Just for a Thrill: The Thrill is Gone: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
_________________________
MEAN GIRLS CLUBHOUSE
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
♦ ♦ ♦
el juves por la noche, 17 de agusto de 2017
Pacific Daylight Time
[[ It was the best of times…it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…
Okay, so maybe the Tale of Two Cities wasn’t the best way to capture the few months Mercedes has spent during the Mean Girls recent tenure, but sure the words were as true as they are now, save for the final words. When the group decided to reform, it made for a winter of despair for the rest of the Bombshells Division; there was a spring of hope in the new year as the stable got off to a modest start. That is until summer came around.]]
[Mercedes is about to leave when she notices something from the corner of her eye. It’s the “art wallâ€, the collage of pictures of every Mean Girl to have ever joined the stable. You name one, they were on it. Angelica. Veronica. Tessa. Holly. Liz. Mercedes walks over to the wall, reaching out to touch each picture. She notices that Delia’s picture unlike all the others was still untouched.]
[[What I was about to do would be very brave or very foolish, but I didn’t care. History will decide my fate. Reluctantly, I uncapped a sharpie pen, the smell nearly knocking me out. There’s a group photo of me, Vero, Angie and Celeste in the corner. I write a thought bubble over her before taking a minute or two to add to it.]]
“I’m a quitter.â€
[[Should I have done that? Was it my place to defile the art wall? Angelica and Veronica were here before I joined the group. I felt like I took away what should have been their sworn duty. I hated this. I hated looking like this. I hated feeling like this. I hated watching, waiting, wondering what might happen next. It felt empty in here. Was there even a show happening that night? I remember there was. While I was wrestling a pay-per-view match in Minnesota, Veronica had a match in Las Vegas against Amy-Jayne the same night. Wonder who let her back in the company?
I look back at my handiwork and already I didn’t feel proud of it. I briefly fought off the urge of throwing the marker across the clubhouse, instead setting it gently down and taking a slow, deep breath. I then noticed Delia’s picture again. Still unmarked, pristine. Five months ago, I struck the first blow that led to her being ousted from the Mean Girls. I had to decide whether I wanted a better today or a better tomorrow. Now, I cemented Celeste’s departure by crossing her off not only my checklist, but from the history of Mean Girls itself.
I took the road less traveled by…
But I still don’t know where the hell I’m going.]]
~ ~ ~
Here’s Where I Come In (Here’s Where I Walk Out)
Present Day L O S A N G E L E S ♦ C A L I F O R N I A
[REC•]
"Are you happy now?"
[No, this wasn’t Mercedes waxing poetic. She truly was asking this question as our scene opens to the Grand Slam Champion standing just outside of her Los Angeles residence on what was an otherwise hot afternoon. Despite her success the past few shows, her line of question hasn’t changed her mood whatsoever.]
"For those of you who was wishing and hoping and praying for the demise of the Mean Girls, are you happy you got what you wanted? Is that coffee a little bit richer, the sunshine a little bit brighter, your days a little bit longer now? The Mean Girls are done. And, first of all, I want to say I get it. I really do. You were happy with the way things were going. Everything was just hunky-dory until the Mean Girls showed up early December last year. You were unhappy how things were going after that. You wanted someone, anyone to end the comeback tour before it began. You didn’t want to go back to the Dark Ages where nobody felt important and we always seem to take over the show. The same song and dance. You’re sick of it. Enough is enough and it’s time for a change.
“Change you can believe in. Well, here’s your change, Bombshells of SCW. You can keep it. In fact, like I said last time, from here on out everything that happens in the division is now in YOUR hands. The Mean Girls as you know it are finished. The Means Girls as you remember them are the jokes of the division. The Mean Girls as you like to make fun of haven’t won a meaningful match for God knows how long.
The Mean Girls are no longer to blame for the Bombshells Division being on its last legs. Right now, the division might as well be a cripple because it doesn’t have one good leg to stand on and it won’t be long before someone comes along and kick that crutch out from under them and watch as they fall. And oh, how the mighty have fallen.
