07-27-2024, 11:13 PM
DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction and not to be confused as complete or accurate representation of any beliefs, religions, etc. Please refer to research/articles by experts for that.
OOC: The following contains views and remarks that DO NOT represent the handler.
The Eyrie Tower
New York City, New York
July 22nd, 2024
1:54am
Another sleepless night was claiming her, and no matter how heavy her eyes and her head felt, Selena Frost knew that sleep was just not in the cards for her tonight. She had lost track how many nights like this she had had to power through over the last few weeks – where, no matter how hard she tried, sleep would not be granted. Frustrated, the woman, dressed in only her favorite magenta nightgown that flowed down past her legs to pool around her feet, ran her hands through her loose hair, feeling the strands of platinum-blonde between her fingers. She purposefully, as she paced around the office, kept her eyes away from the large mirror in the corner. She didn’t want to see her reflection within the dark-red-mahogany boarded glass. She already knew what she would see:
Bloodshot eyes.
Somewhat disheveled hair.
Bags under those red eyes.
Slightly sunken cheeks.
All usual signs of lack of sleep and care. She didn’t need to see them to know they were there. With a quiet surrender, perhaps more to just ‘do something’, the young woman pulled herself to the bookshelf behind her large desk (made of similar wood as the mirror frame). Once there, she took the miniature compartment from one of the shelves and, using her thumbs, pressed the dials of the locking mechanism to unlock it. The clear-gel pills stared back at her, which she ignored, simply plucking one of the NX out and tossing it into her mouth, swallowing it with a little difficulty, which only indicated to the woman how dry her throat was.
Another thing to do… she thought to herself, moving back over to her desk to sip the water within the ‘Wicked Musical’ Lime Green cup. She had gotten the cup after visiting the musical on Broadway a few weeks ago, one of the many ‘things’ she had done to try make herself feel better despite SCW and her pending divorce. The Snow Queen had done… well, whatever peaked her interest at the time, to distract her brain from such things over the past few weeks. See musicals, visit museums, go to arcades. She had done her best to stay away from bars and pubs, at least alone, not wanting to risk falling of the wagon and drinking again. After all… her thoughts mocked. If you gave up and went back on the NX…
Her jaw clenched as she pushed the thought back. The NX would not be necessary after Rise to Greatness, she had told herself that over and over again, as if repeating it would set the matter in stone and lay it to rest. Right now, she needed to maintain the standard she had placed on SCW. With people now trying to ‘rig things’ by interfering in her matches, use weapons against her – basically with Kandis and Kristen Scott constantly making threats and ready to jump at her at any minute, as Kandis had tried to do at Taking Hold of the Flame in Selena’s match against Xander - the Snow Queen refused to have even a moment of weakness! She couldn’t afford to. Not when she was so close…
It's why the last few weeks had bothered her far more than she liked. Josh Hudson…
She felt her jaw clench again at the thought of him, her pacing slowing to a stop. He had gotten close – so damn close – to making her look weak. Far more than even Xander F’n Valentine had managed! His mind games with the officials, discrediting Selena as a ‘novice’, standing over her after she had just survived that fatal-fourway against Polly, Kandis, and Kristen Scott…
He had gotten closer than any other challenger before him this year in getting the upper hand in Selena’s carefully-orchestrated plan. “Why did it have to be him…” she felt herself whisper. And it was an honest question. It wasn’t that she didn’t think she could beat the Hall of Famer. She had… quite a few times in the past actually. But it was different than Xander. Xander was… Selena could respect the man so much and on so many levels – though she couldn’t really admit it fully as ‘The Blue-Eyed Devil of SCW’. After years of battles that had, honestly, made her a better superstar, what mattered to the Executioner was no longer mind-games but what happened in-between the ropes. Hudson? He wasn’t above such things.
It was one of the reasons Selena had played her hand last Breakdown, dipping into the ‘darker side of her actions’, like she had in the THOTF royale and costing Polly, Kandis, and Kristen their spots in it. She had interfered in Hudson’s match – and while it was ‘perfectly legal’ within the confines of an Underground match – it wasn’t supposed to be ‘her style’. A necessary evil… she had told herself then, and told herself now – or rather, the devil-voice told her.
She had needed to get control and momentum back on her side. Hudson had gotten it after that fatal-fourway and furthered it during that one-sided/bias interview with Adam Sharper. True, defeating Polly in the cage had pushed Selena closer to ‘back on track’, but it hadn’t been enough in her mind – not by a long shot. A stronger statement needed to be made. Hudson had tried to play this game like…like… the comparison came to her almost instantly…
Like Adam Allocco had… Like Kandis had! Her jaw clenched at the memories. Both of her past losses, her opponents had tried the same tactic – discredit, mind-games and getting the momentum on their side. Adam with his ‘five moves of doom match’ on poor Deanna and Kandis with her lie of ‘I gave a board member a blowjob to get the number 40 spot!’. All to mess with Selena’s head and take her off her game before Rise to Greatness.
She refused to let that happen again! She refused to appear anything less than 100% going into her fourth ‘Unbelievable Main Event’! Repeating the past was not an option and she had come too far in all of this to fail at the finish line! So, she had to ‘play by their rules’ a little to make her point? So be it! SCW needed to understand just how worse Selena could make things if she always played by ‘their rules’. If she used chairs and weapons to ‘eliminate competitors’. If she attacked superstars backstage and from behind with her deadly kicks. If she fought, not for the integrity of the world title and the standard she believed in, but just to keep herself at the top of the mountain like Syren, Sienna, and so many other champions – including Josh Hudson - had done before her.
Taking a slow breath, Selena finally felt the NX kicking in, the numbness creeping over her body and, somewhat, calming her. She would deal with Hudson in less than a week. On her terms, with her official, and it would all be made right. She would undo the stain on her career, replace it with a victory that would be fair and cement her place, her legacy, and the legacy of the world championship as well as its standard. After RTG, no one would doubt her spot or how the world championship of SCW was the greatest title in the world, upheld to the highest standard!
And Demtria will have his main-event that he deserved…
And I can have my fair match on the main-event of Rise…
And I can…
She slowly let her mind trail out of such thoughts, tired of thinking of them for so long, allowing the devil-voice to overpower them, prompting her to focus on the task at hand. With a sigh, the world champion’s sapphire eyes turned back to her desk. To the small stack of papers that had been there for weeks. Her other OTHER mortal enemy – aside from Josh Hudson, Leslie Sanderson and ESPECIALLY Kandis! (Gods it feels so satisfying to have that bitch dealing with MY table scraps at Rise while I take the main-event!... Selena thought with satisfaction), a fleeting emotion as her eyes beheld the stack of contracts.
The thickest one was the more recent one. Her renewal contract in SCW, meant to keep her services within SCW as soon as her current contract expired the day after Rise to Greatness. With SCW management kowtowing to her demands with her return last December, enacting every clause and demand she had incorporated into the initial contract, they had not hesitated to send another to her a few weeks ago. And within the privacy of her own home, away from the eyes of the world, Selena could easily admit… it was beyond generous.
There was more money.
There was a higher percentage in pay-per-view payouts.
There was more vacation days.
There was more coverage for her expenses.
There was… just more. So much more…
And yet… she hadn’t signed it yet. She honestly didn’t know what was stopping her. Any idiot would sign it. Anyone with half a brain would sign it! She was already the highest paid wrestler in SCW with her record, accolades, bonuses and status. This new contract only further cemented that. Yet… she didn’t sign it.
You know why… came the demeaning devil-voice, forcing the Snow Queen to sigh aloud.
Again, the privacy she had paid a fortune for – a castle in the sky – allowed her to be candid with herself. In truth, she hadn’t signed it because… she didn’t know what came after. Her whole plan – from start to finish – had had Rise to Greatness as the endgame. To dominate SCW with her standard, her way of integrity and undisputed winners and losers based on talent and heart rather than ambushes and underhanded tactics – it had always been at St. Louis where the final piece would come into play. Rise to Greatness. That was it. She… she hadn’t thought about ‘afterwards’.
Could she still be the ‘Blue-Eyed Devil’? Could she still enforce her will and her ‘rules’ on the world championship? And, gods forbid, what if she failed and it was all for nothing? Could she even show her face in SCW again? She had already lost the last two RTG main-events… she couldn’t imagine what would happen if she lost a third time in a row…
Angry at the thought, Selena turned away from the stacked papers, letting out an angry yell as she resumed her pacing around the room. The other contract – the older one – was just as infuriating to her. Just as difficult, if not more so, to sign! And it’s only one page…. Buried under the mountain… she thought, refusing to look at it. She had promised Deanna to sign that one… she would have to sign that one…
Another sigh escaped her, again the privacy granting her the freedom to be as loud as she wished – one of the few things she was grateful for having as opposed to the ‘Frost Forever Home’…
The mere thought almost spiked the anxiety in her to a point that almost overcame the effects of the NX. Startled by that, Selena slowly breathed, urging herself to calm back down, a doable task, but the mental thoughts still persisted.
What had she been thinking agreeing to Leslie’s wager?! The bitter, racist, homophone of a woman had shown her hand when Selena had challenged her ‘superior students’ against those of the summer school she was teaching. A fit-day competition that would see the kids face each other, with the winning team being whoever won the most events. The platinum-blonde had placed the wager down that if her students prevailed, Leslie would cease her campaign to punish them for their cheating in the school year and let them, should they pass the summer program, proceed to their proper grade. With Leslie and her committee out of the way, it would be far easier and less stressful for the children to focus on their studies.
But Leslie had thrown a wrench into the works. Selena had always suspected that this whole thing was her former neighbour’s vendetta against the Frost family – but for Leslie to demand that Selena put up her ‘Forever Home’ as collateral for a loss! To put her family’s home – where her children, dog and wife – ex-wife, whatever! – lived.
Then why did you say yes? came the devil-voice, seemingly playing devil’s advocate.
“What choice did I have?” Selena sighed, speaking aloud. “If they pushed any further, they could have ended the whole program. Then those kids would have to repeat the class-“
And that was worth your house?
“I can buy them a new house if I have to.” Selena shrugged. “I mean… I don’t want to… I don’t want them to have to leave… but it’s David’s future! And it’s only if they lose! They won’t- in the end-“
The ends…
“Will justify the means…” she was taken aback by the way her voice dropped so low. Not like that of the devil-voice, but still surprising. For a moment, she just stood there, slowly turning her head to finally regard her reflection within the damned mirror. Just as she had predicted, she saw the bloodshot eyes and the bags under those eyes.
She looked crazy.
She looked deranged.
She looked like…
“I protect what’s mine-“
She shut the thought down before it was formed, marching out of the second-floor office and stripping out of her nightgown, pulling it over her frame as she did. As she passed the bedroom, she tossed the clothing into the room, refusing to break her march as she made her way across the hall and towards the built in gym on the same floor.
If sleep was going to be denied, then she was going to work herself into a slumber. Even if she had to run 10k to do it!
************************
PS 290 The Manhattan New School
Manhattan, New York
July 8th, 2024
11:45pm
The workout hadn’t done it… dammit!
Casting her eyes on her children – all ten of the students as they played a game of dodgeball on the concrete section of the school playground – Selena contemplated putting them through one of her workouts for SCW, immediately dismissing the idea. Last thing she wanted was one of them to get hurt trying to go at her current level in the gym. They all wanted to do well and pass – more or less – but there was no way they needed to do what Selena pushed herself to do every day and night for Rise to Greatness.
Carefully, keeping her eyes closed so, even with her thick, round shades on to block out the sun (to keep her headache from getting worse), the Snow Queen drank a bit more of her ice-coffee with triple expresso (her third one today). That accomplished, she adjusted her maroon t-shirt and black leggings before returning her focus on her students.
She had divided the ten into equal teams of 5, pressing that the teams use communication and teamwork to try and win for their side. And while the game had mostly been a ‘free-for-all’ of fun, the kids had, throughout, had moments of communicating and working together. Blazer and Frog – the ‘cool’ kid and his ‘sidekick’ respectfully – were, oddly enough, the best pair of this. In that Frog would fetch the ball, even taking it from other players on his own team (before Selena reprimanded him for it), and rushing the ball over to Blazer, who would throw it with such ferocity. On the other side, Sophia would nimbly dodge away from every shot, even try and distract her opponents from attacking her teammates by waving her arms or mocking the other team with the childish, but effective “Can’t get me! Nah nah!”. On the other side, Selena noticed, Mara, the tomboy, would never throw at Sophia, not anywhere near her. Interesting…
It was little things like this that Selena had noticed of all her students for the last few weeks/classes as she taught them. Not just their names but who they were as children. It was hard sometimes, trying to keep track of ten students while also being the SCW world champion, but she was managing, albeit barely. For a moment, watching them, the young Frost wondered what Deanna would think if she shared such stories and observations with the redhead. Would she be proud of how Selena was trying and getting to know these kids? How she was striving for their success as much as their own son?
