The Future

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Scene 1

Off Camera

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The year 2016 is now on life support as we are on the thirtieth day of December, with one more day left until the year 2016 is long gone and we usher in a new year of 2017.  Many are grateful that 2016 is going to be long gone due to the number of celebrities who passed away during that year.  Others, depending upon their political persuasion, may be grateful that 2016 is gone just because Donald Trump won a presidential election.  For Angelica and Kayla Jones, better known in the professional wrestling circles as The Sisterhood, 2016 did not go the way they had hoped at all and they are very excited for this year to be over and to look forward to another year where they can attempt to fulfill their destiny.

Angelica and Kayla began 2016 as a tag team seeking to regain their SCW World Tag Team Championship that they lost to Gable Winchester and Autumn Valentine.  After a year of fighting and clawing to regain their gold they always came close but couldn’t quite get to the top of the tag team mountain.  The Sisterhood had hoped that Hell Hath No Fury, the final pay per view of the year for SCW, would be their night.  They hoped they could run the gauntlet and become tag team champions again but, due to a blindside attack from Jake Starr, Angelica and Kayla were left unable to continue and unable to win their world tag team championship.

Jake Starr got what was coming to him on the final Breakdown of 2016.  Angelica Jones fought him all over the arena and into the parking lot where finally the fight ended.  Now Angelica and her sister Kayla are looking put Jake Starr and the failure that was 2016 behind them.  The Sisterhood wants to look forward to 2017 and their continued quest to become SCW World Tag Team Champions again.

Which brings us to the present; Angelica and her sister Kayla are set to face off against Vixen Cain and Merrick Wiseman , better known as Tainted Justice, on the next edition of  Breakdown.  A victory in that match will definitely give The Sisterhood the momentum that they want in order to get back in the title hunt.  But getting back into the tag team title picture in SCW isn’t the only thing on their minds, for today is the day that Kayla Jones got married to the love of her life, Trenton Snow.

The setting is an auditorium on the outskirts of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The room buzzed with excited chatter of the various guests, friends and family of the Jones clan and the extended family.  Children were running between the tables in a good natured game of tag.  Travis Vessey and his manager, Trista Foxx-Porter, can be seen seated at a table, both with glasses of champagne.  Sophie James and Kimberly Williams are there as well, near the punch bowl plotting on how to spike it.  Brookford and Brooklyn Smith are seated with other members of the wedding party, Marie Jones and Jessica Corey-Jones, the bridesmaids.  Monroe Jones is supervising the younger Jones child, Kelly, in a corner as she plays.  Angelica Jones is at a table by herself with two other chairs presumably for the bride and groom.  The Boston native is wearing the same knee length red lace V-Neck dress from the wedding earlier in the evening.  The matriarch of the Jones family then stands up and bangs her hand on the table to get everyone’s attention.

“May I have everyone’s attention please?”

The chatter and play pause.  The entire auditorium goes silent as they pay very close attention to the redhead elder statesperson of the Jones clan who happened to be the Maid of Honor for tonight’s wedding.

“I want to thank everyone for attending.  Tonight has been a bag of emotions, most of them happy feelings but there were also a handful of sad feelings as well.”

She wipes some tears from her eyes as the emotions come flowing all over her and overwhelm her.

“I’m standing here as the head of this family, partially because I’m the oldest, but also because there is a man missing here tonight…mine and Kayla’s father, Bartholomew Jones.  The family knew him best as Bart.  Kayla and I had our problems with Bart.  We blamed him for abandoning us after our mother died.  I personally blamed him for my own inner demon, the demon I called The Dragon.”

Angelica shakes her head.

“But we were wrong for blaming dad.  We make our own destiny, we make our own choices, and we deal with the consequences of those decisions.  I just wish we had figured that out sooner, because while we did forgive daddy and make peace with him, it wouldn’t be long until he would be taken from us…”

She sighs as she tries to maintain her composure.

