Post by "Lady Luck" Fujiko Mine on Feb 21, 2015 14:42:35 GMT -5
I’m finally here.
I’m finally ready for my chance to step up and achieve my dreams.
In order to do that? I have to force Nyako to submit, or keep her shoulders to the mat for a three count. I’m not focused on anything else other than this. I’m blocking out every single match before this, and any potential ones after.
Nyako, you have my one-hundred percent, undivided attention.
Darling, I bet you think I’m overestimating you because of your match against Crystal. I’m not overestimating you at all. Every wrestler has an off-night. Mine was last iPPV against Kate Steele. I feel like you could have won, but Crystal managed to get the victory. That match doesn’t have much bearings on this upcoming Sunday.
BUT…
I do feel that your showing as champion does have a bearing on this match. To be flat, Nyako, you haven’t really done much of anything. You’re kind of just a placeholder. You show up when you’re asked to, and you wrestle and leave. It’s like you don’t really care. And let me tell you, I certainly do.
I plan on being champion, and not a placeholder. I plan on not only winning the Marquee championship, but being a champion that this company can be proud of. One that is there at every event, ready to make an impact. Not one that takes the title home with them, and hides away from the world.
I don’t know if you were interested in the Marquee title for the fame, for the fortune, or so that you could be part of the lineage of that title. But that doesn’t really matter now. All that matters is that you are going to have to not only defend that Marquee championship against me, but you’ll have to defend your reasons, as well. I’m going to expose you in that match, Nyako...and your reasons for virtually disappearing.
You can look at me and say ‘oh Fujiko, you haven’t been much more present’. Let me point out to you that not only am I interacting with my peers and fans on social media, but that I have not lost a match on LAW TV. I’ve been there, entertaining the fans.
And I plan on continuing to do so, with that title that you hold in your possession.
Please, spit silly, baseless insults at me. Please, make this easy for me by being unoriginal. Do whatever you feel you have to in your last throes as champion. I will call it your death rattle. The final shakes of the outdated, soon to be former champion.
Now, don’t get me mistaken. I am certainly scared here. I know that as a champion, you are going to do what you can to try and keep your championship. I know that you have your ‘champions advantage’, in that you can get counted out or disqualified and still keep your title.
I’m not scared of you, though. I’m well aware of what you’re capable of. I’ve been watching you, trying to learn about your nuances, and your tells here and there. I have studied you immensely, Nyako.
To you, this is just a title defense. It’s a match that you want to win so that you can hang onto the Marquee title, and say you beat me in your second defense of the title.
To me, this is so much more than just a simple match. This is my first ever chance to achieve what I set out to do years ago, when I first said I wanted to become a professional wrestler.
This is the culmination of all that hard work, all the sweat, tears, and pain. Every time I came to a dead end, or something got in my way; and trust me, that has happened plenty of times., that has brought me to this moment.
So now, I bet you’re saying something about how long it’s taken me to get to this moment. Or maybe you think I don’t deserve to be here.
To that: I can’t concern myself with what you think. Plenty of people have been given opportunities that others feel they didn’t deserve. I can’t concern myself with what anyone else thinks, including Kate Steele. As far as it goes with me talking so long to get here? That’s the past. I can’t control any of it. I won’t dwell on it either. Now that the time is almost here, I don’t care about anything other than seizing the moment.
You can talk about trying to stop the storybook ending of my career, or how about I’ve come this far to fail, or whatever. Try and convince everyone, including yourself, that you can beat me. Tell me, and them, about how you are somehow superior.
Or, surprise me and show me the respect I deserve. Tell me about how you’re looking forward to the match, to this defense, and how you hope that you will show everyone you deserve to be the champ.
But your words will mean absolutely nothing now. You can spout a veritable tome of reasons as to why you think I won’t win the Marquee title, or why you think you’ll retain.
I will just tell you flat out, Nyako. I have the drive, the determination, the ability, and the heart to take that away from you and win this match AND the title. And I have waited far, far too long to blow this opportunity, especially against someone who can barely be bothered to show up, regardless of whether the title is on the line or not.
I’ve given no less than a hundred and ten percent from the moment I stepped into the ring for the first time in LAW, and it shows.
Nyako, when you face me in the ring at Rising Stars, look me in the eyes. If at that point you don’t believe that your time as champion is numbered, then you never will. But I start a brand new chapter of my life on Sunday. The chapter with me as new Marquee champion.
