The camera fades in to where I sit in a brown leather chair, a fireplace roaring next to me, three stockings hanging with the names Ben, Evie and Bear embroidered on them, as I hold a hard cover leather book in my hand. On my head sits a red Santa hat as I smile down the camera.
"God, I love Christmas, don't you lot." I say with a wide grin. "Absolutely love it. I love the gift giving, shows you care, I love the music, I mean this is the one month a year for it to be acceptable to play Fairytale of New York on repeat."
"No it's not." Evie's voice can be heard off camera.
I turn my head, looking to the left, looking at my wife off camera.
"Yeah it is darling." I tell her with a smile before looking back down the camera. "It's acceptable by a long shot, but you know what else I love about Christmas? The films, the stories, and I wanna tell you a story, an old classic with a modern day spin. I got to thinking what if I was a bit of a meanie? What if I could take that and link that to a Christmas character who was a meanie, yet bring it all the way up to modern times? Well that's the story I'm gonna tell ya."
I open the book and look down at the first page.
"This is a story you're all familiar with." I say as I raise my head. "It's called A Christmas Carol, just more modern and what it would actually be like if I was a penny pinching old git..."
A Christmas Carol 2019.
The evening has warn down towards the night, as I - E-Ben-Ezer Scrooge sit at a desk, a wide smirk on my face as I look at piles of money sitting in front of me.
"I would hate to be poor." I said as I run my hands through piles of noted currency. "Imagine being so damn poor, you couldn't sit here and look at all the money you've made in one single day."
I shudder at the thought.
"I will never be poor." I say to myself, the light of a laptop lighting up the desk. "And I don't care about anyone else who is poor. They should have worked harder in life. The cream float to the top."
The sound of people singing Christmas Carols can be heard from outside the window. I hate Christmas and carolers. Why should I spend my hard earned money on other people, when they're too lowbrow to even consider what to get me.
"Must shut those stupid people up." I say as I stand to my feet, moving towards the window and leaning my head out. "Oi! Pack it in will ya? This is not X Factor or some countries got talent. You lot wouldn't even get past the first round. You're not gonna get a damn thing out of people singing like a cat who's been run over by a tractor, so piss off!"
I slam the window shut, moving away and looking at the pile of money on the desk before picking it up, and putting it in a desk drawer before grabbing hold of the rest, and also sliding it in the drawer. I grab a key from the top of the desk and lock the drawer. I reach up to shut the laptop lid before walking towards the bed, key in hand.
"Ah sleep, per chance to dream." I say to myself as I slide the key under my pillow. "About making so much more money in the morning."
It didn't take too long for E-Ben-Ezer to fall asleep, falling in to a world where money, his personal motivation in life, was everywhere, swimming in a sea of notes, but a voice soon brought him from his slumber.
"Ben...." The soft southern tone can be heard saying. "E-Ben-Ezer, wake up."
His eyes didn't want to open, thinking it was just part of his dream, he wrapped his arms tighter around the pillow.
"Ben.... Oh heck." The female voice says. "Someone's breaking in to your desk drawer and stealing your money."
Like that, I was up like a shot, looking around the room, but all I could see was darkness for a few seconds, until a light from the side of the room caught my attention, a redheaded woman, with a bright glow coming from her.
"Sam..." I stumbled out, still half asleep.
"Not today." Sam Marlowe says to me. "Today I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past."
"Why?" I ask her.
"I don't know. This is your parody." She says with a giggle. "I'm here to show you the errors of your ways, how money has corrupted you."
"No it hasn't." I reply rolling away from her.
"Don't you roll away from me E-Ben-Ezer Scrooge." She says firmly. "I'm here to show you the past."
"Why?" I quickly respond. "I know the past, I lived it."
Sam, The Ghost of Christmas Past sighs.
"Have it your way." She says as she waves her hand.
No longer was I in bed, I stood out in the cold with just a pair of pyjamas covering my body, Sam standing in a thick fur coat. The ground was think with snow, but it didn't matter to the five boys playing outside with their new presents, all roughly around the age of ten.
"It's bloody freezing out here!" I complain as I look at Sam.
"Well if you was nicer, I might have let you have put on a jacket but you wasn't." She says with a smile.
"So have you brought me here just to freeze my gooleys off?" I ask.
"No." Sam replies. "Just to show you, that you was a mean little kid too."
"I was not!" I protest strongly.
"Just keep watching." She tells me as she points to the five boys.
I looked closely at the five boys in the street, playing with new cars in the snow, I couldn't help but notice something.
"Is it me or do those five look like Fenris, Caleb, Vinnie, Lachlan and Austin?" I ask.
"Probably." Sam replies. "Again, this is your parody."
I look at the camera and smile before it moves over to the five boys playing in the snow, simply dressed, not feeling the cold as much as I was standing there in just pyjamas. A sixth boy enters the scene, dressed in Christmas day finery, looking strangely like me.
"Aw." Sam says with a smile "You was a cute kid"
"Thanks." I replied. "It was the dimples that made people see that."
his eyes looking at what seems to be a brand new top of the range phone. He stops before the boys, looking down his nose at them.
"Is that what you got for Christmas?" The younger me says with a sneer.
The one who looks like Vinnie looked up at the younger me, proudly showing off his brand new red car.
"That's it?" Younger me says with disgust. "You got like a cheap little toy that probably came in a box of cereal?"
