World of change
Change is a part of life. No matter what we do, where we go, nothing in our lives is permanent. People change, relationships change and evolve. The past you had even changes. You remember things differently based on the context you need at the time.
This is all natural. It’s a natural aspect of the world we live in and who we all are deep down.
I hate change.
I’ll be the first one to admit it, when something changes and it’s not my doing or my choice I get angry, frustrated. I lash out and act childish. It’s something I need to work on. Many people have told me it’s a side effect of my youth. Shit my mom even told me that Alicia used to be the same way.
My sister has had to deal with so much forced change in her life I question how she does it. How she goes on. Part of me looks at her in awe with great respect and admiration. But shh, don’t tell her that. It’ll give her a giant ego.
But sometimes, when the idea for change is one you have for yourself, something that you can look inside yourself and realize you need. Then balance can be restored.
It took something as simple as a change of scenery to really kickstart my career in a positive direction. This was a direction taken and walked by my own design. Alicia has no idea it was something I wanted. She had no idea it was something I desired and needed. So when I asked her to get me into Wolfslair, well, I heard the surprise in her voice.
But that was nothing compared to my first day, and the surprises in store….
The Arrival
Alicia seemed nervous. Her hands gripping the black steering wheel of her 2019 Honda Civic. She turned into the large parking area next to Wolfslair new york, the large warehouse that seemed to overtake the sky above. She came to a stop and closed her eyes taking in a deep breath before turning to Zoey.
Zoey smiled, excited as a kid on her way to a new theme park. Her leg bounces up and down impatiently as if with a twitch that she couldn’t control.
Alicia shook her head and smiled, amused with the fact Zoey was excited to get back to work. Happy that she was able to open this door for her younger sister who, for the longest time now had let her once promising wrestling career stay stagnant and almost die. But not now, not they were going to resurrect that career together.
”You ready for this?” Zoey raised an eyebrow and folded her arms mover chest, Alicia just shrugged and reachedover pulling the handle to open the door. ”I was just asking…” The sisters got out, moving around to grab their gear bags. It was still early, brisk in the morning. Despite the fact we were into the beginning of summer. The air was calming and still, Alicia looked over as the large roller door started to rise up.
Zoey threw her strap over her shoulder pulling down the boot of Alicias car as she watched The door rise, and on the other side was Austin James Mercer, his hands wrapped around the chain pulling down in a steady motion . As he finished raising the door he looked over at Alex Jones, his hand up on his shoulder as if he had done something to it, Austin has a disapproving look on his face and shook his head mouthing something to Alex before looking outside seeing the Lukas sisters giving them both a nod.
Zoey had never met Austin, only heard about him in passing, seeing him on the television. Alex she had met a few years prior, but was not close with the owner of the gym that had taken the wrestling world by storm. ”My god Austin is fucking huge…”
Alicia started toward the main building thew sound of gravel crunching under her white sneakers being much louder than you’d expect. ”To be fair, most people probably think that when they first see you…”
Zoey grumbled and started after her sister. ”Oh fuck you…”
Alicia laughed and moved to the steps running up to the small landing before nodding to Austin who gave her a small nod back, Zoey came up to and stopped in front of Austin, Austin towered over Zoey, but not as much as he did other members of the gym. Austin raised an eyebrow and looked Zoey up and down with a smile. ”You must be Alicia’s younger sister…the new recruit right?” Zoey gave him a slow nod and a smile, she had been warned that Austin was not his usual self. A personal tragedy had destroyed his humor and usual kind heart. ”Welcome aboard, but, and I know this is weird coming from someone who looks like me…muscles don’t get you as far as you’d think…”
Zoey raised an eyebrow and gave a nod ”Understood…..thanks for having me?...I guess?” Austin just shook his head and moved back toward the office area where Alex was shuffling through paperwork. Zoey moved through the doorway and looked around, her jaw dropping as she realized the scope of the place she was now going to train in. Two practise rings, grappling mats, a weight room, lines of punching bags, a sauna and ice baths for recovery, a media room. It was all here. ”Holy shit…”
Alicia moves around to her side, her hands finding her hips as she sighed heavily. Around them the gym slowly started to come to life. Aiden Reynolds kicked the grappling mats over, rolling them and pushing them across the floor to set them up. Johanna Kreiger was wiping the ropes down and over in the corner a young man was moving the weights back in place. Zoey stopped in her tracks and cleared her throat. Alicia blinked a few times turning her head.
”Who the fuck is that?”
Zoey tilted her head as the guy bent over to pick up a weight bar, moving it to the side and then stretching as he stood back up. ”Who?...Him? That’s Miles Kasey, joined Wolfslair a while ago, he’s from somewhere in the UK…why?” Zoey just started and bit her bottom lip. ”Zo?....Zoey?...hello?..oh wonderful I’m being ignored..”
Zoey tilted her head and stepped toward him as Al;icia followed. ”I could bounce a quarter off those British Brioche Buns..”
”ZOEY!”
The taller Lukas sister seemed to snap out of it ”What?...did I say that out loud?” Alicia just stared at her younger sister, putting a finger up and her jaw slightly open thinking of something, anything to say. But Zoey was a few steps ahead as she just smiled. ”Hey don’t worry, I’m here to train and get better first…I can worry about getting laid on my own time.” Zoey slapped her sister on the shoulder and turned toward the locker rooms.
