Post by Minka Starr on Mar 13, 2021 21:09:06 GMT -5
Head Games
It’s Monday, March 15th. Action Wrestling is in Meridian, Mississippi to run episodes of both CruiserClash and Clash. Our heroine Minka Star is on site. Pulling up to the Tide Arena, she disembarks her rented Ford Focus. Removing her rolling suitcase from the back seat and a large mesh rucksack from the trunk, she attempts to gain entrance to the building.
“Hiya,” she greets the guard standing sentry at the rear entrance of the facility. She flashes the backstage page sent to her as an email attachment that she had printed and waits patiently while the older woman gives her the once over.
“What’s in there?” she asks, nodding to the bag slung over Minka’s shoulder.
“I come bearing gifts!” Minka announces as she swings the bag around and sets it on the ground between them. Pulling open the drawstring, she produces a regulation football helmet.
“For the main eventers tonight. Teo and Andre and Azurine and Nidrah. They each have to take a chair shot before their title match thanks to Jim Mud’s weird little flex, but since it was never said they had to be unprotected chair shots, I was going to offer them these to wear before those Philidor gorillas waffle ‘em. Ain’t no rule they can’t, right?”
The Fancy Footworker beams.
“Those are Dallas Cowboys’ helmets,” the guard notes accurately.
“Are they?” Minka shrugs, “I didn’t know. I just picked them because of the Star. You know, for branding!”
She gestures at the iconic five-pointed blue star that adorns the side of the helmet with all the aplomb of a ‘Price is Right’ spokesmodel.
“You can’t bring those in here.”
“What! Why not?”
“Because Tony Romo was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, and Gravedigger has beef with Tony Romo.”
“Wow, that’s really excessive. Is Gravedigger that petty?”
“I don’t know and I’d rather not find out,” the guard, quite reasonably, admits, “I do know I’m not going to be the one who allowed the logo of his most hated rival to be broadcast on national television or used in any way that casts his team in a good light.”
“I thought Oblivion was Gravedigger’s greatest rival,” Minka counters, not so much because she expects the point to change the guard’s mind, but to prove that she had done some research.
“The helmets stay outside.”
“Well, that bites!” Starr huffs while stuffing the headgear back into the bag. She can not believe that just because Gravedigger has some moldy old feud with Candice Crawford’s husband both Pineapple Promenade and the Two Gents might get their domes caved in by a pair of literal corporate headhunters.
“Heh, it’s your own damn fault, girlie,” the security staffer shoots back with gleeful satisfaction, “Maybe if you asked in advance about implementing your grand plan, you would have known about the possible complications. Instead you went in blind just expecting it all to work out, because you got good intentions and a button nose.”
Minka glares at the guard, “Pardon?”
“Don’t try to mean mug me, and don’t act dumb.”
Minka doesn’t answer. Taking the bag of helmets back to the car, she pops the trunk and throws it inside. Then she stalks back to the guard, eyeing her critically.
“You are not a good person. I don’t think you are a happy person either. It’s sad that the greatest joy you’ll get today is keeping me from helping someone else.”
The guard’s face reddens. “Tsukiko is going to murder you tonight.”
“She could, if she was true to herself,” the ingenue agrees, “All that striking power, all that technical skill, all that babyface fire, Tsukiko could dominate CruiserClash. She could be as big a beast as Spayde Martinez if she wanted. But she holds her warrior spirit in check. She uses Ryan Logan as a proxy for the rage she feels about not doing better and because of that she’s blocked. She hides her light under a bushel and I’d feel awful about that except I know it’s the reason I’ll beat her later, because I have no issue expressing who I am and what I’m about.”
“I’m Minka Starr.”
“Watch me rise.”