I try to hold back a laugh as I continue to watch the scene, but Sam gives me a stern look as I watched the younger me look towards a young Caleb, Fenris and Austin.
"Why do you three have really long hair?" Young me asks. "Can't you afford to get it cut or something? Why don't you just go lay next to the hedges when the gardener is working and he'll do it for free."
Again, I draw another stern look from Sam as I hold back another laugh, clearing my throat to cover my actions as I watch the younger me look at Lachlan.
"And why is your head square?" The young me asks the young Lachlan. "Is it a medical problem you can't afford to fix?"
Again, I can't help but hold back a laugh as I look at the scene, coming closer to laughing every time, but Sam shakes her head at me.
"You five are so poor, the homeless have to give you money to live." Young me says. "I can feel myself getting stupid standing next to you, like my IQ is dropping a point every ten seconds."
That did it for me as I burst out laughing, drawing an elbow to the side from the Ghost of Christmas Past.
"What?" I say as I look at her, wiping a tear of laughter from my eye. "That kids funny as hell. Getting money from the homeless to live. Brilliant."
"It's not funny E-Ben-Ezer." Sam says to me. "That kid was you."
"That's why he was so funny." I reply. "He had money and comedy chops. No wonder I became so successful."
"You became successful because you was mean and penny pinching." Sam tells me. "Not because you were funny. You did it by ripping the heart and soul out of businesses, putting people out of work, turning the land in to slums. You was a meanie."
"But I was a rich meanie." I tell her with a smirk. "And money buys you everything you can want."
"No it doesn't." She tells me.
"Sure takes the sting out of being poor." I tell her quickly. "That kid grew up to be worth a fortune, and he doesn't need anything else."
A sigh comes from the Ghost of Christmas past as she shakes her head.
"Being rich just isn't about having all the wealth in the world." She tells me. "It's not about possessions, it's about feeling that your life has purpose, that it has meaning. What would have happened if you were nicer that day, you might have found five friends you could have had for life. That would have made your life much richer."
"I don't know about friends for life." I tell her as I look at her. "That kid with the red car doesn't seem normal, he looks like he has a strange smell even from here."
"I'm not gonna get through to you, am I?" Sam says as she looks at me.
"Money makes the world go round, and I got a lot of it." I tell her with a smirk. "So I wouldn't have done a damn thing differently."
Sam sighs as she looks at me with disappointed eyes, slowly shaking her head.
"You have no idea how much better your life could have been." She says sadly.
And with a simple wave of her hand, I was no longer in the snow, but laying back in my warm bed.
"Maybe now I can get some kip." I tell myself as my head pushes deeper in to the pillow.
"I wouldn't bank on it." Another female voice says to me.
"Oh blimey." I mutter as I roll over and sit up.
"Hello E-Ben-Ezer." the female voice says.
"Hello Aimes and what have you come as?" I ask.
Indeed it was the voice of Amy Santino, another friend of mine in the real world. I blink rapidly as I look at the glow coming from Amy.
"Ghost of Christmas Present." Amy tells me with a smile. "You would have thought you'd have gone the hang of it by now."
"Yeah, yeah." I say as I sit myself up in bed. "Can I put a jacket on this time? The last ghost didn't let me."
Amy taps her chin, I could see the wheels turning in her head.
"Nah, you're a bad guy in this whole thing, so no, no special privileges." Amy tells me. "Especially after today. I mean it's Christmas Eve and the way you spoke to Bob was just wrong on every level."
"No it wasn't." I told her firmly. "I'm sick of being his cash cow. E-Ben-Ezer we need money for this, we need money for that. He thinks I'm made of money."
"You were horrible." Amy tells me, a not so happy look on her face. "I will prove it."
"Oh mother fu..."
Before I can finish the word I had intended to say, Amy waved her hand, transporting me to the office of Jamie Dean a.k.a Bob Cratchit. Jamie sits behind the desk as the Ghost of Christmas Present stand nearby, not being able to be seen in this ghost form. Bob looks down at the desk, his eyes on paperwork but the door flies open to see a version of myself walking through the door, a look of anger on my face.
"I look bloody good in that suit." I tell Amy. "That cost more than most people earn in six months."
"Shush." Amy tells me. "We're not here to admire the way you look or the way you dress. We're here to show you what a complete dick you was early."
"For a ghost trying to help." I start. "You don't mince words."
"What is it now Bob?" Earlier me booms out in a loud acidic tone. "What is it that you're after now."
"Who said I'm after anything?" He stumbles out. "It was just time for our weekly meeting about this place."
We were standing in the office in Oasis, something Jamie erm, Bob and I set up to get homeless gay teens off the street, when I say we, I was the money man of course. Charity is not my thing but raising my own person profile was and to hell with everyone else.
"Oh let me guess." Earlier day me says with a roll of my eyes. "The roof still leaks, the costs of being here has gone up and your car wash with those freeloaders here didn't make enough money to do a damn thing so you thought I'd know, I'll ask E-Ben-Ezer for money again to do all that."
I could see Bob was reluctant to answer back to me. He knew I had the money to do all he wanted, I could make the place a palace, but why should I sit and pamper these people he deems worthy to enter the doors.
"Well the roof is still leaking." He tells earlier me. "And you promised extra funds last month to fix it and you haven't."
"I gave you an extra five dollars last month!" I tell him.
"You're so generous." Amy sarcastically says to current me in ghost form.
"I know right?" I tell her seriously. "I didn't have to give him an extra penny to do anything, but I did."