”No that’s…that’s not what I was going to say…Zoey….ZOEY!” She followed her sister into the lockerooms as a completely oblivious Miles went about his business.
Kicking Cousins.
”How do we do this?”
”Do what?”
”This….this whole thing…”
”Cutting a promo?”
Zoey shot her sister an angry look, Alicia shrugged with a small laugh under her breath. She turned toward the camera side with a sigh and her arms folding over her chest.Zoey stepped back and did the same.
”Do you all see it now? What my sister is capable of? I think Jessie Salco feels it. And hey, I know what most of you are thinking.A win over Jessie Salco isn’t really headline news is it? Everyone has beaten Jessie. I’ve beaten Jessie, Johanna beat Jessie, Roxi has beaten Jessie, Amber has beaten Jessie, Zoey has beaten Jessie, good taste has beaten Jessie. But the fact remains, the entire wrestling world has now seen a small glimpse of what Zoey is capable of and where she can go in this business. And, as much as I shit on Jessie, well, she’s more of a challenge than Ruby.”
“But hey who am I to talk right? I just lost to a woman who I have spent the better part of three years holding down under my boot. And now, due to one slip up she gets to walk around with her chest puffed out acting like because she beat me once she’s somehow better than me?”
“Is that how it works?”
Alicia pauses and shakes her head, Zoey interjects, stepping forward.
”No, no it’s not. See, I can be damn proud over my debut win, the first time I’ve been seen in a real match and I dominated a veteran. Sure, it’s not a veteran that many people take seriously. At all. But still, veteran status. But the way this whole thing works is that you show a history of dominance and winning and you should get respected for it. People like my sister don’t come around often, you take away all the fluke wins where she hasn’t been pinned in multiperson clusterfucks and the tag losses and Alicia is damn scary. But you all seem to forget that.”
“And what, Mercedes Vargas wins her one match this quarter and we’re all meant to forget that Alicia has beaten her across three different companies like a goddamn dog for the last three or four years? We’re supposed to look past that? See, Jessie and Mercedes have the same problem. They win something, it’s the biggest thing in the world and we should all congratulate them. But they lose and it’s forgotten, because they don’t learn anything.”
“But, Alicia lost to Mercedes, she knows it, feels it, embraces it and learns from it. And she has taught me to do the same. Win or lose, something can be learned.”
“And we are about to teach Diamond and Ruby Steele a lesson they will never forget and the first lesson is a simple one. Never put your future in the hands of people who have the will to shape it. See, we win this tag match and Alicia gets to select what type of match Diamond will have to compete in at Summer Xtreme. And I think we can all agree, giving her any type of control is a bad idea. It’s why so many people were terrified Alicia was going to win the Queen for a day. And unlike Amber Ryan..Alicia wouldn’t have let Diamond get away with chucking a sick day to get out of her contractually obligated appearances..”
Zoey chuckles and slides her hands into the front pockets of her tight fitting black jeans.
”But, not only did Diamond talk herself into a beating she has decided to bring her cousin along to the party. And honestly I am shocked Ruby agreed to this. I want you all to think back to Violent Conduct last year. I told the world I was going to annihilate Ruby Steele and in a glass tables match that is exactly what happened. And it has taken Ruby almost a year to get up the confidence to face me again and it wasn’t even because of her. But you remember it, don’t you Ruby?”
“You remember pulling shards of glass from your back, you remember the pain you went through as you were stitched up and put back together after what I did to you.”
“You think that was hard for me? You think I rate you as one of my biggest rivals after that?”
“I don’t. I don’t think you or Diamond belong in wrestling anymore. I think you two, Sapphire and Emerald need to just go about being a band. Not because you’re better musicians than you are professional wrestlers, but because if you fail at playing music it won’t end yopur existence like wrestling will. See, this business needs devotion, it needs effort, it needs people willing to learn. To get better and improve. And you Ruby, you and your cousin don’t have that in you. You don’t belong in the ring with us…”
Alicia smiles and looks back up at her sister. Zoey paces back and forth like a caged animal.
”The hardest thing about this tag match is that I will have to hold back. See, I have no doubt in Diamond and Ruby Steeles minds this is some kind of amazing family tag team match. A great wrestling family like the Steeles against a great wrestling family like ours. Our father was a wrestler. Someone we barely knew, barely saw. We don’t even use his last name in the ring. The Lukas name is just….a show name…”
“Much like Steele.”
“But, Alicia has set the wrestling world on fire and me? Well I’m just getting started.”
“Ruby is out of practise and Diamond, well, you haven’t meant anything to this business since you forgot your name was Kate. See, Kate Steele held some kind of respect in this business. But you Diamond? What do you have? No one likes you, no one respects you. You lucked into a title win and when push came to shove you folded really fast and lost that title faster than Jessie Salco loses credibility when she tweets.”
“You have had chance after chance after chance to claw back some of that good will and respect yet you fail each and every time. This business needs more people like my sister, more people like me. And less like you two jokes. You want to be musicians so bad? You bargain basement Josie and the pussy cat paramore obsessed wannabes. Your music sucks, your look sucks and your wrestling sucks.”
“Alicia and I are going to enjoy tearing you limb from fucking limb and when all is said and done Alicia gets to choose what circle of hell to drag you to Diamond….and I will just sit back and laugh…”
