Scene 1 – Something like that
The soft breezes blew through the back yard of Sam Marlowe in Vegas as she can be seen in a vintage bikini with her hair pulled back into long curling pig tails. In her hands is a tray with a tall glass of a frosty pink liquid and a plate with food on it. Setting it down on the table under a canopy, she settles herself on a chaise before pulling a book out and opening it.
Moments later, as she is reaching for her glass, a loud vibration from her cell phone is heard from just under her reaching hand. Rather than picking up her drink, she presses a fingertip on the answer button and calls out a greeting.
“Sam!” exclaims the voice from the cell phone. The tone of her friend Roberta is excited but restrained as she begins to talk again. “I am in desperate need for your help and you can’t tell me no Sam!”
Raising one eyebrow, Sam pulls the phone towards her and saw that it was a face time call. Her image appeared in a small square as Roberta’s face filled her screen. “Desperate for my help Bobbie? That is a first for you,” teases Sam which only draws an eyeroll from her friend. “So why do you need me? I don’t know how much time I have considering that I am preparing for a match at the supercard.”
Roberta nods into the screen. “I know Sam and I wouldn’t think of bothering you about this but well…this is pretty important for me,” starts Roberta with a sigh. “I would normally not need the help. But ever since you went back to school, I was a bit jealous so I found a film making class at the local college here and I have a final that I need to get down as quickly as possible but there isn’t anyone that I could ask.”
“How could I help you with a final? Wait…film school…” muses Sam with a look of worry beginning to cross her face. “You want me to be in your film?”
Roberta’s smile widens as she nods enthusiastically. “It will be just like high school Sam…remember when my daddy gave me that super 8 camera and the films we did? You know you loved it when we filmed that cheesy horror movie,” adds Bobbie.
Sam leans back, her thoughts going back to the movie the pair had done in high school. Still reminiscing she responds to her friend. “You want to do another horror movie?” asks Sam. “I don’t know if I have time between now and the supercard to really film something like that again. Although it would be pretty fun to do something like that again. I wish I could help Bobbie but…”
Interrupting Sam quickly, Roberta waves her hand in front of her image. “It isn’t like that Sammi, I don’t have to do a movie like that. The teacher of this class wants us to take a song and film a video for it. Won’t take but a day or two. Tell me you will help me out…please please please!”
Sam can see her friend crossing her fingers and looking like a child wishing for their favorite toy. Unable to stop herself, she begins to laugh at her friend. “Okay, Bobbie, okay…I’ll help. I can’t resist the poor lil girl look you have perfected. So where do you need me to be and when?”
Excitedly, Roberta pumps her fist in victory then looks serious as she coughs. “I need you to be in Houston actually. And while I am at it, your mama wants you to spend some time there as well at this flower show…”
Sam’s eyes widen then narrow as she looks at the image of her friend trying her hardest to avoid the look. “Did Moms put you up to this?” demands Sam only to have Roberta shake her head. “I was back home and your mama was talking to my mama and those two tend to make plans then make us fulfill them. Your mama said that she wants you to join her at the annual botanical garden charity event.”
Sam lets her head drop and sighs with a moan. Her head doesn’t lift even as Roberta’s voice comes from the phone. “I am sooo sorry Sam,” says Roberta. “But if it is any consolation, Cyn and her husband are gone,” offers Bobbie. “Listen, if I could I would film this video in Vegas, cross my heart. Besides, you know you want to get your mind out of the match I am sure. About now you start to get into your mind and you can’t tell me you don’t want a distraction right about now.”
“Yeah, a distraction that I can’t have considering who I am facing. But I am a woman of my word…gimme a few hours and I will be there for tomorrow,” says Sam who sits up and gives the phone a glare. “You are going to owe me for this one Bobbie!”
“You got it Sam, I promise! Talk to you soon!” exclaims Bobbie who reaches for the off button and the screen flashes back to the screen saver. Sighing mightily, Sam reaches for the table to lay the phone down before she swings her legs to the side and stands. Picking up the tray, she moves towards the door of her home. Opening the door, she disappears into the house…
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I am a woman of my word…I don’t say that lightly because I was raised to keep my word. What I say I mean and I am about to say something that I mean that is more serious than a heart attack. Now you might be wondering what that could be. After all, there are so many things I could say. So I want what I am going to say to sink in.
