him, no big deal. We’ll make this work.
{Roxi pulls out a second mitt, this one adult sized. Keira rolls her eyes.}
Keira – Now YOU need a mitt?
Roxi – Uh, yeah, how do you think we’re gonna play catch?
Elizabeth – Roxi, he’s not going to hit that hard, he’s six.
Roxi – Oh, trust me, when I’m done with him, he’ll be hitting digners.
Keira – In T-Ball?
Roxi – Damn right!
Keira – I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think you need to relax.
{Roxi shakes her head and waves her mother and wife off before heading back outside to get more of the things she bought from the store.}
Keira – I don’t get it. She’s always so even keel about these things.
Elizabeth – I think what’s happening here is Roxi attempting live vicariously through Nate.
Keira – Oh, that could be bad.
Elizabeth – She's a smart girl, she’ll figure it out.
Keira – If you say so.
{Roxi returns with more groceries holding her arms up.}
Roxi – Little help maybe?
{Keira and Elizabeth help Roxi finish putting up the groceries and then Roxi takes the mitts she bought and starts to walk away with them.}
Keira – Where are you going?
Roxi – To break them in.
{Keira rolls her eyes as she grabs her keys and purse.}
Keira – I'll get Nate.
{Keira then departs as Roxi walks to their training area and grabs a weight and begins to hit the glove in order to break it in. She smashes the glove repeatedly with the weight and soon enough it snaps and is far more flexible than before. She repeats this with Nate’s glove. She grabs a baseball and tosses it into the glove and is very satisfied with the results.
Soon enough Nate comes home and Roxi hears this and heads upstairs, a wide smile on her face as she greets Nate.}
Roxi – There you are.
Nate – Mommy!
Roxi – Did you have a good day?
Nate – Uh-huh!
Roxi – Good. Mama and I talked about T-Ball, and we’re gonna let you play.
{Nate’s face lights up with excitement.}
Nate – Really?
Roxi – Yup. You can play with Danny, but I’ve got some stuff for you.
Nate – Oh! What is it?!
{Roxi is holding the glove behind her and presents it to Nate, who smiles and is very happy.}
Nate – A BASEBALL GLOVE!
Roxi – Yup. And, I got you your own t-ball set, so we can practice so you’ll be ready to go.
Nate – Thanks Mommy!
Roxi – You are very welcome. But you owe me.
Nate – Oh...
Roxi – Lucky for you, I take payment from cute boys in kisses!
{Nate kisses Roxi and the love-fest begins until Keira steps in.}
Keira – Alright, break it up.
Roxi – Don't be jealous.
Nate – Can I play with the set.
Roxi – Of course.
Keira – AFTER, you finish your school work.
Roxi – Right. You finish off your school work, I’m gonna go set it all up for you!
Nate – Okay!
{Nate goes to do his work while Roxi is about to head to the box, but Keira grabs her arm.}
Roxi – What?
{Keira leans in, whispering, but still annoyed.}
Keira – Don't what me! You’re acting like a child! The main focus is for Nate to do well in school, we can’t have him neglecting his studies.
Roxi – I'm not.
Keira – No, but you’re acting more excited about this than he is!
Roxi – I just want him to be excited about it!
Keira – Just... take it down a notch.
Roxi – Okay, okay.
{Keira gives Roxi the “eyes on you” finger gesture before walking away. Roxi grabs the T-Ball box and takes it outside, opening it and dumping out the contents and setting up the stand and the ball that comes with it along with the bat. She sets that aside and takes her own baseball and starts throwing the ball up into the air and catching it, essentially playing catch with herself and is very satisfied with the snap of the glove around the ball.}
Roxi – Just like old times.
{Roxi then finds a spot and begins tossing the ball off her fence so she can gather ground balls, still very pleased with herself and then finally Nate makes his way outside and sees Roxi.}
Nate – Mommy?
Roxi – Oh, just warming up, that’s all. Okay, let’s get you over here and here is your new mitt.
