Post by Ashley Mastrangelo on Jul 20, 2013 19:22:15 GMT
The scene opens and as the scene pans around we can clearly see that we are in a bathroom at a local hotel in the area where Lineage is taking place. We look around and nobody can be seen. The water is running and the shower curtain is drawn. After a minute or two we hear a quick moan from within the shower, clearly female in nature. After zooming in and focusing a little more clearly, the silhouette becomes more recognizable as feminine as well. The girl behind the curtain has her hands pushed up against the wall as the hot water rushes down from the shower head and down her back. After a few minutes more, she straightens herself and lets the water run down the front of her body. Moments later she reaches forward and almost instantly the sounds of running water stop. She can be heard letting out a deep breath as all of a sudden a set of fingers reaches around and pulls the curtain only slightly away from the wall. The silhouette leans forward toward the opening, and then peeking from behind the curtain is Ashley. There’s a grin on her face as she shakes her head.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Ah, ah, ah…no peeking.
The scene pans to the side as she reaches for a towel and then steps out from behind the curtain, fully pulling it to the side. After a minute the scene turns back to the young blonde, a towel now rapped over her bust that hangs down to her thighs, covering the good stuff.
Ashley Mastrangelo: There…much better. A little early, aren’t we? I mean, God, can’t a girl get ready without being bugged by an annoying camera? No? Fine.
Before continuing, Ashley runs her fingers from her forehead, back through her hair, shaking out the water from her now dark blonde hair.
Ashley Mastrangelo: How do I look?
There’s a slight pause, but no answer.
Ashley Mastrangelo: What? You’re not gonna tell me?
Ashley looks down and then looks up with a smile.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Would you rather this towel come off?
Again, there’s a pause but no reaction.
Ashley Mastrangelo: You know you would. Sorry, not a whore. This is all you get.
She walks over to the towel rack on the far wall and grabs another towel from the bar. She leans forward allowing all of her hair to fall in front of her before wrapping it in a towel, and twisting said towel before pulling it back over her head. Her head now wrapped in a towel, like her body, she smiles into the camera.
Ashley Mastrangelo: What a fight this past Monday! Four girls who verbally abused one another then went out there and beat the hell out of each other all for the amusement of those gorgeous people out there. You know…the ones who paid their hard earned money to watch us kick the crap out of each other. Don’t worry my adoring public, I haven’t forgotten you, nor will I ever.
She straightens the little towel nest on her head before walking into the main room where her suitcase lies open on one of the beds. As she rifles through her belongings she picks out what she’s going to wear and closes the lid. She slides a pair of black boy-shorts on under the towel, allowing the beautiful young woman to disrobe, her back to the camera. Again she reaches down and grabs a green tank top, quickly throwing the garment on over her head before turning to the camera.
Ashley Mastrangelo: There we go. So let’s get to the best part about Monday. No, not that the match ended in a draw, because quite frankly, that part sucked. Let’s talk about how four eager girls walked down to that ring and proved that there wasn’t anyone else alive on the roster today who could hold a candle on that day. We proved that we belong exactly where we are at the tippy top of this mountain we call the Diamonds Division. Amber and I proved that the past few weeks as a team have been no fluke, but that all changes Sunday at Lineage.
Ashley sits on the bed and grabs a pair of socks, quickly sliding them over each foot as she continues.
Ashley Mastrangelo: This Sunday, it’s every girl for herself. This Sunday is my opportunity. This Sunday is the opportunity I never would have gotten had I stayed under the protecting turned forgetting “wing” of one Mike Laszlo. This is my chance to prove that I’m better than all that. This Sunday, I WILL prove that I’m better than that. I’m not one to waste opportunity. This Sunday is the biggest opportunity I’ve ever had in my entire life…
===
Opportunity Awaits
Normally this is the part where I tell you a fun-filled story from my past. It allows me to look back and rejoice over some of the fun things I’ve done in my life; most of the time. Sometimes though are different. My life isn’t all rose pedals and rays of sunshine.
There’s darkness to me that some never even get a shadow of.
There are times when I’ve done things that I’m not so proud of.
I said that when opportunity comes knocking, this girl sure the hell is answering, and listening to what has to be offered.
The scene sets in on a room in a Eastern Cleveland Suburb Mansion. The room looked like a foyer of some sort, but no room in this house was really labeled like a traditional home. There was a long wooden table, perhaps oak, but I don’t really know to tell you the truth. Around the table sat about a dozen men, all finely dressed in the sharpest Italian suits. Each had their own unique style that separated them from the rest, and at the head of the table was Daddy. These were the days back when. Back when Cleveland was known as the “Car Bomb Capital” of the World. The Italians ran this city with an iron fist. You didn’t like what they did, you spoke up about it…you paid, and usually, you went BOOM!