Not if she knows you wagered her house! came the mocking devil-voice, which Selena shut down immediately. She would find a way around that. A way for Deanna to never know, even if she did lose the wager with Leslie.
The buzzing of the bell broke Selena’s thoughts, causing her to look back at her kids, who suddenly stopped playing. “That’s class everyone!” Selena called out as the ten students all gathered around. “Before I dismiss you, though.” She gazed at each one. “What did we learn today? About communication and teamwork?”
A hand shot up, Selena recognizing it immediately. “Yes, Garrett?” she acknowledged the short, round boy.
“When we work together, we did better!” he stated as earnestly as he could.
“Very good.” She eyed another student out of the corner of her eye, who was staying distant from the group. “Joey?”
The dark-skinned youth scoffed. “It’s Blazer, Mrs. F!”
“It’s Mrs. Frost, Blazer.” Selena corrected. “What did you learn from this?”
“Aim low.” He stated. “Harder for people to dodge.”
Looking up for a moment, Selena gave a shrug of her shoulders. “Fair point. But I meant about teamwork.”
He huffed a breath at that, earning Devin’s – Frog’s – reaction. “Blazer thinks-“
“Devin…” Selena warned. “I’m asking Blazer.” She turned her gaze back to the boy. “Do you believe that you can handle anything and everything by your own?”
“Long as I’m calling the shots.” Blazer shrugged. “People do what I say, then we win.”
“Ah…” Selena nodded. “But who will ‘do as you say’ when no one believes in you? When you don’t listen or let others ‘call the shots’?” She asked. “A good leader, kids, isn’t someone that just barks out orders. A good leader listens to his teammates and those around him. They acknowledge everyone’s part on the team and they know that – without their team – they’re not really a leader of anything. They aren’t anything.”
She turned her attention back to the young boy. “Do you believe that you could win a game of dodgeball on your own, Blazer?” she asked gently.
“I…” the kids eyed the other students, who were all looking at him. “It’s just a stupid game.” He scoffed.
Nodding her head, Selena closed the distance between her and the boy, kneeling down to whisper to him. “Take it from someone who knows, Blazer.” She gently put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It’s lonely at the top.”
“It is?” he asked, somewhat surprised.
“It is.” Selena nodded. “And scary. Always worried someone’s going to take it from you. Having no one to turn to. If I could…” she sighed. “If I could choose between having a wonderful support system that I listen to or just being the only one that called the shots?” she could admit this to the kid – not like he was going to run to SCW and talk. “I would choose the support system. In having people who believed in me just like I believed in them.” She turned her head to the other kids. “Like I believe in all of you.”
She let those words settle, seeing the smiling faces of most of the kids. “Alright.” She laughed a little. “Get on to lunch!” She smiled, watching as the kids scampered to their bags, all lying along the side of the school wall, and immediately scattered once more to various parts of the playground. Some sat on the field of half-buried tires, others on the jungle-gym, others still on the stand-alone slide. Some of the groups and pairs were common.
Mara and Sophia.
Blazer and Frog.
David and Sara and Garrett.
Selena took stock of all her students’ locations, so much so that she didn’t notice the person coming up behind her until they had spoken.
“How are we doing?” the voice was soft and gentle, which allowed Selena to not be so startled by it. Turning her head, she spied Ms. Evette Harris, the brunette smiling at the taller Selena.
“Well.” Selena nodded. “I think they’ll be fine for the competition on Friday.”
The remark caused a slight unease to flitter across Evette’s face. “Are you… do you think they’ll win?” she asked nervously. “I don’t want to see you…”
“That’s not your concern.” Selena replied gently, turning her head back to the woman. “Though I appreciate it very much.” She added a smile to ease the woman’s worry. “I won’t be losing my house, Evette.”
“But if they lose…”
“They won’t.” Selena pressed. “They just… won’t.”
A glance at the platinum-blonde showed that the more-experienced teacher was not so easily convinced. “Do you…” Selena asked slowly. “Do you know something?”
The question caused the shorter woman to return her gaze to Selena. “No… I just…” she chose her words carefully. “I don’t trust Leslie.”
“Join the club.” Selena laughed. “She’s been a thorn in my side for nearly ten years.”
“But you don’t see her on the board.” Harris remarked, earning a surprised eyebrow raise from Selena.
“Are you…”
“On the board?” Evette nodded. “I report back to Mo- Mrs. Warlow on what they are up to. And Leslie… she’s vicious.”
“Again.” Selena sighed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Selena…” Evette stressed. “She’s blackmailing more than a few board members to side with her.”
Selena’s eyes went wide unintentionally. “How do you…”
“Because I listen.” The teacher remarked. “And… because she has tried it with me.”
“You?” Selena asked. “What could she possibly have on you?”
Opening her mouth to speak, Evette was only able to let out a sound before it was overpowered by a loud “EXCUUUUSE MEEEE!!!!” that projected itself across the playground, enough for Selena’s headache that she had been struggling with to flare up.
“Oh gods…” the platinum-blonde whispered before slowly turning around to see the big-haired woman strutting towards the wrestler and teacher, a group of ten kids behind her.
“Here we go…” Selena whispered under her breath, picking up her ice coffee to down the remains before placing it back down on the ground just as Leslie Sanderson reached her. “Leslie…” Selena smiled tightly. “What brings you here. Don’t tell me!” she spoke quickly. “You’re reenacting Snow White and the seven dwarves. Hate to tell you, hun, but there’s only seven dwarves and if you’re the ‘fairest in the land’…” her voice dropped lower. “Then I may just switch back to men.”
“Selena!” Evette gasped at the last remark, though Leslie remained unfazed.
“Spoken like a true degenerate.” She remarked simply. “I just thought that I would take my winning team for some practice. I mean, that’s only fair, right? Your kids get to practice every day.”
“This is a schoolyard.” Harris remarked defensively. “The students in our care are in class.”
“Yeah…” Leslie eyed Evette warningly. “Don’t you have some chalk erasers to smack together?” any adult could hear the threatening tone in Leslie’s voice. Evette certainly did, the woman slowly backing up a little at the thinly veiled remark.
“Okay, Leslie.” Selena sighed, stepping forward in Harris’ place. “Witty repartee aside. What do you want?”
With a grin, Leslie gestured behind her. “Just want you to meet the winning team. All A+ students – all honest and good kids. Not cheaters like yours!” she stressed the last name with a bit of a hiss and Selena was sure she saw some spit escape the woman as she said it. With her hand, Leslie pointed to each child. “Greg, Mary, Colt, Houdin, Tremon, Killian, Benny, Jasper, Roger… and of course…” she moved her hand to wrap around the young boy she hadn’t named, though Selena recognized him instantly. “My star player. My little joy and spark of greatness. Team captain: Willy.”
“You have a team captain for a public-school team?” Selena raised her eyebrow. “Seems sort of elitist… what am I saying? Look who I’m talking to.” She gestured towards Leslie, who was too busy fawning over her son to pay attention. It was a second that allowed Selena to eye the whole team before her. Overall, they really seemed no different than her students. Nobody stood out. Nobody seemed ‘misplaced’. They were just kids, like her students.
Which further cements my point that my kids deserve their second chance… cause they ARE just kids…Not ‘problem children’ like what she believes!
“Well, hello.” She said politely to the kids. “My name is Mrs. Frost. And it’s a pleasure to meet you. I believe you all know Ms. Harris?”
“Hello.” Evette smiled. “Hope you’re all having a good summer so far.”
“Yeah!” One of them – Selena thought Leslie had named them Roger – answered. “My family are going to go-“
“No fraternizing with the enemy cheaters!” Leslie spat back.
“What does ‘fratter sizing’ mean?” Came the question from one the rival students – Benny, Selena guessed in recollection.
“It means she and her students are your enemy and you do not talk to them!” Leslie explained.
“Seriously, Leslie?” Selena balked. “They’re just kids. What’s happening with you and me can stay that way. You don’t need to go this far.”
“Oh… intimidated I see.” Leslie laughed and teased. “Afraid I’ll expose your little group for the frauds you all are?”
Geez! A NICKEL for every time someone used that line on me. Selena thought, irritated.
“Well… what do you say to a little… ‘recreational preview’?” Leslie asked slowly, rubbing her hands together.
“No.” Selena stated.
“Oh come onnnn, Selena.” Sanderson drawled in that damn, pitchy voice of hers. “Nothing on the line. Just a little preview. You pick your best student to go against my Willy. A little race. Nothing crazy. Just a little running around.”
“Leslie.” Selena exhaled, stepping closer to Leslie, which further emphasized her taller frame. It was the closeness that seemed to spark something in the blasted woman’s eyes – a stark reminder of what Selena, a wrestler, was capable of compared to a stay-at-home mom like Leslie. “I am not entertaining you or your games. The kids are on lunch and they earned it. They’ve been working hard all morning and-“
“Mrs. Frost…”
The voice caught Selena’s attention, surprising her as she turned around, stunned to silence as she saw all ten of her students standing a few feet behind her, matching the positioning of Leslie and her crew. Even Blazer – he looked tougher than the others, though not by much – cracking his knuckles together. “We’re not going anywhere.” He added to the world champion. “That our competition?”
“It…” Selena breathed. “It is.”
“Mom…” It was David’s turn, her son, standing beside Sara, in his Marvel Avengers shirt and holding half of a peanut butter sandwich that Deanna had made. “Leave my mom alone.” He called out to Leslie. “You’ve always been a meanie, Mrs. Sanderson!”
“Such language!” Leslie gasped mockingly. “Is that how you raise your children, Selena? By teaching them to disrespect their elders?”
“Trust me.” Selena smiled proudly. “You’ve not SEEN disrespect from my son. That’s him BEING respectful.”
“Hmmm…not surprising.” Leslie shook her head. “Like I said-“
“Leslie.” Evette spoke up, seemingly emboldened by the actions of Selena’s students. “I’ve had enough of you bad-mouthing this school and Mrs. Frost and her students. If you continue, I shall report you to Mrs. Warlow and have you removed immediately and this whole ‘fit day’ nonsense cancelled.”
“Watch. Your. Tone.” Leslie warned, glaring at the woman. “Especially with me. Consider that your last warning.” To emphasis her point, the woman reached up to poke-push a pointed finger against Evette’s shoulder, pushing her back a step.
“Leave Ms. Harris alone!” David shot back at the sight.
“Yeah!” Sara added, standing close to David.
“Enough!” Selena’s voice shot out, silencing the growing anger of the crowd. Glaring over at Leslie, she yanked off her sunglasses, immediately regretting it as the stabbing rays of light stung her eyes and ignited her headache (though she did all she could to hide it) – it was easier wrestling the damn Executioner! she thought angrily. “You want to race, Leslie?” she watched her former neighbour nod smugly.
“Fine.” Selena turned to her students. “Do I have a volunteer to run against Willy?”
Immediately, nine out of the ten hands shot up. Everyone except Garrett, which only caused Selena’s focus to go to him.
“I…” Garrett started before shaking his head. “I’m really slow.”
“Shocking.” Leslie laughed, eyeing the large child. “Unless you put a candy bar at the finish line! HA HA!” the shrill laugh further irritated Selena, the Snow Queen using every trick she knew not to react to it.
Conceal… her mind whispered. Don’t feel…
“Mrs. Frost…” it was the only voice that spoke from her group and Selena followed it as Mara made her way to the front. Turning to her classmates, the grade 5 tomboy rolled her shoulders back bravely. “Let me do it, guys. Please.”
“Why?” Blazer asked.
“Because…” Mara’s eyes shot over to a certain spot – one only Selena could trace fast enough – to the girl Mara had eyed. “I want to. I want to beat this guy for making fun of our team! And our teachers!” she sounded so tough in that statement, and yet, as she turned back to Selena, her voice dropped to a whispered plea. “Please, Mrs. Frost.”
The platinum-blonde eyed the child for a moment before kneeling down. “You’re putting your classmate’s faith on your shoulders, Mara.” She whispered. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Yeah.” Mara nodded. “I’ve been running my whole life. It’s fun.”
The Snow Queen paused for a moment, as if to contemplate – though she had already made up her mind. “Alright.” She nodded before standing back up. “Mara will race for us!”
A few cheers and ‘Wooos!’ came from her students as Selena turned back over to Leslie, gesturing to the far side of the school playground, where a chained-linked fence outlined the perimeter. “I say… what? From the school around the playground? One lap from school wall and back around the chain-linked fence?”
“Sounds perfect.” Leslie shot back, grinning all the while. “One lap is nothing for my Willy.”
“Uh-huh.” Selena dismissed the remark. “Race is in five minutes.” She turned and guided her students to the side, allowing ample space for the two runners to stretch and get ready.
