==========
Let It Go
Act 4 ;
Scene 1
Off Camera
==========
The Bluebird
Café is an iconic spot in Nashville, Tennessee.
It is legendary for being a spot where young up and coming country music
artists become discovered, where they become famous. Yet, at the same time, on any given night you
could be lucky enough to see an already established star make an appearance, an
established star such as Leann Rimes, Carrie Underwood, or even a superstar
like a Garth Brooks.
In many
ways, The Bluebird Café is a metaphor for what will happen at the Bridgestone
Arena in Nashville, Tennessee when SCW Breakdown comes to town, when Angelica
Jones and her sister Kayla team up to face Craig Thomas and Tyler Tucker of
Adrenaline Rush. Angelica and Kayla have
been working together as a tag team in the world of professional wrestling for
a long time now. They by far have more
history together as a team than Thomas and Tucker. Yet, when it comes to SCW, Adrenaline Rush
are more established than The Sisterhood.
Angelica and Kayla have only teamed together one time in SCW, and that
ended in a draw against Blood Grove.
This time,
as Adrenaline Rush prepares to face The Sisterhood, both teams realize that,
just like the stars who play at the iconic Bluebird Café, this is their chance
to step out and establish themselves as tag team title contenders.
Angelica
Jones is no stranger to the Bluebird Café.
In late 2003 she stepped into that famous restaurant for the first time
and played for a small crowd in anticipation of the release of her first
country album “Firestar”, named after her in-ring wrestling moniker at the
time. Jones would return to the Bluebird
in 2005 after “I Light The Fire” was released.
Nine years would pass as Angelica would seemingly forget about her
country music career and focus solely on her wrestling. Nine years would pass until Angelica Jones
felt the tugging at her heart to create another album. And so, in 2014, “Legacy” was released and,
once again, shortly after its release she would go to the Bluebird and play to
the audience. This year the part-time
country singer full time wrestler released “Welcome To My World” and she has
plans to return to the Bluebird Café…
…tonight.
Angelica
Jones leads the way into the iconic Bluebird.
Following behind her is her sister Kayla Jones and Kayla’s boyfriend
Trenton Snow. Trenton is wearing jeans,
boots, and a white button up shirt while Kayla, walking arm in arm with him,
wears a red sundress and sandals.
Angelica is dressed in a knee length black skirt, a three-quarter sleeve
red sweater, and black high heeled pumps.
Pictures of
famous artists who have sung at this place are hanging on the walls as the trio
make their way deeper and deeper inside.
The tables are simple and round with three to four chairs each. There is a small, simple stage at the front
of the room with microphones and a guitar.
“I take it you’ll be up there.” Kayla
states, motioning to the stage.
“Eventually.” Angelica smiles knowingly
as she leads her sister and Trenton to an empty table in the back of the room. “But first, I want a drink.”
Angelica
sits down at the table first. Trenton,
being the gentleman and trying to impress Kayla, pulls out the chair for her,
allowing her to sit down. Finally,
Trenton himself sits down next. A short
wait later and a waitress approaches, smiling broadly.
“Good evening and wel…” her voice trails
off “…you’re Angelica Jones, aren’t you?”
Angelica
nods her head. “That’s right.”
The waitress
can’t help but giggle lightly. “I should
be able to compose myself more. I should
be used to seeing famous people but…you…you’re different.”
She turns
and looks at Kayla. “And you must be
Kayla.”
Kayla smiles
politely. “Nice to meet you.”
The waitress
is still somewhat flustered. “I am a
wrestling fan…can you tell?”
Angelica
chuckles lightly. “I kinda guessed.”
The waitress
sighs and shakes her head as she attempts to regain some semblance of composure
so that she can do her job.
“Anyway, I’m
sorry about that, I just love you two, that’s all.”
“It’s ok, we’re used to it.” Kayla
remarks.
“So what can I do for you?” The waitress
asks.
“Bring out a red diamond merlot,”
Angelica motions to herself, Kayla, and Trenton “for all of us please.”
“Coming right up.”
The waitress
turns and walks away to fill the order.
Trenton leans back in his chair and wraps an arm around Kayla's
shoulder.
“So, this
is the famous Bluebird Cafe...?”
“That's
right,” Angelica remarks “it's where many country artists got
discovered. Including me.”
