Post by killerbus on Jan 20, 2018 0:57:36 GMT
Off Camera
“Daaaadddddd” Maddison Sloane (better known as Steffi Sparkles) complained into the phone as she adjusted her position to get a little more comfortable. “It’s Sussex County in Southern Delaware. I’d probably more in danger if I’d stayed in Vegas.” She let out a sigh as she listened attentively to the other end of the conversation. “Bu--But… DAD!” She snapped, trying to stop him midflow. “I know Dad, the world’s a dangerous place. Especially if you’re a young single woman. Yes, I’m seen the statistics too - yes the ones on assault, sexual assault, harassment and stalking - you emailed them to me remember and I replied. But this is Sussex County, Dad. It’s not Chicago, or Detroit or New York or Miami. There’s a reason there’s never been a CSI:Delaware, Dad. It’s because they probably couldn’t a full hour long episode, let alone a series.” There was another sigh from the blonde. “I promise I’m being careful and yes I’m carrying the mace in my bag everywhere I go and yeah I’ve got that metal spike thing on my keys.”
Maddison leaned her head back across the brick work of the building, a smile appearing on her lips as she watched the setting sun slowly descend at the other end of the street as she listened to her father. “Yeah, it’s a nice apartment for what I’m paying for it.… No, it’s not ground floor.” An evil grin appeared on her face. “In fact there’s a nice little small business running downstairs. Couple of enterprising young men embarking on a scientific endeavour… A meth lab counts as science right?NO!NO!NO! I’m kidding. Dad. I’m kidding. There’s no meth lab downstairs. No, it’s joke, dad. Yes I’m sure, there’s no need for you to come out and check.” Once more the blonde let out a sigh, holding the phone away from mouth as she muttered quietly. “Getting a sense of humour would be nice though.” She brought the phone back down towards her mouth. “Yes there’s a fire escape and yeah, I’ve made sure it all works - just like you told me too. In fact I’m sat on right now.” Her eyes rolled. “Because I get better cell signal out here and it gives me a good view of the sunset. Yes, as soon as we’re done talking I’ll go back inside and lock and bolt the window and nail the window closed - just to make it as difficult as possible for any cat burglars, desperate to steal my collection of novelty poker chips.” Before she added. “It was- it was another joke, dad...”
“Honestly, dad, you don’t need to wor-” Maddison never got to finish the sentence before she was cut off once more. “Yes I’m staying warm. I’ve layered up and I’m wearing sweaters. Seriously, Dad, I’m not a kid and I can exercise common sense. I’m capable of looking after myself thanks to you and mom.”
The look on her face said that she knew the conversation was about to steer off once more into another unwanted lecture or reminder of parental advice previously shared. Maddison decided to cut it off at the pass. “ANYWAY… I get to make my official professional wrestling debut. Sunday January 21st. Teaming up with some girl with a crow fetish and a wardrobe that looks like she’s mourning something and some guy I’ve not really seen much of. And we get to go up against the Tag Team Champions. A six person tag team match against GBH, two of whom hold Tag gold.” She paused for a moment, her eyes alight with excitement. “I Swear to God, dad, I couldn’t have dreamt of getting a much better debut than that. I mean, just listen to what I said again. Me, Maddison Sloane an 18 year old rookie from Las Vegas get her first ever match in the company that’s taking the gamble on her - that have chosen to invest time and money and resources into her - her first ever match as a professional against some of their standard bearers.”
She almost squealed with excitement down the phone. “Do you realise what this means? If I win - if our team wins, then it’d be the upset of the week, the month - the year. It’d be a MASSIVE statement to come in and beat the Champions. It’d be like if Rocky had beat Apollo Creed. It’d be the same as what the Knights are doing in the NHL!! Hell, even a good performance can make a huge statement for me and mean big things for my future. It’s a GARGANTUAN opportunity.”