My father, Antonio Mastrangelo was a prominent member of the Cleveland Mob back in the day, and still has his contacts, and loyalist to this day. This is what gives him his pull in society. Though it used to be greater, it still does exist.
The scene cuts to static before coming back on, this time in a more modern time. As a matter of fact, it was only a few years ago. You’ve heard this story from a different perspective in a place far away, but now you hear it from me. Now you hear it from the one who truly went through the most anxiety at this time, the most fear, the most everything. The scene cuts to an interrogation room in the Cuyahoga County Jail, right in the center of Downtown Cleveland. It’s one of those bare rooms with a table in the middle and a chair on each side. I’m sitting in one of the chairs all by myself as there is no doubt officers peering in at me from the other side of the reflective glass. Tears flow down my face, but I couldn’t even make a sound. Suddenly there’s a knock on the door causing me to wipe the tears from my face. An officer peers from behind the door, leaning in to give me notice of a visitor.
Officer: Ms. Mastrangelo, you have a visitor.
I kid you not. At that moment, when that officer peered in, I was struck with the most fear I’ve ever been hit with in my entire life.
I’ve seen people die.
I’ve evaded police in what at the time was an exhilarating police chase.
Even when the cops first caught me and put me in the back of the car, I was not that scared. At that time, it was more shock then anything. Now was fear. I had never been caught. I had never been stuck in a room like that; caged in like a rabid animal. All of this was something new, something different, and I sure as hell didn’t like it.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Who?
He didn’t answer me and instead disappeared back behind the door. A moment later, the door is pushed open and my father walked in.
When I saw my father walk through those doors, it gave me the kind of relief that is indescribable. Seeing him their calmed me down to the point where the tears had stopped.
As my father walked in the door, he had a seat in the chair across from me. My breathing had slowed and I felt as if I was no longer afraid. He reached across the table and reached for my hand.
Antonio Mastrangelo: How are you princess?
Ashley Mastrangelo: Daddy, I’m so scared. I saw Johnny get shot, and he just fell to the ground, dead in a pool of blood. Tony got in the car and started yelling, and I-I-I-I just went.
Antonio Mastrangelo: It’s okay sweetheart. I know what happened. I talked to your brother and I have paid for your release.
Ashley Mastrangelo: What…what about Tony?
Antonio Mastrangelo: There’s really nothing that can be done. The evidence against him is mounting. I got him the best attorney that money can buy. We’ll just have to see where it goes from there.
He stood from his chair and extended his hand to me. As I took his hand and stood from my chair, he led me out of the room. The police behind the glass were visible now as I walked out of the room and they stared at me shaking their heads. I could see the disgust in their faces and it made me want to cry. I didn’t want to be viewed as some criminal whore. That’s not who I was. I was helping my brother. I loved my brother and would do anything for him. Anything happened to go too far.
Too be locked in that place for even the few hours that I was began the change inside me. I didn’t want that to EVER happen again. I’m not some slutty animal to be gazed at through a cell window. It was at that moment that I had the biggest self-reflection on my life that one could ever have.
We went home and I immediately changed out of the slutty outfit I had on into a simple camisole and pajama pants. As I came downstairs, my father looked up at me in my simplest non-made up form and smiled.
Antonio Mastrangelo: Now that’s my girl.
Just those words were enough to make me, at least momentarily, forget about what had happened minutes earlier. I continued down the steps and right into his arms. Unfortunately for me, those words only lasted so long as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me to the couch.
Antonio Mastrangelo: So I made a few phone calls. When we’re sitting there tomorrow in the courtroom, I don’t want you to be nervous. I want you to answer the questions they ask with honesty. Then when a man you don’t know walks in…relax. He thinks he can take care of everything.
Those words, at the time, confused me in a grand way.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Who is he?
Antonio Mastrangelo: He’ll introduce himself in due time. Just know that he is a friend of the family, and has pledged to do everything he can to help you, both tomorrow and further on.
I simply nodded, and then asked to be excused. My father nodded back and kissed me on my forehead before I headed right back up the stairs I had just come down. Going into my room, I didn’t even bother to turn the light on. I simply got into bed, on top of the covers, and stared up at the ceiling, wondering what the next day would hold for me.
I didn’t know then what I know now. I remember so many thoughts going through my head. Who was going to help me and what was in it for him? Why was he helping me. What had my father promised him? After what I had seen I didn’t want to simply coast through life anymore. I didn’t want to be the daddy’s girl who was handed everything on a silver platter. I wanted to earn my way. I wanted to be taken seriously. I wanted the opportunity to prove my worth. I would get all of that and then some.