Amy rolls her eyes as we quickly focus on the two from early today.
"Five dollars is not enough." Bob tells me. "That doesn't go far to fixing a leaking roof. These kids deserve better."
"Why?!" I below towards Bob. "You said to me when you came up with this idea that these kids needed a roof over their head, and they got that, leaking or not. You changed the rules on me Bob when I set this up."
"You?" Bob questions.
"And how much of your own money did you put in this place?" Earlier me asks. "Not as much as I did, then you bring sexuality in to it! You have to be gay to be in this place. You decided to choose who was allowed a roof over their head based on who they sleep with? I get it, you're that way inclined so you only want to help out people who are like you. You act all hetrophobic and expect me to cough up more cash?"
"Can you now see why you went too far?" Amy asks the current me.
"Well why should sexuality determine who gets a warm safe bed and who does? Bloody ludicrous." I tell Amy.
"With statements like that, almost sounds like you have a heart." Amy says with a roll of her eyes.
I watched the anger in my face as I looked at Bob sitting behind his desk, looking at me in stunned silence. Current ghost me did start feeling something at that point, maybe I did overstep the boundaries earlier. It's not easy standing there and watching you make a prat of yourself.
"This place doesn't benefit me anymore Bob." I tell him. "It does nothing for me at all anymore. It doesn't raise my profile, and that is why I did it, not because I wanted to help these kids. These kids are bums, they're lazy, you wanna make something out of one of them, send him on a roofing course to fix the bloody roof. They're all sitting here having you wipe their noses and give inspirational speeches, while I sit there and pay for them to do nothing."
I watch as the door opens slightly and in walks a dog, limping slightly.
"My Dog Bear got a part in this, pretty cool huh?" Present me says to Amy.
"Stick to the script Ben." Amy whispers back
I look towards the dog as it barks at earlier me, growing towards me.
"No one asked you Tiny Tim." I say looking at the dog."Piss off."
"Look, E-Ben-Ezer." Bob says to me. "I just wanna give these kids a good Christmas. You promised last week that you would at least give them that."
"That was last week, this is not last week." Earlier me says pointing across the desk. "These lazy, good for nothing kids don't deserve a damn thing out of me, they haven't ever deserved a damn thing while you pamper them. They're not looking for self worth, they're looking for a free ride, so you can consider Christmas cancelled here. No food, no presents, nothing, and until one of them actually makes something of themselves and actually gets a job, they're getting nothing more from me."
I watch as earlier me turns around and heads to the door, only to get barked at by Tiny Tim.
"But..." Bob pleads.
"But nothing." I firmly say "My decision is final and it will stay final!"
Ask I watch me from earlier walk out the office, a young man passes me. I look him square in the eye, knowing he was nervous at being around.
"You should be glad you don't fancy women mate and that you're under the age of twenty." Earlier me tells him. "Or you'd be going to a soup kitchen about now."
I watch as Bob crumples in to the chair, scratching Tiny Tim on the head as the dog looks at him with sympathic eyes.
"Don't worry Tim." He tells the dog. "We'll think of something for these kids. No matter what he says, everyone deserves to be happy at Christmas."
All I could feel was Amy, The Ghost of Christmas Present staring an ice cold glare in my direction. Something slightly hit home there, just hearing those words.
"You hear that?" Amy says. "Everyone deserves to be happy at Christmas. Everyone deserves it. These kids have had hard lives and their only teens, even people like you who act like a dick deserve to be happy at Christmas."
I think those well chosen words were all Amy needed to say as she waved her hand once more and there I was again, back sitting on my bed.
"Well, where's last bloody one?" I question as I sit on the bed, waiting for the last ghost. "I know how this story goes, and she's late... He's late? Come on, gotta be a she, the other two were."
I sigh as I look around.
"Fine, how's this E-Ben-ezer here sits and cuts a promo mid story?" I say firmly. "And I can be an arse because I'm still Scrooge, and I can use what people said in week one of promos now cause that is not frowned upon, so yeah, I'm gonna do that while I wait for the next one to turn up."
I clear my throat.
"I would like to talk about everything Lachlan Kane said about me!" I start. "All those sharp jabs, all those little digs, all those questions about my ability... Oh wait, that never happened because he never said a bloody word about me or anyone else! What is wrong with you, you strange faced little man? Cat got your tongue? This is the most important match of your life, the most important thing you'll ever do and you can't find ten minutes to talk trash about me and four other people? Do you not see what winning an SCW World title would mean? It would piss over every other place you've ever won a championship before because they are small time places, this is the big league and you can't take the time to have a little chin wag about us? E-Ben-ezer is just as disappointed as Ben Jordan!"
I shake my head.
"Really disappointed in you but it seems to show something that the world already knew little man." I continued. "It showed that you're only any good when Sierra is holding your hand. Admit it boy! Sierra is better than you are, Sierra made you worth something in SCW. Do you see her missing the chance to talk about people? No you don't, she's there front and center to tell everyone what's what but you are clearly her little sub. You're clearly not learning a bloody thing from her. That is disappointing Lachlan, I expected so much more from you but no, you have to show who wears the pants in your house and it certainly isn't you."
A quick shake of the head shows my disappointed.
"Ben might have had you down as a threat for this match, a dark horse but you're clearly too lazy to even appear." I say firmly. "You can't be arsed to talk about a match of this magnitude, you sure as hell won't be putting the effort in to this one, you're just a big disappoint to everyone else in that match. Lachlan Kane, weak link. Ben was wrong to even respect you."