{Roxi presents Nate with the glove who smiles and puts it on his left hand.}
Nate – It's like yours.
Roxi – Yup. Now, I want you to close it with your hand, like this.
{Roxi demonstrates and Nate follows suit.}
Roxi – Good. Now, you have to do that when the ball hits your glove, okay?
Nate – Okay.
{Roxi takes the baseball and tosses it at Nate, who isn’t exactly ready for it, and drops it. Roxi has to remind herself not to get frustrated, as she picks up the ball.}
Roxi – Okay, I’m going about this all wrong. Let’s start simple.
{Roxi then gets a few feet away from Nate in the driveway and faces Nate.}
Roxi – Okay, I’m gonna roll the ball to you, you pick it up with your glove, okay?
Nate – Okay.
{Roxi slowly rolls the ball and Nate is able to scoop it up, and rolls it back to her, very proud of himself.}
Roxi – Good job! You’re getting the hang of it already.
{After a few more slow rolls of the ball, Nate seems to have the grasp, and so Roxi speeds up the rolls.}
Roxi – Okay, this one is gonna be a little faster.
{Roxi rolls the ball faster and Nate misses it.}
Roxi – Come on, you have to get in front of the ball! You -
{Roxi has to stop herself from getting frustrated.}
Roxi – No, no, you’re six. I’m sorry. You know what? We'll just play catch.
{Roxi and Nate proceed to play catch, Roxi under-handing the tosses to Nate, who catches some, and drops some others. Roxi tries to remain patient in trying to teach Nate to enjoy the game instead of forcing him to do so. After a while, Roxi and Nate high five as Roxi sets up the T-Ball stand and places the ball on the tee.}
Roxi – Okay, let’s see if we can hit this. Actually...
{Roxi turns the tee to where it’s facing the road so it doesn’t hit the house. She puts Nate into position and looks his form.}
Roxi – Okay, careful with that bat. Keep your hands together and tight.
{Roxi makes corrections to Nate’s form.}
Roxi – Good, just like that, now put your chin on your shoulder, and raise this back arm up. Perfect. Now, we’re ready to swing, we’ll swing slow first because I don’t want the ball to go far. Ready? One! Two... Three!
{Roxi helps guide the bat to the ball on the tee and knocks it off and it dribbles slowly into the front driveway as Roxi picks it up and places it back on the tee.}
Roxi – Good job. Now, I’m gonna stay back here, and you hit it like normal.
Nate – Okay.
{Nate lines up his shot and the ball goes fairly far and Roxi of course fields it. She walks up smiling and places the ball back on the tee.}
Roxi – Okay, let’s try it again.
{Nate tries it a few more times to varying success. Roxi fields all the balls hit, but sometimes Nate hits the tee itself, sometimes misses altogether as he is just learning. Roxi is still a little flustered by this.}
Roxi – Okay, you gotta keep your eye on the ball. I-
{Roxi stops and spots Keira out of the corner of her eye as Keira marches out of the house with a sarcastic grin on her face as she pulls Roxi aside.}
Keira – That's enough.
Roxi – What?
Keira – You're out here trying to teach him and train him like he’s practicing for game seven of the world series. STOP.
Roxi – I'm just -
Keira – No, you’re not. You are doing this for you, not him. He is six years old and you’re scolding him like this. He’s going to play t-ball. Not little league, or major league or any other league. T-ball. He’s a kid. Let him be a kid, and not try and live through him. I get it, you played softball a while back. I’m glad you’re teaching him. But you’re doing it, for you, not for him. If you keep pushing him like this, he’s going to resent it, and then, maybe even you.
{Roxi stares off, letting it all sink in. She turns back to Keira and looks at her with a confused look}
Roxi – Who are you and what have you done with my wife?
Keira – Don't try and change the subject.
Roxi - I'm not. That... that what was I needed to here. I’m sorry. I guess it was just me getting over-excited. It was something I wanted to sink my teeth into. You know, training the adults in the Hero Academy who want to learn and have a passion for it... verus my own son who just wants to play with his friends. I... I needed that. I guess I had to grow up a little too.