I’m not coming into this as Lady Luck. I’m not coming into this as the Boob Goddess. I’m not coming into this as the Anti-Gravity Girl. I’m coming into this just as Fujiko Mine.
The woman who wants this win more than you want to breathe.
Good luck.
I shook my hands, trying to work the nerves away. I was still a few days away from my fateful meeting at Rising Stars, but it felt as if I was already halfway through blowing it. Looking around the empty gym, known as the lab, in St. Louis; I was thankful that I was allowed the chance to work out in the off hours. I couldn’t think of anything other than trying to shore up my defenses. I wanted to find any the weaknesses that Nyako could exploit and shield them over.
I didn’t want her to have any sort of advantage. I wanted Nyako to go into that match with utmost confidence, and then have it stripped away from her, bit by bit. I hoped that I was making enough progress from the last couple of weeks. It might not have been too much, but I was hoping that it was going to be enough. I wasn’t interested in some ‘dominating’ performance where there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that I should have won the match. All I wanted to do was win by pinfall, or submission. Iwasn’t going to be picky about it in the slightest. Let people talk, they were going to no matter what happened. Opinions would be given, just like they were when I witnessed Tj winning the PDW Platinum championship. I fully expected to be hit with nonsense. But I had to win, first.
I’d spent most of the day working my muscles, trying to gain a little bit more out of them before the night was done. I would give them time to rest Saturday night, when it would be my mind’s turn to work. I’d stay watching footage on Nyako, and myself. I was going to study myself. It wasn’t going to be enough to figure Nyako out from top to bottom. It would be best for me to look at my own ticks and tells. I was going to revamp them, and minimize any advantage that the champion might use against me.
I took a second to look at the time. It was four thirty-six in the morning. I glanced over at my detail, both of whom gave me a courteous nod before turning their attention away from me and at the entrance again. Jason and Alex were two of my favorites, and regularly joined me on errand detail. I didn’t see much of a reason for them to be present, but I wasn’t about to argue. It was better to be safe. Besides, this was time that I could be training while Nyako was wasting her own time.
I took a second to decide if I wanted to work on the leg press, or the lat pull when something caught my eye. Rather, it wasn’t something...but some/one/. I was confused, then on my guard. But then I noticed a key detail. Neither Jason nor Alex moved. They were letting this person pass through their guard. I turned my full attention towards the interloper, and quickly realized who it was.
The blonde woman with messy, flowing curls that bounced as she walked gave me a smile. I felt my breath catch in my throat. I knew those beautiful blue eyes anywhere.
She was my former tag team partner, Stacia Chamera. Well now, she was now known as Stacia Werth. She’d since re-married since we last teamed together. It had been years, now that I gave it thought. Five, at this point. Five years since the divatastic duo last came together in a ring.
But here was a small reunion of sorts.
"Heya, Fujiko…" I couldn’t help but grin as I saw her. I bounded to my feet, and gave her something of a hug-tackle. She patted at my back, and rocked with me. "Staciiiiiaaaaa! It’s so good to see you!" As I broke from the hug, she smiled back at me.
"It’s so good to see you too!" A part of me wondered what she was doing out here at this time of morning. Enough of me thought about it to the point that it flowed out as my next comment. "What the heck are you doing out here? It’s super early!"
Stacia just offered up a smile. "I was in town, and I heard from a little bird that you were around and preparing for a big match. The biggest one, in fact." She had a bit of a coy look on her face as she said this. I chose to ignore it, over my excitement in seeing her. "Well, thus far, anyway."
She was clad in a pair of blue jeans and a long shirt, and in her left hand hung the fuzzy winter coat she had to endure the cold outside.
"Even bigger than than us winning the GWO tag team titles?" I giggled a little at the joke. There was no official match, we were awarded them by our mentor, Tj Jones, who won the titles on his own and gave them to us not long before the company folded. Thinking back on it, it gave me a little bit of a melancholy feeling, thinking about holding those titles and watching them lose value as the owners and administration of that company neglected to stay in contact. It was a thought we could reminisce on another time.
"Yes, even bigger than that match, yes." She grinned. "And bigger than the HiWF tag titles, hm?"
A touch more serious this time. I hesitated before nodding. Her facial muscles didn’t even twitch, but I could tell that she was putting some feeling into the comment.
"Stacia, yes. It is." I took a moment to register that she might be hurt by that comment. That title match was not a joke. It was easily the hardest fight of our lives at one point, and we held those titles like respectable champions. It was the only title I’d touched that I had been actually honored by holding. I wasn’t going to put too much stock into what that said about my career.
