“A new student and roommate”
(Jenn is known for many things, a wrestler, a mother, a grandmother, and a trainer for the local wrestling school that she helps run with the Lopez family. One of the students from the school is with Jenn at her house, and because the prices in LA are so outrageously high, Jenn brought her in as a roommate. That way she wouldn’t be homeless and trying to figure out her wrestling career simultaneously. It’s known the Lopez family loves to pick up strays like this but that comes with them being a wholesome family, which Jorge taught them to be. )
Jasmine: How was I today??
Jenn: You did alright for yourself, you still need some work on your foot placement with some stuff but that’s an easy thing to fix. It’s something I struggled with when I first started but once Jorge fixed it for me I had no problems after, and he was patient with me too.
Jasmine: Who is Jorge?
(Jenn pauses for a moment…It still stings that she has to live the rest of her life without the man who treated her more like a daughter than anybody else. It still hurts her but she responded with a smile on her face. )
Jenn: My father in law, who passed away a few years ago.
Jasmine: Aww! You guys were close?
Jenn: Yeah.
(Jasmine nods her head towards her friend and trainer. While walking around the living room, she saw a picture of him and Jenn and grows a smile on her face. She has a greater understanding of them.
Jasmine: You don’t have to tell me anymore if you don’t want me to, I could tell from the hesitation that you miss him….
Jenn: I do, he was my go-to person for advice and stuff and now that he’s not here, I feel like I don’t have that person. I mean I can go to my dad but… he’s not close by.
Jasmine: Where does he live?
Jenn: Australia, but he’ll be back in the States when my sister has her baby.
(Jasmine nods her head. She’s still new around these parts so she’s trying to learn the family the best way she knows how by asking questions. But before she could ask any more questions, she saw an envelope under the picture and tried to pick it up and Jenn quickly saw it slapping her hand)
Jenn: Hands!
Jasmine: What is that? Is that a letter?
Jenn: yeah, don’t worry about it though.
Jasmine: Gotcha, anyway I’mma go take a shower and get out of these sweaty clothes… and watch some more wrestling videos.
Jenn: Sounds good.
(Jasmine makes her way upstairs. While she does, Jenn looks down at the letter before opening it. It’s a letter from Gracie about adopting a new kid….at first, she wants to rip it up but she doesn’t she keeps reading about the child that COULD be part of the family. This letter is written to everyone who didn’t hear the announcement, and Jenn was one of those people who didn’t hear. A little smile came across her face as she saw the picture of the little one, Deep down she hopes Gracie gets this baby, that’ll be another grandkid for her to spoil since nobody is around, she talks to herself)
Jenn: I hope she gets this child… whatever she and I are going through shouldn’t be taken out on the grandkids, especially this happy child. Kids like these shouldn’t be in adoption centers, they should have loving people who care….. I’ll do everything I have to..to bring this child into our family.
Jasmine: who’s bringing a child here?
Jenn: Oh… uh… nothing.
(Jasmine raises her eyebrow at her friend, wondering what she’s hiding. But she shakes it off because she doesn’t want to barge too much into Jenn’s life right away. The little that she got to know of Jenn, she knows Jenn is like an onion that must be peeled back one layer at a time. The scene comes to an end with Jenn looking back down at the piece of paper of the future Lopez child with another smile on her face.)
“What if”
2 days later.
(Preparing for her big day, we find Jenn finishing up her gym work. Normally she would work for hours but because of the hot weather southern California and most of the west is having, she thought better of pushing herself into dehydration and the hospital. After working out she flops herself on the couch with something to eat to replenish herself. Her friend Jasmine is up in one of the bedrooms taking a nap after a day of working out as well. Both of them have started to become fast friends and enjoy each other company almost like they were friends in a former life or something.
Jenn: Last show I talked about how I took Gracie out and I guess that angered a few people, why? Why would anger anybody? That’s what 90 percent of the wrestlers wanted to do, they wanted her out and I did that for them, and yet I get criticized for it? I can’t figure out if those people are that stupid, blind, or fickle. So I’m going to go with all of the above. I made her leg twist and turn in places it shouldn’t even go and I’m proud of myself for that, I’m proud of taking her out
(Jenn shrugs her shoulders.)
Jenn: The reason I’m celebrating that because of one reason. I don’t have to take care of anymore now, I’m not shackled to people and for once in my career it feels good. It feels good to be on my own, it feels good to do what I want to do with my career, and I don’t have to babysit others or I don’t have to waste my time on stuff I don’t want to do. But somehow it upsets other people, you know what? I’ve been in this business for a long time, I’m done pleasing other people man, I’ve been doing that since I started years ago and I got nothing for it, I got nothing but stupid bullshit and people stabbing me in the back and promises that were never kept. I’m done man, I’m done with it all!
(Years of frustrations start coming out all at once and can anyone blame her? From all the years in the women’s division and the tag division, anybody would be angry by it too and feel held back and that’s how she feels. She’s letting it be known and she doesn’t CARE who feels the wrath of her frustrations.)