{Roxi walks over to Nate and kneels down next to him and rubs his head.}
Roxi – I hope I didn’t make you sad today. I know this is something new and it takes time. I was a little hard on you, but I want you to have fun. Okay?
Nate – It's okay Mommy.
Roxi – Tell you what, next week, we’ll invite Danny over and you can play together, okay.
Nate – Awesome!
{Nate picks up the baseball and hands it to Roxi.}
Nate – Can we play catch some more?
Roxi – Sure.
{Roxi and Nate proceed to start another round of catch as the scene fades.}
“And don't think it's easy being Superman, Kelley. It's a struggle to live up to everyone's expectations!”
- Superman (Superman Vol 2 #50)
Hello, SCW.
I come to you again after a successful title defense, but at the same time, I have to give huge props to Ariana for pushing me and herself. That was the entire process I was after the entire time. When I said she wasn’t ready for the moment, it was the truth, but it was meant to be motivational. It was meant to light a fire, it was meant to change how she sees herself. And after that, and judging by her words and actions, she understood that afterward. My intent was to make her better. And make her not only championship worthy, but worthy of holding this title. Worthy of seeing herself in that position. And now, I believe she does, so I accomplished what I set out to do, and at the same time, I was able to retain this championship, and that is also part of the goal. I had to make sure that I held onto it, because when Ariana is ready, which isn’t far off, but when she is ready, she will win this title and all of you will accept her as a worthy champion. There is a method to my madness.
It’s what I want for any and all competitors, to make this championship a prize worth claiming as their own. Not only because they beat me, because my status, while playing a part, should not be the determining factor. Beating me is something people say is hard enough, but to beat me AND win this title, should be something that’s worth it. I want it to mean that a person has arrived and you will look at them and say “yes.” It needs to mean something to you, as well as them, and myself. Nobody wants a champion that is getting here simply because they are a name, or they rely on their past accomplishments to justify it. And I am bound and determined to make sure that that doesn’t happen. It’s the way this has to go. If I falter and someone sneaks in a title win and you all go “her?” and shrug in apathy, then I’ve failed.
It’s why I am setting the bar very high for not only those that challenge me, but for myself. I wanted this, and the fact I am getting what I asked for, means I have a lot to live up to. They call me “Icon” and “Legend” and I don’t take those monikers lightly. I carry them as an added weight. I already slipped and fell once this year because I didn’t put the work in that I needed to. And I made a promise to myself that that isn’t going to happen ever again. No, the person who takes this from me, is going to have earned it, and I will have given them my best and on that day, they will be a little bit better. And then hopefully, that cycle continues after that. Because the thing is, after I lose this title, I do not intend to go after it again. 5 times is a record. I am no longer interested in chasing this title again in the quest to hold the record solo. I’m already in the hall of fame here. I’ve already done everything there is to do aside from a couple of things. At that point, chasing it again means that I’m just stat padding and nobody needs that. No, my goal is to leave this championship in good hands in a division that is thriving. I am searching for that worthy opponent.
Now, it seems that I have a lot of irons in the fire since Devona is the next challenger, and that Krystal Wolfe wants to continue to have a war of words. But I’ve got those two things on the back burner for now. Because I have one hell of a challenger coming at me this week.
One Courtney Pierce.
So, Hello Courtney.
This is the first time you and I are having the pleasure of sharing the ring together. Though I am making an assumption that you are happy to be in the position you are in and sharing the ring with me. I only know that I am excited and honored to share the ring with you, as I am most of my opponents these days. I know that you don’t want to have this chance go to waste because it has taken you a long time to get back to this spot.
It’s never fun to be injured or see someone with some much promise get injured. I want you to understand that I don’t see that as any sign of weakness. Those things happen, and in 2018 you won the Blast From the Past tournament, so you earned this match. It has just taken you some time to be able to claim it. And you put a lot of doubt to bed at Into the Void, you beat Crystal, the other person to hold this very title 5 times. It’s not a small feat to do that, so you have my respect, and I hold you in a very high regard.