I had eventually passed out that night with the thoughts that coursed through the pathways of my brain. The next day had come and the annoying sound of the buzzing alarm clock had gone off. I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t want to get up, get dressed in proper attire, and head to a courthouse to hear my fate. I did though and as we got to the courthouse and stood at the base of the steps looking up at the entrance of the grand cement building I could feel a sense of nausea in the pit of my stomach.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Daddy, I’m nervous.
Antonio Mastrangelo: Don’t be my darling. Everything is under control.
Ashley Mastrangelo: But…but…but what if something goes wrong? What if your friend doesn’t show? WHAT IF I GO TO JAIL!?
He put his hands on my shoulders and reassured me that nothing would go wrong. Very rarely did they when he was spearheading the operations. So I took perhaps the deepest breath I had ever taken and nodded affirmatively. I turned back to the entrance and the two of us together slowly began our ascent to the courthouse entrance. After answering the questions of the prosecutor and hearing the witnesses both eye and character, I sat there and awaited the judgment.
You guys think you know pressure? You think that this Sunday is pressure? You don’t know pressure until you sit in front of a group of people who just took forty minutes to deliberate about the future of you as an individual. I remember it like it was an hour ago. I had on a fitted dress and I swear that with each and every second that went by, my heart could be seen beating right through that dress. As the foreman stood from his seat and read the verdict, I tried so hard to keep my composure.
The foreman stood and I could feel the nerves in my body tense up with every word. Then there were two words that took it all away…”NOT GUILTY!”
The most serious of charges were all found as not guilty. The relief overcame me like a blast of air conditioning on a hot humid day. The suffocating feeling was gone. I could breathe again. For all intents and purposes, I was a free girl. Then I heard that other word…”GUILTY!” I had been found guilty of the lowest charge, evading the police. As I sat there and wondered what my punishment would be, the sound of a man’s voice echoed throughout the courtroom. He then walked up to the judge and had a conversation with her. After said conversation, she looked in my direction.
Judge: Young lady, you are a lucky little girl. This high standing citizen, Mr. Laszlo, has decided to take on the responsibility of your care. You are being released into his custody to serve out your community service.
I watched him as he walked by, a wink in his eye and a point toward the hall as he headed out from the proceedings. The judge smacked her gavel and the court was adjourned.
So, as we all know, that was Mike Laszlo. He saved me from some horrible, wretched community service, like picking up trash or something stupid. My life changed that day.
We met the Mike in the hall and after he shook my father’s hand, he turned his attention to me. The cold look in his eye is the same you guys see on television. He said one thing to me.
Mike: This is where the journey begins young lady. You have two options under my care. Option A: You meet me at my gym and I rehabilitate you to the best of my ability. I make you worth something again to yourself. Option B: You leave this courthouse today, I never see you again, and you continue on this bullshit path of stupidity. The choice is yours.
He handed me his business card and walked off. As I watched him leave, there was a confidence about him that intrigued me. I then turned to my father.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Who was that?
Antonio Mastrangelo: A man who is offering you a great opportunity. My words of wisdom to you are simple; if you see an opportunity worth taking…take it. Take that opportunity and take the fullest of advantage of it. This is your first of what could be many.
The scene fades as I contemplate the words from my father. Words of wisdom indeed.
===
Ashley Mastrangelo: So that’s where it all comes from. I took the words that my father dispersed on me that day to heart, and have lived by them ever since. Some would look at my ordeal with the law and say THAT was my biggest opportunity to date. I would look at you and laugh, because I’m not that girl anymore. I’m not the slut who got into trouble. I don’t do the wrong thing for the wrong reasons anymore. For example, this Sunday. The match for the Ruby Title that will see Amber, Tara, and me go to war like three women have never gone to war before. Amber or I could have easily chosen to steal the opportunity. That would have been the wrong thing to do.
Reaching over, Ashley grabs a pair of capris and pulls them over her legs, standing to pull them around her waist and button them. She then reaches up and removes the towel from her head, allowing her blonde hair to drop down behind her, past her shoulders in scraggily fashion. She sits back on the bed and runs her hands through her hair again.
Ashley Mastrangelo: What you all fail to realize is that neither I nor Amber “fears” Tara. We wanted the best competition in this entire federation and we got it this coming Sunday. The two of us had a few words and came to the same conclusion. We earned this together, we will cash it in together.
She gets up from the bed and heads to the vanity dresser where there is a brush and hair straightener sitting side by side. She grabs hold of the straightener and turns it on before setting it back down and grabbing the brush. Firmly, but slowly she starts to brush the tangles from her hair.