I shake my finger firmly at the camera.
"Now let's talk about someone who actually bothered to flap their gums." I say with gritted teeth. "I say flap their gums, he didn't flap his gums too much, he never does, you could sneeze and miss an entire Caleb Storms promo. You didn't say a whole lot about Ben did you Caleb? You pointed out a few facts about both of you not wanting to get your heads kicked off.... Well freakin' done genius. You've ever become a man who has studied human behaviour or at the very least worked out how to state the obvious."
I shake my head.
"Bloody amateur!" I say with a disappointed tone. "Who in their right mind would ever want their head kicked off? Have you met anyone who wakes up in the morning and say I know, I think today I will allow some angry guy to kick my head off? Maybe he's rattled your brain too much cause all you did was state the bloody obvious. you actually think you're better than Ben? You, Caleb Storms, the man with the claim to fame of shitting his pants whenever Fenris is within half a mile of you. Absolutely pathetic you call yourself a wrestler and yet fear someone who is a man like everyone else. You sit there and talk about Ben like he couldn't even lace your boots but you can't even keep your bowels under control whenever Fenris is anywhere near you.... You're a joke Caleb, an unfunny joke, a piss poor sad little joke who thinks he seriously stands a chance of not only beating Ben, but four others? HA! You couldn't beat anyone let alone someone who's destiny is to become a top level champion. You're right Caleb, you are an underdog, but this is not titled Caleb Storms the Underdog Story, this is just you in a match with far better people than you and as soon as you're eliminated, they'll forget you're even in this match."
I look around the room, trying to think about who to talk about next.
"So many people in this match, ain't nobody wanna talk about all these people all the time, by the time you finish, you'd have lost ten days, but this is how it works." The grouchy Scrooge side of me says. "I was gonna talk about Fenris but that man can seriously talk about Ben, he's obsessed so getting through talking about him might take a few days, go ahead, get some coffee, put the kids to bed or something. You really liked to ramble about Ben, didn't ya Fenris? It's like you've come up with nothing on anyone else cause you know Ben well. You don't wanna come across as a bastard? Well do so, cause right now, I ain't that saint Ben guy, can't hurt me, I'll be gone when the ghost of Christmas future puts in an appearance."
I wave at the camera in a mocking way.
"You spoke a ton about Ben cause you know him better than most and I get why you don't wanna get angry at him, cause he is a decent fella, but you will be angry with him soon." Scrooge me says. "Cause he's gonna take that World title from under your nose. Then how ya gonna feel and don't say happy cause we know that's a load of old bollocks. I mean was you happy after you wrestled that draw in a tag team match... Would it have even been a draw if someone knew how to stick to limits? Of course not, you'd have lost to Ben and you know it. I think it's bugged you ever since that day that you've not put Ben down like you've put the rest down. I think that's annoyed you no end that you couldn't beat him."
A serious look crosses my face.
"You are right in asking where did #BenDeservesBetter get him?" Scrooge me asks. "A few high profile big matches, a run with the Roulette title, Jessie Salco actually seeing it could work so tried to gain heat from it. Did it ever get in your head Fenris that everything happens for a reason? Could Ben have stepped up in your little lovers quarrel with that Kris guy? Sure, but who the hell wants to be part of that drama? Who the hell wants to be part of the soap opera you bring and well, I don't care if I come across as a bastard, but you've done more soap opera style dramas in your SCW career, you can smash the writers of Days Of Our Lives for every bloody award, why would Ben wanna be another side dish in your drama like everyone else. While it's going all out on the table, might as well level with you. Everyone is a side dish to you, your beat down little brother, Dani Weston, even that absolute dickhead Ty West, all a side dish. Everything has to be about you and maybe, just maybe Ben was smart enough to avoid all that crap, maybe he was sick of being the side dish in everything and wanted to actually stand on his own two feet. Think about it, you mentioned the team with Jamie Dean and mentioned he was in the background. Yes he was Fenris, he was just a side act to someone as a team mate, why would he want to be a supporting player in your drama by going for that belt then. He might as well have played side dish like he did the other week by coming you your rescue in your drama, without the pressure of the championship belt, but this is his time to break away from that and it would start when he beats you."
I couldn't believe deep down what this Scrooge side of me was saying, but I was in the character now. I knew none of my opponents would take it seriously, but it was oddly freeing to be this way for now.
"You wanted to know why good old Ben was avoiding you?" My persona says. "Because you were surrounded by drama. Everything about you was dipped in drama he didn't wanna be a part of. One of the reasons why he finally agreed was cause you cut that drama way out of your life. He didn't wanna get caught in all your crap Fenris, but now is the perfect time for Ben to show what he can really do. Think about it, what makes him look better? Beat one man for the World championship or beat five men for the World Championship?"
It was a valid point, anyone would want the bigger match to become a champion.
"Don't overestimate your worth Fenris." This version of me says. "You'll only end up more disappointed when you see what Ben can really do up close. You think you're the biggest challenge to anyone in SCW, how'd ya think you're gonna feel when Ben defeats you and five others."
This wasn't me, I felt like I was in control but I wasn't. I felt like something had taken over me slightly and the mean spirit of Scrooge was actually there.