"Stacia, is this what you came here for?" She finally reacted. "Fujiko, I-" I didn’t endeavor to let her continue that thought. "Stacia, we took two completely different paths after that. You got married, and retired from active competition. I didn’t. I wanted to continue on as a wrestler. What am I supposed to do? Designate our ‘glory days’ as the best as thing that will ever happen to me and leave it at that?" I took a second, thinking that maybe I was getting a little carried away and riled up over this, but I kept going.
"I can’t do that, Stacia. My career has to continue, even if you stop. And I am going to have goals that are going to overreach what we did! You basically expected to stop, and me to just give up alongside you? No. I can’t do that. So yes, this really is the biggest match of my career. I’ve wanted this ever since you left. This is for me, yes, but it’s also for everyone who supported me when you decided this wasn’t for you anymore!" Stacia looked as if she wanted to interject, and I gave her the chance to, but she didn’t take it.
"I don’t blame you for any of it. Your life is just that, your life. You did what you thought was best. So now I’m doing what I think is best. We’re still friends, I think; but you aren’t allowed to give me...crap for living out my goals!"
Silence rang out between the both of us for a few moments. She looked at me with a slightly dumbfounded look before nodding and turning her eyes away. "You’re right, Fujicakes. I’m sorry. I guess I just got a little jealous from watching you succeed so much in LAW without me."
I tried to calm the flow of adrenaline and relax. Maybe the pressure of things was beginning to compound on me. In either event, I felt like I needed to jump to defend myself. Maybe I was too harsh.
"It’s..it’s alright, Stacia. I just...get a little tired of having to defend my actions. It’s getting close to crunch time, and I might be putting a bit too much pressure on myself." Stacia took a second, and then sat down on the bench press next to me. She let her coat drape to the floor as she looked at me. I noticed how sweaty I was, and felt a twinge of guilt that I hugged her so vigorously. "I...think I get it, Fujiko. I remember everyone betting against us when we were fighting alongside one another. I bet it’s worse now, when it’s just you out there, fighting on your own." I shook my head. While in theory she was right, it was different for me. "Stacia...you forget. I’ve got so many people in support. You, Thomas, Arkia-" Her eyes go wide at the mention of my former enemy. "Arkia?! Really?!" I gave her a little bit of a smile. "Yeah. She and I patched things up around the time Thomas got engaged. You didn’t know?"
She shook her head, her trepidation and unpleasant attitude vanishing. "Yeah. Things are better. Them, and friends that I’ve made. Like Nene, Kat Garrett, Sasha, Salem, and Mariah. The list goes on, and they’re behind me. So I just have to remember that people like you, and them are behind me. With that, I will be able to do what needs to be done and win the Marquee championship."
Stacia nods. She and I sit in silence for a few moments. Not the awkward kind, where one of us was waiting for the other to make a move, or something to that effect. After a few moments, I broke the silence, and turned towards her..
"Do you miss it? You know." There was another pause. Then… "A little. You know, here and there. Just times when I feel like I don’t know what to do with myself, or when my darling husband is away on business. But I don’t think I could ever come back. All that crap from before would just resurface. It would be too much. I’m…" She turns her eyes down again. "I’m not as strong as you are, Fujiko. I learned that the hard way."
More silence. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to revisit that dark time in my life. When I had to watch Stacia suffer through the end of her first marriage. It was too much to handle right now, especially considering what was at stake coming up.
"I guess we can agree to disagree, Stacia. We’ve both lost people. You with William, and me with Savannah…" Saying her name stung at me like the wound was freshly peeled at. I took a breath after saying her name. "But we made it. Somehow, we’ve both made it through without losing our minds completely. And we’ll continue to. But for now, I’m going to go to Rising Stars, and I’m going to win the title."
She leaned over and gave me a quick squeeze. I reciprocated as best I could. I really missed her. I could tell by the way that she hugged me that the feeling was mutual.
"C’mon girly, let’s get you a little rest. You /totally/ don’t want to overdo things, you know." She was right. I’d hate myself if overworked myself and lost because of it. I suppressed a laugh. She threw the word ‘totally’ on purpose. I threw in my customary response. It was our thing. "/Like/, yeah...yeah. Right. Thanks, Stacia. Let me just grab my things." I stood up, and she followed suit, both of us laughing a little bit. We gave each other a proper embrace, and I turned around and headed for the locker room. I took a glance back at her before heading to get my things. Hopefully soon, we would be in a more celebratory mood.