Ashley Mastrangelo: That’s where the friendship ends. The mutual admiration can continue on for decades, careers, but the fact is, this Sunday we’re opponents. You and I stand in opposite corners against the current Ruby Champion. I’m not there to make sure you win, and you’re not there to make sure I win. I’m walking out as the Ruby Champion because it is the opportunity that I have searched for my entire life.
She finishes brushing her hair and picks up the now piping hot straightener. She begins going through her hair layer by layer.
Ashley Mastrangelo: I want to prove that I’m the best and that statement in and of itself should suffice the masses. That idea should resonate soundly and be understood clear as day. However, that’s not the only reason I go into battle this Sunday. I go in for vindication. Vindication of not a career but of my entire life.
She switches from left to right and continues the straightening process.
Ashley Mastrangelo: I’m not looking to vindicate a career because there haven’t been many failures to do so with. I am looking however to vindicate a life…MY life. I’ve been in the shadows of others for way too long. I’ve had things handed to me for way too long. This Sunday on Pay Per View, I take the opportunity I have long awaited and I run so far with it that there isn’t a soul on this roster who can catch me. This Sunday I prove my worth to the world for the first time rather than just being talked up by someone else. At Lineage…it’s all on my shoulders.
The scene fades to black as Ashley stares at herself in the mirror.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Ah, ah, ah…no peeking.
The scene pans to the side as she reaches for a towel and then steps out from behind the curtain, fully pulling it to the side. After a minute the scene turns back to the young blonde, a towel now rapped over her bust that hangs down to her thighs, covering the good stuff.
Ashley Mastrangelo: There…much better. A little early, aren’t we? I mean, God, can’t a girl get ready without being bugged by an annoying camera? No? Fine.
Before continuing, Ashley runs her fingers from her forehead, back through her hair, shaking out the water from her now dark blonde hair.
Ashley Mastrangelo: How do I look?
There’s a slight pause, but no answer.
Ashley Mastrangelo: What? You’re not gonna tell me?
Ashley looks down and then looks up with a smile.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Would you rather this towel come off?
Again, there’s a pause but no reaction.
Ashley Mastrangelo: You know you would. Sorry, not a whore. This is all you get.
She walks over to the towel rack on the far wall and grabs another towel from the bar. She leans forward allowing all of her hair to fall in front of her before wrapping it in a towel, and twisting said towel before pulling it back over her head. Her head now wrapped in a towel, like her body, she smiles into the camera.
Ashley Mastrangelo: What a fight this past Monday! Four girls who verbally abused one another then went out there and beat the hell out of each other all for the amusement of those gorgeous people out there. You know…the ones who paid their hard earned money to watch us kick the crap out of each other. Don’t worry my adoring public, I haven’t forgotten you, nor will I ever.
She straightens the little towel nest on her head before walking into the main room where her suitcase lies open on one of the beds. As she rifles through her belongings she picks out what she’s going to wear and closes the lid. She slides a pair of black boy-shorts on under the towel, allowing the beautiful young woman to disrobe, her back to the camera. Again she reaches down and grabs a green tank top, quickly throwing the garment on over her head before turning to the camera.
Ashley Mastrangelo: There we go. So let’s get to the best part about Monday. No, not that the match ended in a draw, because quite frankly, that part sucked. Let’s talk about how four eager girls walked down to that ring and proved that there wasn’t anyone else alive on the roster today who could hold a candle on that day. We proved that we belong exactly where we are at the tippy top of this mountain we call the Diamonds Division. Amber and I proved that the past few weeks as a team have been no fluke, but that all changes Sunday at Lineage.
Ashley sits on the bed and grabs a pair of socks, quickly sliding them over each foot as she continues.
Ashley Mastrangelo: This Sunday, it’s every girl for herself. This Sunday is my opportunity. This Sunday is the opportunity I never would have gotten had I stayed under the protecting turned forgetting “wing” of one Mike Laszlo. This is my chance to prove that I’m better than all that. This Sunday, I WILL prove that I’m better than that. I’m not one to waste opportunity. This Sunday is the biggest opportunity I’ve ever had in my entire life…
===
Opportunity Awaits
Normally this is the part where I tell you a fun-filled story from my past. It allows me to look back and rejoice over some of the fun things I’ve done in my life; most of the time. Sometimes though are different. My life isn’t all rose pedals and rays of sunshine.
There’s darkness to me that some never even get a shadow of.
There are times when I’ve done things that I’m not so proud of.
I said that when opportunity comes knocking, this girl sure the hell is answering, and listening to what has to be offered.
