(Our scene opens on Mercedes's pen moving swiftly across a diary page as the words formed by it matches her voiceover.)
OCTOBER 30, 2013
Dear Diary,
Wow, it’s been an interesting two weeks, to say the least!
The Giants won their second game of the season; I finally won my first title since joining SCW, and I still remain undefeated. Believe me, it wasn’t easy winning the title in the first place. Nessa Wall was as tough as they come, and Traci Patterson gave it her all, but, in the end, the better wrestler won that night. But for some reason, I don’t feel like the best wrestler.
People are probably saying that my win was a fluke or that I won my match due to a series of unfortunate events. Nessa wasn’t herself. I don't know, maybe it was something she ate or something in the drinking water or probably something in the air that night. And Traci, poor Traci…the poor girl knocked herself out.
I'm pretty sure that's a first for me. Hopefully my fruit basket and Hallmark card reached her address.
Because nothing says you care like a Hallmark card.
(Mercedes is seen in her parked car using the steering wheel as a desk to write her latest entry. Suddenly a football hits the windshield, but didn't crack the glass. She immediately gets out the car, finding the football and holding it up.)
Mercedes Vargas: Alright, who did it?!
(A group of kids down the street scatter as Mercedes looks down on the football. One kid falls down after getting beaned from the football.
(With a satisfied smirk, she gets back to writing.)
So, finding myself in the main event last show was a pleasant surprise. It's not every day you get to visit a haunted house. It's not every day you get to have the world champion as your partner. And wouldn't you know it, the two singles champions beat the tag team champions.
I think I'll skip what happened thirty seconds afterwards. I'll save that for the promo I've yet to do for the match.
For now, though, I think a well-fought win deserves a well earned reward.
S|C|E|N|E| 001
OFF-CAMERA || LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA || TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2013
(Scene opens at a karaoke bar that's half-dead as the MC, wearing a leisure jacket, steps up to the microphone after the last act. He looks back at the performer before addressing the crowd.)
MC: Well, uh, thanks for that, Paul. I had no idea Free Bird could be played on a harmonica. OK, that's it for our talent show. Who's up for some karaoke? I think we have our opening act ready to go.
(Mercedes walks across the stage and she and the MC share a brief salutation before he disappears. The selection starts up, but instead of singing the lyrics to "Listen to Your Heart", which flash across a small monitor next to her, she starts on her promo. A few people in the audience aren't impressed, others look on in apathy.)
You got your heart set on what belongs to me
You're just not ready yet, I think we'll agree, yea
Don't get me wrong, there's always a chance
You might cause the upset in three nights
I just love a captured audience!
I had them in the palm of my hand, though I'm still not sure what brought them in. Oh, I know! It was the mood lighting....though it could have been how the light played with my eyes. Whatever it was, they kept coming back for more, more, more. Well, you know me. I aim to please.
The night was still young, and I was only getting warmed up.
(We cut back to Mercedes who is in the middle of her mesmerizing performance, now belting out the chorus from Heart's "Alone". As she sing, we see a few customers walking out on her.)
Till now, you haven't faced someone like me
You may forget this face, but my name you will remember
I'll add your name to my checklist
Can't wait for November third
Can't wait for November third
(Between the amplifier feedback and a cough or two in the audience, Mercedes keeps going as the song segue into the melody of "These Dreams". She times herself and claps against the base of the microphone before raising it to her lips.)
I know you got here and you're still pretty new
I get you made your debut on pay-per-view
You tried your best, but it wasn't good enough
And your night got worse
(And now she really gets into it by the time the chorus to "Listen to Your Heart".)
You stand at five foot ten?
Yeah, well, I'm not impressed
I'm getting kinda hungry, get me toast from Texas
You don't impress me much, I can almost see this as to why
You got dreams and aspirations, but I've got experience
(The scene dissolves to where thirty minutes later, she still on. She lowers her microphone, eyes half-shut as the songs changes once again to the melody of "Alone")
They say that brains always beat brawn,
I'll be glad to prove that's never wrong
The difference between us is too obvious
So, I'm not too worried, you're just like the rest
And it makes me wonder what I'll find
Inside that Lone Star State of Mind in three days
That went rather well.
So much so, that I got kicked out out of the place. I don't know what went oh so wrong. Probably between Total Eclipse of the Heart or Margaritaville, I forget. It's not the end of the world. I'm sure there are other karaoke events that I'll be invited to. Maybe not on Halloween night, though.
