Off-Camera
Monday, November 4, 2019
New Apartment of Crystal Hilton
Las Vegas
2:24 PM PST
This was a little different.
Seleana Zdunich had woken up this morning to find that she and her wife were coming to Las Vegas on what amounted to a whim. Her wife, fellow SCW wrestler Christina “Crystal Hilton” Zdunich, was convinced they were in dire financial straits due to moves made at the conclusion of 2018. Having given away all of her wrestling income and lost some, if not all, of her studio income, Christina was feeling the pinch of living high on the hog without the income to justify it on her own.
Seleana knew this was because of the idea that Christina wanted to be the provider, that it was driving her crazy to not be able to give them everything she, Christina, thought they should have and there was nothing Seleana could say to change her wife’s mind. Arguing with her would just make Christina feel worse because it would reinforce the idea that she was inadequate.
Now, as Seleana sits in their new apartment while Christina is off at her new dayjob, waitressing at the Golden Ring Casino, she sits on the couch scanning the television until her phone rings to pull her out of her momentary fugue.
Seleana Zdunich: Heya, how’s it?
The voice of her financial adviser, Linda Anstee, meets her ears with its usual happy tone.
Linda Anstee: Hey, Seleana, how are you?
Seleana sets the television remote down and nods to the phone.
Seleana Zdunich: Keen to get my mind off where I am, Chickie.
Linda laughs in response.
Linda Anstee: Did the Las Vegas move happen?
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: We have not “downsized” yet but it is still being discussed. I do not understand why she thinks she needs to do this but I know she does feel like she has to and there will be no dissuading her so here we are.
Linda goes silent for a second and then seems to catch on quickly.
Linda Anstee: Has she changed her spending habits?
Almost immediately, Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: I do not know, our money has never interacted. She has offered me access a few times, I have several credit cards that are tied in with hers but I have never used them for anything aside from streaming subscriptions just to keep them active. Netflix is on one, Amazon Prime on another, Hulu on another. I wanted to keep things simple with them in case they ever required quick cancelling.
Linda’s voice takes on an approving tone.
Linda Anstee: After last year, I would say that was a prudent move. Has she stopped giving away all of her wrestling income?
Seleana shrugs all over again.
Seleana Zdunich: I do not know, I have never gotten into that with her. Sometimes I think I should because it might help assuage her fears but there are others where i think it would do more harm than good because, once again, it would reinforce her apparent sense of inadequacy. I do not know how to convince her that I would be just as happy in an apartment like this as I would be in her Hollywood Hills mansion.
She trails off, pausing to consider a new idea.
Seleana Zdunich: Perhaps I should ask Halo, she might understand better than I would. She has been homeless multiple times and is used to being poor so she might understand Christina’s obsession with status symbols.
Linda pauses to consider this as well.
Linda Anstee: That might not be a bad idea. If the young lady really has been in that situation, she might give you an insight you would never consider.
Seleana nods to herself.
Seleana Zdunich: She was overjoyed at just achieving the pickup truck she drives. It was her dream car, she had a picture of it on her wall the second she moved in the way other people have a picture of their own mansion or a Lamborghini.
She pauses and just shakes her head in amazement.
Seleana Zdunich: But Halo didn’t want any of that, she just wanted to be able to buy herself a Ford pickup truck so, for her birthday, we got her a brand new F150 Raptor…
Linda almost gasps.
Linda Anstee: Wow…
Seleana nods again, this time looking somewhat guilty.
Seleana Zdunich: Sometimes I wonder if maybe it was a mistake to take that away from her. She was working towards that as a goal and just as she was getting there, we gave it to her and she never got to have the satisfaction of doing it on her own.
Without hesitation, Linda quickly jumps in.
Linda Anstee: Don’t do that to yourself, Seleana. I’m sure she would have said something if she was upset by it. Has it hurt her drive?
Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: No, if anything, her drive has increased since she was given the gift.
Linda seizes on this opening.
Linda Anstee: See, you took nothing from her. You gave her the reward she wanted after she had put in the work and now she’s rewarding you by not getting complacent about it.
Seleana nods slowly.
Seleana Zdunich: I suppose you are right. How are we doing on the buy back project?
Keystrokes are heard as Linda promptly switches back to workmode.
Linda Anstee: We have managed to get approximately ten percent back with orders in on another two percent. There’s a few more floating around, the trick will just be in not jumping on all of them at once. You might have as much as twenty percent back in your coffers by Thanksgiving. The part that is helping is that the valuations for that company continue to drop as long as those two are publicly in charge. It’s obvious that investors are not crazy about the idea of someone aside from Crystal Hilton fronting this company and they’re even less happy with the idea of her replacement being these two people.
Seleana nods, taking this all in.
Seleana Zdunich: Good…
Her hand balls into fist that almost plunges down onto the couch.