“…permanently.”

She forces a smile on her face as she gazes across the room, scanning it and looking out at the people gathered here today in this auditorium.

“While I stand here today, I do see that this family is strong.  This family is strong because of its friends…”

“Like me?”

Sophie is asking this as she pours a glass of alcohol over Kimberly Williams’s head.  Angelica sighs and nods her head.

“Yes, friends like you.”

“Woot, woot!”

Angelica rolls her eyes.

“This family is strong because of the next generation, specifically my daughters Marie and Jessica, and even my sweet little Kelly.”

Kimberly waves her arms in the air.

“What about me?!”

Angelica sighs.

“Yes, you too Kim.”

“Hell yeah!”

Angelica again rolls her eyes.

“And this family is growing stronger tonight now that we have added Trenton Snow to the family through marriage to my sister Kayla.  To Trenton’s friends, Brookford, Travis Vessey, and Trista Foxx-Porter, I thank you for attending the wedding, I thank you for being here tonight at the reception, and I hope you enjoy yourselves.  You are friends now and will always have an ally with the Jones family.”

She uses her left arm to motion towards the double doors of the entrance to this auditorium.

“Now that’s enough from me, because you’re not here for me, are you?”

“I’m here for the alcohol!”

That was Sophie again.  Kimberly shouts out in agreement with her best friend and tag team partner.  Angelica just sighs and does her best to ignore them.

“Without further adieu, it is my honor to present to you Trenton Snow and his wife, my sister, Kayla Jones-Snow!”

The double doors opened and Kayla Jones-Snow enters the room, hand in hand with her new husband Trenton Snow.  Applause spread across the room.  The scraping of chairs is heard as the many guests, friends, and family get up for a standing ovation for the bride and groom.  The happy couple make their way to the head table, smiling and holding hands.  Kayla and Trenton wave at the guests for a few moments.  Kayla then turns and embraces her own older sibling Angelica Jones.  Kayla turns back to Trenton and leans in, kissing him on the lips in a passionate show of affection.  There were loud cheers and Kimberly and Sophie whooped.  Finally everyone sits down except for Kayla, who remains standing.

“If I may have everyone’s attention, I’d also like to say a few words…”

Kayla waits patiently for everyone to quiet down.  When they do finally quiet down Kayla smiles warmly.

“Angelica, I heard everything that you had to say and I also miss daddy.  You were quicker to forgive him than I was.  While you were ready to give him a chance, I was still skeptical of him.  I should’ve given him a chance and now he’s gone and I’ve missed out.”

She wipes tears out from her eyes.

“But I know daddy is looking down on me right now and he is proud.”

She places a hand on her older sister’s shoulder.

“And he is proud of you and the changes you made.”

Kayla turns to look at Trenton.  She motions for him to stand up.  He chuckles as he stands up and stares lovingly into Kayla’s eyes.

“For a long time I doubted whether or not I deserved happiness.  I questioned whether I would be able to spend the rest of my life with anyone.  I began to think I would spend the rest of my life alone.  But then you came into my life.  And you badgered me to hell about going out on a date with you.”

This draws a laugh from everyone in the auditorium, including Trenton.

“Hey, it worked!”

Kayla nods her head.

“Yes, Trenton, it worked.  I gave you a chance and now here we are…”

She takes his hands and squeezes them tightly.

“…together.”

They lean in close and share another passionate kiss, which draws more cheers from the guests, friends, and family in attendance tonight.  After breaking the kiss, both Kayla and Trenton wave at the crowd before taking their seats next to Angelica.

“Thanks for planning all of this, Angel.”

“Don’t mention it, sis. You and Trenton deserve it.”

“Yeah but we could’ve just as easily got by with no reception.  We didn’t necessarily NEED one.”

Angelica scoffs.

“Pfft, only the best for my sister and my new brother-in-law!”

Trenton chuckles.

“Me and Kayla appreciate it, Angelica.  Right, babe?”