For both her sake, and mine.
I’m finally ready for my chance to step up and achieve my dreams.
In order to do that? I have to force Nyako to submit, or keep her shoulders to the mat for a three count. I’m not focused on anything else other than this. I’m blocking out every single match before this, and any potential ones after.
Nyako, you have my one-hundred percent, undivided attention.
Darling, I bet you think I’m overestimating you because of your match against Crystal. I’m not overestimating you at all. Every wrestler has an off-night. Mine was last iPPV against Kate Steele. I feel like you could have won, but Crystal managed to get the victory. That match doesn’t have much bearings on this upcoming Sunday.
BUT…
I do feel that your showing as champion does have a bearing on this match. To be flat, Nyako, you haven’t really done much of anything. You’re kind of just a placeholder. You show up when you’re asked to, and you wrestle and leave. It’s like you don’t really care. And let me tell you, I certainly do.
I plan on being champion, and not a placeholder. I plan on not only winning the Marquee championship, but being a champion that this company can be proud of. One that is there at every event, ready to make an impact. Not one that takes the title home with them, and hides away from the world.
I don’t know if you were interested in the Marquee title for the fame, for the fortune, or so that you could be part of the lineage of that title. But that doesn’t really matter now. All that matters is that you are going to have to not only defend that Marquee championship against me, but you’ll have to defend your reasons, as well. I’m going to expose you in that match, Nyako...and your reasons for virtually disappearing.
You can look at me and say ‘oh Fujiko, you haven’t been much more present’. Let me point out to you that not only am I interacting with my peers and fans on social media, but that I have not lost a match on LAW TV. I’ve been there, entertaining the fans.
And I plan on continuing to do so, with that title that you hold in your possession.
Please, spit silly, baseless insults at me. Please, make this easy for me by being unoriginal. Do whatever you feel you have to in your last throes as champion. I will call it your death rattle. The final shakes of the outdated, soon to be former champion.
Now, don’t get me mistaken. I am certainly scared here. I know that as a champion, you are going to do what you can to try and keep your championship. I know that you have your ‘champions advantage’, in that you can get counted out or disqualified and still keep your title.
I’m not scared of you, though. I’m well aware of what you’re capable of. I’ve been watching you, trying to learn about your nuances, and your tells here and there. I have studied you immensely, Nyako.
To you, this is just a title defense. It’s a match that you want to win so that you can hang onto the Marquee title, and say you beat me in your second defense of the title.
To me, this is so much more than just a simple match. This is my first ever chance to achieve what I set out to do years ago, when I first said I wanted to become a professional wrestler.
This is the culmination of all that hard work, all the sweat, tears, and pain. Every time I came to a dead end, or something got in my way; and trust me, that has happened plenty of times., that has brought me to this moment.
So now, I bet you’re saying something about how long it’s taken me to get to this moment. Or maybe you think I don’t deserve to be here.
To that: I can’t concern myself with what you think. Plenty of people have been given opportunities that others feel they didn’t deserve. I can’t concern myself with what anyone else thinks, including Kate Steele. As far as it goes with me talking so long to get here? That’s the past. I can’t control any of it. I won’t dwell on it either. Now that the time is almost here, I don’t care about anything other than seizing the moment.
You can talk about trying to stop the storybook ending of my career, or how about I’ve come this far to fail, or whatever. Try and convince everyone, including yourself, that you can beat me. Tell me, and them, about how you are somehow superior.
Or, surprise me and show me the respect I deserve. Tell me about how you’re looking forward to the match, to this defense, and how you hope that you will show everyone you deserve to be the champ.
But your words will mean absolutely nothing now. You can spout a veritable tome of reasons as to why you think I won’t win the Marquee title, or why you think you’ll retain.
I will just tell you flat out, Nyako. I have the drive, the determination, the ability, and the heart to take that away from you and win this match AND the title. And I have waited far, far too long to blow this opportunity, especially against someone who can barely be bothered to show up, regardless of whether the title is on the line or not.
I’ve given no less than a hundred and ten percent from the moment I stepped into the ring for the first time in LAW, and it shows.
Nyako, when you face me in the ring at Rising Stars, look me in the eyes. If at that point you don’t believe that your time as champion is numbered, then you never will. But I start a brand new chapter of my life on Sunday. The chapter with me as new Marquee champion.
I’m not coming into this as Lady Luck. I’m not coming into this as the Boob Goddess. I’m not coming into this as the Anti-Gravity Girl. I’m coming into this just as Fujiko Mine.