As the world champion kept an eye on Mara from a distance (to ensure Leslie didn’t try anything), she felt a tug on her shirt, causing her to turn her head to the Latina girl standing before her: Sophia.
“Mrs. Frost.” She whispered, glancing up at the much taller Selena before turning her gaze back over to Mara as the tomboy stretched and – was she flexing a little?. “Is Mara going to be okay?”
Casting another glance at Mara, Selena, again, noticed the nine-year old staring back at them, or rather at Sophia.
Oh well well… Selena couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips as she felt something click in her mind. Still, she didn’t show it, merely shrugging her shoulders as she knelt down to be more eye level with Sophia, as she had with Blazer. “Are you worried?”
The girl, still in her dark-purple leggings and light-blue shirt from gym class, nodded. “I don’t want her to get hurt. She tries so hard to do these crazy things.”
“Maybe…” Selena shrugged. “Maybe she’s trying to get someone’s attention.” She teasingly spoke. “I mean, I can’t speak for Mara, but when I was wrestling – I would do all sorts of crazy things to get my wife’s attention.”
“You did?” Sophia asked.
“Oh sure!” Selena laughed. “One time, to get her to notice me, I fought this huge guy inside a steel cage. Auclair was his name. The guy was a giant! Like five feet taller than me!” she used her hand to indicate the height. “A literal giant!”
“No way!” Sophia shook her head. “How did you do it?”
“Well… I had someone worth fighting for.” Selena shrugged. “That was all I needed.” She eyed Mara once again. “Maybe Mara… just needs to know you’re watching.”
“Did…” Sophia bit her lower lip. “Did your wife do anything to help you win?”
“Oh sure!” Selena shrugged, instinctively reaching up to her neck, but stopping when she remembered that nothing was there now… a stab of sadness filling her core that she quickly pushed down. “When I would wrestle really big matches, I’d always make sure she’d kiss me on the cheek before I left. Every time. Best good luck charm ever.”
“Oh…” Sophia’s eyes widened, her eyes moving back over to Mara. “And it worked?”
“Well, yeah, that and the good luck ring she gave me.” It’s called an engagement and wedding ring, idiot. mocked her mind. And you won’t have those for much longer, will you?!
Another stab of silence hit her, so much so that Selena almost didn’t see Sophia suddenly jog out towards Mara. Wisely, the Snow Queen stayed back, keeping an appropriate distance as the dark-skinned girl reached the tomboy. She spoke shyly, at least her gestures seemed to indicate that before, slowly, Sophia removed something from her finger and placed it on Mara’s, who stood there in shock, her mouth hanging open at whatever Sophia was saying. To put the icing on the cake, however, Sophia bit her lower lip before, seemingly, going for it! Ducking her head down, she kissed Mara’s cheek before scampering off back to Selena, leaving Mara dumbfounded… as well as Leslie, who was watching the whole thing.
It was too much for Selena – a laugh escaping her – as she stood there, enough for Evette to coyly walk up to her. “What did you do?” she asked good-naturedly.
“Me?” Selena shrugged. “Nothing. Nothing at all… though I gotta say…” she dropped her voice down to a whisper. “Willy doesn’t stand a chance. Poor kid.”
She bit her lower lip knowingly as the two racers finally, with a bit of yelling and prompting from Leslie, lined up at the ‘starting line’ for the race.
“Okay!” Selena called out, standing between the two. “On ‘Go!’, it’s off to the races. Got it?”
Both Willy and Mara gave a nod of their heads, each taking a kind of stance that looked more like The Flash – Selena had watched the show with David – than anything else.
“Go Willy-bear!” Yelled out Leslie. “Show those cheaters!”
Ignoring her, Selena lifted her hands up. “3…2…1… GO!”
The two kids were off, each running past Selena, with her students all shouting Mara’s name and rooting her on! The first turn came up and Willy was in the lead, but Mara was hot on his trail. By the second turn, they were running neck and neck. It was this point that the usually quiet Sophia screamed. “Come on, Mara!” she called out, temporarily getting Mara’s attention. “You got this!”
It was as if something had kicked the tomboy’s gears into overdrive! For in that second, Mara sprinted for all she was worth, speeding past Willy on the third-turn and widening her lead by the fourth and final turn.
“NO!” screamed Leslie. “Don’t you dare lose, William! Don’t you dare lose!!” Her voice once more held that threatening tone, and, to his credit, Willy, closing his eyes, tried to put one last burst of speed into his run to catch up. But it was too little too late as Mara crossed the ‘finish line’, immediately gasping for air as her classmates all ran to her, cheering her name and making all kinds of congratulatory sounds! One of the kids, Garrett – Selena thought – even dug out his phone to play “We are the Champions” by Queen as loud as possible!
For her part, Selena merely clapped her hands, standing beside Evette (also applauding) as the children celebrated. Eventually, Mara found her way to Sophia, the tomboy throwing her arms around the taller Latina and hugging her tightly, the two even jumping up and down together before Mara rushed over to Selena.
“Mrs. Frost! Ms. Harris!” Mara remarked. “I won!”
“You certainly did!” Selena grinned. “Congrats!”
“You did so well!” Ms. Harris added.
“And look! Look!” Mara quickly showed her hand, revealing the dark-blue plastic ring around her finger – Sophia back to her shy self. “Sophia gave me her ring for good luck! She’s… she’s my girlfriend now!”
Selena’s eyes went wide, as did Ms. Harris. “Wow!” both women said at the same time. “Congratulations!” They both said.
“To both of you.” Selena added with a laugh. “Now run and go celebrate with your teammates! It’s still lunchtime!”
Both girls, now holding hands, ran off to join their friends, leaving Selena alone with Evette, the former chuckling a little as she crossed her arms. “How do you like that?” she asked. “A little puppy love in summer school. Who’d have thought?”
“Very adorable.” Evette remarked. “Make sure you don’t invalidate their feelings during class.” She quickly instructed. “It’s part of them growing up.”
“I have three kids, Evette.” Selena smiled. “You think I haven’t dealt with my daughter or son having a crush.” She gestured towards David, standing by the swing with Sara, the two laughing about something. “Even if he doesn’t know it yet…”
She was about to relax when she was suddenly seized from behind, a hand grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around. Within a second, Selena saw Leslie glaring a hole through her.
“What the hell kind of disgusting display was that?!” she demanded to know.
“What?” Selena asked. “You losing? Better get used to it, Leslie, cause that’s what’s happening this Friday.”
“Please!” Leslie spat. “I don’t mean the race you clearly rigged. I mean THAT!” with a sharp finger, Leslie pointed down the playground where Mara and Sophia were standing, merely enjoying what was left of their lunch together.
“What about it?” Selena asked, turning to gaze at Leslie.
Leslie scoffed at the reply. “I knew you were up to no good, Selena! First you encourage your son to cheat. Then you try and let those cheaters get away with it – and now you’re corrupting our students?!”
“Excuse me?!” Evette asked in shock. “What are you talking about?!”
“THAT!” Leslie pointed again. “That disgusting display! You are corrupting our children! Turning them gay with your disease!”
Selena’s eyes went wide, what little control she had even with the help of the NX was slipping fast, being replaced by something as equally familiar to the Alaskan Dragon…
“The board will hear about this!” Leslie vowed. “They’ll shut it all down! You infecting their children with your disgusting and- and- and- perverted and-“
“Enough!” Evette stepped forward defensively. “Selena has done NOTHING wrong and neither have her students! It’s a crush. Puppy love! It’s perfectly normal in children their age-“
“You call THAT normal?!” Leslie screams turned over to the teacher. “You bring that filth! That abomination into our school?!” she scoffed. “Of course you do! Look who I’m talking to!” she spat with venom causing Ms. Harris’ eyes to widen in shock. “I don’t care who your mother is, Evette!” she continued to chirp, even reaching a hand up to shove the closer Evette back – this one a clear push. “I will see you fired!” Another push. “Charged!” A third, harder push. “And never allowed to teach again! Both of you…“
Selena wanted to remember more but that was the conclusion of her memory. The rest was a blank – a sight of pure red… and the next thing that she would remember?
She wished with all her heart she could forget.
_______________________________________________________________
The camera opens to the interior of a lavish sitting room. There are blood-red curtains framing a massive window overlooking the building of New York City. And sitting in a dark-green throne chair is none other than the ruler-from-on-high, herself. The SCW world champion, Selena Frost. Her hair is in its iconic braid and a black dress, with a sparkling sequins like stars, decorate her toned frame, leaving her arms and shoulders bare save for a wrap around the neck that keeps the dress in its place. With a slit in the side, it is possible for the world champion have one bare leg crossed over the other – the picture of power and confidence as she gazes into the camera and her audience.
SCW management… SCW wrestlers… S-C-W Universe…
She allows a moment for her words to settle, a knowing smile gracing her features. Do you believe?
Again, she lets the words settle before sitting back against her throne, her right hand holding up a finger. Now before we really get this ball rolling, I imagine I have some explaining to do. Gods know A LOT of people aren’t happy with me…. she grins. For a multitude of reasons, I am sure. And I’m going to get to all that, don’t you worry, but let’s just take a moment to enjoy this…
Taking a slow inhale, the platinum-blonde’s eyes flutter closed. As she exhales, a satisfied grin forms over her lips as she opens her eyes. ’Unbelievable Main Event IV’…
Her eyes sparkle moreso. The most unbelievable main event of them all. The most impossible of them all. Why? Cause it’s never been done before. Twenty-one years this place has been running – well… let’s not say running. Let’s say twenty-one years of this place ‘getting by’. Of this place barely managing to hold a spot in the vast world of wrestling, with it’s lack of integrity and it’s lack of skill and passion and it’s desperation for cheap tricks, ambushes, interferences and it being about ‘who ya got in your pocket’ rather than what you can do in the ring.
Knowing such remarks will bring forth disagreement, Selena holds up a hand to silence such remarks. No no… You look back at some of the greatest of all time: Syren, one of the most decorated superstars in SCW history and one of the most despicable people in SCW – the legions of people she’s hid behind in her career to be ‘at her best’? Hell, she’s still doing it with LexyCorp and their ‘math’. Jason Zero, Jake Starr, Cid Turner, of course CHBK – basically the entire list that Josh Hudson ran his mouth about ‘outlasting’ over the years, and there’s not one of them that hasn’t sold their soul, sold their integrity and sold their morals for the ‘easy win’, the shortcut, the quickest way out…
And yet… speaking of Josh Hudson… The Snow Queen shakes her head knowingly.
Josh Hudson has NOTHING to do with what makes this main event the most unbelievable main-event in SCW history! Now before he comes at me or, runs to X as he’s more likely to do, that isn’t a knock on his abilities or standing within the deluded minds of SCW. I gave Josh credit last Breakdown. I made it clear how big such a match with him is and how it deserves the marquee of Rise to Greatness. However, be that as it may, Josh Hudson… for all his abilities, his ‘wit’, and his ‘years’… could have been anyone. Anyone could have have faced me, to various degrees of stardom and prestige, and the match would STILL be “The Unbelievable Main-Event’! Because what makes this main-event ‘unbelievable’ isn’t Josh Hudson. No… it’s me. It’s all me!
Because despite all those ‘greats’ I mentioned? Despite Josh Hudson’s ’20 years’, no one – not a soul – has ever managed to headline Rise to Greatness four times – let alone four times in a row! Until now…
Selena smiles and gently tilts her head as she places a pale hand over her heart. Twenty-one years, and the impossible is done by the woman that has the integrity, that has made it about the wrestling and the standard of the world championship, that stands before you as YOUR world champion. First of her kind – ONLY of her kind… and you are welcome, SCW. she grins again.
You’re welcome SCW for staying strong and true to my mission of raising the standard. You’re welcome Aaron Demetria for being a woman of my word and bringing you back to the main-event of main-events that you deserve to officiate. You’re welcome, CHBK, for saving your world title division from the dregs that you put it in while I was gone. You’re welcome Adam Sharper and Jonathan Knots for giving you matches that you can be proud to announce for despite your bias against me. You’re welcome SCW staff and all my peers – below my standard as many of you have proven to be – for giving you all jobs that you can be proud of. That you can be proud to say to your friends and whomever that ‘you work for S-C-W – the greatest wrestling federation in the entire world!’ and it actually mean something. You’re welcome to all of you for coming back – despite not having a reason to - and saving the integrity and good name of this place so you all can put food on the table for you and your families.
And Josh Hudson… you’re welcome for bringing the standard up so you can crawl out of your hole – the ever-mouthy ‘keyboard warrior’ on X – and for keeping this place running so you can even have another ‘moment’ here in my world. You’re welcome. You’re welcome… You’re welcome…
She pauses, sitting back in her throne chair, gazing down to examine her fingernails. But I’ll admit, it hasn’t been easy. It certainly hasn’t. I had to put this before everything else. My own wellbeing, my own personal life – and seeing as how everyone can’t stop talking about it, yeah, my own marriage… She looks back up at the camera darkly, the disappointment clear in her eyes. I’ve done what I had to do to keep this place running. To keep this place as the top wrestling federation in the world. That’s how much I believe in what SCW – and what the world title – should be worth. Worth the sacrifices. Worth the hard work. Worth the time and pain. Worth the hatred from all of you.
