Shot of Adrenaline

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Off Camera

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“So is this it?”

Her sister’s question echoes loudly within the ears and mind of Angelica Jones as they sit on a bench against the wall in their dressing room backstage after the SCW pay per view.  The sisters contemplate their future following the loss of the SCW World Tag Team Championships at Final Level.  Granted, it could have been worse.  They could have lost the belts to Jake Starr and James Evans.  That didn’t happen.  Instead the team that walked out with the gold was Autumn Valentine and Gable Winchester.  Angelica and Kayla can live with that.  Nevertheless, losing the championships stings.  It always stings.  This is different.  Angelica and Kayla had reunited The Sisterhood and they had immediate impact, winning tag team gold in two separate companies.  But now they lost both sets of tag titles.  There is nothing to hold them together except their sisterly bond.

And Kayla’s actions recently have not gone unnoticed by Angelica Jones.  The younger sister within The Sisterhood team has begun to go out on her own seeking her own individual success.  She has openly stated that she wants to pursue another world championship and, at the same time, she is also pursuing a career as a manager of other wrestlers.  The only thing that held them together was the SCW World Tag Team Championships but now, after tonight’s loss, that is gone.  There is no reason Kayla should continue working with her.

And this question from Kayla’s own mouth doesn’t make things any better.

“Huh?” Angelica asks, feigning as if she didn’t hear her younger sister.

“You heard me.” Kayla retorts. “Is this it?  We lost the tag gold.  Are we now going our separate ways?”

Angelica shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know, Kay.  Should we?”

“You tell me.” Kayla snaps back, not in an angry tone but definitely in a quick, short tone of voice that lets her sister know she means business. “I mean, you are scheduled to be in the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament.  Not me.”

Angelica frowns.  Kayla is, of course, referring to the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament, a yearly tournament held by Supreme Championship Wrestling.  Angelica Jones was in last year’s Shot of Adrenaline Tournament and made it to the semi-finals along with Dawn Lohan, Red Rayne, and Selena Frost.  The last few months Angelica Jones has spent with Kayla Jones in The Sisterhood, competing in the tag team division and eventually defending the titles until losing them tonight.  And yet sometime along the way she must have convinced someone in SCW management that she deserved another shot at a successful singles career in SCW, for she has been entered in this prestigious tournament.

Angelica never asked for this opportunity.  The truth is, she knows that her time in a wrestling ring is drawing to a close.  She knows she doesn’t have that many years left before she will have to retire.  Seeing David Helms compete in his last match tonight forced her to think about those prospects much more.  Angelica has a family to think about, three daughters, a grandchild.  Plus she has done virtually everything there is to do.  She has been happy with her career.  What she wanted was to dominate the sport with her sister one last time.  She did that, didn’t she?

“Kay, look…” Angelica’s voice trails off as she tries to find the right words “…I didn’t ask for this.”

Her eyes narrow as a newfound intensity comes to the forefront. “But if you’re asking me to back out or back down then think again.  I never back down from any challenge, Kay.  You should know this better than anyone else.  I am a competitor first and foremost and there is no way in hell I am going to stop striving to be the best.”

“What about The Sisterhood?” Kayla asks inquisitively. “Is The Shot of Adrenaline more important than what you and I have?”

Angelica immediately stands up, shooting quickly off the bench.  Kayla, noticing the anger that seems to seep from every orifice of her sister’s body, stands up as well, but braces herself at the same time, for the possible verbally onslaught that may come.

“How dare you ask me that question?!”

“What do you mean?” Kayla asks, feigning innocence. “It is a legitimate question.”

“Legitimate?” Angelica points an accusatory finger at Kayla. “How about you look into the mirror?”

Kayla tilts her head to one side and frowns. “What do you mean?”

The elder Jones rolls her eyes. “You really want me to do this?”

“Yeah…” Kayla’s voice trails off “…do it.”

“Fine.” She holds up one finger. “First there is your constant talk about winning your next world title.”

Kayla shrugs her shoulders. “Yes, and so what?  Who wouldn’t want a world title?”

 Angelica holds up two fingers. “And of course you have Jones Wrestling Incorporated.  You started your own managerial service, Kay, and you have not involved me in that.”

Kayla nods her head. “Yes, fair enough.”

“So how the hell can you stand there and accuse me of ignoring The Sisterhood when you are also branching out on your own, looking out for your own interests?”

There is a long tense moment as the sisters stare one another down.  This isn’t the first time they have had an argument, nor will it be the last, but it has been quite a long time since they have had an argument.  Neither sister expected this.  Anything could happen.  And yet…

…a chuckle escapes Angelica’s lips. Then Kayla starts laughing.  Eventually both of them are laughing out loud.  Then they embrace in a big hug.  After breaking the embrace it is Angelica who breaks the silence.