“Seriously, dad, Sunday CANNOT get her fast enough. And you’ve got to watch. You’ve got to watch as your daughter, Steffi Sparkles, wows the audience and becomes the talk of wrestling on her first night proper in the business.” Her face fell as she listened to the other end of the phone. “No, dad, I’m not ashame-.” Maddison paused again as she was interrupted. “We’ve been other this dad, like a million times already. It’s just about selling tickets, about the showbiz aspect - surely you can appreciate that, can’t you? It was just like mom, when she was performing - back when you met her. Don’t pretend… coz she told me all the stories.” Maddison drew in a deep breath. “That’s all it is dad, it’s still me in the ring - still your little girl performing and making a name for herself. It’s just... no-one wants to watch boring old plain Maddi Sloane in the ring. No-one would buy tickets for Maddi Sloane. Or buy t-shirts with Maddi Sloane splashed across the chest.”
She looked up at the sunset, a smile crossing her lips as she continued. “Steffi Sparkles though… It’s got that certain ring. That little razzle-dazzle. That pizzazz. Trickles off the tongue and is all that more memorable. Steffi Sparkles. It’s alliterative. It’s like a superhero too - like Peter Parker, Sue Storm, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, Jessica Jones, Matt Murdock.” Another momentary pause served as punctuation. “If I get it right on Sunday...if I get it right over the weeks that follow…. Then that’s what I’m gonna be dad. A superhero. A woman who does unbelievable things inside that ring. I work hard. I put the hours in in the gym…” The smile became bigger, as she continued to look past the sunset and into the future. “And if I get it right, I’ll know. There’ll be Steffi Sparkles t-shirts? And they’ll fly off the merchandise stands - especially the kids one. And a year from now. EVERYONE will have heard of Steffi Sparkles…”
She sighed as she was brought back down to earth by the voice on the other end of the phone. “Yes dad, when I get my own Wikipedia page, I’ll make sure it has my real name on it. Maddison Sloane, right at the start.” There was a knocking at the door that caused her to scramble back to her feet and through the window into the apartment. “Oooh. Pizza’s here… Gotta go...Yes dad, I’ll call you again soon - as often as I ca-- every couple of day-- every day. Yes dad. I’ll call home everyday. I promise.” She pulled peered through the peephole before opening the door. “Yes, I checked. Gotta go dad. Yeah, I promised. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Love you too dad.” With that she hung up as she reached into her pocket, and smiled at the delivery guy.
“Sorry about that. So, what do I owe you?”
“Daaaadddddd” Maddison Sloane (better known as Steffi Sparkles) complained into the phone as she adjusted her position to get a little more comfortable. “It’s Sussex County in Southern Delaware. I’d probably more in danger if I’d stayed in Vegas.” She let out a sigh as she listened attentively to the other end of the conversation. “Bu--But… DAD!” She snapped, trying to stop him midflow. “I know Dad, the world’s a dangerous place. Especially if you’re a young single woman. Yes, I’m seen the statistics too - yes the ones on assault, sexual assault, harassment and stalking - you emailed them to me remember and I replied. But this is Sussex County, Dad. It’s not Chicago, or Detroit or New York or Miami. There’s a reason there’s never been a CSI:Delaware, Dad. It’s because they probably couldn’t a full hour long episode, let alone a series.” There was another sigh from the blonde. “I promise I’m being careful and yes I’m carrying the mace in my bag everywhere I go and yeah I’ve got that metal spike thing on my keys.”
Maddison leaned her head back across the brick work of the building, a smile appearing on her lips as she watched the setting sun slowly descend at the other end of the street as she listened to her father. “Yeah, it’s a nice apartment for what I’m paying for it.… No, it’s not ground floor.” An evil grin appeared on her face. “In fact there’s a nice little small business running downstairs. Couple of enterprising young men embarking on a scientific endeavour… A meth lab counts as science right?NO!NO!NO! I’m kidding. Dad. I’m kidding. There’s no meth lab downstairs. No, it’s joke, dad. Yes I’m sure, there’s no need for you to come out and check.” Once more the blonde let out a sigh, holding the phone away from mouth as she muttered quietly. “Getting a sense of humour would be nice though.” She brought the phone back down towards her mouth. “Yes there’s a fire escape and yeah, I’ve made sure it all works - just like you told me too. In fact I’m sat on right now.” Her eyes rolled. “Because I get better cell signal out here and it gives me a good view of the sunset. Yes, as soon as we’re done talking I’ll go back inside and lock and bolt the window and nail the window closed - just to make it as difficult as possible for any cat burglars, desperate to steal my collection of novelty poker chips.” Before she added. “It was- it was another joke, dad...”
