[FGA 001] Trading Up

[Deleted]

[FGA 001]
- Trading Up -

//take one//

"Alright. Is the camera on?"

"Yes, the camera's on."

"You're sure of this? I don't see a blinking red light."

"Blinking red light? What is this, 1997? Yes, the camera's on. It is recording. Start talking."

"Very well. Oh, my. It's been a while. I'm not entirely sure what I should say."

"You're the professional wrestler, sweetie. Not me. Just speak from the heart."

"Right, yes. Of course. Let's see..." A pause. "Fable Rowen is feces."

"Okay. Well, then. Good first try. Uh, let's take a short break. Maybe work out a game plan together, and then we'll come back to this."

//take two//

"Are we good now? Are you feeling a little more confident?"

"Confidence was never the issue, Morgan. I know I'm going to emerge victorious against Fable. I'm simply a tad bit out of practice when it comes to speaking ill of my opponent."

"Well, then... don't speak ill of your opponent. Just explain to the world why you're going to win."

"Emerge victorious."

"Same thing, babe."

"Mine sounds so much more defined. You know, regal."

"Is that what wrestlers are going for these days? Regality?"

Another pause. "They should be."

//take thirteen//

"I'm running out of juice here, babe."

"I'm working on it. Being better than somebody else is an art."

A bemused snort. "Is it now?"

"You're patronizing me."

"Only a little bit, hon. Only a little bit."

"Alright. Shall I begin?"

"Good God, yes. Please. I am STARVING, chica."

"As you wish, m'lady." A smirk. "Two weeks ago, I was approached by one of my good friends, Emily Corlen, to help her with a new project. She was signing with a company called Frontier Grappling Arts, a wrestling federation, and she wanted a camerawoman to follow her around and document her rise to the top of the FGA. She came to yours truly, naturally, and I accepted. I'm not entirely sure why, looking back. Technology is not my strong suit."

"It's true. I've seen Ali do rows of long division in her head without missing a beat, yet be stymied for hours trying to figure out how to set the time on her microwave."

"Thank you for the assistance, Morgan."

"Anytime, my dear!" A giggle and a loud, blown kiss in Alison's direction.

"Regardless of my own trepidation, I accepted the role to aid Emily, if only because she was instrumental in helping me get my first job in the wrestling business as a member of the True Glory Wrestling roster back in 2011. The least I could do now, to thank her, was help her when she came to me with a simple request. Of course, nothing in this world is ever simple, and this situation ended up being no different."

Chicago, Illinois. The city was not unfamiliar to Alison James. Born and raised in Panama City, Florida, Alison had moved to Chicago for a time in 2012 in an effort to help Jen Corlen take care of her eight year old daughter following a horrific car accident that left the former Blazenwing Wrestling Federation C.E.O. paralyzed from the waist down. Alison was probably considered an introvert by some; after all, she never met a book she didn't like more than most people she was introduced to. The Corlen family was different. Alison regarded the sisters Emily and Jen like her own family. Certainly, they had always provided for her when she needed it. It was just the kind of people they were.

Today, though... something was different. Alison wasn't sure what, but she knew. She always knew.

Just a few short days prior, Emily had contacted Alison and asked her for a favor; she wanted Alison to help her resurrect her old Youtube show, E-Phoend TV, as a means of recording promo tapes for the new company she had only just signed with, Frontier Grappling Arts. The previous night when Emily had called Alison, she assumed the former World Champion had simply wanted to talk shop. What she got instead surprised her - Emily sounded different. Shaken. Almost scared. It was that thought that hung over Alison with a sense of foreboding even as she entered the coffee shop and saw Emily already seated in the far corner, away from prying eyes.

Alison walked up to the counter and, after some difficulty, caught the attention of the grungy looking high school dropout brewing frappuccinos. "Excuse me. Sir. Sir? I'd like to... sir? Hi. Over here. Hello. I'd like to order a small coffee, please."

The barista (if you could call him that) looked little Alison up and down for a moment before snorting loudly. "You want anything in it?"