The woman who wants this win more than you want to breathe.
Good luck.
I shook my hands, trying to work the nerves away. I was still a few days away from my fateful meeting at Rising Stars, but it felt as if I was already halfway through blowing it. Looking around the empty gym, known as the lab, in St. Louis; I was thankful that I was allowed the chance to work out in the off hours. I couldn’t think of anything other than trying to shore up my defenses. I wanted to find any the weaknesses that Nyako could exploit and shield them over.
I didn’t want her to have any sort of advantage. I wanted Nyako to go into that match with utmost confidence, and then have it stripped away from her, bit by bit. I hoped that I was making enough progress from the last couple of weeks. It might not have been too much, but I was hoping that it was going to be enough. I wasn’t interested in some ‘dominating’ performance where there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that I should have won the match. All I wanted to do was win by pinfall, or submission. Iwasn’t going to be picky about it in the slightest. Let people talk, they were going to no matter what happened. Opinions would be given, just like they were when I witnessed Tj winning the PDW Platinum championship. I fully expected to be hit with nonsense. But I had to win, first.
I’d spent most of the day working my muscles, trying to gain a little bit more out of them before the night was done. I would give them time to rest Saturday night, when it would be my mind’s turn to work. I’d stay watching footage on Nyako, and myself. I was going to study myself. It wasn’t going to be enough to figure Nyako out from top to bottom. It would be best for me to look at my own ticks and tells. I was going to revamp them, and minimize any advantage that the champion might use against me.
I took a second to look at the time. It was four thirty-six in the morning. I glanced over at my detail, both of whom gave me a courteous nod before turning their attention away from me and at the entrance again. Jason and Alex were two of my favorites, and regularly joined me on errand detail. I didn’t see much of a reason for them to be present, but I wasn’t about to argue. It was better to be safe. Besides, this was time that I could be training while Nyako was wasting her own time.
I took a second to decide if I wanted to work on the leg press, or the lat pull when something caught my eye. Rather, it wasn’t something...but some/one/. I was confused, then on my guard. But then I noticed a key detail. Neither Jason nor Alex moved. They were letting this person pass through their guard. I turned my full attention towards the interloper, and quickly realized who it was.
The blonde woman with messy, flowing curls that bounced as she walked gave me a smile. I felt my breath catch in my throat. I knew those beautiful blue eyes anywhere.
She was my former tag team partner, Stacia Chamera. Well now, she was now known as Stacia Werth. She’d since re-married since we last teamed together. It had been years, now that I gave it thought. Five, at this point. Five years since the divatastic duo last came together in a ring.
But here was a small reunion of sorts.
"Heya, Fujiko…" I couldn’t help but grin as I saw her. I bounded to my feet, and gave her something of a hug-tackle. She patted at my back, and rocked with me. "Staciiiiiaaaaa! It’s so good to see you!" As I broke from the hug, she smiled back at me.
"It’s so good to see you too!" A part of me wondered what she was doing out here at this time of morning. Enough of me thought about it to the point that it flowed out as my next comment. "What the heck are you doing out here? It’s super early!"
Stacia just offered up a smile. "I was in town, and I heard from a little bird that you were around and preparing for a big match. The biggest one, in fact." She had a bit of a coy look on her face as she said this. I chose to ignore it, over my excitement in seeing her. "Well, thus far, anyway."
She was clad in a pair of blue jeans and a long shirt, and in her left hand hung the fuzzy winter coat she had to endure the cold outside.
"Even bigger than than us winning the GWO tag team titles?" I giggled a little at the joke. There was no official match, we were awarded them by our mentor, Tj Jones, who won the titles on his own and gave them to us not long before the company folded. Thinking back on it, it gave me a little bit of a melancholy feeling, thinking about holding those titles and watching them lose value as the owners and administration of that company neglected to stay in contact. It was a thought we could reminisce on another time.
"Yes, even bigger than that match, yes." She grinned. "And bigger than the HiWF tag titles, hm?"
A touch more serious this time. I hesitated before nodding. Her facial muscles didn’t even twitch, but I could tell that she was putting some feeling into the comment.
"Stacia, yes. It is." I took a moment to register that she might be hurt by that comment. That title match was not a joke. It was easily the hardest fight of our lives at one point, and we held those titles like respectable champions. It was the only title I’d touched that I had been actually honored by holding. I wasn’t going to put too much stock into what that said about my career.