Mercedes Vargas is one heck of a wrestler but at Into the Void, she is going to be facing the one woman that is not worried about this match. Into the Void will see her facing me for my Bombshell Roulette title and it will see her left in the middle of the ring with no where to go but down for the count.
I am not being facetious and I ain’t lyin’ Mercedes. I know you are capable of beating anyone on any day. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be beaten or that you can’t lose in a match that neither of us know what could be happening. That is why I know deep in my soul, I am goin’ to be fighting the fight of my life and I am going to be coming with a desire that is making me burn for this title. Speaking of this title, it begs the question…are you ready for what might happen?
I have heard you time and again talking about history and time after time you have been riding on the history you have made in Sin City Wrestling. The hard and fast rule is learning from the past so you aren’t doomed to repeat it. Trust me when I say that I have been learning each and every time I listen to you talk about how you set all sorts of records and how good you are. But then I hear say that there is someone who has taken most of your records and shattered them. And not to toot my own horn but that person is me. And at the supercard, I will be doing it again when I face you in the middle of the ring. I used to think that breaking records was something that I would never be able to do when I first started here in SCW. Then I go and win titles in my rookie year. Granted I did lose that title to you but won it right back. Then I watched you win match after match just makes me want to work harder to reach the levels you have. See I don’t believe on resting on my laurels when I could do so much more. You are a veteran Mercedes that any bombshell would be proud to accomplish half the things that you have. Except for your little mean streak that you have shown, you are everything I thought I would want in this company and I made you the bombshell I looked up to. But now it isn’t a looking up to that I am doing anymore.
This time when we meet in the middle of the ring, it is going to be a meeting of equals. Both of us at the top of our games, both of us ready to give our all to walk out of that six-sided ring with the Bombshell Roulette championship.
Like I said Mercedes, I am a woman of my word and I promise that I will be walking out of the match still THE Bombshell Roulette Champion.
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Scene 2 – A Girl Like You
Roberta is standing talking to a cameraman as a redhead walks in dressed in a pair of cut off denim skirt, white lace tee with cowboy boots. She walks right up to Roberta and crosses her arms with a smile. A few of the crew can be heard to mutter among themselves, commenting on the outfit that Sam is wearing.
“I’m here Bobbie and ready to go. By the way, you never told me what song you were going to be using,” says Sam. She looks relaxed as she is being filmed while Roberta nods and smiles while she rubs her hands together. Sam’s relaxed look begins to fade.
Roberta motions to the cameraman as she turns Sam to walk her towards the set. “You know how much I love Jason Aldean right? Well, I chose one of his songs,” begins Roberta who brushes a hand through her hair dislodging the pencil she had holding her rather curly brown hair. “He’s actually my hall pass!” she admits before bustling forward.
Sam stops and raises an eyebrow. “Hall pass? Ain’t you married?” muses Sam.
“Of course, I am married silly,” answers Roberta. “But you know that thing where if you had the chance to make it with a celebrity, your husband allows you a free hall pass to git with them. Jason Aldean is my hall pass! I’ll even tell you; my husband hasn’t said it but I think he wishes you were his hall pass but we both know he wouldn’t try considering that you and me are besties.”
Sam gets a look of relief on her face as she moves closer to the set and into the view of the camera. Nearby is a rather handsome man who is primping in front of a mirror to the side. Dressed in a white tee and blue jeans, the young man looks quite comfortable. Roberta moves towards him motions for him to join Sam in the set. The pair share an awkward introduction before the sounds of Jason Aldean’s Girl like you begins to play. The country music fills the small space as Jason Aldean begins to sing. Roberta moves in and begins to describe her idea for the song.
“Sam, I want you to follow along with all that is going on. You are the girl that Doug here is dreaming of. I want you to guide his every move. We are going to follow the song so our opening scene is him pulling you in for a kiss…and ACTION!” calls Roberta.