Speaking of Halloween, for the second year in a row, I visited my cousin in Los Angeles. I was surprised she allowed me back, especially after I turned the hose on a few trick-or-treaters who didn't get the hint when she was out of candy.
Yeah, I'm going to hell for that one.
So my first title defense is less than forty-eight hours, and I have to prepare for Little Miss Buff Barbie. Thing is, there's not much for me to go on except for the information I know, which is little. Well, it doesn't really matter now. If I'm lucky enough, Traci might knock herself out again, and I'll take it from there.
What was it about first defenses being the worse? Nessa Wall couldn't have said it any better.
Wish me luck.
Or don’t.
I don’t need luck. I’m already good.
Ciao.
The Argentine Assassin.
S|C|E|N|E| 002
OFF-CAMERA ||CARMEN REYES'S HOME || LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA || THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
♫♫I put a spell on you
Because you're mine.
You better stop the things you do
I ain't lyin'...♫♫
(Putting the final stroke to paper, Mercedes. wearing a purple wig along with the catsuit she wore at the previous Climax Control, sings along to the lyrics to "I Put Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkings as she delves into the treasure trove of candy inside of a bag.)
(The door to the house opens and out steps Carmen, her cousin. She approaching the car with a surprised reaction.)
There you are. I thought you said you were staying until the end?
Yeah, well, I'm thinking I overstayed my welcome at the party. I gotta get up early tomorrow anyway.
Let me guess, you have a match to get to?
How did you know?
I happen to be psychic.
Or you answered your voice mail.
[color-Yellow]Wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.
(An overturned lamp crashes from inside the house, diverting Carmen's attention to the window, and then back to Mercedes, who snaps off a piece of a Kit-Kat bar)
Damn those Collins kids. They're the devil's spawn. I blame society.
I blame the parents.
Remember last Halloween when they TP'd every house in the neighborhood, BUT mine?
Walking in a winter wonderland.
Don't even joke like that. Who had to spend the next three days with sticks, poles, and rakes to get down all that paper? Me. And that was no fun, so I would appreciate it if you took this seriously.
Oh, but I am. Do you hear that?
Hear what?
(Rock music can be heard blaring away from the house. Carme silently curses under her breath.)
And I alphabetized my tunes just this morning.
What are the chances they'll be back next Halloween?
About the same as any of us winning the lottery.
(Carmen runs off to save her house from the invasion within as Mercedes watches on before the scene fades)
S|C|E|N|E| 003
ON-CAMERA || QUEENS, NEW YORK || FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013
"Strange things have been happening to me in SCW recently. I don't understand it, I can't explain it, but the last few weeks, for lack of a better word, has left me in a tailspin. It's like Groundhog Day every day.
(We fade in on Mercedes siting in front of the Unisphere, the iconic giant steel globe landmark that sits in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York. It's afternoon, but cloudy. That didn't stop Mercedes from wearing her Giants baseball cap, even though the team was on its bye week.)
"Now, I'm not superstitious. I've opened umbrellas inside, walked under ladders, walked by a black cat, and even broken a mirror once or twice, and I turned out OK. It's just that, something bad always happens when I have a match. Take my tag match with Necra Kane in the main event, for example. Things were getting interesting, Nessa Wall, certified genius, showed us those boots are made for walking. She gets so full of herself, jumps off the apron and leaves the ring. I mean, she walks off, nary a word, and disappeared to the back. Now, I don't know her personally, but that right there had to be the lowest thing she could ever do. Much as I hated to have wrestled a handicap match, that's exactly what Necra and I got against Jessie Salco. Might as well put a quotation mark around our victory. Might as well say we took advantage of a situation unforseen.
"Thirty seconds later, it got worse. Roxanne shows up out of nowhere and goes to town on Necra. See, but that was just the start.
"High Stakes III came and went, and four days...four days after overcoming the toughest opponents yet since I got here, Nessa, after walking out of that same tag team match, walks away from the company, and hopefully she does find herself and get the help that she needs. Whether she comes back or not, is another story.
"Oh, and did I mention Traci Patterson injuring herself? Yeah, that's probably the least way I would want to be remembered in my first match.
"And then on the last Climax Control, the show following that pay-per-view, Gothika and myself won our main event tag match against Vixen and Misty. It was a good match. Gothika and I got along surprisingly well, and we got the job done. Unfortunately, losing gracefully is lost on some people. And Misty - either because she just got done watching a True Blood marathon the night before or she's a closet Twilight fan - sinks her teeth into the Bombshell Champion. Literally. What. The. Hell."