Trenton
chuckles lightly. “I somewhat doubt you needed much discovering, Angelica.”
“Everyone
needs discovering of some sort.” Angelica answers back. “Even a
wrestler. Not everyone watches
wrestling, Trenton. Not every wrestler
is a big star.”
“She's
right, you know.” Kayla chimes in. “Angel had really just begun her
pro-wrestling career back in 2003 before she began her country music career.”
Trenton nods
his head. “Well that makes sense, I guess.”
The waitress
returns with a wine bottle in hand and wine glasses. After placing the glasses on the table, one
in front of each of her patrons, she then proceeds to pour each of them a glass
of wine. She leaves the wine at the
table as she turns and makes her exit again.
“I
remember my first time here...”
Angelica's
voice trails off and a smile wraps around her face as she fondly recalls this
memory. The elder Jones takes a sip of
her wine and sighs. Kayla grins with a
hint of mischief in her eye.
“I
remember it too and I seem to remember you were scared to get up on that
stage.”
“The
great Angelica Jones was scared?” Trenton chuckles. “Say it isn't so!”
“Everyone
is entitled to a little stage fright every now and then.” Angelica answers.
“I was nervous before my first wrestling match in front of a live television
audience.”
“I also
remember that.” Kayla grins knowingly as she sips on her wine. “I
remember giving you hell over it.”
“You
did,” Angelica responds “and it wasn't funny!”
“Sure it
was.” Kayla says, now pointing and laughing at her older sister. “The
great thirteen time world champion, hall of famer, was scared.”
“At least
you were there for me.” Angelica says, playfully leaning her head up
against her shoulder. “My sister!”
“Yeah,
whatever,” Kayla gently shoves her away “I just so happened to start
wrestling before you so I had more experience.”
“Having
you there to help calm my nerves was invaluable. I mean, it wasn't as if I could go to mom and
as for dad...well...”
Kayla's face
contorts into a look of anger as she hears their father mentioned. The younger Jones immediately tips her wine
glass back and chugs the rest of it down in one giant slurp and slams it down
onto the table.
“Yeah...he
was never there for us after mom died.”
Trenton hugs
up close to Kayla in an attempt to comfort and console her.
“You need
to try and understand the situation he was in, sis.” Angelica says in an
attempt to defend Bart Jones, their father. “He really didn't have many
options.”
“Do not
try and defend him, Angelica.” Kayla says, her voice dripping with venom.
“I'm not
defending him. I'm just saying...”
“No,
don't.” Kayla remarks. “Not now, not ever. That man has no defense, Angelica, and you
know it as well as I do. So do not try
and defend him.”
“Sorry if
I'm butting in on a personal issue,” Trenton chimes in “but what is the
deal with your father? You've never told
me.”
“That's
because I don't like talking about that sack of shit.”
Kayla snaps
back. Trenton leans back. “I'm sorry,
Kay...”
Angelica
gazes at Trenton apologetically. “It's a touchy issue with us, Trenton. Very touchy.
Especially with Kayla.”
“If you
don't want to talk about it,” Trenton begins, only to be cut off by his
girlfriend.
“No, it's
ok. You should know what you're getting
into by dating me.”
Kayla sighs,
shutting her eyes tightly. “I was spending the night with someone else when
it happened. Angelica took the worst it,
because she was home when the intruder broke into our home, raped, and murdered
our mother.”
“I'm...sorry.”
Trenton says quietly.
“What
happened after that was what impacted me the most.” Kayla says, tears
forming in her eyes. “Our father gave us up to social services who, in turn,
separated us. I ended up in a foster
home. My foster father was an abusive
drunk named Oliver Hardy.”
“I
see...” Trenton's voice trails off.
“Oliver
Hardy beat me and molested me on regular basis.” She glares at Angelica and
then at Trenton “Do you see why I can't forgive Bart? He abandoned us. He put me in that situation.”
Trenton
smiles sheepishly as he sips his wine. “You're not going to like what I have
to say.”
Angelica
finishes off her glass of wine and then sets it onto the table. The elder Jones sees an opening and an
opportunity to get away from what she thinks is coming next.
“I think
my cue to sing is coming up.”
“Knock
'em dead.” Kayla remarks.
“I will
do my best.”
Angelica
winks before turning and heading towards the stage to get ready for her
performance. Once Angelica is out of
earshot, Kayla turns to face Trenton and frowns.