Lowering her hand, Selena gives a shrug of her shoulders. And that’s what I see from all of you. I see hatred, I see negativity, and most of all, I see desperation to get behind anyone that is against me just because it’s me… and it’s laughable at best. That you will side with anyone so long as they are against me. Even Josh Hudson…
Because, you see, Josh Hudson isn’t going to care about this place in a matter of weeks. He’s not. He’s not going to care about all of you, no matter how many times he says otherwise. ‘SCW-lifer! Oooooh!’… Selena mocks with a wave of her hands before settling back into her usual poise. But let’s be honest here, Josh. That’s all just for show, isn’t it? That’s the keyboard-warrior running his mouth and playing to the crowd. And it’s easy for you to do when you’re in the position that you’re in. I mean, you hid behind your monitor for most of the year, now you’re hiding behind Bree, and you’re just hiding behind all this ‘pandering’ to the masses. When the truth is… you really don’t care about any of it, do you?
SCW? The wrestling? The integrity of this place? The standard of the world title? It really doesn’t mean anything to you, does it? You’re just another guy that wants to be ‘the one’ to take me down. Just something newer to brag about because ‘I beat Xander’s undefeated streak’, yeah THAT hasn’t gotten old in what? 19 years? I mean… I thought KANDIS was bad at milking ONE fluke win… But boy! You put the ‘Shameless One’ to shame with that one, Josh! a laugh escapes her.
Cause that’s all you want, Josh. It’s all about being ‘relevant’ with you. It’s all about having something to hang your hat on – something that, actually, happened in this decade. All about you coming out every now and then just to remind the world ‘Hey! I’m still breathing! I’m still here! I’m all about SCW!’ before running off like you always do when you can’t really do much, right?
Because, let’s face it, you didn’t really do much on your own last time, did you? You don’t have much else to hang your hat on from your last stint, do you? Your little feud with Owen? You were the ‘other guy’ in that feud of the year – the supporting player. Owen got the last laugh and was even the wrestler of the year for that, not you. He got to retire as a double-champion! You? Well, we can touch on that a little later… she gives a little wink to the camera knowingly. And what else, Hudson? Your little stint as world champion? Not really that impressive considering it lasted just a couple of weeks. And I’m pretty sure it’s been a Frost that’s been making your last U.S. title reign look a little sad in comparison! Again, that knowing smile, the Blue-Eyed Devil very aware of the world that she rules.
I mean, let’s be honest, Josh. I could send you to the moon with all you’ve done in your career. Gods know you’ve done it enough. Hall of Famer, multiple title wins, multiple main-events, Feud of the Year, Match of the Year, blah blah blah blah blah…
But when I say that you’ve got nothing to do with the unbelievability of this main-event, it’s as true as the day is long. And, if I’m honest? she gives a rather honest shrug. If I had to pick someone to headline this vital and important Unbelievable Main Event, I wouldn’t have chosen you. she shrugs. I would have chosen someone with some actual RELEVANT star-power. Not some guy that’s still, as you’ve clearly proven these past weeks, resting on his laurels of the early 2000s. Hell, I would have even chosen your current sleeping-partner over you, but we all know how Bree is right now, right? “Playing it safe” in her little Adrenaline-division. That’s why she didn’t enter the royale and why she settled on a ‘no-contest’ in her match against me after Kandis and Kristen Scott saved her from me, am I right? she smiles mockingly at the camera, and the two people she knows is watching.
My point is, Josh, is that you are entering into ‘my world’. This is MY main-event. It belongs to me. And I know you know that. I KNOW that you are intimidated by what you have to deal with. And I know that you are simply just trying to hide all of these truths. You know why I know that? she grins. Because the first words out of your mouth once this match was set… was a lie…
Holding up her hand, Selena cracks each knuckle with her thumb. There I stood in the ring and you on the ramp, with Bree holding your hand – just like you’ve always needed when dealing with me. Someone holding your hand…
But there you are with the world in the palm of your hand, Josh. The 2024 Taking Hold of the Flame royale winner! The next in line to fight for the world title! And it’s against me so the people are already backing you despite all the years you spat on them, disrespected them and, yes, lied to them…
She tilts her head to the ceiling, as if in recollection. And what do you do with such faith and absurd belief, Josh Hudson? What are your first words to these people – these desperate followers?
A lie so obnoxious, so laced in arrogance and so incorrect… that no one – not even the fans – can believe it.
Well… allow me… with a snap of her fingers, a clip of the June 15th edition of Breakdown is played in a small corner of the screen. Selena’s gaze doesn’t shift from glaring at the camera as Josh Hudson is seen from that episode. The number one contender stands on the rampway as he speaks.
The get it done in the ring, wrestling machine. That was me before it was cool. The anti-hardcore, why do people need weapons…yeah, I did that too. Do we need gimmicks? Why use weapons? Why attack people from behind…unless they deserve it…I’ve done it too. See, Selena, I’ve done everything you have. The only difference is that I didn’t need to go the contract route…
Selena snaps her fingers again, causing the clip to blink out. For a moment, she lets the statement settle before a chuckle escapes her, a smile gracing her lips.
Oh Josh… she shakes her head knowingly, lifting it up to gaze at the camera. What… a …lie.
I mean, apart from just repeating the SAME thing every other bitter and jealous wrestler has said to me this year, you just showed your full hand – your true colors – with that little statement, didn’t you? What it is you’re trying so desperately to do.
You want to claim that you’ve done all I’ve done? That you and I are the ‘same’, right? Pfft…
Selena scoffs, the idea utterly absurd. You’ve done everything I’ve done? Okay… so when did you become Supreme Champion? When did you win the Best of the Best tournament or even the Shot of Adrenaline tournament? When were you the ‘wrestler of the year’? Did Owen Cruze give you his from 2022 out of pity or something? A consolation prize for you dropping the ball for the umpteenth time?
She laughs a little. That’s just off the top of my head, Hudson. But you really want to compare the two of us like that, Josh? That because you’ve done some ‘watered-down’ version of ‘it being about wrestling’ and about ‘integrity’ that I’ve done, we’re the same and you ‘know me’? That because you’ve got a Hall of Fame ring and twenty years on-and-off here, you can stand there and lecture me on being an SCW wrestler and world champion? Hudson… we’re not the same. We’ve not done the same. Not even close!
You beat Xander’s Undefeated Streak? I could go on about the number of times I’ve undisputedly beaten ‘The Great Executioner’ including in record time at a Rise to Greatness some years ago, but let’s focus on that little accomplishment you’ve clung to for decades, shall we? What was that streak you ended? 50 weeks? Just shy of a year? Very nice…
Tell me… do you recall how Red Rayne’s 366-day reign as the Adrenaline champion ended? Who ended that?
Not good enough? How bout this. Do you remember how long Kelcey Wallace’s “Perfect Streak” was? Three years of never being pinned? Who ended that? she grins – clearly knowing the answer.
You like to talk about numbers with your years here, Hudson, so let’s look at something else, then.
You’ve been the world champion like me, right? How long? she chuckles. Let me answer that, Josh, because I’ve held this title just in this current reign longer than you have in all three of your reigns COMBINED!
Your reigns as United States champion? Same thing! Tag-team titles? Same thing! Awards? Same thing – Hell, I’ve at least got a few ‘wrestler of the year’ awards packed away somewhere, I am sure. she gives another wink to the camera.
And the list goes on and on and on and on… a history of me outshining you every step of the way. And the funniest thing is… I didn’t need twenty years to do it! Her smile becomes a bit more wicked. I didn’t need twenty years to get to this spot that is the main-event of Rise to Greatness. I didn’t need twenty years to hold the world title three times – I’m at six! Just ask Lexy, she keeps a very careful count!
Point is: I’ve been here for only a decade, Josh. That is true. But in those ten years? I’ve done more in and for the ‘world you helped build’ than you have done in twenty! More matches that shaped this company – including numerous chamber matches that dictated who ruled it-, more matches in general, more money, more accolades, more main-events, hell, the only thing you’ve done more than me is get a Hall of Fame ring and take off more days in one year than I have in those ten! And when I finally get my Hall of Fame ring, buddy, and trust me, it’s going to happen… she steals a glance to her bare ring finger. I’ll have a MUCH bigger spot, statue, and plaque than you ever will! I will be on the Mount Rushmore of the greatest wrestlers of all time! Can you say the same with a straight face? Or are you going to tell another lie?
She holds up a pointed finger. That’s the biggest difference, Josh. While you say whatever works for you – while you lie - I am a woman of truth. I tell the truth, whether the SCW Universe wants to hear it or not. Whether the SCW Universe wants to believe it or not…
She shrugs her shoulders. And the truth is? You’re the only one that believes that we are the same in any way. Where you did these things like ‘hold the world title’, I dominated it. Where you ‘spoke of integrity and making it all about wrestling’, I ordered it to be done without compromise. I made it the standard. And where you tried to stand out in this business, I have shone like a diamond in this business!
You talked the talk. I walked the walk, Josh. And the reason you tell this blatant lie in our comparison, old man, is because deep down? You’re just desperate to be me.
I mean, let’s go back to the bulk of our history, Josh. You brought it up somewhat, didn’t you? People think “Josh Hudson and Selena Frost”, what comes to mind?
Sapphire eyes narrow. Past, Present… and Future…
A faction of three people, where you promised to bring the future of SCW forward! You promised the world to Regan and Sienna, despite demanding the top billing of the group as ‘The Past’, right? How did that go?
Oh wait… you said it that same night as that clip, didn’t you? You ‘outlasted them’. ‘Out-evolved them’. Selena shakes her head knowingly. Funny how you would say that about the women you had promised to give everything to. That you promised to make the future of this business and now you use them to promote yourself over them… But what a surprise… Josh Hudson lies. Maybe Bree Lancaster should be taking notes and keeping her divorce lawyer on standby?
Because what was the real purpose of that little group, Josh, aside from keeping you relevant? Who was the grand target of this group? Oh yeah… it was me. It was me that you were instructing Sienna and Regan to get rid of. To remove from SCW. To end the career of! To replace at the top of this federation with your own cheap imitation in Sienna Swann…
Clicking her tongue inside her mouth, Selena tilts her gaze back at the camera. And how did that go, Josh? Let me be the ‘reality check’ that you are pretending to be here. You QUIT on them and they both moved on to greater success without you… and I was the one that outlasted your ‘Past, Present, and Future’! In the end… your mere imitation couldn’t hold a candle to the original.
Sitting back, Selena once more appears more the powerful queen-figure. And that’s all you’re doing now, Josh, with this whole ‘I’ve done all you’ve done’. You’re just fooling yourself, embarrassing yourself, and making the case known. At the end of the day, you’re just another watered-down version of me, trying so desperately to fill shoes that you never will. Trying so desperately to be the legend that you will never be! No matter how hard you scream it, how much you try and tell yourself you’ve ‘done all I’ve done’.
Don’t get me wrong! Even a watered-down version of me can clearly get far in this business. Anyone trying to do what I do can certainly accomplish something! Look at you! Look at what you’ve TRULY accomplished, Josh!
But at the end of the day… she leans forward. There’s no beating the real deal. There’s no beating the genuine article. And this weekend, you’re going to find that out. Like the last ten years, you’re going to be outwrestled, outclassed, and outdone by me! This weekend, I will take your ‘lesson’ and turn it around. I’ll be the teacher here and I will be teaching you what true wrestling, true integrity is all about, and why I only needed a decade to eclipse your supposed ‘greatness of an SCW-lifer’! She scoffs at the mere name before refocusing on the camera.
And when it is all said and done – when I am standing over you once again, with my foot over your chest… you will know who the true ‘novice’ is, Hudson. And it won’t matter then what lie you tell, Josh. What you say, type or tweet…
Because, when it’s all finished… A wicked grin crosses Selena’s features. NO ONE – not even your precious Bree… is going to believe you…
The camera slowly fades on the Snow Queen before going entirely to black.
OOC: The following contains views and remarks that DO NOT represent the handler.
Villain of the Year
”School of Frost: Part 1 – Crushing Hearts and Competition”
The Eyrie Tower
New York City, New York
July 22nd, 2024
1:54am
Another sleepless night was claiming her, and no matter how heavy her eyes and her head felt, Selena Frost knew that sleep was just not in the cards for her tonight. She had lost track how many nights like this she had had to power through over the last few weeks – where, no matter how hard she tried, sleep would not be granted. Frustrated, the woman, dressed in only her favorite magenta nightgown that flowed down past her legs to pool around her feet, ran her hands through her loose hair, feeling the strands of platinum-blonde between her fingers. She purposefully, as she paced around the office, kept her eyes away from the large mirror in the corner. She didn’t want to see her reflection within the dark-red-mahogany boarded glass. She already knew what she would see:
Bloodshot eyes.