He kisses Kayla on the cheek.  Kayla grins and then nods her head.

“Yeah, thanks Angelica.  Thanks for everything.”

“Well enjoy it, soak it up while you can, because when this is done we have to get back to work.  Supreme Championship Wrestling has released its next card.”

Kayla’s eyes grow wide with curiosity.

“Oh?”

“Tainted Justice.  We are set to face Tainted Justice on the first edition of Breakdown in 2017.”

Tainted Justice and The Sisterhood are no strangers to one another.  Merrick Wiseman and Angelica Jones had a rivalry a couple of years ago when she was a proud member of Silas World.  Then Angelica came within a hair of becoming United States Champion at Under Attack in the elimination chamber against Vixen Cain.  This will be Kayla Jones’s first steps into this rivalry, but she has observed her sister’s battles with Cain and Wiseman and she knows to expect the unexpected.

“Ok, we’ll just do what we have to do in order to get the job done.”

“Are you going to be ready?”

“You mean the neck?”

Angelica nods.  Kayla rubs the back of her neck and smiles.

“I’ll be ready, sis.  What Jake Starr did at Hell Hath No Fury wasn’t enough to keep me down.  It was just a stinger and I’ll be more than ready to have your back at Breakdown.  But…”

“But?”

“Does this mean Trenton and I don’t get a honeymoon?”

“It might be advisable to either skip it or at least delay it.  The tag team turmoil was an opportunity lost.  Now we can pick the momentum back up against Cain and Wiseman.”

Kayla frowns.

“Seriously, Angel?  You want me to skip the honeymoon?”

“She’s right, babe.”

Trenton speaks up, chiming in on this conversation.

“We don’t need a honeymoon.”

“Bullshit, Trenton.  We already made plans and we’re not canceling now.”

Angelica raises her brow out of curiosity.

“What were your plans, Kay?”

“Just a simple trip to the Nashville, Tennessee.  That’s all.”

Angelica furrows her brow curiously.

“Nashville, sis?  Really?”

“Yes, and if you will note, that happens to be where Breakdown will be taking place.  Trenton and I will already be there.  We just want a few days to ourselves to have fun, to enjoy ourselves, and then I’ll meet you somewhere so we can plan and prepare for this match.”

Angelica sighs and nods her head.

“I’m not sure about this.  I still think we need more time to prepare for this, but…”

She grins.

“…you two deserve it, so I guess I’ll do some preparing on my own.  You kids go and enjoy yourselves.”

Kayla smirks.

“Kids, Angelica?  I’m not THAT much younger than you.”

Trenton stands up.  This catches Kayla and Angelica both off guard, but nowhere near as much as what he’s about to say will.

“One more time…may I have your attention?”

Once again the crowd in attendance silences and they pay close attention to the groom, to Trenton Snow.

“Just like my wife and my new sister-in-law already said, thank you for coming.  We greatly appreciate it.  But right now…”

He holds out his hand to Kayla.

“…I’d like to have the first dance with my beautiful wife.  Kayla, if you please?”

Kayla takes his hand and then gets up from the table.  Kayla and Trenton step out onto the dance floor, surrounded by the various tables in the auditorium.  The music spun around them, lifting away gravity.  Kayla couldn’t count how many times she had squished his foot under her own.  But it didn’t matter.  Trenton didn’t care, either.  They both still smiled brightly as their heels clicked over the floor.  Trenton watched as Kayla’s hair spun out and bounced more with each move and beat.  This was perfect.  They continued to dance and spin. The lights were twinkling with every step as Kayla spun in delicate circles, her beautiful purple dress billowing out and about.  She used to love things like this, the pressure of a warm hand on her back and the feeling of her small agile feet gliding along the floor.  But lately she had never had a real reason to dance.  She had never wanted to because she had no one to dance with.  Now she has Trenton and she feels free, like a small bird learning how to fly, flailing around and finally taking off with outstretched wings and wind swept feathers.