"I guess we move on to Austin now." I said. "Austin, I agree with you completely, one hundred percent when you uttered those words about Ben being underrated, hallelujah, a man who actually doesn't have mud in his eyes and can see the absolute truth. Everyone rattles on about how Ben is a nice guy, how he'd help anyone, how he'd go to Iceland to bring back that lunatic Fenris, how he's set up charities, how he's worked for free to donate his money to charities, but not many people sit there Austin and talk about his wrestling talent."
It was actually true. It felt like a broken record but everyone has basically said you're a good guy Ben, they've never said much about what you can do in the ring.
"I applaud you Austin." I say. "You have hit the nail on the head with the biggest hammer you could find. You have basically sat there and figured out what gives Ben an advantage over most people he faces. The fact that no one looks at the talent, they look at his outside the ring stuff and forget he's a good wrestler, they forget that he's been in SCW for many years and they see that he's never really had a run at the world title and they put that down mistakenly to lack of talent, and underestimate him a little. See, people in SCW don't do their homework, they don't sit and watch matches, they don't sit and watch promos. Seriously Austin, how many of your co workers outside the people in this match, are actually gonna watch this? One? Two maybe?"
Sorry SCW fans, it's true, there's probably just a few of our co workers that actually watch everything. Outside you fans, people in SCW rarely take the time.
"Two if we're lucky." I continue. "But this is why they underestimate Ben, because they never take the time to watch. They don't watch matches but they do look at the title history page a lot. Ben is very much under the radar but you seem to have done your homework on him. Actually, it's what he expected. He expected Fenris to talk about the personal side of things, he expected Caleb to chat about getting his head kicked off, he knew Vinnie wouldn't make sense, he even knew Lachlan wouldn't be arsed to show up, but he knew one person would be taking him very seriously and that was you Austin. Ben knew the main threat in this match is not the mad Icelandic guy, or the Mexican champion. It's you Austin. Fenris already thinks he knows everything there is to know about Ben, and Vinnie is on a champions high, thinks he can beat the world, but Ben knew you would be the danger of this match because you work to be the danger."
That was the thought from day one in my head, Austin James Mercer is gonna be the danger man in this one. It's his kinda match, a match where you have to think.
"So thank you for taking the time to actually put in the effort but I'm gonna let you in on something..." I say softly. "Ben secretly really wants this too. He knows this is a chance to make everyone sit up and take notice and change the way they see him. He knows this is his opportunity to show everyone he is ready for this, it's not about the greed of wanting to become champion Austin, it's about being ready and Ben is more than ready for this now. He can see there is less drama at the top and knows he can make it a better division and try and keep up with what your stable mate Alicia has been doing for the Bombshell division. He's ready for that responsibility but he knows not to take his eyes off you for a second in this match. If Ben wants to become champion, you being eliminated is the key to that, he knows that Austin. He may respect the effort that you put in for each and every match, but he also knows he needs to get rid of you as quickly as possible. That that for what you will."
Getting rid of Austin is something that everyone needs to consider doing early, if I can see he is the brick wall stopping anyone else walking out as champion, surely the others will too? Well, a couple might.
"Ok, need a dictionary here of gibberish to English cause it's time to talk about Vinnie." I say with a disappointing tone. "Frankly, watching his whole promo was a bit of a headache. I don't know about Ben, but when I tried to watch it, all I got from it is your wife is an absolute bore, Bill Barnhart is a bore, frankly everything about you is a bit of a bore. I know Ben misses the days when you was actually funny though, he got a right chuckle out of some of the stuff you used to record but now, you're just another generic guy with nothing at all worth shouting about."
He fell in to the trap to me of changing himself too much after the ring went on his finger, out when the comedy and in came the wife.
"I didn't know what the hell you was talking about half the time Vinnie and neither did Ben." This persona admits. "Battles? Wars? Lord of the Ring quotes? Lots of number connected things? What the hell had you been smoking before recording that pile of pony? I don't think a single word that came out of your mouth made any sense at all to Ben, and probably not to Caleb, Lachlan, Fenris or Austin either, it was like ramblings of a mad man. Prattling on about the story of his life, the hell?"
I honestly at that point never understood what Vinnie was trying to get at, but I was pretty sure this side of me that has been taken over by the Scrooge spirit would have something to say about it.
"Ben aspires to be a wrestler?" I say confused. "You win one title and now you're the ruling party on what constitutes a wrestler? So what you're trying to say, and putting it terribly is that wrestlers should just be wrestlers and nothing else? So what the hell are you doing making mariachi music then? Surely you're more suited to playing in a third rate Mexican restaurant then actually wrestling because you just admitted yourself, you're wet behind the ears as a wrestler. Ben's won more than you in his career and you're talking about aspiring to be a wrestler? What utter tosh you speak Vinnie."
Talk about trying to take a leak on what I've done over YEARS in wrestling to say I'm just aspiring.
"So you're implying think of yourself in ya next ramble, eh?" That side of me says. "This is coming from a man who joined a stable... A stable Vinnie."
Even I know being an 'aspiring' wrestler that joins a stable means thinking of others.
"I'm gonna say this cause Ben won't, but put the crack pipe down for the love of God Vinnie." My bad character says. "Desire? Desire Vinnie? Ben hasn't even got started yet, he was always a long way from done, regardless of what people might say, the heart is still there and the heart says you're gonna lose that belt. You feel free to go personal against Ben, but you know you gotta expect it back, you know if you go below the belt, he's gonna do the same, hell, I will do it anyway, I have by calling your wife boring, I have by calling you generic. You can sit and say you're better than Ben, that's how this whole thing works genius, you always say your better than your opponent, that's wrestling 101, but you can't claim it after Ben takes the gold from you. You wanna be blunt Vinnie, no one's gonna remember you as champion after Sunday when that belt comes away from you and leaves with Ben, no one will remember you for anything you've done in your title run, because you've done nothing in your title run. The spotlight should have been on you when it's been more on your cactus messing about with a dog."