Somewhat disheveled hair.
Bags under those red eyes.
Slightly sunken cheeks.
All usual signs of lack of sleep and care. She didn’t need to see them to know they were there. With a quiet surrender, perhaps more to just ‘do something’, the young woman pulled herself to the bookshelf behind her large desk (made of similar wood as the mirror frame). Once there, she took the miniature compartment from one of the shelves and, using her thumbs, pressed the dials of the locking mechanism to unlock it. The clear-gel pills stared back at her, which she ignored, simply plucking one of the NX out and tossing it into her mouth, swallowing it with a little difficulty, which only indicated to the woman how dry her throat was.
Another thing to do… she thought to herself, moving back over to her desk to sip the water within the ‘Wicked Musical’ Lime Green cup. She had gotten the cup after visiting the musical on Broadway a few weeks ago, one of the many ‘things’ she had done to try make herself feel better despite SCW and her pending divorce. The Snow Queen had done… well, whatever peaked her interest at the time, to distract her brain from such things over the past few weeks. See musicals, visit museums, go to arcades. She had done her best to stay away from bars and pubs, at least alone, not wanting to risk falling of the wagon and drinking again. After all… her thoughts mocked. If you gave up and went back on the NX…
Her jaw clenched as she pushed the thought back. The NX would not be necessary after Rise to Greatness, she had told herself that over and over again, as if repeating it would set the matter in stone and lay it to rest. Right now, she needed to maintain the standard she had placed on SCW. With people now trying to ‘rig things’ by interfering in her matches, use weapons against her – basically with Kandis and Kristen Scott constantly making threats and ready to jump at her at any minute, as Kandis had tried to do at Taking Hold of the Flame in Selena’s match against Xander - the Snow Queen refused to have even a moment of weakness! She couldn’t afford to. Not when she was so close…
It's why the last few weeks had bothered her far more than she liked. Josh Hudson…
She felt her jaw clench again at the thought of him, her pacing slowing to a stop. He had gotten close – so damn close – to making her look weak. Far more than even Xander F’n Valentine had managed! His mind games with the officials, discrediting Selena as a ‘novice’, standing over her after she had just survived that fatal-fourway against Polly, Kandis, and Kristen Scott…
He had gotten closer than any other challenger before him this year in getting the upper hand in Selena’s carefully-orchestrated plan. “Why did it have to be him…” she felt herself whisper. And it was an honest question. It wasn’t that she didn’t think she could beat the Hall of Famer. She had… quite a few times in the past actually. But it was different than Xander. Xander was… Selena could respect the man so much and on so many levels – though she couldn’t really admit it fully as ‘The Blue-Eyed Devil of SCW’. After years of battles that had, honestly, made her a better superstar, what mattered to the Executioner was no longer mind-games but what happened in-between the ropes. Hudson? He wasn’t above such things.
It was one of the reasons Selena had played her hand last Breakdown, dipping into the ‘darker side of her actions’, like she had in the THOTF royale and costing Polly, Kandis, and Kristen their spots in it. She had interfered in Hudson’s match – and while it was ‘perfectly legal’ within the confines of an Underground match – it wasn’t supposed to be ‘her style’. A necessary evil… she had told herself then, and told herself now – or rather, the devil-voice told her.
She had needed to get control and momentum back on her side. Hudson had gotten it after that fatal-fourway and furthered it during that one-sided/bias interview with Adam Sharper. True, defeating Polly in the cage had pushed Selena closer to ‘back on track’, but it hadn’t been enough in her mind – not by a long shot. A stronger statement needed to be made. Hudson had tried to play this game like…like… the comparison came to her almost instantly…
Like Adam Allocco had… Like Kandis had! Her jaw clenched at the memories. Both of her past losses, her opponents had tried the same tactic – discredit, mind-games and getting the momentum on their side. Adam with his ‘five moves of doom match’ on poor Deanna and Kandis with her lie of ‘I gave a board member a blowjob to get the number 40 spot!’. All to mess with Selena’s head and take her off her game before Rise to Greatness.
She refused to let that happen again! She refused to appear anything less than 100% going into her fourth ‘Unbelievable Main Event’! Repeating the past was not an option and she had come too far in all of this to fail at the finish line! So, she had to ‘play by their rules’ a little to make her point? So be it! SCW needed to understand just how worse Selena could make things if she always played by ‘their rules’. If she used chairs and weapons to ‘eliminate competitors’. If she attacked superstars backstage and from behind with her deadly kicks. If she fought, not for the integrity of the world title and the standard she believed in, but just to keep herself at the top of the mountain like Syren, Sienna, and so many other champions – including Josh Hudson - had done before her.
Taking a slow breath, Selena finally felt the NX kicking in, the numbness creeping over her body and, somewhat, calming her. She would deal with Hudson in less than a week. On her terms, with her official, and it would all be made right. She would undo the stain on her career, replace it with a victory that would be fair and cement her place, her legacy, and the legacy of the world championship as well as its standard. After RTG, no one would doubt her spot or how the world championship of SCW was the greatest title in the world, upheld to the highest standard!
And Demtria will have his main-event that he deserved…
And I can have my fair match on the main-event of Rise…
And I can…
She slowly let her mind trail out of such thoughts, tired of thinking of them for so long, allowing the devil-voice to overpower them, prompting her to focus on the task at hand. With a sigh, the world champion’s sapphire eyes turned back to her desk. To the small stack of papers that had been there for weeks. Her other OTHER mortal enemy – aside from Josh Hudson, Leslie Sanderson and ESPECIALLY Kandis! (Gods it feels so satisfying to have that bitch dealing with MY table scraps at Rise while I take the main-event!... Selena thought with satisfaction), a fleeting emotion as her eyes beheld the stack of contracts.
The thickest one was the more recent one. Her renewal contract in SCW, meant to keep her services within SCW as soon as her current contract expired the day after Rise to Greatness. With SCW management kowtowing to her demands with her return last December, enacting every clause and demand she had incorporated into the initial contract, they had not hesitated to send another to her a few weeks ago. And within the privacy of her own home, away from the eyes of the world, Selena could easily admit… it was beyond generous.
There was more money.
There was a higher percentage in pay-per-view payouts.
There was more vacation days.
There was more coverage for her expenses.
There was… just more. So much more…
And yet… she hadn’t signed it yet. She honestly didn’t know what was stopping her. Any idiot would sign it. Anyone with half a brain would sign it! She was already the highest paid wrestler in SCW with her record, accolades, bonuses and status. This new contract only further cemented that. Yet… she didn’t sign it.
You know why… came the demeaning devil-voice, forcing the Snow Queen to sigh aloud.
Again, the privacy she had paid a fortune for – a castle in the sky – allowed her to be candid with herself. In truth, she hadn’t signed it because… she didn’t know what came after. Her whole plan – from start to finish – had had Rise to Greatness as the endgame. To dominate SCW with her standard, her way of integrity and undisputed winners and losers based on talent and heart rather than ambushes and underhanded tactics – it had always been at St. Louis where the final piece would come into play. Rise to Greatness. That was it. She… she hadn’t thought about ‘afterwards’.
Could she still be the ‘Blue-Eyed Devil’? Could she still enforce her will and her ‘rules’ on the world championship? And, gods forbid, what if she failed and it was all for nothing? Could she even show her face in SCW again? She had already lost the last two RTG main-events… she couldn’t imagine what would happen if she lost a third time in a row…
Angry at the thought, Selena turned away from the stacked papers, letting out an angry yell as she resumed her pacing around the room. The other contract – the older one – was just as infuriating to her. Just as difficult, if not more so, to sign! And it’s only one page…. Buried under the mountain… she thought, refusing to look at it. She had promised Deanna to sign that one… she would have to sign that one…
Another sigh escaped her, again the privacy granting her the freedom to be as loud as she wished – one of the few things she was grateful for having as opposed to the ‘Frost Forever Home’…
The mere thought almost spiked the anxiety in her to a point that almost overcame the effects of the NX. Startled by that, Selena slowly breathed, urging herself to calm back down, a doable task, but the mental thoughts still persisted.
What had she been thinking agreeing to Leslie’s wager?! The bitter, racist, homophone of a woman had shown her hand when Selena had challenged her ‘superior students’ against those of the summer school she was teaching. A fit-day competition that would see the kids face each other, with the winning team being whoever won the most events. The platinum-blonde had placed the wager down that if her students prevailed, Leslie would cease her campaign to punish them for their cheating in the school year and let them, should they pass the summer program, proceed to their proper grade. With Leslie and her committee out of the way, it would be far easier and less stressful for the children to focus on their studies.
But Leslie had thrown a wrench into the works. Selena had always suspected that this whole thing was her former neighbour’s vendetta against the Frost family – but for Leslie to demand that Selena put up her ‘Forever Home’ as collateral for a loss! To put her family’s home – where her children, dog and wife – ex-wife, whatever! – lived.
Then why did you say yes? came the devil-voice, seemingly playing devil’s advocate.
“What choice did I have?” Selena sighed, speaking aloud. “If they pushed any further, they could have ended the whole program. Then those kids would have to repeat the class-“
And that was worth your house?
“I can buy them a new house if I have to.” Selena shrugged. “I mean… I don’t want to… I don’t want them to have to leave… but it’s David’s future! And it’s only if they lose! They won’t- in the end-“
The ends…
“Will justify the means…” she was taken aback by the way her voice dropped so low. Not like that of the devil-voice, but still surprising. For a moment, she just stood there, slowly turning her head to finally regard her reflection within the damned mirror. Just as she had predicted, she saw the bloodshot eyes and the bags under those eyes.
She looked crazy.
She looked deranged.
She looked like…
“I protect what’s mine-“
She shut the thought down before it was formed, marching out of the second-floor office and stripping out of her nightgown, pulling it over her frame as she did. As she passed the bedroom, she tossed the clothing into the room, refusing to break her march as she made her way across the hall and towards the built in gym on the same floor.
If sleep was going to be denied, then she was going to work herself into a slumber. Even if she had to run 10k to do it!
************************
PS 290 The Manhattan New School
Manhattan, New York
July 8th, 2024
11:45pm
The workout hadn’t done it… dammit!
Casting her eyes on her children – all ten of the students as they played a game of dodgeball on the concrete section of the school playground – Selena contemplated putting them through one of her workouts for SCW, immediately dismissing the idea. Last thing she wanted was one of them to get hurt trying to go at her current level in the gym. They all wanted to do well and pass – more or less – but there was no way they needed to do what Selena pushed herself to do every day and night for Rise to Greatness.
Carefully, keeping her eyes closed so, even with her thick, round shades on to block out the sun (to keep her headache from getting worse), the Snow Queen drank a bit more of her ice-coffee with triple expresso (her third one today). That accomplished, she adjusted her maroon t-shirt and black leggings before returning her focus on her students.
She had divided the ten into equal teams of 5, pressing that the teams use communication and teamwork to try and win for their side. And while the game had mostly been a ‘free-for-all’ of fun, the kids had, throughout, had moments of communicating and working together. Blazer and Frog – the ‘cool’ kid and his ‘sidekick’ respectfully – were, oddly enough, the best pair of this. In that Frog would fetch the ball, even taking it from other players on his own team (before Selena reprimanded him for it), and rushing the ball over to Blazer, who would throw it with such ferocity. On the other side, Sophia would nimbly dodge away from every shot, even try and distract her opponents from attacking her teammates by waving her arms or mocking the other team with the childish, but effective “Can’t get me! Nah nah!”. On the other side, Selena noticed, Mara, the tomboy, would never throw at Sophia, not anywhere near her. Interesting…
It was little things like this that Selena had noticed of all her students for the last few weeks/classes as she taught them. Not just their names but who they were as children. It was hard sometimes, trying to keep track of ten students while also being the SCW world champion, but she was managing, albeit barely. For a moment, watching them, the young Frost wondered what Deanna would think if she shared such stories and observations with the redhead. Would she be proud of how Selena was trying and getting to know these kids? How she was striving for their success as much as their own son?
Not if she knows you wagered her house! came the mocking devil-voice, which Selena shut down immediately. She would find a way around that. A way for Deanna to never know, even if she did lose the wager with Leslie.
The buzzing of the bell broke Selena’s thoughts, causing her to look back at her kids, who suddenly stopped playing. “That’s class everyone!” Selena called out as the ten students all gathered around. “Before I dismiss you, though.” She gazed at each one. “What did we learn today? About communication and teamwork?”
A hand shot up, Selena recognizing it immediately. “Yes, Garrett?” she acknowledged the short, round boy.