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Scene 2

Off Camera

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It is widely known that Boston, Massachusetts is the seat of power for the Jones family, but for Angelica Jones in particular there is one other city that she considers a home away from home; Nashville, Tennessee.  Angelica Jones began a career as a country music recording artist back in 2003 by signing with Big Machine Records.  In 2003 she released her first album, “Firestar”.    Her second album was released in 2005, “I Light the Fire”.  She could’ve built up a very promising career in country music but she had to put her career on hold after the 2005 album when she returned to Global Division of Wrestling in 2007 to serve as company president for a brief period of time.  Angelica would resume her singing career by releasing another album in 2014 titled “Legacy”, a play of her promise to revive her legacy.  2014 would prove to be the final year with Big Machine Records, as Angelica would sever ties, choosing instead to work with her sister Kayla Jones, who set up a small headquarters in Nashville so that her company, Jones Incorporated, could get involved in the music recording industry.  In 2015 and 2016 Angelica would release two albums while with Kayla’s company, titled “Welcome To My World” and “Game Changer” respectively.

Needless to say, it’s difficult for Angelica to go anywhere and not get recognized.  Most of the time she gets recognized as a pro-wrestler but in this case, as she and her sister Kayla and Kayla’s new husband Trenton Snow gather in a bar in downtown Nashville, she is recognized as the singing wrestler recording artist.  Her mere presence sparks rumors that perhaps she is already preparing to produce another album.  But that isn’t the case…

Kayla Jones-Snow and Trenton Snow are here on their honeymoon, as they just got married a few days ago.  They chose to honeymoon in Nashville.  Kayla has been there before due to her business dealings with the music industry, but she never spent a great deal of time here, and the time she spent was just for pure business.  She never enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city.  And Trenton has never been period.  The fact that Nashville is the host city of the first SCW Breakdown of 2017 also helps, for Kayla is already here and ready to go.

Angelica Jones came down later, giving Kayla and Trenton time to enjoy themselves. But Angelica doesn’t get the same time enjoy herself; not just because she has a match to prepare for, but also because she’s recognized in this city.

Kayla and her husband Trenton are in a booth in a corner.  Much like most bars in this city, there is a stage for recording artists and wannabe sings to entertain the crowd.  Most of the  well known singers don’t lower themselves to performing at bars.  Angelica is much better than a wannabe but she is no Taylor Swift.  Besides, she has no problem entertaining the fans who helped make her famous.  That’s what brought her to the stage, in front of the microphone, singing a Loretta Lynn classic…

“You've come to tell me something you say I ought to know, That he don't love me anymore and I'll have to let him go”

A waitress stops by and drops two bottles of beer, a Budweiser in front of Kayla and a Jack Daniels in front of Trenton.  Kayla and Trenton click their bottles together and then, in unison take sips of their beer as they listen to Angelica.

“You say you're gonna take him oh but I don't think you can, cause you ain't woman enough to take my man!  Women like you they're a dime a dozen you can buy 'em anywhere.  For you to get to him I'd have to move over…”

Angelica stomps her high heeled foot on the hardwood floor.

“…I'm gonna stand right here!  It'll be over my dead body so get out while you can. Cause you ain't woman enough to take my man!”

Trenton nods his head, seemingly impressed by what he sees and hears on stage.

“Your sister is real good.”

“You’re just now figuring that out?  We may have just got married but we’ve been together for over a year, in that year Angelica released an album.  My recording label helped her put it together, sweetie, and you just NOW figure out that your sister-in-law is a good singer?”

Trenton smiles sheepishly.

“Sorry?”

Kayla chuckles.

“I’d superkick you if we weren’t sitting down.”

“Sometimes a man start lookin' at things that he don't need.  He took a second look at you but he's in love with me.”

Angelica shakes her head.

“Well I don't know where that leave you oh but I know where I'll stand!  And you ain't woman enough to take my man!  Women like you they're a dime...No you ain't woman enough to take my man!”