“Honestly, dad, you don’t need to wor-” Maddison never got to finish the sentence before she was cut off once more. “Yes I’m staying warm. I’ve layered up and I’m wearing sweaters. Seriously, Dad, I’m not a kid and I can exercise common sense. I’m capable of looking after myself thanks to you and mom.”
The look on her face said that she knew the conversation was about to steer off once more into another unwanted lecture or reminder of parental advice previously shared. Maddison decided to cut it off at the pass. “ANYWAY… I get to make my official professional wrestling debut. Sunday January 21st. Teaming up with some girl with a crow fetish and a wardrobe that looks like she’s mourning something and some guy I’ve not really seen much of. And we get to go up against the Tag Team Champions. A six person tag team match against GBH, two of whom hold Tag gold.” She paused for a moment, her eyes alight with excitement. “I Swear to God, dad, I couldn’t have dreamt of getting a much better debut than that. I mean, just listen to what I said again. Me, Maddison Sloane an 18 year old rookie from Las Vegas get her first ever match in the company that’s taking the gamble on her - that have chosen to invest time and money and resources into her - her first ever match as a professional against some of their standard bearers.”
She almost squealed with excitement down the phone. “Do you realise what this means? If I win - if our team wins, then it’d be the upset of the week, the month - the year. It’d be a MASSIVE statement to come in and beat the Champions. It’d be like if Rocky had beat Apollo Creed. It’d be the same as what the Knights are doing in the NHL!! Hell, even a good performance can make a huge statement for me and mean big things for my future. It’s a GARGANTUAN opportunity.”
“Seriously, dad, Sunday CANNOT get her fast enough. And you’ve got to watch. You’ve got to watch as your daughter, Steffi Sparkles, wows the audience and becomes the talk of wrestling on her first night proper in the business.” Her face fell as she listened to the other end of the phone. “No, dad, I’m not ashame-.” Maddison paused again as she was interrupted. “We’ve been other this dad, like a million times already. It’s just about selling tickets, about the showbiz aspect - surely you can appreciate that, can’t you? It was just like mom, when she was performing - back when you met her. Don’t pretend… coz she told me all the stories.” Maddison drew in a deep breath. “That’s all it is dad, it’s still me in the ring - still your little girl performing and making a name for herself. It’s just... no-one wants to watch boring old plain Maddi Sloane in the ring. No-one would buy tickets for Maddi Sloane. Or buy t-shirts with Maddi Sloane splashed across the chest.”
She looked up at the sunset, a smile crossing her lips as she continued. “Steffi Sparkles though… It’s got that certain ring. That little razzle-dazzle. That pizzazz. Trickles off the tongue and is all that more memorable. Steffi Sparkles. It’s alliterative. It’s like a superhero too - like Peter Parker, Sue Storm, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, Jessica Jones, Matt Murdock.” Another momentary pause served as punctuation. “If I get it right on Sunday...if I get it right over the weeks that follow…. Then that’s what I’m gonna be dad. A superhero. A woman who does unbelievable things inside that ring. I work hard. I put the hours in in the gym…” The smile became bigger, as she continued to look past the sunset and into the future. “And if I get it right, I’ll know. There’ll be Steffi Sparkles t-shirts? And they’ll fly off the merchandise stands - especially the kids one. And a year from now. EVERYONE will have heard of Steffi Sparkles…”
She sighed as she was brought back down to earth by the voice on the other end of the phone. “Yes dad, when I get my own Wikipedia page, I’ll make sure it has my real name on it. Maddison Sloane, right at the start.” There was a knocking at the door that caused her to scramble back to her feet and through the window into the apartment. “Oooh. Pizza’s here… Gotta go...Yes dad, I’ll call you again soon - as often as I ca-- every couple of day-- every day. Yes dad. I’ll call home everyday. I promise.” She pulled peered through the peephole before opening the door. “Yes, I checked. Gotta go dad. Yeah, I promised. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Love you too dad.” With that she hung up as she reached into her pocket, and smiled at the delivery guy.
“Sorry about that. So, what do I owe you?”