“So, what
was it you were going to say?”
“You're
not going to like it.”
“What is
it?”
“Are you
sure you want to hear it?”
“Yes.”
Trenton
shrugs. “Simply put, I think you're being too hard on your father.”
“Don't
you start on that same shit my sister is on...”
“Look,
your dad should never have just handed you and Angelica over to social
services, I agree with that, but that isn't what you are really upset about,
that isn't what really hurt you. The
person who really and truly hurt you is Oliver Hardy and your father had no
control over that and had no idea that would have happened.”
“But if
he had never abandoned us then I would not have been put into that situation!”
“Don't
you think he knows that already?” Trenton suggests. “Don't you think he
feels guilty enough as it is over what he inadvertently put you through? He doesn't need you piling on.”
Kayla
remains quiet, silent, as Trenton stares into her eyes. “Look, I'm just saying give your old man a
chance. That's all.”
“Fine,”
she holds up one finger “one chance and that's it. For you.”
Trenton and
Kayla remain silent, not uttering another word, as they turn towards the stage
and listen to Angelica as she begins singing her cover song, “Welcome To My
World”...
==========
Let It Go
Act 4 ;
Scene 2
Off Camera
==========
It is a
tense moment in this airport terminal in Nashville, Tennessee as Angelica Jones
sits side by side with her younger sister Kayla waiting upon the arrival of
their father, Bart Jones, from his flight in from Boston, Massachusetts.
The phrase
“be careful what you wish for, you just might get it” proves oh so true in this
case, for Angelica has wanted a meeting like this to happen for a long
time. Angelica has long wanted to
attempt to bring peace between her, Kayla, and their father Bart. Bart is the last living connection they have
to their childhood. Residing within his
wise mind are memories of their beloved mother, memories that will be lost to
time forever without Bart Jones around.
Plus
Angelica knows that the Jones family is much stronger when they are united. Angelica and Kayla worked hard to talk some
sense into Angelica’s oldest daughter, Marie Annabelle Jones, thus bringing her
back into the fold. Emotionally,
mentally, and yes, even physically, the Jones family will be stronger if
Angelica and Kayla can make peace with their father.
Now that the
time for a potential reunion has come, Angelica isn’t so sure that she wants
it. She is nervous, anxious of how
things will turn out, especially when Kayla sees Bart again.
Kayla Jones
hates her father. She has hated him ever
since he abandoned them to social services when they were just kids. Kayla blames Bart for her ending up in the
foster care of a drunken abusive bastard named Oliver Hardy who regularly beat
and molested her. She is only here
because her boyfriend Trenton Snow convinced her to give her father one last
chance. She would not be here today
otherwise.
“I’m glad you came, Kay.”
“You sound happy.” Kayla responds
stoically. “Don’t sound happy. This may not be the reunion you’re hoping for. I may kick that asshole’s teeth down his
throat the moment I see him.”
Angelica
smirks. “You’d spend a few nights in
jail.”
“No I wouldn’t.”
“I think you’re assuming I would bail you
out.”
“You would bail me out.” Kayla retorts. “And if you didn’t, I’m sure Marie would.”
“Why do you say that?”
“If it wasn’t for me,” Kayla begins
definitively “she wouldn’t have her tag
team title shot back over in IWC.”
Angelica
sighs. “You have a point there.”
“Seriously, Angel, do not get your hopes
up.” Kayla continues, looking her sister directly in the eyes. “I am here because Trenton wants me to give
our father one last chance.”
“That’s all we want, that’s all Trenton and
I want, is for you to give Bart one last chance to explain himself.”
“Yes, and I will gladly listen, but I cannot
think of anything that he could say that would get through to me.”
“Are you that stubborn?” Angelica asks.
“I am a Jones.” Kayla smirks. “Do you even have to ask?”
The sisters
share an uneasy laugh. As they laugh and
chat they both realize that there is an elephant in the room, an uneasy feeling
of dread of this coming meeting. Both
women know that this meeting has to take place and yet neither woman wants it
to. The laughter is merely to liven up
an otherwise depressing mood.
“There he is…”
Angelica
points over to the far right corner.