The music dies down and the crowd of patrons at this bar all applaud and cheer Angelica’s performance.  She smiles and waves politely to them all before stepping down off of the stage.  Angelica then moves across the floor and takes her place at the booth, sitting across from Kayla and Trenton.

“So, how did I do?”

“You did great.”

Kayla shoots Trenton a smirk.

“Someone sitting at this table didn’t realize you were such a great singer.”

Angelica grins knowingly.

“Oh really?  Is that true, Trenton?”

Trenton shrugs his shoulders.

“Yeah, I guess I’m guilty.  But you were really good.”

“Well since you gave me such praise I guess I can forgive you!”

The waitress returns to the table and smiles as she looks at Angelica.

“You were great, Ms. Jones!”

“Thanks, but please don’t be formal.  Call me Angelica.”

“Well you were great, Angelica.  May I get you something to drink?”

“Uh…”

She looks at the Budweiser in her sister’s hand points towards it.

“…I’ll have one of those!”

“A Budweiser?”

Angelica grins.

“Oh is that what you call it?”

The waitress giggles.

“I’ll bring you one right away.”

The waitress walks away to fill the order.  Angelica then turns back to face Kayla and Trenton.

“Are you two enjoying yourselves?”

“I love it.  The Country Music Hall of Fame was amazing and the General Jackson Showboat was a spectacle that I won’t forget for a long time.”

Angelica shoots a look at Kayla.

“What about you?  You’ve been here before but never bothered to see the sights.”

Kayla nods her head.

“That’s true, and I regret not seeing them before.  Though being a history buff I think seeing Andrew Jackson’s home, The Hermitage, was the best.”

The waitress returns with another bottle of Budweiser and places it in front of Angelica.  After thanking the waitress, the matriarch of the Jones family takes the beer and starts to sip.

“Trenton and I should return sometime when we have more time to enjoy everything, considering the fact that playtime is nearly over.”

Angelica places her bottle down and then nods her head in agreement.

“You’re right, we have a tag team match to win.”

“I know, and I definitely know how important this is to The Sisterhood.  We’ve been distracted by wars with The Daughters of Darkness and Jake Starr.  It got us nowhere.  Breakdown is our chance to refocus on those tag team championships.  And we have to be ready for anything.  You know what Cain and Wiseman are capable of.”

Angelica nods her head.

“I know all too well.  There are others who know.  It wasn’t that long ago that they played some of their mind games with Dawn Lohan.  I fully intend to talk to her and see if there’s anything extra she can share with me regarding Tainted Justice.”

“You two are worrying too much.”

Trenton kisses Kayla on her cheek.

“You are the best tag team in SCW.  You’ll do fine.  You’ll blow Tainted Justice out of the water.”

Kayla sighs and shakes her head.

“No, we’re not the best.  Whoever has those tag team titles have the right to claim to be the best.  Unfortunately, that team isn’t us.  That team is Blake and Bree.”

“But we still hold a victory over the former tag team champions back when they held the gold.  We were the only team to manage pull out a win over Gable and Autumn when they were champions and we did it twice.  Both times were non-title.  We can do it again, Kayla.  We can beat Blake and Bree if given the shot.  We just have to prove to Mr. D and SCW that we deserve that opportunity and this match against Tainted Justice is our time to do just that.”

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On Camera

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Click…click…click…

That’s the sound of high heels across concrete floor.  It’s the sound of a female approaching the empty set with an SCW logo backdrop.  The clicking noise gets louder until Angelica Jones steps out into the scene from stage left.  She is wearing a strapless red top that is slightly décolleté, just low enough to see her shoulders and just a small amount of her breasts.  The bottom half is encased in a red A-Line skirt with a hemline that stops just below the knee.  She is wearing black high heeled sandals on her feet.  Her long hair is naturally red and is left to hang unrestrained to shoulder length.