"Stacia, is this what you came here for?" She finally reacted. "Fujiko, I-" I didn’t endeavor to let her continue that thought. "Stacia, we took two completely different paths after that. You got married, and retired from active competition. I didn’t. I wanted to continue on as a wrestler. What am I supposed to do? Designate our ‘glory days’ as the best as thing that will ever happen to me and leave it at that?" I took a second, thinking that maybe I was getting a little carried away and riled up over this, but I kept going.
"I can’t do that, Stacia. My career has to continue, even if you stop. And I am going to have goals that are going to overreach what we did! You basically expected to stop, and me to just give up alongside you? No. I can’t do that. So yes, this really is the biggest match of my career. I’ve wanted this ever since you left. This is for me, yes, but it’s also for everyone who supported me when you decided this wasn’t for you anymore!" Stacia looked as if she wanted to interject, and I gave her the chance to, but she didn’t take it.
"I don’t blame you for any of it. Your life is just that, your life. You did what you thought was best. So now I’m doing what I think is best. We’re still friends, I think; but you aren’t allowed to give me...crap for living out my goals!"
Silence rang out between the both of us for a few moments. She looked at me with a slightly dumbfounded look before nodding and turning her eyes away. "You’re right, Fujicakes. I’m sorry. I guess I just got a little jealous from watching you succeed so much in LAW without me."
I tried to calm the flow of adrenaline and relax. Maybe the pressure of things was beginning to compound on me. In either event, I felt like I needed to jump to defend myself. Maybe I was too harsh.
"It’s..it’s alright, Stacia. I just...get a little tired of having to defend my actions. It’s getting close to crunch time, and I might be putting a bit too much pressure on myself." Stacia took a second, and then sat down on the bench press next to me. She let her coat drape to the floor as she looked at me. I noticed how sweaty I was, and felt a twinge of guilt that I hugged her so vigorously. "I...think I get it, Fujiko. I remember everyone betting against us when we were fighting alongside one another. I bet it’s worse now, when it’s just you out there, fighting on your own." I shook my head. While in theory she was right, it was different for me. "Stacia...you forget. I’ve got so many people in support. You, Thomas, Arkia-" Her eyes go wide at the mention of my former enemy. "Arkia?! Really?!" I gave her a little bit of a smile. "Yeah. She and I patched things up around the time Thomas got engaged. You didn’t know?"
She shook her head, her trepidation and unpleasant attitude vanishing. "Yeah. Things are better. Them, and friends that I’ve made. Like Nene, Kat Garrett, Sasha, Salem, and Mariah. The list goes on, and they’re behind me. So I just have to remember that people like you, and them are behind me. With that, I will be able to do what needs to be done and win the Marquee championship."
Stacia nods. She and I sit in silence for a few moments. Not the awkward kind, where one of us was waiting for the other to make a move, or something to that effect. After a few moments, I broke the silence, and turned towards her..
"Do you miss it? You know." There was another pause. Then… "A little. You know, here and there. Just times when I feel like I don’t know what to do with myself, or when my darling husband is away on business. But I don’t think I could ever come back. All that crap from before would just resurface. It would be too much. I’m…" She turns her eyes down again. "I’m not as strong as you are, Fujiko. I learned that the hard way."
More silence. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to revisit that dark time in my life. When I had to watch Stacia suffer through the end of her first marriage. It was too much to handle right now, especially considering what was at stake coming up.
"I guess we can agree to disagree, Stacia. We’ve both lost people. You with William, and me with Savannah…" Saying her name stung at me like the wound was freshly peeled at. I took a breath after saying her name. "But we made it. Somehow, we’ve both made it through without losing our minds completely. And we’ll continue to. But for now, I’m going to go to Rising Stars, and I’m going to win the title."
She leaned over and gave me a quick squeeze. I reciprocated as best I could. I really missed her. I could tell by the way that she hugged me that the feeling was mutual.
"C’mon girly, let’s get you a little rest. You /totally/ don’t want to overdo things, you know." She was right. I’d hate myself if overworked myself and lost because of it. I suppressed a laugh. She threw the word ‘totally’ on purpose. I threw in my customary response. It was our thing. "/Like/, yeah...yeah. Right. Thanks, Stacia. Let me just grab my things." I stood up, and she followed suit, both of us laughing a little bit. We gave each other a proper embrace, and I turned around and headed for the locker room. I took a glance back at her before heading to get my things. Hopefully soon, we would be in a more celebratory mood.
For both her sake, and mine.