Alison took a step back. "No, no. Just coffee. Black. Please and thank you."

"Kay." The man went to work on Alison's order as she glanced over at Emily's table. The woman who once ruled the wrestling world hadn't even noticed her, and in fact, seemed lost in thought as she absentmindedly stuck her finger in and out of the top of what appeared to be an iced tea. Alison's brow furrowed as the coffee bitch cleared his throat loudly, snapping her out of her concern. "Coffee's done. $2.66."

Alison reached into her pocket and pulled out a balled-up five that she quickly unfurled and handed to the grungy man. He clicked a few numbers, opened the register and provided Alison with her change. She counted it three times just to be safe. "Thank you." Without so much as another word, the barista turned away from the counter and pulled his phone out of his pocket, signaling the end of the exchange. Alison's eyes widened a bit and a voiceless 'wow' left her tongue as she made her way over to the corner where her friend was waiting for her. She sidled up next to Emily and laid her hand gently on Em's shoulder. "Hey, boss lady." No response. Alison frowned slightly as she pulled out the chair across from Emily and sat down. "Nice place you got here."

Silence for a few moments. "It's fine."

"Yeah. Totally." Awkward as hell. More silence followed, Emily never once glancing up from her drink. As the situation grew more awkward by the moment, Alison lifted her small coffee up and took a sip, only to cough loudly moments later.

Emily finally looked up, her head tilting slightly. "You okay, kid?" Alison set her drink down, shaking her head.

"No, no, I'm fine, it's... ugh. Wasn't expecting that."

"Hm?"

"I asked for black coffee. This is far too sweet."

Without asking, Emily reached over and picked up Ali's coffee before taking a sip. "...tastes like creamer and a touch of cinnamon. You sure you asked for it straight?"

"Definitely."

"Maybe the barista is sweet on you." Emily chuckles softly. "You wanna break it to him, or should I?"

Alison shook her head, smiling a little. It wasn't a secret to anybody who knew her that Alison was an out-of-the-closet lesbian. It wasn't something she ever felt the need to hide, simply because it wasn't something she was ashamed of. As far as she could rationalize, who she was attracted to was as natural as the fact that she loved to read. It was merely a part of who she was; nothing more, nothing less. Although certainly, even if she had been straight or even bi, the icky looking barista would have been the last guy she would have tried to pursue, if only because it looked as though he was a cosplay artist portraying Pigpen from Peanuts.

"So," Emily began, snapping Alison out of her current train of thought, "I called you out to Chicago for a reason."

Alison nodded. "Right, I figure you want to go over your first promo for FGA, right? Have you found out who you're facing on July 6th?"

A pause. "Well... that's just the thing. I, uh... I'm not facing anybody."

Alison arched an eyebrow. "Oh. Did your debut get pushed back? I certainly hope they didn't cut you for some reason!"

"No, no, nothing like that. Uh... geez. How do I put this... I just... hmm."

Alison fidgeted in her seat, mostly because the turn in this conversation was making her uncomfortable and she was rather desperate to see where it ended up. "You just what? You can tell me, Em. We're practically sisters."

Emily glanced up at Alison, smiling widely. "Thanks, kiddo. I needed to hear that right now." Emily paused again before continuing. "I had to pull out of FGA."

Alison's eyes widened for the second time since entering the coffee shop. "What? Why? What happened?"

"I..." Emily looked down for a moment. "I can't say right now. Not until I talk to the right people. But, well... my wrestling career might be in jeopardy."

"Oh, no... are you..." Alison leaned in close, her voice lowering to a whisper. "...pregnant?"

Emily sighed. "Seriously, I think I'm starting to get offended that everybody thinks I'm packing one in the oven. Have I gained that much weight?"

"No, I'm just trying to figure out what it could be. Are you..." Ali lowers her voice to a whisper again. "...are you carrying diseases?"

"Good lord. No! I said I can't say, alright? Can we just drop it?"