Seleana Zdunich: Diamant…
Seleana stops herself, seemingly embarrassed at the angry tone that had just crept into her voice.
Seleana Zdunich: I almost used a word that is frowned upon heavily in my country. I apologize for allowing my personal feelings to overwhelm me.
Linda almost can’t believe her ears.
Linda Anstee: If it’s the one I’m thinking of, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use it before.
Seleana nods apologetically.
Seleana Zdunich: I will try to keep it that way, Chickie. Keep up looking on that project. The last statements you sent me said we are doing well aside from that so if the opening presents itself, we should take the opportunity.
Linda types some more.
Linda Anstee: Do we have a target for how much you want back and when you want that by?
Seleana shrugs nonchalantly.
Seleana Zdunich: In a perfect world I would get it all back but I know this is not such a place. I will settle for what opportunity comes forward and if, somehow, a miracle places itself in my path, I will accept it graciously.
The typing stops.
Linda Anstee: I’ll see what we can do but I won’t promise you I can shoot the moon on this.
Seleana nods appreciatively./
Seleana Zdunich: I know. Thank you for what you do, Linda, in everything. I appreciate it.
Linda’s voice brightens.
Linda Anstee: Thank you for appreciating it. I’ll call you in a couple of days with a progress report.
Seleana nods once more.
Seleana Zdunich: Okej, tack, Linda.
The call ends and Seleana nods to herself.
Seleana Zdunich: I will find a way…
On-Camera
Friday, November 8, 2019
Office of Seleana Zdunich
Zdunich Zoological Gardens
Los Angeles, California
8:27 PM PST
The camera opens on Seleana Zdunich standing in her office in a set of black workout shorts, black sports bra and a pair of black Nikes.
Seleana Zdunich: So, here we are, once again, someone else has walked into the room and made things all about my wife…
She pauses before raising a hand palm out to the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: I understand that my wife was here long before I was and that her name carries weight that mine does not because of her history and I do not have that history.
Her hand lowers as she shakes her head grimly.
Seleana Zdunich: But I am not my wife. I will never be my wife so I do not try to be my wife. I am slo not Alicia Lukas and I do not pretend to be. Alicia Lukas was competing in this sport while I was still sitting back at Ohana Park in Christchurch and had not even had my first thought of step[ping into the ring. I will never be her because I will never have her story, i will never have her trajectory. My career path is mine and mine alone and I will carve it out in my own way.
Her glare intensifies.
Seleana Zdunich: You can tell me to grow a spine if you wish but that means I just main evented High Stakes against Alicia Lukas in the third chapter of a trilogy without one…
Her hand raise up, left one held out as if it’s a list with her right pointing down said list.
Seleana Zdunich: Not my wife, not my stepdaughter, not Jessie Salco, not Sam Marlowe, not Mercedes Vargas, not Sierra Williams, not Apple Coren, not Team Hero, not the Cubic Zirconia, no one else.
She points to herself angrily.
Seleana Zdunich: I did that! Whether anyone else likes it or not, I did!
Her index finger slowly moves away from her chest and points to the floor.
Seleana Zdunich: I did not beg my way into the title picture. I did not ask my way in. From day one, I said I wanted to earn my way the hard way and eventually, I did, three times! All it would have taken to keep me out was one person who was put in my way beating me when it mattered and the only one who could is the one holding the championship right now, so spare me the I should walk away from the championship picture. I never walked into it in the first place and if I have to wait to earn my way back to it again, I will. I have no problem putting in the work now that I am at the bottom of the mountain looking up again. I’ve been here before and I know the fall won’t kill me!
She looks away, nodding slowly to herself.
Seleana Zdunich: You’re right, I do have that record in championship matches here in SCW while I would say is not bad for someone who has only been here for a year and a half and has only been wrestling in general for two years. Some would say it’s a disappointment…
Turning back to the camera, she points to herself again.
Seleana Zdunich: But I say I would not change a thing! If I did not suffer the setbacks I have, if I did not fail when I have or as often as I have, I would have never been in the position I was in succeed in the first place!
Her hand falls back to her side.
Seleana Zdunich: Did Alicia beat me?
Seleana nods emphatically.
Seleana Zdunich: Yes, and fairplay to her. Alicia Luaks is a badass champion and something to aspire to for everyone in this sport!
She pauses and shakes her head as the camera zooms in slightly.
Seleana Zdunich: But I do not want to be her. I do not want to be my wife, my stepdaughter or anyone else! I am happy to be me and I want to be the best me I can be!
She nods as she points to the camera, almost wagging her finger as she does so.
Seleana Zdunich: And I will show you this, Amelia, when I see you in the ring. I have been champion before and whether you, or anyone else, likes it, I am not going away!
She points to herself one more time.
Seleana Zdunich: I am Seleana “The Cat” Zdunich and it is time to remind everyone that I have claws too!