“After what I went through two weeks ago in my last match, I’m lucky to just even be talking right now. It’s not every day you’re fed to an opponent who weighs twice as much as you do, but that was my fate. And, you know, maybe I was a glutton for punishment because I showed Bobbie Dahl what a real meal looks like. Only, watching her flailing those massive arms, I didn’t know if she was moving around or if she wanted chicken tonight. You know, like in those Ragu sauce commercials.
[Mercedes flaps her arms and sings a jingle.]
“I feel like chicken tonight, like chicken tonight. Chicken tonight!â€
[Mercedes smirks with an arrogant smile on her face. Never let it be said that she didn’t have fun with this. Despite being tossed around like a bean bag, Mercedes prevailed where very few thought she would be utterly defeated.]
“So, that’s two wins in two weeks and maybe Christian Underwood thinks I’ve impressed enough beating two of the recent newcomers in SCW that I deserve a championship match. Believe me, I was just as surprised as any of you, but you won’t hear me complain about it unlike a certain fraud Bombshell Internet Champion.
“In any event, I’m challenging Samantha Marlowe for the Bombshell Roulette Championship. But this isn’t because I’m going to end her reign Sunday. Oh no, this is because I’m bringing back something that title hasn’t had in a long time: a true champion, a fighting champion. Someone who has brought prestige and honor to a championship that has seen better days. Most people know that my reign lasted for the better part of five months, but it’s over now. Because Natalie McKinley ended it. Thing is, she didn’t beat me, technically. Second and third degrees burns from an Inferno match is nothing compared to how torn I am seeing the title I brought back from death now back on life support. Nowadays, no one can’t seem to hold on to the World or Bombshell Championship, but the Bombshell Roulette Championship was the hot potato before it was cool, and that was after my reign ended. Kate Steele won a vacant title and, yes, she did beat my singles reign, but guess what? That reign is over now because she lost to Veronica Taylor of all people.
“2017 hasn’t been a great year for the Roulette Championship. Because at this point, nothing short of a live execution or setting puppies on fire could top Amy and Jessie trading the belt earlier in the year. Bad enough Jessie won the title a third time by cheating her way to another reign is plain wrong. Then again, when you’ve been in a company for five years and succeeded winning the Bombshell Championship a grand total of never, what else are you going to do?
Of course, as one former champion famously said, it’s about quality not quantity. If that’s the case, maybe this match was bound to happen because the quality of that title is next to nothing. Enter: Sam Marlowe. SCW’s Sin City Sweetheart. She’s on a roll and she’s going make the Bombshells great again. If only. If only Sammie knew exactly what putting the division on your shoulders really means. She caved into the pressure in both of her world title reigns and I’ll be the first to admit that first reign ending to me shouldn’t have counted. This match, however, will make up for it. Samantha, you’ve had your share of Roulette matches, but it’s nothing compared to my record or what lengths I went through to defend that very title the most times out of everyone who has ever held it. That record still stands more than two years since my reign ended, and Sunday?
"You’re going to have to kill me if you hope of keeping that title around your waist. There’s a reason why I’m a threat to any title holder in this division. There’s a reason why I’m a threat to any Bombshell on this roster. There’s a reason why I’ve defeated you in both of our singles matches: I’m the step up in competition you don’t want to face right now, especially when you’re holding a championship. So cancel the streamers and the big banner, let the air out of the balloons, and tell Ben Jordan to hold off on the bubbly, or don't.
After Sunday, you'll need it to drown your sorrows in when you lose to me…again.
"I’m on my own for the first time in a long time. Whether you love me, hate me or feel completely indifferent, there’s no denying one thing: when it comes to the all-time greats, when there’s a historic moment about to be made, when you talk about champion of champions? Nobody does it better.
"With that said, congratulations to Samantha Marlowe, the new Bombshell Roulette Champion. And to the fans out there, I’m sorry that Samantha Marlowe is the new Bombshell Roulette Champion. Don’t you worry, though. I’m going to fix this.
Sunday, this is where I come in, and this is where I’ll walk out as your first four-time Bombshell Roulette Champion.
[***Fade***]