"You know, it's none of my business, but one of these days, Misty is going to get what's coming to her, and when that day comes, I hope to get a front row seat."
(It wasn't as comical if not affably bad. The closing moments from Climax Control plays in her mind until she shakes off the reverie as if a bad dream. Truth be told, whatever Misty's problem with Gothika was, it got a whole lot bigger. Calling herself the Queen of the Damned seemed almost fitting, considering she was now her own personal hell. No good deed goes unpunished. Wait, that can't be right...Well, the right expression will come to her. For now, though, Mercedes had her own problem to deal with.)
"So, now that I've got that out of my system, now I can focus on my match this weekend. Traci Patterson versus Mercedes Vargas for the SCW Bombshell Roulette Championship, and you probably can't tell right now, but I am very much looking forward to November 3.
"Do you really want to do this, Patricia? Do you think you're ready for this? Remember, you are just a few short weeks removed from coming back from that epic performance at High Stakes III. Do you think that the outcome will be any different from what it was three weeks ago, save for the concussion? Do you actually think that the beating that's coming your way is going to be less than 10 times worse then what you felt in Trinidad? Do you actually think for one second I'm going to leave Climax Control, that I will leave Las Vegas, Nevada, that I will leave Sin City Wrestling anything BUT the Sin City Wrestling Bombshell Roulette Champion?
"Well, if you do, then you better keep thinking. You think you can beat me, but I know I can beat you. You're welcome to try and prove me wrong, which you won't, but at least I'll make you feel better about it.
"Look, life is full of disappointments, and you happen to be one of them. Let's face it, whatever career you had in ACW is all a memory now. The house that JJ Dixon built came a-tumbling down, and there was only so much Ben Jordan, Drake Green, and Simon Jones could do, there was only so much the fledgling women's division - if you can still call it that - could do."
(If she wanted to, if she really felt like it, Mercedes probably would have ran roughshod in ACW - if she even knew it existed. JJ Dixon, ever the Rico Suave character he pretends to be, couldn't save that sinking ship. SCW threw out the lifeline and with a heavy heart, he had to accept the offer. Weeks after ACW was bought out, it remains to be seen if this was a worthy investment as far as its talent was concerned.)
"Just as every single member of that roster should be thankful SCW came to its rescue, you, Traci, should be thankful you've been handed this title match Sunday. Because, honestly, you don't deserve it. The previews can try and hype this match as much as it should be. They can talk how you have a height and strength advantage over me and your power wrestling game. Well, sweetheart, what you won't find in that little blurb is that I've made a career of proving people wrong. My resume backs that up 100 percent. I know what it takes and what it means and what it is to be a champion, I've practically been one every place I stepped foot in. The moment the ink dried on my contract with SCW, I knew I had the talent and the drive and that it wasn't going to be long before I had a title over my shoulder."
(Mercedes picks up her title displayed on the column next to her and places it over her shoulder. It may have taken four months, but she did it. Just as in Gothika's case when she defeated Roxi Johnson, it didn't matter how it happened, the record book says that Mercedes was the champion. Plus her name was engraved on the nameplate.)
"And now here I am, the Sin City Wrestling Bombshell Roulette Champion. You think I'm going to give that up after three weeks? Nuh-uh. This is a good problem to have."
(Mercedes shakes her head slowly, then glances at her title, held with a firm grip, before looking back at the camera.)
"I'm the clingy, jealous type. This is mine, all mine. And I will do whatever it takes for this title to remain around my waist, - or over my shoulder, wherever I decide to place it on the day.
"You have no idea what you've got yourself into. You came back and you thought it was safe to go back in the water, but little did you know that danger was lurking below. You're in uncharted territory and treading dangerous waters now. My advice: you should of stayed in the shallow area of the beach helping the Surf Boys build sandcastles. I'd tell you to fish or cut bait, but it's a bit late for that. You're in deep now. And come Sunday, things are going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better."
(Mercedes cradles her title holding it in front of her.)
"Because what you experienced at Trinidad won't be as bad as what you'll be experiencing Sunday night."
(Mercedes holds up the title and uses it as a mirror to look at her reflection before she places it across her shoulder. She turns to the camera again.)
"Lauren Jackson will be disappointed, your sister, Katie, will look on at ringside wondering what went wrong, and you're going to be staring up at the arena lights and watch as I walk out STILL the Sin City Wrestling Bombshell Roulette Champion."
(Mercedes walks off and we fade.)