“I’m sorry for lashing out at you, Kay.”

“No, no, it’s ok.  I should apologize to you for accusing you of trying to get away from The Sisterhood.  I mean, it isn’t like you had a choice here. You were, for all intents and purposes, drafted into this damn tournament.”

Angelica nods her head. “True…”

“I still hate it though.” Kayla muses out loud.

“Me too, but Kayla, things change.  The situation changes.  And honestly, I believe our situation has changed.”

“Obviously.”

“Think about it, we have dominated tag team wrestling over this past year.  We have ruled atop several companies together as The Sisterhood, but perhaps there are other ways The Sisterhood can dominate this business?”

Angelica places a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “You are the manager of champions.  And you could become a champion again yourself.  As for me, I have Shot of Adrenaline.  Think about what happens if I win it all.  Think of the doors that would open just by winning that tournament.  We have the name, Kay, the Jones name is wrestling royalty, but maybe it’s time to remind the wrestling world why we are wrestling royalty.  And The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament is my way of doing just that.”

“So your mind is focused?” Kayla asks.

“Yes, definitely.”

Kayla looks on skeptically. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I am.” Angelica insists. “This is my chance to shoot myself back to the top of SCW.  Of course I will be focused and ready.  What else could possibly have my attention or focus?”

“Jack.”

Angelica looks on curiously. “Jack who?”

“Seriously?!” Kayla asks in an exclamatory manner. “You have got to be kidding me, sis!”

“Uh,” Angelica shakes her head “no, not kidding.  Sorry.”

“Jack…Jack the guy I caught you sleeping with the other night.”

Angelica pauses again to think it over.  Finally a look of realization crosses her face and she nods her head.

“Oh yeah!  Jack!”

“Right, Jack…what about him?  Is he on your mind?”

Angelica shakes her head. “No, he was just a one night stand.”

Kayla sighs deeply and slaps her forehead. “Angelica…”

“What?”

“What about Lindsey?” Kayla asks, looking back up at her sister.

“What about her?”

“She’s your wife!” Kayla exclaims. “Aren’t you and Lindsey trying to work things out with one another?  Aren’t you trying to fix your marriage?”

“Yes…”

“Then why the games?  Why the one night stand with Jack?  Angelica, if you are going to continue sleeping around with random guys, then just break up with Lindsey, if you’re serious about saving your marriage, then save it, but don’t lead her along.  She deserves an answer.”

Angelica sighs. “It isn’t that simple.”

“Why not?” Kayla asks, placing her hands on her hips.

“You don’t understand.  I have had so many relationships with so many guys that I thought were the one…the perfect guy…my handsome prince…but all of them turned out to be nothing.  I am afraid of commitment.  I want to be sure that this is right.”

Kayla frowns. “I don’t understand?  I was married to Jason Redfield.  I dated Andreas Lasiewicz.”

“Fine…you got me there…”

Kayla places her hands on Angelica’s shoulders. “Point is, I know the emotional roller coaster you’re going through.  I know it’s rough.  But I also know that your current wife deserves an answer eventually.”

“I know and you’re right, Lindsey does deserve an answer.  I just have no idea what I will say to her next time I see her.”

Kayla smirks. “But first you have to actually see her, right?”

Angelica chuckles. “Right.”

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Shot of Adrenaline

On Camera

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We open in a large living room area.  There is a cream colored couch and two small brown tables on either side, by the arms of the chair.  Two small plants sit on each of the small brown tables.  The sofa itself is a golden color and appears to be quite comfortable.

The sound of heels again a marble floor can be heard off in the distance.  The clicking sound grows slightly louder.  Eventually we see Angelica Jones stepping into view, wearing a classic little black dress with thin straps and a hemline that stops just above the knee.  Her feet are encased in black high heeled pumps and her long red hair hangs freely to just below her shoulders.

“Greetings!  Angelica Jones here, minus my sister Kayla and also minus the SCW World Tag team Championships.” She playfully frowns. “And yeah, we're kinda bummed, but that's ok, you know why?”

She grins, also playfully.

“The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament is back and that is precisely what The Sisterhood and yours truly needs right now...we need that shot of momentum to send us back on the right path and in the right direction!”

Angelica sits down on the sofa and ostensibly crosses her legs.

“They say this is the sport of kings, but that was proven to be incorrect a long time ago when the likes of Kelcey Wallace, Taylor Chase, and yes, yours truly stepped up onto the world’s stage and dominated the so-called sport of kings.  They also said that to succeed in this sport you have to be the best and you have to prove yourself to be the best.”

She shakes her head.

“That is also an incorrect statement.  I stand before you as evidence that you do not necessarily have to be the most talented wrestler to get ahead in this game.  Fighting and physical prowess is only a small factor in this sport.”