Jenn: Yeah, I lost that match at Destiny but that wasn’t the point. The point was to prove that I’m still the big name that people can rely on and I think I’ve proven that point. I’ve heard people who think that I’ve lost a step and that I don’t belong in the big picture anymore and yet where I am. I’m still the biggest name in this goddamn business and I don’t give a fuck who thinks otherwise. I also heard the walls talk that I should retire…why? Why would I retire? Tell me…TELL ME WHY I SHOULD RETIRE?! There’s no reason now is there, I don’t see a reason. I’m just sick and tired of people taking my kindness for weakness, this is why I am the way I am now, because of you people.
(Jenn shakes her head in disgust!)
Jenn: Let’s swing around and talk about the broken promises that I talked about. Destiny was part of those broken promises so it ties in. Let's go back to when I teamed with Gracie, the boss I had at the time told me if I teamed with her, they’ll have big plans for me, and guess what happened? Those plans never happened. So I ended up being stuck in the tag division until I bitched enough to make a noise and they moved me out of it…..
(Just then we see her friend, Jasmine show up behind her with a raised eyebrow in response to what she just said. Almost not believing what Jenn just said about how people held Jenn down. As a rookie should do, she kept herself quiet and listened to what Jenn is saying.)
Jenn: Even after all of that nonsense, I still get left with broken promises and left floundering with my direction as if they have no idea what they’re doing or how to treat me. The biggest contributor to this is Star and I think she needs to apologize to me. See, I’m one of the last soldiers of her original PWS still standing, still wrestling on the weekly and what do I get for the loyalty? Nothing, nothing at all. See, I’ve put up with her bullshit for years now and I’m still putting up with it. I could have gone anywhere I wanted but I never did. I never turned my back on her, and yet… she turned hers on me for what reason? Nobody knows.
(Jenn shrugs her shoulders)
Jenn: So at the end of the day, she left me with no choice but to take out her golden goose, Gracie. Do I have your attention now, Star?! I think I do have your attention because I finally get a chance at the world title….after a year…..A year of meaningless matches and doing nothing to forward my career. I refuse to be a mid-carder, I refuse to stand around and look pretty for the camera and I refuse “just to be here”... I came here to work, I came here for the world title. That’s all I have left to do in my career, to get that gold and I’m going to do annnytthingggg to get it.
(She turns to Jasmine for a moment as if she had an idea of what she wants to do in her future but she doesn’t say anything to the younger woman. But you can definitely see the wheels turning in her head about something…)
Jenn: Now it brings me to the match at hand, the world title match. A title that I never got a chance to get over the years and only fought for a handful of times. Only because management held me down and pretended like I’m not the “person”... This match, the shackles are off. I don’t care if you see me as an underdog, because I’m coming in swinging for the fences…..
(Jenn lets out a sigh,)
Jenn: For the last year people have seen me as this old dog that needs to be taken out back and shot in the head…. This show….this championship match, you’re going to see who the hell I am, the bitch that has been hiding for years and waiting to be released. I’m sorry that it has to be you Alex…acutally you know what? No, I’m not. See, I brought you to this company because I saw the talent in you and me as part of the recruiting progress I thought it was a good fit and now looking back at it, it was a mistake…..
(Jenn lets out a small smile.)
Jenn: The reason I say it’s a mistake is that you turned out to be like everyone else who turned into the “bad guy”. You got yourself a little generic stable that walks around this company demanding everyone to bow down to them, to hand everything to them without even working for it, and demand this or that or whatever stupid thing that comes across your mind. See the problem with that logic is that you ran across someone who doesn’t bow down to anybody and I REFUSE to do it to someone like you, or your little dick-sucking group. One, because I don’t care about your group, and two, I don’t care about your mission either.
(Jenn looks back at her championship showcase and see’s that empty spot.)
Jenn: My entire career has been made up what if’s. What if this happened, what if that happened, how would people react if I won the world title? I’m done with the what if’s, I’m done with the bullshit and Alex, I’m done with you being as the world champion. That title used to be respected and now it’s a joke, now nobody cares about the title. You as champion have driven everyone away to a point where this company is almost crippled.
(Jenn stops for a moment before realizing what she just said with a big “Oh” face)
Jenn: Oh…I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud….I mean It’s the truth, let’s be honest here. I’ve heard rumors of the place closing down again because you keep driving people away, CONGRATS ALEX! EVERYONE GIVE ALEX STANDING OVATION! YAY for closing down PWS again! WAY TO GO!
(Jenn starts mock clapping with an unamused look on her face)
Jenn: Look, don’t get it twisted, I’m not here to plant the flag for this company because as a matter of fact, if it closes down, they deserve it. Star deserves it for being an incompetent idiot followed by a lousy champion like yourself. I’m looking to end it, I’m looking to carry this company into the future, and bring it out of this hellscape that it’s been in… It’s about time for a change around here and build for the future instead of exploding on impact.
(The scene comes to an end with Jenn walking away with a bit of an angry step to her but a motivated step as well. She wants that title, and she’s going to do anything to get it. Even if she has to go play dirty. She’s been taught the best person around to play dirty and that is her father-in-law)