I knew the fans would struggle to see Vinnie as anything more than a guy who speaks to a cactus. I don't know if he say Despayre get over talking to a Teddy bear and thinking it would work for him, I really don't know. I could see where the rest of this talk was going and I wanted to pump the breaks, ease off, but it wasn't me in control at this point.
"You're embarrassing mate." The Scrooge persona says. "To that belt, to the great champions who came before you and to everyone who has to watch you. This is why Austin James Mercer hit the nail on the head and you're so far wide of the goalposts, it's gone out for a throw. You don't know Ben, you haven't tried to know Ben, you're one of those people who just gets by week by week without knowing anybody at all. You think you got it sussed because of championship confidence, but you know nothing of anyone in that ring against you, you know nothing of anyone you're facing at all, all you can keep in your head that as the champion, you will walk out as champion. That's not happening Vinnie, you're too lax about this, you're too over confident."
Over confidence can be a horrible thing, I've been there, I've dealt with it.
"You all see Ben as this nice guy, but nice guys can turn." He says. "Nice guys can become right horrible bastards to get what they want, but you keep digging at him Vinnie, you keep making mistakes like saying Ben isn't positive, which further proves you haven't watched anything about him in a long time. Keep thinking Ben's not ready for a fight, because all you've done right there is joined the rest in underestimating him. I don't have the numbers but I'm pretty sure over all those years, his win rate is probably one of the best in SCW, but you all doubt what he can do, you doubt what he can do Vinnie but it's gonna blow up in your face. You can't be like us, which is a shame Vinnie, cause I'll put money on Ben and the other four in that match will be a lot better champion than you was, you know why?"
Don't go there, don't go there, ah, he's gonna go there.
"Cause you wouldn't know how to act like a champion if you took lessons from every other champion there has ever been." He says. "You're one of the worst champions SCW has ever seen and on Sunday, not only will Ben win that championship from you, he's gonna show you what it's like to be a real champion."
"God I love this bad Ben." Evie's voice can be heard saying behind me.
I turn to see Evie standing there, looking at me.
"But we need to get on with things." She says to me. "Ghost of Christmas Future here..."
"Took ya time, didn't ya?" I tell Evie. "Some of us need to get up and go make some money tomorrow, so some of us need some sleep."
"You're not the only one who didn't wanna be up tonight, but hey ho, here we are." The Ghost of Christmas Future says. "Nice pyjamas."
"Thanks" I say with a smirk. "Cost more than what you're wearing"
"One, are you after a slap?" She fires back "And two, these shoes cost more than most things in your wardrobe, so button it."
"So you're here to wave ya hand and take me to my future and tell me what's gonna happen." trying to avoid the comment. "Wouldn't it just be easier for you to tell me so I can go back to bed and you can go dance the night away in your expensive shoes, everyone wins."
I look at Evie, her eyes staring directly at me and smiles.
"Well you meet a hot chick and you act like an idiot and nothing good comes from it." She tells me. "I'm just gonna show ya what happens because the look on your face will be priceless."
Again? Why won't these ghosts just leave me alone? Sure, they're all hot as hell, but it's Christmas Eve, all I want to do is sleep through this dreaded holiday. Let that money pile up in interest while I say to hell with it all.
"Oh not again. Please, not again." I plead. "It's always so damn cold out and I really don't wanna..."
It didn't matter what I wanted cause a wave of her hand took me back to the outside again, my shoeless feet pressed deep in the snow as we stand outside the window of a nice looking house.
"Before you ask, this is three years down the line." The Ghost of Christmas Future tells me.
Please, I find a hot chick within three years.... No way... Wait, who the hell is that? My eyes glance through the window to see future me, but future me wasn't alone, future me was standing face to face with.... The Ghost of Christmas Future. I turn my head to look at her.
"I end up with you?" I question. "You? Ms Expensive Shoes? Because I've met you tonight, we're just gonna be together. How the hell I end up with The Ghost of Christmas Future?"
"The fuck do I know?" She replies. "I can only do Christmas future, not anything else or I'd be just called The Ghost of the Future, wouldn't I? And would you call that one in there Evie? If not, people are gonna get really confused at this."
"Probably already confused." I tell her.
We move closer to the house, and shouting could be clearly heard from inside the walls.
"Have you seen this Evie?" Future me says holding up a credit card bill.
"Of course I have Ben!" She fires back. "I saw it and thought I spent more than that, so it's a bonus."
I look towards the Ghost of Christmas Future.
"I clearly had a hand in changing your name to Ben." She says with a smile. "Who would wanna be with someone called Ebenezer?"
"Evie, I work my arse off putting money in to this house, in to your pocket so you don't have to do anything and you can't keep hold of it for more than five minutes." Ben tells Evie. "Not more than five minutes. You get a pound note, you spend it within seconds. You could fall in a pit of money and come out minutes later with the money gone."
I watch as Evie steps closer to Ben.
"Money is there to be spent!" She told him "What's the point of having money if you can't go out and enjoy life."