The young man pulls Sam in for a kiss as she lets her eyes drift closed. His hands move along the waist of Sam to pull her even closer, their arms wrapping around each other as they slowly move to the music.
“CUT!” calls out Roberta. Sam and Dave break away from each other as the make up girl quickly swarms Doug. Roberta moves closer to Sam and holds up a vision board. “This is not going as I planned. This doesn’t feel right for this video. I think I need to change it up. Lemme me think…” She begins to pace as the crew and Sam watch her. Suddenly she stops and moves to a bag resting on a director’s chair. Pulling out a cell phone, she moves to the sound table and hands it off telling the tech to play the song she had cued up and whispering something to another techie. “Let’s change this up. We’ll be doing Tim McGraw’s Something like that.”
Sam lets her head tilt to the right as she gives Roberta a look. “You are changing up the song like that? What do you want me to do then?”
Roberta smiled and basically pointed to the set where someone was quickly pulling apart the props to change it up enough to film a different setting. Leading Sam towards a window that now had a ticket sign on it, she motions for some of the crew to join them as she addresses them, “Now what I am wanting is to have a line up of customers in the ticket line and Sam is going to be in the middle of y’all until she is noticed by Doug over there.”
Sam is lined up as Doug is motioned forward only to have Roberta put a bit of barbeque sauce onto the white shirt of Doug who protests it. Waving him off, she moves to behind the camera and yells action. Dave’s look changes from disgust to the look a young man would have when he spies the girl of his dreams.
The video shoot begins as Tim McGraw’s vocals fills the room. Sam and Doug play out the story as it is sung. At the end, the crew applaud wildly as they finish the shoot. Roberta rushes up to her friend and throws her arms around her. “You are a lifesaver Sam,” she says as the pair move towards the director’s chair. As they got there, the cellphone of Sam’s begins to buzz.
Looking down, the image of Sam’s mother can be seen. Nervously Sam picks it up and answers it. “Hi Moms…yes, I will be heading home soon…I will be ready for the Botanical…all right. Talk to you soon,” she manages to add before the phone is hung up. Looking up into the sympathetic look of Roberta, she shrugs and motions to the exit. “Moms says I have about an hour and a half to get changed and meet her at the pavilion. That means I gotta go.”
Roberta nods slowly. “Say hi to your mama for me,” she answers. “And thanks again for helping with this.”
Sam nods as she backs away from Roberta only to be approached by Doug who holds out a sharpie and a picture of Sam softly asking for her autograph. Without pausing, she takes the picture and sharpie, signs and then hands them back before she ducks through the exit with a final wave.
Scene 3 – An overblown Black Rose
Two days later, Sam is dressed in a silver dress and heels with her hair curling around her shoulders as she walks along rows of flowers at the Botanical exhibit for the Botanical society. Nearby are a trio of women talking. Sam approaches the trio and waits as her mother finishes her conversation. Finally, two of the ladies leave to speak with others as Sam’s mother speaks to the younger redhead.
“Samantha darlin’, you have to put a smile on your face,” demands Vanessa. “Tonight is about how you are going to be stepping into a situation that society will say that you need to shine. And as my daughter you are here to support me as I take over as the chairperson of the Houston Botanical society.”
Sam offers her mother a smile and tucks her hand through the arm of her mother as they begin to move along the hall of flowers once more. Vanessa Marlowe stops in front of a small rosebush of roses with blooms so dark they look black. Sam shudders as she takes in the overblown roses and moves away from them. Vanessa wonders at the shudder and moves with Sam.
“Is there a problem with the roses darlin’?” asks her mother with a pasted smile on her face as she nods to another matron at the flower show.
Sam shakes her head negatively as if to push any thoughts of black roses away from her mind. “I was just thinking about my match that is coming up at the supercard. The woman I am facing has a finisher called the Black Rose Overdrive and it got me to thinking about how confident she has been lately and putting me in my place.”
“Samantha, answer me this,” offers her mother as she pulls one of the roses from the vase where is was displayed. “Do you think that she is going to be able to beat you at your match?”