It’s not easy to win Blast From the Past in the first place. You have to be able to not only take care of your opponents, but function as a team, and you did so, and won in convincing fashion. You have an accomplishment that nobody can take away from you, and I will certainly not diminish it. You earned this match. No doubt about it. You have clearly displayed the talent and drive to do so. You have beaten some of the top talent in this company and done so with a sense of pride on your face and determination in your heart. I love that about you. And I know that this match I will get no less than 100% from you.
But I am not Crystal.
I’m sure you are aware of that, but I’m not driven by simply winning a title just to say that I did, or accomplishing something to try and be first or get something out of it. I have reached this point because I have put in the work and not simply relied on talent or family or whatever to get here. I am not driven by fame or seeing my name on lists. I have this championship, because I am who I am, and because I do what I do. I understand what it means to be at the top and then, to stay there.
Now, I get that you are not some new wrestler with her career much further ahead of here, I know that you are basically in the prime of your career. You are at the top of your game and I understand that I have my work cut out for me in this defense. And that is again, part of what I wanted. No layup defenses. No cupcake schedule. Give me the top contenders, and give me the people that earned it. And you are there. So then, it falls onto me, to back up my words and actions.
This is not a match where I can hope to get through or hope for you to not take it seriously or anything like that, and I don’t want that at all. I want you, at your best, and then we both make each other better. Iron sharpens iron as they say. Because to me, you represent the present and future of this company. Now, I will say that I’ve assumed that people in your position, and people who held this title before were going to carry on and continue to rise and elevate the division and everyone in it, but it has blown up in my face when putting my faith in people.
Which is another reason I take holding this title so seriously.
I have this responsibility to ensure that the next in line is not only ready, but worthy. I have this new prespective of being like a coach and understanding that I need to make sure that things are done and they are done correctly. And I know it may irk you to hear this, but I simply do not want you to have this title, and then just give it away because you lost interest. Because I see that in you. It’s not just the injuries, I can forgive that. I can look past injuries. Like I said, they happen, nothing you can do about them. But let’s be real with each other. 2018 was 5 years ago. And that’s a long time to be waiting and healing and not competing. 2018 you did all this, and then... nothing. It seems that while now you have the passion, that passion appears to come and go and act like a breeze. You can’t just come and go as the top champion. You can’t just compete when you want to compete. This is a full time deal and that lack of activity makes me understand that while you are good, you appear to be good for short bursts.
I get it, things happen in and out of the ring that take time away from you. And some things are bigger than wrestling itself. But from my perspective, right here and now, you are one feeling of boredom away from walking away again and then the title loses it’s value, your win loses it’s value, your place in the record books loses it’s value.
And I DON’T want that to happen. Not just for this title, but for you.
You may not want to hear it, but sometimes when we get carried away with how we feel about something, whatever the case may be, it could be sorrow, or self-pity, or bitterness, we take it out on people, and sometimes, we need people to show us that we’re wrong. People that tell us the truth.
Nothing I’m saying here is a lie, Courtney, you know it, and I know it. You winning this title would probably be in the short term, a justified action, but then, in the long term? It becomes another problem, another issue. Because this championship comes with expectations and I don’t think you have the stomach to rise to meet those expectations, based on your past.
So, while I expect a great match, and I expect those feelings you have of feeling slighted or overlooked because you didn’t get your chance when you should have to come to the forefront, You need to understand that that’s not going to be enough.
Like Ariana, you may feel like I’m insulting you or patronizing you, but it’s not coming from that place. It’s coming from the eyes of experience, the eyes of a coach. A person who has been in your shoes. I see what’s underneath, and from what I see... you simply don’t have the level of growth necessary.
So, at Climax Control, I’m going to help your growth. So that maybe in the future, provided you stick with this, you will have everything you need.
I’ll coach you up, Sunday.
See you there.