Kayla looks over in that direction and she spots their father, the aged
and grizzled Bart Jones. The lines on
this man’s face tell the story of someone who has been through a life of pure
hell, and the true story of Bart Jones is not far off of that mark. Bart worked for the FBI once upon a time and
he made many enemies in that position, many foreign enemies, enemies who wanted
him dead. This is the story of a man who
had to make a decision, a difficult decision, to keep his children and risk
placing them in danger of the same man who killed their mother to send a
message to him, or to send his children away as a means to protect them. The story of Bart Jones is not a pleasant
story to tell. Angelica watches on
nervously while Kayla’s emotions begin to boil over, glaring down at Bart Jones
as he approaches them.
“Hi girls.”
Despite the
look of rage on Kayla’s face, Bart is smiling pleasantly as he approaches. Angelica stands up and greets Bart with a
friendly hug.
“Hi, daddy.”
Bart and
Angelica break off the hug and then he turns towards Kayla and holds out his
arms to her in anticipation of a hug but none comes. She merely greets one with one little word…
“Hi…”
Kayla stands
up but still doesn’t embrace her father.
Angelica can’t help but wince, feeling as if this meeting is already
going downhill fast. She decides to
break the ice as she, Kayla, and Bart begin to head towards the exit.
“How was the flight?”
“It was good.” Bart responds. “They had a nice in-flight movie.”
“Which you slept through, no doubt…”
“You know me too well, Angel.”
Kayla is
still silent, dead silent, as her sister and father talk. The silence gives Angelica an uneasy feeling.
“Did you get your tickets to Breakdown?”
Bart nods
his head. “I did, thanks again, by the
way. I look forward to seeing my
daughters fight…ummm…Adrenaline Rush?”
“That’s right, dad.” Angelica says,
smiling. “We’re fighting Adrenaline
Rush.”
“Are they any good?”
“I thought you were following our careers,” Angelica
responds jokingly “so you tell me!”
“I follow YOUR careers.” He says with a
wink. “No one else matters to me.”
“They MAY matter if they manage to beat us.”
“Which they won’t.” He answers back. “You’re both tremendous wrestlers and I am
very proud of you both.”
The father
and his two children find the exit and they step outside into the parking lot
area. Now they begin to make their way
through the parking lot and towards the car Angelica and Kayla drove to get here
today. At this time Kayla decides to
speak up.
“You sure
know how to put on a good act, Bart.”
“It’s not
an act, Kayla.” Bart answers back politely. “I do follow your career,
Angelica’s too, and I am proud of both of you for what you’ve accomplished.”
“Riiiiight,”
Kayla draws out the “I” sound, allowing the sarcasm to drip from her voice “sure
you are.”
“I mean
it, Kayla.” Bart answers back. “I am proud of you.”
“Says the
man who abandoned us.” Kayla retorts.
“Do we
have to do this right here and right now?” Angelica asks.
“Yes...”
Kayla stops
right where she is at, turns and slaps Bart across his face. The elder Jones rubs his stinging cheek in
pain.
“...I
think now is the perfect time to do this!”
“Kayla...”
“No!”
Angelica is cut off by her younger sister. “If we're doing this, we're doing
this my way.”
Kayla turns
to face Bart. “You abandoned us! You
abandoned me and do you know where I ended up?!”
Bart nods
his head. “Of course I do.”
“Yeah,
you know where I ended up. I ended up
with Oliver Hardy, the man who...who...” Kayla breaks down and starts
crying uncontrollably “...hurt me...”
“I know
he hurt you, Kayla. And if there was
anything I could do to fix it, I would, but what was done to you, that's
permanent damage. Permanent physical,
emotional, and mental damage. The guilt
I feel every single time I think of what Hardy did to you is enormous, because
I know had you been with me it wouldn't have happened, because I know I put you
into social services, who gave you to Hardy.”
“But
listen to me Kayla,” Angelica chimes in finally “Bart should not have
given us up to social services, but it was not Bart who gave you to Hardy. Social services did.”
Angelica
grabs Kayla by the head and forces her to look up at their father.
“Look at
him. Don't you think he's suffered
enough?”
Kayla stares
at Bart for a long period of time without saying a word. Bart finally sighs.
“You
don't have to say anything, Kayla. I
understand and I don't deserve you forgiveness.”
“I'm not
sure when and if I can forgive you, because even if you didn't directly hand me
over to Oliver Hardy, you did still abandon me and Angelica.” Kayla holds
open her arms. “But we need to start somewhere...dad...”