"I enjoy life plenty because I have the money in my pocket." Ben fires back quickly, his tone deep and angry. "I would never have married you if I knew you would piss away money on everything."
"And I wouldn't have married you if you didn't say you would stop being an old skin flint!" She says slowly and dangerously.
I look towards the Ghost of Christmas Future, catching her looking at me with a frown on her face.
"Married?" We both mouth at the same time.
"How many cars do you need?" Ben can be heard saying to Evie in the house. "How many little trinkets do you need?"
I watched the anger build up inside Evie in the house, her cheeks flushing red as she turned away from her husband, but quickly turned back to look him in the eye.
"And what happens when you're gone Ben?" She asks. "Then what happens to all your precious money? You can't take it with you, you won't take it with you. Your entire life will be worth nothing. You'll be laying on your deathbed wondering if you could have used that money better, done better things. You may die rich, but no one's gonna care."
"I don't like this Christmas." I tell the Ghost of Christmas Future. "Can we skip on."
"Trust me, they don't get much better than this one." She says with a smile.
With a wave of her hand, we move on one year and I was stunned. I stare silently at a man resembling me sitting on a park bench, a thick beard covering his face, while holding a brown paper bag, lifting it up to his mouth to drink out of it.
"So what happened here?" I ask, not sure I really wanted to know the answer.
"Well, I had enough of you." She tells me. "I went, and I took most of your money, your good businesses, all the fancy cars, and the house on the lake. You went from being super rich to being just an average rich guy just like that and all your fancy friends turned their back on you. The country club offers disappeared because you just didn't have the money to run in their circles anymore. You couldn't maintain that lavish lifestyle you set out for yourself. When you had the money, it made more money, you could afford to spend more without the fear of ever going broke, but your ways turned people against you. You didn't have a friend who would hold the door open for you."
She shrugs her shoulders, but I could feel there was some pleasure in her words.
"You became what you hated." She said with a slight smile. "You became poor."
"Can we skip ahead a year, to where no doubt I've made a glorious comeback?" I ask.
"Oh you're not gonna like this" she replies. "This is gonna be awkward."
She waves her hand again and another year passes, leading us to a grave site, showing my name written on the tombstone.
"You drank yourself to death with what little money you had left." She says. "Cheap whiskey ruined your body. Spent years used to the good stuff and it's the cheap stuff that kills you. Worst thing is, is no one, no one at all came to your funeral, not even I did. I wouldn't get those expensive shoes dirty. People actually cheered when they heard you was gone. Actually cheered."
She put her hand on my shoulder but I'd been frozen to the spot, just looking at my name on the tombstone, not saying a word.
"And this is how your story ends E-Ben-Ezer." She tells me with a tilt of her head.
"It can't end like this..." I say in a sad tone.
"It's written. Enjoy your money, enjoy being a miser." She says with a shrug.
"Destiny is not written." I tell her "I can change it all..."
She looks at me and waves her hand. With a gasp of air, I sit up in my own bed again.
I couldn't breathe, it felt like my lungs couldn't take in the air in as much as I needed as I sat there in bed. My head felt heavy, like I had ten minutes sleep all night, maybe I have had, maybe I didn't even have that, but the night's events were fresh in my mind. Was I destined to die alone thanks to alcohol? I needed to change it pretty quickly in my mind. If it was my destiny to be that guy in years to come, then there was nothing I could do about it, but what if it wasn't, what if I could change it all. Change starts with admitting you've got a problem and by God did I have problems.
My feet hit the floor and my man servants quickly entered the room, looking oddly like Mark Ward and Christian Underwood.... Come on, it's a parody!
"Morning sir." The Christian look alike says with a bow of his head. "And Merry Christmas."
"Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas to you both." I say as I scramble towards the desk draw, reaching to the one below and sharply pulling it open.
I reach inside, pulling out a school photo, looking at fellow classmates from many moons ago.
"Is everything alright, sir?" The Mark look alike says. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
"Yes there is." I tell him. "I want you to find these five kids."
My hand points towards the photo, pointing at five faces in the crowd.
"I want you to find them, and send them the biggest gift baskets you can find." I tell the two, before pointing at the Christian look alike. "And you, I need some phone calls made. I'll give you the list people shortly, I just need to get my head around all of this."
The two men look at each other confused.
"And when you're done with that, take the rest of the week off." I tell them, much to their surprise. "Today gentlemen, everything is gonna change..."
A quick camera cut switches to where Jam... Bob Cratchit sits behind the desk in his office, a sad look on his face as he looks down at the furry Tiny Tim, running his hand over his fur.
"Well I tried everything Tim." He says with sadness in his voice. "I looked at every option but we don't have any left. I can't give these kids the Christmas they deserve. There's simply no money unless we want to sit here with no power of heating for two months."
The noise coming from the hall in front of the office causing Bob to immediately stand up. Crashes and bangs coming from just to other side of the wall had him slightly rattled but he was the man in the building, he had to do something, he had to show authority to whoever was behind the door. Nervously swinging the door open, he stepped out in to the hall. Could you imagine his surprise to see me directing traffic to an army of the youngsters housed in the center.
"Come on lads." I tell them. "You want this to be the best Christmas ever, you gotta work for it. Get those tables set up down the middle of the hall before the decorators get here to make those tables look brilliant."
I knew he was watching me opened mouth, but I had a job to do as I turned towards the door, watching people bring in bags of wrapped presents.