Alison leaned back, slightly confused and a little bit miffed. "Um, well... if you didn't call me here to tell me why you're dropping out of FGA, then why did you call me here in the first place? Don't take this the wrong way, Em, but this is a conversation we could have had over the phone. Such as when you called me the first time to ask me to fly out here and meet you."

"You're right. Absolutely you're right. I did call you out here, though, with important news."

Alison smiled. "Okay! Now we're getting somewhere! What is it?"

Em hesitated for a moment. "I may have told FGA to book you in my place. And by may have, I mean I definitely did."

Silence for what seemed like a good solid minute. "Um... come again?"

"YOU have a match with FGA! Isn't that fantastic?"

Alison wasn't sure if 'fantastic' was the word she would have used at this particular moment. "You didn't even think to run it by me first?"

"I sort of assumed you would say yes."

"That's awfully rude of you, Emily."

Emily sighed. "I know, I know. I was put on the spot, I panicked and I threw your name into the hat. I'm sorry, kiddo."

Another long pause. "Do you know who I'm facing?"

Emily's look of shame slowly changed into one of cautious optimism. "You mean... you'll do it?"

Alison shrugged. "You don't turn your back on family, and that includes both Jen and yourself. If you need me to perform in your stead, then that is exactly what I will do."

"Do more than that, Alison. Go out there and kick some ass."

"I assumed that was implied. After all... that's what I do."

//take thirteen, continued//

"For reasons she could not explain to myself nor anybody else, Emily was forced to pull out of FGA before her debut match. Little did I know, instead of simply awarding the match to her listed opponent, Fable Rowen, she went to FGA management and offered myself up in her place. I was placed into this contest, this Frontier Lions Cup Qualifier, without so much as a 'how do you do' from the individuals running this organization, and I must say... I think I rather like it that way."

"She's a bit shy on her own. Trust me when I say you have to force Ali into most things she ends up enjoying."

Bright blushing. "Morgan."

"Oh, that is adorable. My little strawberry savant!"

"I'm allergic to strawberries."

"You're allergic to most things, hun. How long was that list you brought with on our first date?"

"Irrelevant."

"Frankly, I'm surprised you don't die just from stepping outside most days."

"Some days, you're not alone in that surprise."

"Focus, sweetie."

"Quite right. Emily took her leave and suddenly, I found myself thrust into the spotlight against a woman I knew next to nothing about, nearly ten months after wrestling my last match. Realistically, one might assume that this gives Fable Rowen the advantage in our match Saturday night. However, I hold one advantage over Fable. A fatal flaw that she can never overcome."

"And that is?"

"I am a James. She is no one."

"Succinct."

"I've read your dossier, Fable. Knowledge is power, and now, I know what you're all about. I would weigh my own tattered personal life growing up against your own, but this is professional wrestling, not a soap opera. I will say this; perhaps your father was absent, but at least he was alive. I also imagine you never spent an extended period of time in the ICU because your own mother nearly beat you to death in a drunken rage."

"You're getting a little heavy, hun. Especially after you said you wouldn't."

A slow exhale. "You're right. Thank you, Morgan."

"De nada." A wink.

"I brought up that sliver of my past to say this. For both of us, our pasts defined who we became before we stepped into the squared circle. However, they do not define us now, nor will they if we do not let them. You are a nice, friendly person, Fable, if your dossier is to be trusted. Despite what I'm likely to say about you by the end of this video, I hold no ill will against you, nor do I expect you will hold any against me. We are not like The Murder. We are not like Chris Q. We are better then they are.  A different breed from the normal variety of Neanderthals who typically populate this profession and only care about ruining their opponents dreams - or worse. With that being said? You're going to discover very quickly what it means to step into the ring with a true professional in Hartford, Connecticut. You wish to show the world that you are, and I quote, "the BEST wrestler". While you focus on the monumental task of living up to such a colossal statement in what I can best figure is your debut match in professional wrestling, I instead simply intend on showing you and the rest of FGA why I became the TGW Volitionary Champion in only my third professional match almost two years ago."

"Impressive."