Click…click…click…

The clicking noise returns.  Someone else is approaching but we are not kept waiting very long.  Kayla Jones steps into the scene from stage right.  She is wearing a black pantsuit with a matching black blazer, white button up silk blouse, and black high heeled pumps.  Her long naturally red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  Angelica is the first to speak.

“It’s no secret that 2016 has not been that great of a year for The Sisterhood.  To be perfectly frank, I would like to go right into 2017, leaving 2016 in the dust and forget it ever happened.  But we can’t just forget 2016.  We can never ever forget the past.  I am a firm believer that if you do not learn from the past that we are doomed to repeat it.”

Kayla nods her head in agreement.

“There is no better picture of that past than Tainted Justice.  Vixen Cain and Merrick Wiseman play their childish little mind games at every turn.  Cain and Wiseman are not interested in competition, they just want to win by any means necessary, even if that means ruining relationships or damaging someone’s psyche or whatever other dumb mind games they can come up with.”

Kayla motions to herself and Angelica.

“When you look at The Sisterhood, what you see is what you get and what you get are two of the toughest bitches in professional wrestling.  What you get are two no nonsense athletes who will lay it all out there in the center of the ring as we try to win, because we know in a straight up match, The Sisterhood has the ability to beat any tag team on the SCW roster.  That includes our current champions.”

“How do I know this?  Is there any other tag team on the SCW roster who actually managed a victory over Gable Winchester and Autumn Valentine during their historic run with the gold last year?”

Both Angelica and Kayla shake their heads in unison.

“No other team except The Sisterhood managed to pull it off and we did it twice in non-title action.  We know that if we could do that, then we can be the team that dethrones Blake and Bree and send happiness and joy throughout the SCW locker room.  But Angelica and I aren’t going  to demand a title shot like some children on this roster.  We are going to go about things the old fashioned way and EARN our way back into title contention and if that means taking on Tainted Justice then so be it.  We’ll gladly give Cain and Wiseman a fight that they won’t forget.  Angelica and I welcome healthy competition and we’re certain Cain and Wiseman can give back just as much as we can dish out.”

Angelica smirks.

“Don’t mistake what my sister is telling you for weakness.  We do value competition and if Tainted Justice fights us straight up with none of their games, then there’s no issue.  May the best team win.  But their actions as of late are well known.  They framed Ravyn Taylor for an assault on Dawn Lohan in order to move in on the United States Championship contention.  In a tag team match at Hell Hath No Fury they forced the owner of this company, Mr. D, wrestle in a damn match!  So I ask you, what kind of people assault someone from behind?  What kind of people forces a non-wrestler to compete?”

Angelica’s smirk turns into an angry glare.

“Cowards do that.  If Cain and Wiseman had courage, they would’ve challenged Dawn face to face for the United States Championship.  If Cain and Wiseman had courage they would have fought Amy Chastaine and Shane Lawson themselves instead of forcing Mr. D into the ring.”

She shakes her head.

“So we’re not under any false impressions that Tainted Justice will fight us in a fair fight.  Like I said, you need to LEARN from the past or you are doomed to repeat it and The Sisterhood has learned from the past crimes of Tainted Justice and we know exactly what to expect from those two clowns.  We can expect them to pull out every trick in the book in order to cheat us out of a win.  They will use every stupid childish mind game they can think of to try and throw us off of our game.”

Angelica smirks.

“It’s been said by certain United States politicians that ‘when they go low, we go high’…but when Tainted Justice goes low, we can do worse.  They can use every dirty trick in the book if they want…”

She pats herself on the chest.

“…but I WROTE the damn book.”

Kayla grins knowingly.

“This match is about moving on from 2016 and moving forward with a new focus into 2017 as we continue our quest to win the SCW World Tag Team Championships.  That quest continues in 2017 against Vixen Cain and Merrick Wiseman.  The Sisterhood will kick 2017 off by kicking their teeth right down their throat!”