“When we work together, we did better!” he stated as earnestly as he could.
“Very good.” She eyed another student out of the corner of her eye, who was staying distant from the group. “Joey?”
The dark-skinned youth scoffed. “It’s Blazer, Mrs. F!”
“It’s Mrs. Frost, Blazer.” Selena corrected. “What did you learn from this?”
“Aim low.” He stated. “Harder for people to dodge.”
Looking up for a moment, Selena gave a shrug of her shoulders. “Fair point. But I meant about teamwork.”
He huffed a breath at that, earning Devin’s – Frog’s – reaction. “Blazer thinks-“
“Devin…” Selena warned. “I’m asking Blazer.” She turned her gaze back to the boy. “Do you believe that you can handle anything and everything by your own?”
“Long as I’m calling the shots.” Blazer shrugged. “People do what I say, then we win.”
“Ah…” Selena nodded. “But who will ‘do as you say’ when no one believes in you? When you don’t listen or let others ‘call the shots’?” She asked. “A good leader, kids, isn’t someone that just barks out orders. A good leader listens to his teammates and those around him. They acknowledge everyone’s part on the team and they know that – without their team – they’re not really a leader of anything. They aren’t anything.”
She turned her attention back to the young boy. “Do you believe that you could win a game of dodgeball on your own, Blazer?” she asked gently.
“I…” the kids eyed the other students, who were all looking at him. “It’s just a stupid game.” He scoffed.
Nodding her head, Selena closed the distance between her and the boy, kneeling down to whisper to him. “Take it from someone who knows, Blazer.” She gently put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It’s lonely at the top.”
“It is?” he asked, somewhat surprised.
“It is.” Selena nodded. “And scary. Always worried someone’s going to take it from you. Having no one to turn to. If I could…” she sighed. “If I could choose between having a wonderful support system that I listen to or just being the only one that called the shots?” she could admit this to the kid – not like he was going to run to SCW and talk. “I would choose the support system. In having people who believed in me just like I believed in them.” She turned her head to the other kids. “Like I believe in all of you.”
She let those words settle, seeing the smiling faces of most of the kids. “Alright.” She laughed a little. “Get on to lunch!” She smiled, watching as the kids scampered to their bags, all lying along the side of the school wall, and immediately scattered once more to various parts of the playground. Some sat on the field of half-buried tires, others on the jungle-gym, others still on the stand-alone slide. Some of the groups and pairs were common.
Mara and Sophia.
Blazer and Frog.
David and Sara and Garrett.
Selena took stock of all her students’ locations, so much so that she didn’t notice the person coming up behind her until they had spoken.
“How are we doing?” the voice was soft and gentle, which allowed Selena to not be so startled by it. Turning her head, she spied Ms. Evette Harris, the brunette smiling at the taller Selena.
“Well.” Selena nodded. “I think they’ll be fine for the competition on Friday.”
The remark caused a slight unease to flitter across Evette’s face. “Are you… do you think they’ll win?” she asked nervously. “I don’t want to see you…”
“That’s not your concern.” Selena replied gently, turning her head back to the woman. “Though I appreciate it very much.” She added a smile to ease the woman’s worry. “I won’t be losing my house, Evette.”
“But if they lose…”
“They won’t.” Selena pressed. “They just… won’t.”
A glance at the platinum-blonde showed that the more-experienced teacher was not so easily convinced. “Do you…” Selena asked slowly. “Do you know something?”
The question caused the shorter woman to return her gaze to Selena. “No… I just…” she chose her words carefully. “I don’t trust Leslie.”
“Join the club.” Selena laughed. “She’s been a thorn in my side for nearly ten years.”
“But you don’t see her on the board.” Harris remarked, earning a surprised eyebrow raise from Selena.
“Are you…”
“On the board?” Evette nodded. “I report back to Mo- Mrs. Warlow on what they are up to. And Leslie… she’s vicious.”
“Again.” Selena sighed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Selena…” Evette stressed. “She’s blackmailing more than a few board members to side with her.”
Selena’s eyes went wide unintentionally. “How do you…”
“Because I listen.” The teacher remarked. “And… because she has tried it with me.”
“You?” Selena asked. “What could she possibly have on you?”
Opening her mouth to speak, Evette was only able to let out a sound before it was overpowered by a loud “EXCUUUUSE MEEEE!!!!” that projected itself across the playground, enough for Selena’s headache that she had been struggling with to flare up.
“Oh gods…” the platinum-blonde whispered before slowly turning around to see the big-haired woman strutting towards the wrestler and teacher, a group of ten kids behind her.
“Here we go…” Selena whispered under her breath, picking up her ice coffee to down the remains before placing it back down on the ground just as Leslie Sanderson reached her. “Leslie…” Selena smiled tightly. “What brings you here. Don’t tell me!” she spoke quickly. “You’re reenacting Snow White and the seven dwarves. Hate to tell you, hun, but there’s only seven dwarves and if you’re the ‘fairest in the land’…” her voice dropped lower. “Then I may just switch back to men.”
“Selena!” Evette gasped at the last remark, though Leslie remained unfazed.
“Spoken like a true degenerate.” She remarked simply. “I just thought that I would take my winning team for some practice. I mean, that’s only fair, right? Your kids get to practice every day.”
“This is a schoolyard.” Harris remarked defensively. “The students in our care are in class.”
“Yeah…” Leslie eyed Evette warningly. “Don’t you have some chalk erasers to smack together?” any adult could hear the threatening tone in Leslie’s voice. Evette certainly did, the woman slowly backing up a little at the thinly veiled remark.
“Okay, Leslie.” Selena sighed, stepping forward in Harris’ place. “Witty repartee aside. What do you want?”
With a grin, Leslie gestured behind her. “Just want you to meet the winning team. All A+ students – all honest and good kids. Not cheaters like yours!” she stressed the last name with a bit of a hiss and Selena was sure she saw some spit escape the woman as she said it. With her hand, Leslie pointed to each child. “Greg, Mary, Colt, Houdin, Tremon, Killian, Benny, Jasper, Roger… and of course…” she moved her hand to wrap around the young boy she hadn’t named, though Selena recognized him instantly. “My star player. My little joy and spark of greatness. Team captain: Willy.”
“You have a team captain for a public-school team?” Selena raised her eyebrow. “Seems sort of elitist… what am I saying? Look who I’m talking to.” She gestured towards Leslie, who was too busy fawning over her son to pay attention. It was a second that allowed Selena to eye the whole team before her. Overall, they really seemed no different than her students. Nobody stood out. Nobody seemed ‘misplaced’. They were just kids, like her students.
Which further cements my point that my kids deserve their second chance… cause they ARE just kids…Not ‘problem children’ like what she believes!
“Well, hello.” She said politely to the kids. “My name is Mrs. Frost. And it’s a pleasure to meet you. I believe you all know Ms. Harris?”
“Hello.” Evette smiled. “Hope you’re all having a good summer so far.”
“Yeah!” One of them – Selena thought Leslie had named them Roger – answered. “My family are going to go-“
“No fraternizing with the enemy cheaters!” Leslie spat back.
“What does ‘fratter sizing’ mean?” Came the question from one the rival students – Benny, Selena guessed in recollection.
“It means she and her students are your enemy and you do not talk to them!” Leslie explained.
“Seriously, Leslie?” Selena balked. “They’re just kids. What’s happening with you and me can stay that way. You don’t need to go this far.”
“Oh… intimidated I see.” Leslie laughed and teased. “Afraid I’ll expose your little group for the frauds you all are?”
Geez! A NICKEL for every time someone used that line on me. Selena thought, irritated.
“Well… what do you say to a little… ‘recreational preview’?” Leslie asked slowly, rubbing her hands together.
“No.” Selena stated.
“Oh come onnnn, Selena.” Sanderson drawled in that damn, pitchy voice of hers. “Nothing on the line. Just a little preview. You pick your best student to go against my Willy. A little race. Nothing crazy. Just a little running around.”
“Leslie.” Selena exhaled, stepping closer to Leslie, which further emphasized her taller frame. It was the closeness that seemed to spark something in the blasted woman’s eyes – a stark reminder of what Selena, a wrestler, was capable of compared to a stay-at-home mom like Leslie. “I am not entertaining you or your games. The kids are on lunch and they earned it. They’ve been working hard all morning and-“
“Mrs. Frost…”
The voice caught Selena’s attention, surprising her as she turned around, stunned to silence as she saw all ten of her students standing a few feet behind her, matching the positioning of Leslie and her crew. Even Blazer – he looked tougher than the others, though not by much – cracking his knuckles together. “We’re not going anywhere.” He added to the world champion. “That our competition?”
“It…” Selena breathed. “It is.”
“Mom…” It was David’s turn, her son, standing beside Sara, in his Marvel Avengers shirt and holding half of a peanut butter sandwich that Deanna had made. “Leave my mom alone.” He called out to Leslie. “You’ve always been a meanie, Mrs. Sanderson!”
“Such language!” Leslie gasped mockingly. “Is that how you raise your children, Selena? By teaching them to disrespect their elders?”
“Trust me.” Selena smiled proudly. “You’ve not SEEN disrespect from my son. That’s him BEING respectful.”
“Hmmm…not surprising.” Leslie shook her head. “Like I said-“
“Leslie.” Evette spoke up, seemingly emboldened by the actions of Selena’s students. “I’ve had enough of you bad-mouthing this school and Mrs. Frost and her students. If you continue, I shall report you to Mrs. Warlow and have you removed immediately and this whole ‘fit day’ nonsense cancelled.”
“Watch. Your. Tone.” Leslie warned, glaring at the woman. “Especially with me. Consider that your last warning.” To emphasis her point, the woman reached up to poke-push a pointed finger against Evette’s shoulder, pushing her back a step.
“Leave Ms. Harris alone!” David shot back at the sight.
“Yeah!” Sara added, standing close to David.
“Enough!” Selena’s voice shot out, silencing the growing anger of the crowd. Glaring over at Leslie, she yanked off her sunglasses, immediately regretting it as the stabbing rays of light stung her eyes and ignited her headache (though she did all she could to hide it) – it was easier wrestling the damn Executioner! she thought angrily. “You want to race, Leslie?” she watched her former neighbour nod smugly.
“Fine.” Selena turned to her students. “Do I have a volunteer to run against Willy?”
Immediately, nine out of the ten hands shot up. Everyone except Garrett, which only caused Selena’s focus to go to him.
“I…” Garrett started before shaking his head. “I’m really slow.”
“Shocking.” Leslie laughed, eyeing the large child. “Unless you put a candy bar at the finish line! HA HA!” the shrill laugh further irritated Selena, the Snow Queen using every trick she knew not to react to it.
Conceal… her mind whispered. Don’t feel…
“Mrs. Frost…” it was the only voice that spoke from her group and Selena followed it as Mara made her way to the front. Turning to her classmates, the grade 5 tomboy rolled her shoulders back bravely. “Let me do it, guys. Please.”
“Why?” Blazer asked.
“Because…” Mara’s eyes shot over to a certain spot – one only Selena could trace fast enough – to the girl Mara had eyed. “I want to. I want to beat this guy for making fun of our team! And our teachers!” she sounded so tough in that statement, and yet, as she turned back to Selena, her voice dropped to a whispered plea. “Please, Mrs. Frost.”
The platinum-blonde eyed the child for a moment before kneeling down. “You’re putting your classmate’s faith on your shoulders, Mara.” She whispered. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Yeah.” Mara nodded. “I’ve been running my whole life. It’s fun.”
The Snow Queen paused for a moment, as if to contemplate – though she had already made up her mind. “Alright.” She nodded before standing back up. “Mara will race for us!”
A few cheers and ‘Wooos!’ came from her students as Selena turned back over to Leslie, gesturing to the far side of the school playground, where a chained-linked fence outlined the perimeter. “I say… what? From the school around the playground? One lap from school wall and back around the chain-linked fence?”
“Sounds perfect.” Leslie shot back, grinning all the while. “One lap is nothing for my Willy.”
“Uh-huh.” Selena dismissed the remark. “Race is in five minutes.” She turned and guided her students to the side, allowing ample space for the two runners to stretch and get ready.
As the world champion kept an eye on Mara from a distance (to ensure Leslie didn’t try anything), she felt a tug on her shirt, causing her to turn her head to the Latina girl standing before her: Sophia.
“Mrs. Frost.” She whispered, glancing up at the much taller Selena before turning her gaze back over to Mara as the tomboy stretched and – was she flexing a little?. “Is Mara going to be okay?”
Casting another glance at Mara, Selena, again, noticed the nine-year old staring back at them, or rather at Sophia.
Oh well well… Selena couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips as she felt something click in her mind. Still, she didn’t show it, merely shrugging her shoulders as she knelt down to be more eye level with Sophia, as she had with Blazer. “Are you worried?”