"It runs in the family. Fable, while you were watching wrestling as the means to an end, I was in the ring, training with my two Hall of Fame sisters, Sarah and Katie. You're not the only one to graduate Valedictorian; I just simply don't see the need to brag about it. If I were truly looking to boast, I would mention that I just completed my Bachelor's Degree a few weeks prior to today."

"She's 20."

"I was vaunting, Morgan."

"So sorry. Please, continue."

"Not necessary. I believe Fable is starting to see where I'm going with this. Everything she has done in her own life, I have as well - only in a more impressive manner. She comes from a family that enjoyed wrestling. I come from one that has bred World Champions and legendary performers. Fable has 'Daddy issues'. Mine is buried somewhere in Florida. I am Fable Rowen if Fable Rowen had credibility. Indeed, for Fable, professional wrestling is an escape from what she perceives as a horrible home life. In truth, it is nothing more than a discovery of the one thing in life she wasn't completely horrible at, one small iota of self-worth, that she now intends on latching onto with the hope that with enough faith, anything is possible."

"And what is professional wrestling for you?"

"My life."

"Poignant. Though, I expected you would say that intelligence, the search for knowledge, is your life, what with the way you're constantly pouring yourself into studies of any and every topic you can find."

"Intelligence is simply a facet of who I am. It is a truth that I have never attempted to hide or somehow utilize to make others appreciate me. Never once in my life have I tried to be the cutesy gamer girl nerd who everybody likes and or wants to 'get with'. I don't even like video games."

"Maybe you and Fable aren't so alike after all."

"Perhaps not. From what I've been able to discern regarding her personality profile, Fable Rowen is a 'nerd' much in the same way the characters of The Big Bang Theory are 'nerds'. That is to say, not at all."

A short, interested pause. "Oh?"

"Admittedly, I don't watch much television, but Katie thought I would enjoy a show based around a cast of, and I quote, 'eggheads like you'. Her words. What I witnessed, however, was everything but. These individuals were nothing like me. Their 'nerdiness' was nothing more than a punch line in between bad puns and far more sexual intercourse than any real nerd has ever seen in their lifetime. Fable reminds me of these men and women. She is a nerd because somehow, being a nerd is in right now." Airquotes. "I never went to parties. I had no friends. I sat at home, cleaned my glasses and read Stephen Hawking. I did not play Super Mario for entertainment; I sought out complex math equations through whatever means necessary. When other children my age were pouring alcohol down their gullets and accidentally procreating behind the dumpsters at my high school's prom, I was studying the stars and constellations."

"I feel bad for you, Colibrí."

"Don't. I wouldn't change a bit of it. I am who I am. I've never wanted to be anything different."

"Besides, you're not totally alone. You have me."

"I do?"

"You do."

A wide smile. Soft blushing. "Ahem. Where was I... yes. Fable Rowen has the grades. I'm not saying she's not intelligent; I'm sure if I weren't around, she could be a very dependable, if not distant, second in the search for aptitude. Her brand of 'nerd', however, is anything but. I point this out to all of you now because it is a perfect reflection of our FGA contest coming up in a few days. Fable Rowen has training, but she has not yet established whether or not she is capable of capitalizing on that training. Much like she is not representative of what a 'real' nerd is, Fable is likewise not evocative of what a recognized professional wrestler is. I am the proven entity going into our match. I am the woman who has found victory against the odds. I am the woman who has defeated former World Champions and, more than once, left an entire arena's mouths agape with wonder. Fable Rowen is, at least for now, a pretender. One day, perhaps, she will still make something of herself. Everybody has to start somewhere, after all. Saturday night, however, is mine and mine alone. This is not the beginning of Fable Rowen's story. It is the continuation of my own." Another smile. Confident.

"My battery is about to die, babe. Do you have any parting words?"

"Only this. Your odds of winning this match are mathematically incalculable, Fable. But please, don't let that stop you from trying. I'd be disappointed if my debut match in FGA were too easy. Everything happens for a reason, including Emily's withdrawal. I will be the winner of our match Saturday night, and I will be the eventual holder of the 2013 Frontier Lions Cup. That's not a boast. That's simple fact."

Cut to static.