Sam thinks for a moment then slowly shakes her head. “I don’t know Moms, she is a very good wrestler and she has beaten me before…” Sam’s voice trails off as her mother can be seen caressing a petal of the rose before yanking it from the stem and tossing it to the floor.
“Now I could sit you down and listen to all you might say about how she has beaten you and how she is good but I would rather tell you a little story about your overblown Black Rose. When I was a girl, there was a young woman that wanted your father…but Philip was my desire so I went right up to that hussy and I told her in no uncertain terms that she was not to lay even a gloved finger on my man or I would snatch her bald. Well let me tell you, I didn’t have to worry about that girl once I put my foot down,” boasted Vanessa Marlowe as she continued to snatch petal after petal from the rose. Sam watched as her mother deflowered the stem then tossed it over her shoulder.
“Why are you telling me this Moms?” asked Sam.
“Because I want you to know that you aren’t going to have to worry about this match. You are a Marlowe and you are my daughter and if there is something that you want, you don’t sit back, you get right in the face of that person you are facing and you tell her that there is no way in hell you are going to let her take your title!”
Vanessa then threads her arm through Sam’s as she guides her off. “After all Samantha, isn’t it you that is the champion and the record holder and the one that has the advantage as champion?” questions Vanessa.
Before Sam can reply, Vanessa sees another matron and calls out to her, walking away from Sam who tries to blend in as she walks back where they had come from, black rose petals being crushed under her feet as she does.
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Only days away from Into the Void and already the hype about the matches at the supercard is wild. But that night is only going to be one thing on my mind and that is defending this title I hold. The bombshell roulette title is considered the second-tier title but it isn’t in my opinion. I wear this title with pride as I defend it with all my heart. This title to me is the top title in this company.
Now I am sure that you are going to quote all the stats about the title and my record and how you have a better record than me in our matches. I will give you that you are tough…and you do hold more wins over me. But there has been a change in how I see this title and how I see I am going to have to defend it.
You are probably saying that I have been rather lazy when it comes to matches for this title because I haven’t had to defend it against the top tier talent like you. But if you ask me, every woman that steps to me is a challenge in itself. Consider who I have defended this title from. Amy Santino, a friend, gave me a challenge for this belt. Then there was Jessie Salco who I beat to unify the Honor and Roulette titles. And Trinity tried her hardest to find a way to beat me but that hasn’t happened either.
Now I face you Mercedes and yeah, I am scared a little. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t overcome my fear and defend my title. See what happens in that ring is up in the air because of the concept of the Roulette title. Before the match, the wheel will be spun and a stipulation chosen. And then once we step in the ring, the title is on the line in a match that could be a career ender or a historic night with a match of the year contender going on. Either way, Into the Void is going to make history.
Speaking of history Mercedes, you are very good at telling it. Reciting over and over the titles you have held, the records you have set in an endless litany. I don’t know if it is an intimidation tactic or is it something you tell yourself over and over again in a rosary of prayer to give yourself confidence in our match. I suspect it is more of the first in your opinion but in mine, I am thinking that it is starting to be the second because I know you know that I am just as much of a competitor as you are.
I do have to be honest Mercedes…you have been exactly what you say you are. You have made a name for yourself as one of the greats in SCW. Maybe you were once in my position and you have fought and challenged the norms to make that name. But in your eyes, I am not there yet. And maybe I am not…maybe I have surpassed you? Did you ever think of that Mercedes? Yes you have beaten me in the past but that could be the luck of the draw that night. Everyone can have an off night and maybe in the past, I had off nights when it came to facing you because I psyched myself out before we stepped into the ring. And at Into the Void, you are probably thinking the same is going to happen but if you really want to know what I am thinking, let me share with you.
I am thinking that I am going to be stepping into the ring with you and with whatever the stipulation for the match is and I am going to beat you and retain the Bombshell Roulette title and walk out still the champion, simple as. But I will do one other thing Mercedes and wish you luck because I am coming for the win. No regrets and no surrender…if you want this title you are going to have to pry it from my grip.
See you Sunday where I will be the one holding the Bombshell Roulette title as Justin Decent says 'The winner of the match and still Bombshell Roulette champion...Sam Marlowe!'.
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