The girl, still in her dark-purple leggings and light-blue shirt from gym class, nodded. “I don’t want her to get hurt. She tries so hard to do these crazy things.”
“Maybe…” Selena shrugged. “Maybe she’s trying to get someone’s attention.” She teasingly spoke. “I mean, I can’t speak for Mara, but when I was wrestling – I would do all sorts of crazy things to get my wife’s attention.”
“You did?” Sophia asked.
“Oh sure!” Selena laughed. “One time, to get her to notice me, I fought this huge guy inside a steel cage. Auclair was his name. The guy was a giant! Like five feet taller than me!” she used her hand to indicate the height. “A literal giant!”
“No way!” Sophia shook her head. “How did you do it?”
“Well… I had someone worth fighting for.” Selena shrugged. “That was all I needed.” She eyed Mara once again. “Maybe Mara… just needs to know you’re watching.”
“Did…” Sophia bit her lower lip. “Did your wife do anything to help you win?”
“Oh sure!” Selena shrugged, instinctively reaching up to her neck, but stopping when she remembered that nothing was there now… a stab of sadness filling her core that she quickly pushed down. “When I would wrestle really big matches, I’d always make sure she’d kiss me on the cheek before I left. Every time. Best good luck charm ever.”
“Oh…” Sophia’s eyes widened, her eyes moving back over to Mara. “And it worked?”
“Well, yeah, that and the good luck ring she gave me.” It’s called an engagement and wedding ring, idiot. mocked her mind. And you won’t have those for much longer, will you?!
Another stab of silence hit her, so much so that Selena almost didn’t see Sophia suddenly jog out towards Mara. Wisely, the Snow Queen stayed back, keeping an appropriate distance as the dark-skinned girl reached the tomboy. She spoke shyly, at least her gestures seemed to indicate that before, slowly, Sophia removed something from her finger and placed it on Mara’s, who stood there in shock, her mouth hanging open at whatever Sophia was saying. To put the icing on the cake, however, Sophia bit her lower lip before, seemingly, going for it! Ducking her head down, she kissed Mara’s cheek before scampering off back to Selena, leaving Mara dumbfounded… as well as Leslie, who was watching the whole thing.
It was too much for Selena – a laugh escaping her – as she stood there, enough for Evette to coyly walk up to her. “What did you do?” she asked good-naturedly.
“Me?” Selena shrugged. “Nothing. Nothing at all… though I gotta say…” she dropped her voice down to a whisper. “Willy doesn’t stand a chance. Poor kid.”
She bit her lower lip knowingly as the two racers finally, with a bit of yelling and prompting from Leslie, lined up at the ‘starting line’ for the race.
“Okay!” Selena called out, standing between the two. “On ‘Go!’, it’s off to the races. Got it?”
Both Willy and Mara gave a nod of their heads, each taking a kind of stance that looked more like The Flash – Selena had watched the show with David – than anything else.
“Go Willy-bear!” Yelled out Leslie. “Show those cheaters!”
Ignoring her, Selena lifted her hands up. “3…2…1… GO!”
The two kids were off, each running past Selena, with her students all shouting Mara’s name and rooting her on! The first turn came up and Willy was in the lead, but Mara was hot on his trail. By the second turn, they were running neck and neck. It was this point that the usually quiet Sophia screamed. “Come on, Mara!” she called out, temporarily getting Mara’s attention. “You got this!”
It was as if something had kicked the tomboy’s gears into overdrive! For in that second, Mara sprinted for all she was worth, speeding past Willy on the third-turn and widening her lead by the fourth and final turn.
“NO!” screamed Leslie. “Don’t you dare lose, William! Don’t you dare lose!!” Her voice once more held that threatening tone, and, to his credit, Willy, closing his eyes, tried to put one last burst of speed into his run to catch up. But it was too little too late as Mara crossed the ‘finish line’, immediately gasping for air as her classmates all ran to her, cheering her name and making all kinds of congratulatory sounds! One of the kids, Garrett – Selena thought – even dug out his phone to play “We are the Champions” by Queen as loud as possible!
For her part, Selena merely clapped her hands, standing beside Evette (also applauding) as the children celebrated. Eventually, Mara found her way to Sophia, the tomboy throwing her arms around the taller Latina and hugging her tightly, the two even jumping up and down together before Mara rushed over to Selena.
“Mrs. Frost! Ms. Harris!” Mara remarked. “I won!”
“You certainly did!” Selena grinned. “Congrats!”
“You did so well!” Ms. Harris added.
“And look! Look!” Mara quickly showed her hand, revealing the dark-blue plastic ring around her finger – Sophia back to her shy self. “Sophia gave me her ring for good luck! She’s… she’s my girlfriend now!”
Selena’s eyes went wide, as did Ms. Harris. “Wow!” both women said at the same time. “Congratulations!” They both said.
“To both of you.” Selena added with a laugh. “Now run and go celebrate with your teammates! It’s still lunchtime!”
Both girls, now holding hands, ran off to join their friends, leaving Selena alone with Evette, the former chuckling a little as she crossed her arms. “How do you like that?” she asked. “A little puppy love in summer school. Who’d have thought?”
“Very adorable.” Evette remarked. “Make sure you don’t invalidate their feelings during class.” She quickly instructed. “It’s part of them growing up.”
“I have three kids, Evette.” Selena smiled. “You think I haven’t dealt with my daughter or son having a crush.” She gestured towards David, standing by the swing with Sara, the two laughing about something. “Even if he doesn’t know it yet…”
She was about to relax when she was suddenly seized from behind, a hand grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around. Within a second, Selena saw Leslie glaring a hole through her.
“What the hell kind of disgusting display was that?!” she demanded to know.
“What?” Selena asked. “You losing? Better get used to it, Leslie, cause that’s what’s happening this Friday.”
“Please!” Leslie spat. “I don’t mean the race you clearly rigged. I mean THAT!” with a sharp finger, Leslie pointed down the playground where Mara and Sophia were standing, merely enjoying what was left of their lunch together.
“What about it?” Selena asked, turning to gaze at Leslie.
Leslie scoffed at the reply. “I knew you were up to no good, Selena! First you encourage your son to cheat. Then you try and let those cheaters get away with it – and now you’re corrupting our students?!”
“Excuse me?!” Evette asked in shock. “What are you talking about?!”
“THAT!” Leslie pointed again. “That disgusting display! You are corrupting our children! Turning them gay with your disease!”
Selena’s eyes went wide, what little control she had even with the help of the NX was slipping fast, being replaced by something as equally familiar to the Alaskan Dragon…
“The board will hear about this!” Leslie vowed. “They’ll shut it all down! You infecting their children with your disgusting and- and- and- perverted and-“
“Enough!” Evette stepped forward defensively. “Selena has done NOTHING wrong and neither have her students! It’s a crush. Puppy love! It’s perfectly normal in children their age-“
“You call THAT normal?!” Leslie screams turned over to the teacher. “You bring that filth! That abomination into our school?!” she scoffed. “Of course you do! Look who I’m talking to!” she spat with venom causing Ms. Harris’ eyes to widen in shock. “I don’t care who your mother is, Evette!” she continued to chirp, even reaching a hand up to shove the closer Evette back – this one a clear push. “I will see you fired!” Another push. “Charged!” A third, harder push. “And never allowed to teach again! Both of you…“
Selena wanted to remember more but that was the conclusion of her memory. The rest was a blank – a sight of pure red… and the next thing that she would remember?
She wished with all her heart she could forget.
_______________________________________________________________
The Royal Letter
The camera opens to the interior of a lavish sitting room. There are blood-red curtains framing a massive window overlooking the building of New York City. And sitting in a dark-green throne chair is none other than the ruler-from-on-high, herself. The SCW world champion, Selena Frost. Her hair is in its iconic braid and a black dress, with a sparkling sequins like stars, decorate her toned frame, leaving her arms and shoulders bare save for a wrap around the neck that keeps the dress in its place. With a slit in the side, it is possible for the world champion have one bare leg crossed over the other – the picture of power and confidence as she gazes into the camera and her audience.
SCW management… SCW wrestlers… S-C-W Universe…
She allows a moment for her words to settle, a knowing smile gracing her features. Do you believe?
Again, she lets the words settle before sitting back against her throne, her right hand holding up a finger. Now before we really get this ball rolling, I imagine I have some explaining to do. Gods know A LOT of people aren’t happy with me…. she grins. For a multitude of reasons, I am sure. And I’m going to get to all that, don’t you worry, but let’s just take a moment to enjoy this…
Taking a slow inhale, the platinum-blonde’s eyes flutter closed. As she exhales, a satisfied grin forms over her lips as she opens her eyes. ’Unbelievable Main Event IV’…
Her eyes sparkle moreso. The most unbelievable main event of them all. The most impossible of them all. Why? Cause it’s never been done before. Twenty-one years this place has been running – well… let’s not say running. Let’s say twenty-one years of this place ‘getting by’. Of this place barely managing to hold a spot in the vast world of wrestling, with it’s lack of integrity and it’s lack of skill and passion and it’s desperation for cheap tricks, ambushes, interferences and it being about ‘who ya got in your pocket’ rather than what you can do in the ring.
Knowing such remarks will bring forth disagreement, Selena holds up a hand to silence such remarks. No no… You look back at some of the greatest of all time: Syren, one of the most decorated superstars in SCW history and one of the most despicable people in SCW – the legions of people she’s hid behind in her career to be ‘at her best’? Hell, she’s still doing it with LexyCorp and their ‘math’. Jason Zero, Jake Starr, Cid Turner, of course CHBK – basically the entire list that Josh Hudson ran his mouth about ‘outlasting’ over the years, and there’s not one of them that hasn’t sold their soul, sold their integrity and sold their morals for the ‘easy win’, the shortcut, the quickest way out…
And yet… speaking of Josh Hudson… The Snow Queen shakes her head knowingly.
Josh Hudson has NOTHING to do with what makes this main event the most unbelievable main-event in SCW history! Now before he comes at me or, runs to X as he’s more likely to do, that isn’t a knock on his abilities or standing within the deluded minds of SCW. I gave Josh credit last Breakdown. I made it clear how big such a match with him is and how it deserves the marquee of Rise to Greatness. However, be that as it may, Josh Hudson… for all his abilities, his ‘wit’, and his ‘years’… could have been anyone. Anyone could have have faced me, to various degrees of stardom and prestige, and the match would STILL be “The Unbelievable Main-Event’! Because what makes this main-event ‘unbelievable’ isn’t Josh Hudson. No… it’s me. It’s all me!
Because despite all those ‘greats’ I mentioned? Despite Josh Hudson’s ’20 years’, no one – not a soul – has ever managed to headline Rise to Greatness four times – let alone four times in a row! Until now…
Selena smiles and gently tilts her head as she places a pale hand over her heart. Twenty-one years, and the impossible is done by the woman that has the integrity, that has made it about the wrestling and the standard of the world championship, that stands before you as YOUR world champion. First of her kind – ONLY of her kind… and you are welcome, SCW. she grins again.
You’re welcome SCW for staying strong and true to my mission of raising the standard. You’re welcome Aaron Demetria for being a woman of my word and bringing you back to the main-event of main-events that you deserve to officiate. You’re welcome, CHBK, for saving your world title division from the dregs that you put it in while I was gone. You’re welcome Adam Sharper and Jonathan Knots for giving you matches that you can be proud to announce for despite your bias against me. You’re welcome SCW staff and all my peers – below my standard as many of you have proven to be – for giving you all jobs that you can be proud of. That you can be proud to say to your friends and whomever that ‘you work for S-C-W – the greatest wrestling federation in the entire world!’ and it actually mean something. You’re welcome to all of you for coming back – despite not having a reason to - and saving the integrity and good name of this place so you all can put food on the table for you and your families.
And Josh Hudson… you’re welcome for bringing the standard up so you can crawl out of your hole – the ever-mouthy ‘keyboard warrior’ on X – and for keeping this place running so you can even have another ‘moment’ here in my world. You’re welcome. You’re welcome… You’re welcome…
She pauses, sitting back in her throne chair, gazing down to examine her fingernails. But I’ll admit, it hasn’t been easy. It certainly hasn’t. I had to put this before everything else. My own wellbeing, my own personal life – and seeing as how everyone can’t stop talking about it, yeah, my own marriage… She looks back up at the camera darkly, the disappointment clear in her eyes. I’ve done what I had to do to keep this place running. To keep this place as the top wrestling federation in the world. That’s how much I believe in what SCW – and what the world title – should be worth. Worth the sacrifices. Worth the hard work. Worth the time and pain. Worth the hatred from all of you.