"Stick those lot under the tree over there." I command, with a point of my wrist towards a tree in the corner. "Make them look pretty and there'll be a bonus in it for ya, on top of your bonus for helping out at Christmas."
Bob couldn't believe his ears. The penny pinching business partner of his had never willingly given away money. He was frozen in place as he watches what was happening. The will to find out what was going on urged him forward, putting one leg in front of the other by Tiny Tim had beat him there. I smiled at the four legged fur ball, reaching in to my pocket and pulling out a dog treat, holding it by his mouth.
"Merry Christmas ya filthy animal!" I say with a smile.
Yes! Home Alone reference! Had to be done while I looked at the dog take the treat from my hand.
"What's going on in here?" Bob finally raises the courage to ask.
I could tell he was shocked at what he was seeing, the words fell out of his mouth, but his eyes were looking around the room.
"Well it's Christmas day." I tell him, a smile crossing my face. "And it took me a while, but I get it now. It doesn't matter how much money you have, if you ain't got the right people around you, you'll never be proper happy. These are the right people."
"But yesterday..." He manages to get past his lips.
"Yesterday I didn't realize why you did what you did." I tell him as I look around at the kids looking more excited by what was going on. "I didn't get why one sexuality was put over another, it's about safety isn't it?"
Bob nods at me, still not sure he's hearing them.
"And I'm pretty sure wise people have said once or twice that everyone deserves to be happy at Christmas." I start. "And people need to feel fulfilled with what they do. I see that this is what you need to do to be happy. Happiness isn't about wealth so I've learned very recently, it's about feeling you're worth something. You work hard here, you deserve that, so they're getting their Christmas they want, and you're getting what makes you happy. As much funding as you need for this place."
"I'm... I'm..." Was all he could say.
"Needs to be some changes though." I tell him. "These lot ain't getting their noses wiped anymore. Time for them to learn a trade and stand on their own two feet."
"If that's what it takes." Bob says surprised. "But I don't know how you're gonna give them a Good Christmas. We have no food here."
"Like I'm gonna show up here, make them put out tables and not bring some grub. Pizza ok?" I say looking at him seriously
I could see he wasn't sure if I was joking at all but a smile on my face helped him figure it out.
"Lighten up, it's Christmas." I tell him.
Looking at the door, I start to see caterers walking through the door holding cooked food, including two turkeys. As the caterers walk past, I can't help but help myself to a roast potato.
"Kitchen's over there." I say as I pop the roast potato in my mouth instantly knowing it was a mistake. "That was bloody hot."
I quickly wave my hand in front of my face, but out of the corner of my eye, I spot three women looking at me with smiles on their face.
"Excuse me a second." I tell Bob. "I gotta go and say hello to the past, present, and future."
I was full of confusing him juice today as I turned and walked over towards Sam Marlowe, Amy Santino and Evie Jordan, looking at them one by one.
"Thank you ladies." I say sincerely. "That was the kick up the arse I needed."
"I didn't think we were gonna get through to ya." Sam says with a smile.
"I was close to hitting him upside the head to get it through to him." Amy quickly adds.
"So tell me something future." I say looking at Evie. "Still gonna take most of my money in the future?"
"Depends on if this new you is gonna last." She says with a smile.
"Well you changed everything E-Ben-Ezer." Sam says with a quick nod of her head. "You proved that anyone can change if they have to."
"And you can already see." Amy continues. "Your present has already improve."
"Maybe the good will actually give you something you want in the future." Evie says leaning forward, whispering the next part in my ear. "Like that SCW World Championship."
Evie leans back, winking at me.
"E-Ben-Ezer." Bob shouts out across the room. "You and your friends will join us, right?"
I nod back at him from across the room as Sam and Amy move in front of me. I look towards Evie and whisper.
"Does this count as our first date?" I ask with a smile.
"You'll be lucky to get a date with me." She quickly replies
She smiles as she walks away and I look down the camera, saying my last words.
"Bah humbug..."
And with that, the sound of the heavy looking book can be heard shutting as the camera turns to me once more.
"I really hope you lot enjoyed that." I say with a nod down the camera. "So this is obviously my last promo of 2019, and I wanna thank everyone I've shared a ring with this year, all the people who have kicked my arse and pushed me to my limits and to my five opponents, Lachlan, Austin, Caleb, Fenris and of course Vinnie, thank you all for pushing me these last few weeks, without knowing it, you've given me the gift of being better and I thank you all and to Sam, Jamie, Amy and of course Evie, thanks for putting up with my mad ideas through the year, you've all been stars in your own right. To the fans, without you, there is no us and that would be a terrible thing, thank you for your cracking support through the year and I know I speak for the entire roster when I say we can't wait to be doing it again in 2020 for you all. Merry Christmas to you all."
I give a thumbs up to the camera.
"Now I'm not the only one who loves Christmas, people dream of Christmas, people dream of happy endings. There's also a bit of magic to Christmas too, and I do like some magic."
I tap my chin.
"So what if what you just saw wasn't me telling you a story. That would be magic, wouldn't it?" I ask. "What if all you saw was in someone else's dream? That would be magic I think."
I click my fingers and the camera instantly changes to Sam Marlowe sitting straight up in bed.
"See, magic...." my voice can be heard saying as the image of Sam is on the screen.
Oh yes, I went there, last promo of the year and I linked it, so head on over to Sam Marlowe's second promo when it airs.
Merry Christmas everyone and a happy and safe holidays, from myself and Evie. All the best!