Jones taps herself on the head with her right index finger.

“If you ask me, the vast majority of what makes you successful in this sport has to do with your intelligence.  The smartest and most cerebral of athletes will get ahead while the meat-headed muscle-brained idiots will be left in the dust to flounder in irrelevancy.  That is a fact and if you do not believe me then just look back to last year’s Shot of Adrenaline Tournament, because living proof of the truth of my statements stands before you right here and now.”

The lovely Boston native spins around three-hundred sixty degrees to where she is facing the camera again.

“Me…I stand here before you as evidence, proof positive, that intelligence and a good strategy is the most important thing to have when you step into this ring.  Last year in the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament I cut through the competition like a hot knife through butter and I did it by using the rules to my advantage.  A disqualification or count out win counted just as much as a pin fall or submission win, right?  So who cares about HOW you won just so long as you won and that is exactly what I did.  I won…I won and made it to the semi-finals.  I even made our current Adrenaline Champion tap out.  Now Snow White and her dwarf may whine about how it was a draw, but that’s a technicality.  She tapped out.  Plain and simple.”

Jones shrugs her shoulders.

“So who is the favorite to win the tournament?  The favorite is the person not only with experience but with the right game plan on how to win and that is me.  Now don’t expect me to use that same strategy again.  That would be foolish.  Or then again, I just might use it in order to throw you off.  Who knows what I will do?  But the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament is all about strategy.  The competitor with the right strategy and game plan will advance and win it all while those with no strategy and no game plan whatsoever will ultimately fail.  Last year I succeeded in making it to the semi-finals.  This year, I am going to win the whole damn thing and I am going to win it because I have the right strategy.”

Angelica sighs and shakes her head.

“Not everyone knows how to use their head.  Take Jake Starr, for instance.  Jake is my first opponent in the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament.  Lately the crazy bastard has been running around with a steel chair as if it’s a security blanket swinging wildly for the fences with no real aim, rhyme, or reason behind his actions other than to attempt to remain relevant in this sport.”

A knowing smirk spreads across her face.

“How is that working out for you, Jake?  You tried to go for the tag titles and, hell, I will give you credit, you did make it to a match on the Final Level pay per view card.  But you did it by taking sides with James Evans?  You hate him.  But in a desperate move to stay relevant, you teamed with him to go after mine and Kayla’s tag titles.  And your reason behind it was just as lame.  You two were out there on Breakdown whining about not being respected.  Seriously, Jake, you and Evans were worse than a pair of women on the rag.  To top it all off, you didn’t even succeed.  You are not the tag team champions of the world.  Autumn and Gable are.  Now while the fans were blessed with what had to be a show stealing tag team match at Final Level, they were also left scratching their heads wondering what the hell was Jake Starr's point again?”

Jones shrugs again.

“No one knows why you do what you do, Jake.  I guess the real problem, though, is that you don't even know why you do what you do.  You have you security blanket, running around to anyone who will listen, trying to convince them you're relevant and if they don't listen you hit them with your security blanket.  That is who you are.  You are predictable and boring and no one gives a damn about you.”

Angelica shakes her head.

“That isn't a strategy, Jake.  Running around like some maniac, bitching and moaning, swinging a chair, is NOT a strategy.  It is NOT a game plan.  You have no strategy and you have no game plan.  You may get a win or two or three here and there as the tournament proceeds but ultimately it won't be enough to get you through.  Ultimately you will fail.  Ultimately...”

She snickers “...you are just a place holder.”

She nods her head.

“You are filler.  You are irrelevant and you are filler.  No one expects you to win.  No one expects an irrelevant pile of crap like you to do anything with this tournament.  You were not put into this Shot of Adrenaline Tournament with any expectations of winning.  You were put in hoping that you still had at least some amount of talent left to put on some good matches with the other competitors in your block but that's it.  That is the only expectation anyone in management has of you.  They expect you to put on a good show for the fans but ultimately to lose when the points are tabulated.  Your job is to show up and get your ass kicked week in and week out.”

The redhead motions to herself.

“My job, on the other hand, is to be the one who kicks your ass from one side of that arena to the other and finally, for the sake of the fans, for the sake of the SCW roster, and for the sake of anyone who has had to read or hear any of your bullshit, to shut you up...for good.”

“You see, Jake, nothing is expected of you because you are a loser.  But me?  I'm Angelica Jones and I'm a winner.  I have been in this tournament before and I came oh so close to winning it all but overconfidence got the best of me.  I have studied tape, I have done my homework, and I know my weaknesses.  I know where I screwed up.  I also know the weaknesses of my opponents and when they screw up.  I will not mess this up a second time.  This tournament belongs to me, Jake, and you are just the first obstacle in my path to victory.”