Lowering her hand, Selena gives a shrug of her shoulders. And that’s what I see from all of you. I see hatred, I see negativity, and most of all, I see desperation to get behind anyone that is against me just because it’s me… and it’s laughable at best. That you will side with anyone so long as they are against me. Even Josh Hudson…
Because, you see, Josh Hudson isn’t going to care about this place in a matter of weeks. He’s not. He’s not going to care about all of you, no matter how many times he says otherwise. ‘SCW-lifer! Oooooh!’… Selena mocks with a wave of her hands before settling back into her usual poise. But let’s be honest here, Josh. That’s all just for show, isn’t it? That’s the keyboard-warrior running his mouth and playing to the crowd. And it’s easy for you to do when you’re in the position that you’re in. I mean, you hid behind your monitor for most of the year, now you’re hiding behind Bree, and you’re just hiding behind all this ‘pandering’ to the masses. When the truth is… you really don’t care about any of it, do you?
SCW? The wrestling? The integrity of this place? The standard of the world title? It really doesn’t mean anything to you, does it? You’re just another guy that wants to be ‘the one’ to take me down. Just something newer to brag about because ‘I beat Xander’s undefeated streak’, yeah THAT hasn’t gotten old in what? 19 years? I mean… I thought KANDIS was bad at milking ONE fluke win… But boy! You put the ‘Shameless One’ to shame with that one, Josh! a laugh escapes her.
Cause that’s all you want, Josh. It’s all about being ‘relevant’ with you. It’s all about having something to hang your hat on – something that, actually, happened in this decade. All about you coming out every now and then just to remind the world ‘Hey! I’m still breathing! I’m still here! I’m all about SCW!’ before running off like you always do when you can’t really do much, right?
Because, let’s face it, you didn’t really do much on your own last time, did you? You don’t have much else to hang your hat on from your last stint, do you? Your little feud with Owen? You were the ‘other guy’ in that feud of the year – the supporting player. Owen got the last laugh and was even the wrestler of the year for that, not you. He got to retire as a double-champion! You? Well, we can touch on that a little later… she gives a little wink to the camera knowingly. And what else, Hudson? Your little stint as world champion? Not really that impressive considering it lasted just a couple of weeks. And I’m pretty sure it’s been a Frost that’s been making your last U.S. title reign look a little sad in comparison! Again, that knowing smile, the Blue-Eyed Devil very aware of the world that she rules.
I mean, let’s be honest, Josh. I could send you to the moon with all you’ve done in your career. Gods know you’ve done it enough. Hall of Famer, multiple title wins, multiple main-events, Feud of the Year, Match of the Year, blah blah blah blah blah…
But when I say that you’ve got nothing to do with the unbelievability of this main-event, it’s as true as the day is long. And, if I’m honest? she gives a rather honest shrug. If I had to pick someone to headline this vital and important Unbelievable Main Event, I wouldn’t have chosen you. she shrugs. I would have chosen someone with some actual RELEVANT star-power. Not some guy that’s still, as you’ve clearly proven these past weeks, resting on his laurels of the early 2000s. Hell, I would have even chosen your current sleeping-partner over you, but we all know how Bree is right now, right? “Playing it safe” in her little Adrenaline-division. That’s why she didn’t enter the royale and why she settled on a ‘no-contest’ in her match against me after Kandis and Kristen Scott saved her from me, am I right? she smiles mockingly at the camera, and the two people she knows is watching.
My point is, Josh, is that you are entering into ‘my world’. This is MY main-event. It belongs to me. And I know you know that. I KNOW that you are intimidated by what you have to deal with. And I know that you are simply just trying to hide all of these truths. You know why I know that? she grins. Because the first words out of your mouth once this match was set… was a lie…
Holding up her hand, Selena cracks each knuckle with her thumb. There I stood in the ring and you on the ramp, with Bree holding your hand – just like you’ve always needed when dealing with me. Someone holding your hand…
But there you are with the world in the palm of your hand, Josh. The 2024 Taking Hold of the Flame royale winner! The next in line to fight for the world title! And it’s against me so the people are already backing you despite all the years you spat on them, disrespected them and, yes, lied to them…
She tilts her head to the ceiling, as if in recollection. And what do you do with such faith and absurd belief, Josh Hudson? What are your first words to these people – these desperate followers?
A lie so obnoxious, so laced in arrogance and so incorrect… that no one – not even the fans – can believe it.
Well… allow me… with a snap of her fingers, a clip of the June 15th edition of Breakdown is played in a small corner of the screen. Selena’s gaze doesn’t shift from glaring at the camera as Josh Hudson is seen from that episode. The number one contender stands on the rampway as he speaks.
The get it done in the ring, wrestling machine. That was me before it was cool. The anti-hardcore, why do people need weapons…yeah, I did that too. Do we need gimmicks? Why use weapons? Why attack people from behind…unless they deserve it…I’ve done it too. See, Selena, I’ve done everything you have. The only difference is that I didn’t need to go the contract route…
Selena snaps her fingers again, causing the clip to blink out. For a moment, she lets the statement settle before a chuckle escapes her, a smile gracing her lips.
Oh Josh… she shakes her head knowingly, lifting it up to gaze at the camera. What… a …lie.
I mean, apart from just repeating the SAME thing every other bitter and jealous wrestler has said to me this year, you just showed your full hand – your true colors – with that little statement, didn’t you? What it is you’re trying so desperately to do.
You want to claim that you’ve done all I’ve done? That you and I are the ‘same’, right? Pfft…
Selena scoffs, the idea utterly absurd. You’ve done everything I’ve done? Okay… so when did you become Supreme Champion? When did you win the Best of the Best tournament or even the Shot of Adrenaline tournament? When were you the ‘wrestler of the year’? Did Owen Cruze give you his from 2022 out of pity or something? A consolation prize for you dropping the ball for the umpteenth time?
She laughs a little. That’s just off the top of my head, Hudson. But you really want to compare the two of us like that, Josh? That because you’ve done some ‘watered-down’ version of ‘it being about wrestling’ and about ‘integrity’ that I’ve done, we’re the same and you ‘know me’? That because you’ve got a Hall of Fame ring and twenty years on-and-off here, you can stand there and lecture me on being an SCW wrestler and world champion? Hudson… we’re not the same. We’ve not done the same. Not even close!
You beat Xander’s Undefeated Streak? I could go on about the number of times I’ve undisputedly beaten ‘The Great Executioner’ including in record time at a Rise to Greatness some years ago, but let’s focus on that little accomplishment you’ve clung to for decades, shall we? What was that streak you ended? 50 weeks? Just shy of a year? Very nice…
Tell me… do you recall how Red Rayne’s 366-day reign as the Adrenaline champion ended? Who ended that?
Not good enough? How bout this. Do you remember how long Kelcey Wallace’s “Perfect Streak” was? Three years of never being pinned? Who ended that? she grins – clearly knowing the answer.
You like to talk about numbers with your years here, Hudson, so let’s look at something else, then.
You’ve been the world champion like me, right? How long? she chuckles. Let me answer that, Josh, because I’ve held this title just in this current reign longer than you have in all three of your reigns COMBINED!
Your reigns as United States champion? Same thing! Tag-team titles? Same thing! Awards? Same thing – Hell, I’ve at least got a few ‘wrestler of the year’ awards packed away somewhere, I am sure. she gives another wink to the camera.
And the list goes on and on and on and on… a history of me outshining you every step of the way. And the funniest thing is… I didn’t need twenty years to do it! Her smile becomes a bit more wicked. I didn’t need twenty years to get to this spot that is the main-event of Rise to Greatness. I didn’t need twenty years to hold the world title three times – I’m at six! Just ask Lexy, she keeps a very careful count!
Point is: I’ve been here for only a decade, Josh. That is true. But in those ten years? I’ve done more in and for the ‘world you helped build’ than you have done in twenty! More matches that shaped this company – including numerous chamber matches that dictated who ruled it-, more matches in general, more money, more accolades, more main-events, hell, the only thing you’ve done more than me is get a Hall of Fame ring and take off more days in one year than I have in those ten! And when I finally get my Hall of Fame ring, buddy, and trust me, it’s going to happen… she steals a glance to her bare ring finger. I’ll have a MUCH bigger spot, statue, and plaque than you ever will! I will be on the Mount Rushmore of the greatest wrestlers of all time! Can you say the same with a straight face? Or are you going to tell another lie?
She holds up a pointed finger. That’s the biggest difference, Josh. While you say whatever works for you – while you lie - I am a woman of truth. I tell the truth, whether the SCW Universe wants to hear it or not. Whether the SCW Universe wants to believe it or not…
She shrugs her shoulders. And the truth is? You’re the only one that believes that we are the same in any way. Where you did these things like ‘hold the world title’, I dominated it. Where you ‘spoke of integrity and making it all about wrestling’, I ordered it to be done without compromise. I made it the standard. And where you tried to stand out in this business, I have shone like a diamond in this business!
You talked the talk. I walked the walk, Josh. And the reason you tell this blatant lie in our comparison, old man, is because deep down? You’re just desperate to be me.
I mean, let’s go back to the bulk of our history, Josh. You brought it up somewhat, didn’t you? People think “Josh Hudson and Selena Frost”, what comes to mind?
Sapphire eyes narrow. Past, Present… and Future…
A faction of three people, where you promised to bring the future of SCW forward! You promised the world to Regan and Sienna, despite demanding the top billing of the group as ‘The Past’, right? How did that go?
Oh wait… you said it that same night as that clip, didn’t you? You ‘outlasted them’. ‘Out-evolved them’. Selena shakes her head knowingly. Funny how you would say that about the women you had promised to give everything to. That you promised to make the future of this business and now you use them to promote yourself over them… But what a surprise… Josh Hudson lies. Maybe Bree Lancaster should be taking notes and keeping her divorce lawyer on standby?
Because what was the real purpose of that little group, Josh, aside from keeping you relevant? Who was the grand target of this group? Oh yeah… it was me. It was me that you were instructing Sienna and Regan to get rid of. To remove from SCW. To end the career of! To replace at the top of this federation with your own cheap imitation in Sienna Swann…
Clicking her tongue inside her mouth, Selena tilts her gaze back at the camera. And how did that go, Josh? Let me be the ‘reality check’ that you are pretending to be here. You QUIT on them and they both moved on to greater success without you… and I was the one that outlasted your ‘Past, Present, and Future’! In the end… your mere imitation couldn’t hold a candle to the original.
Sitting back, Selena once more appears more the powerful queen-figure. And that’s all you’re doing now, Josh, with this whole ‘I’ve done all you’ve done’. You’re just fooling yourself, embarrassing yourself, and making the case known. At the end of the day, you’re just another watered-down version of me, trying so desperately to fill shoes that you never will. Trying so desperately to be the legend that you will never be! No matter how hard you scream it, how much you try and tell yourself you’ve ‘done all I’ve done’.
Don’t get me wrong! Even a watered-down version of me can clearly get far in this business. Anyone trying to do what I do can certainly accomplish something! Look at you! Look at what you’ve TRULY accomplished, Josh!
But at the end of the day… she leans forward. There’s no beating the real deal. There’s no beating the genuine article. And this weekend, you’re going to find that out. Like the last ten years, you’re going to be outwrestled, outclassed, and outdone by me! This weekend, I will take your ‘lesson’ and turn it around. I’ll be the teacher here and I will be teaching you what true wrestling, true integrity is all about, and why I only needed a decade to eclipse your supposed ‘greatness of an SCW-lifer’! She scoffs at the mere name before refocusing on the camera.
And when it is all said and done – when I am standing over you once again, with my foot over your chest… you will know who the true ‘novice’ is, Hudson. And it won’t matter then what lie you tell, Josh. What you say, type or tweet…
Because, when it’s all finished… A wicked grin crosses Selena’s features. NO ONE – not even your precious Bree… is going to believe you…
The camera slowly fades on the Snow Queen before going entirely to black.
![[Image: hffOaUZ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/hffOaUZ.png)
SCW Supreme Champion
6x SCW World Champion
4x SCW World Tag-Team Champion
2x SCW United States Champion
3x SCW Adrenaline Champion
SCW Television Champion
Longest Reigning SCW World Champion (234 days)
Winner of Shot of Adrenaline Tournament (2016)
Winner of Best of the Best Tournament (2016)
Winner of Trios Tournament (2018)
Winner of U.S. Championship Tournament (2020)
Winner of World Championship Tournament (2023)
Winner of Tactical Warfare (2014, 2019)
Winner of Elimination Chamber (2015, 2024)
Winner of Roofed Cage Match (2019)
Winner of Last Person Standing Match (2019)
The Unbelievable Main Event (2021-2025)
Winner of Double Jeopardy Match (2022)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Winner of Ironman Match (2024)
Wrestler of the Year (2016, 2021, 2022, 2024)
Tag-Team of the Year (2020 - w/ Regan Street)
Match of the Year (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024)
Feud of the Year (2014, 2019)
Shocking Moment of the Year (2024)
![[Image: 34zetxl.png]](https://i.ibb.co/SnpvD5T/34zetxl.png)