Tears well
up in Bart's eyes as he accepts the embrace, hugging his youngest daughter for
the first time since she was thirteen.
==========
Grand Ole
Opry
On Camera
==========
Stage lights
light up, shining high from the rafters down upon the light brown stage. The backdrop on the stage is red and shaped
like a barn complete with windows and two fake doors that look like barn
doors. Across the front of this backdrop
is the following text: Grand Ole Opry.
A female
figure steps into view from stage right.
This is none other than Angelica Jones, who sports a leather skirt with
an intricate botanical design rendered in sleek faux leather that creates a
delicate overlay on this prim miniskirt that is fitted with a nipped-in
waist. Her shirt is a plain white
sleeveless top and her shoes are a simple pair of black patent leather pumps with
a peep toe. Her long gorgeous red hair
hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.
Another
female figure is now seen entering the scene from the opposite side. This female is none other than Angelica’s
sister, Kayla Jones. The younger Jones sibling
is wearing a simple and chich A-Line black dress with a scoop neckline, three
quarter inch sleeves, and a hemline that hits just above the knee. Her feet are also encased in black patent
leather pumps, only without the peep toe, and her long red hair flows to just
beyond her shoulders.
“Welcome to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville,
Tennessee!”
Angelica
says this with a wide ear to ear grin on her face. Kayla looks over at her and frowns.
“You are enjoying this too much.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Shall we get on with it then?”
Angelica
nods her head. “Yes, let’s.”
“The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country
music stage concern founded in 1925 by George D. Hay as a one hour radio barn
dance.” Kayla begins. “This place
right here hosted such artists as Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson, and Rascal
Flatts. This place is touted as the show
that made country music famous.”
Kayla
motions to her older sister. “Angelica
here has played the Opry. You ask her and she will tell you, it is like
the ‘Rise To Greatness’ of country music.”
“It is like the ‘Rise To Greatness’ of
country music.” Angelica says, nodding her head.
Kayla shoots
her an annoyed look.
“You don’t have to repeat me.”
“Sure I do.”
Kayla rolls
her eyes. “Point is, Nashville is like
our second home, we have known success in this city, the city of Nashville, the
capitol of country music. And it is here
in this city, not too far away in the Bridgestone Arena, where The Sisterhood
will attempt to obtain more success as we face Craig Thomas and Tyler Tucker,
better known as Adrenaline Rush.”
“Thanks, sis,” Angelica says with a wink
“now it’s my turn, right?”
“Right,” Kayla answers “so get on with it.”
“I had a country music contract and was
making songs back in 2003 but it wasn’t until 2005 when I played the Opry and it
was then that I knew I had really made it in country music. Now Kayla and I have returned to Nashville
but this time it isn’t about my singing career, it’s about mine and my sister’s
wrestling careers, because we are coming after the SCW World Tag Team
Championship. That is our goal, that is
our objective, and we know exactly who we have to go through if we expect to
win it all.”
She points a
finger at the camera. “You two…we have to
go through Adrenaline Rush.”
“I’m not going to be like some so-called
legends and brag about my achievements.” Angelica continues. “Neither is Kayla.”
“But what if I want to brag about my
achievements?”
Angelica
shakes her head. “Sorry, you can’t.”
“Damn.” Kayla feigns disappointment.
“The fact is that you two have already
established yourselves in Supreme Championship Wrestling. You were just competing against Standing Room
Only for the SCW World Tag Team Championship and you came oh so close to
winning the gold. So if we want to be
champions, or at the very least contenders, we need to beat the former
contenders.”
Kayla nods
her head. “We know what we have to do and
boys, you are good, you deserve the gold and you deserve another shot. Unfortunately, you’re not getting that shot
so long as The Sisterhood is around. We
want it and I would dare say that we want it more than you. We are going to get to the top of the tag
team ranks and we are going to get there at your expense.”
Angelica
looks to the left and then to the right.
She smiles warmly. “This place,
The Grand Ole Opry, it hosted greats, it hosted legends, and it won’t be long
until the Bridgestone Arena hosts future SCW legends Adrenaline Rush and The Sisterhood. It will be a hell of a fight and we’re coming
out on top. Why is that, Kayla?”
Kayla
smirks. “Because we’re going to kick
their teeth right down their throat!”