The scene sets in on a room in a Eastern Cleveland Suburb Mansion. The room looked like a foyer of some sort, but no room in this house was really labeled like a traditional home. There was a long wooden table, perhaps oak, but I don’t really know to tell you the truth. Around the table sat about a dozen men, all finely dressed in the sharpest Italian suits. Each had their own unique style that separated them from the rest, and at the head of the table was Daddy. These were the days back when. Back when Cleveland was known as the “Car Bomb Capital” of the World. The Italians ran this city with an iron fist. You didn’t like what they did, you spoke up about it…you paid, and usually, you went BOOM!
My father, Antonio Mastrangelo was a prominent member of the Cleveland Mob back in the day, and still has his contacts, and loyalist to this day. This is what gives him his pull in society. Though it used to be greater, it still does exist.
The scene cuts to static before coming back on, this time in a more modern time. As a matter of fact, it was only a few years ago. You’ve heard this story from a different perspective in a place far away, but now you hear it from me. Now you hear it from the one who truly went through the most anxiety at this time, the most fear, the most everything. The scene cuts to an interrogation room in the Cuyahoga County Jail, right in the center of Downtown Cleveland. It’s one of those bare rooms with a table in the middle and a chair on each side. I’m sitting in one of the chairs all by myself as there is no doubt officers peering in at me from the other side of the reflective glass. Tears flow down my face, but I couldn’t even make a sound. Suddenly there’s a knock on the door causing me to wipe the tears from my face. An officer peers from behind the door, leaning in to give me notice of a visitor.
Officer: Ms. Mastrangelo, you have a visitor.
I kid you not. At that moment, when that officer peered in, I was struck with the most fear I’ve ever been hit with in my entire life.
I’ve seen people die.
I’ve evaded police in what at the time was an exhilarating police chase.
Even when the cops first caught me and put me in the back of the car, I was not that scared. At that time, it was more shock then anything. Now was fear. I had never been caught. I had never been stuck in a room like that; caged in like a rabid animal. All of this was something new, something different, and I sure as hell didn’t like it.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Who?
He didn’t answer me and instead disappeared back behind the door. A moment later, the door is pushed open and my father walked in.
When I saw my father walk through those doors, it gave me the kind of relief that is indescribable. Seeing him their calmed me down to the point where the tears had stopped.
As my father walked in the door, he had a seat in the chair across from me. My breathing had slowed and I felt as if I was no longer afraid. He reached across the table and reached for my hand.
Antonio Mastrangelo: How are you princess?
Ashley Mastrangelo: Daddy, I’m so scared. I saw Johnny get shot, and he just fell to the ground, dead in a pool of blood. Tony got in the car and started yelling, and I-I-I-I just went.
Antonio Mastrangelo: It’s okay sweetheart. I know what happened. I talked to your brother and I have paid for your release.
Ashley Mastrangelo: What…what about Tony?
Antonio Mastrangelo: There’s really nothing that can be done. The evidence against him is mounting. I got him the best attorney that money can buy. We’ll just have to see where it goes from there.
He stood from his chair and extended his hand to me. As I took his hand and stood from my chair, he led me out of the room. The police behind the glass were visible now as I walked out of the room and they stared at me shaking their heads. I could see the disgust in their faces and it made me want to cry. I didn’t want to be viewed as some criminal whore. That’s not who I was. I was helping my brother. I loved my brother and would do anything for him. Anything happened to go too far.
Too be locked in that place for even the few hours that I was began the change inside me. I didn’t want that to EVER happen again. I’m not some slutty animal to be gazed at through a cell window. It was at that moment that I had the biggest self-reflection on my life that one could ever have.
We went home and I immediately changed out of the slutty outfit I had on into a simple camisole and pajama pants. As I came downstairs, my father looked up at me in my simplest non-made up form and smiled.
Antonio Mastrangelo: Now that’s my girl.
Just those words were enough to make me, at least momentarily, forget about what had happened minutes earlier. I continued down the steps and right into his arms. Unfortunately for me, those words only lasted so long as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me to the couch.
Antonio Mastrangelo: So I made a few phone calls. When we’re sitting there tomorrow in the courtroom, I don’t want you to be nervous. I want you to answer the questions they ask with honesty. Then when a man you don’t know walks in…relax. He thinks he can take care of everything.
Those words, at the time, confused me in a grand way.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Who is he?
Antonio Mastrangelo: He’ll introduce himself in due time. Just know that he is a friend of the family, and has pledged to do everything he can to help you, both tomorrow and further on.
I simply nodded, and then asked to be excused. My father nodded back and kissed me on my forehead before I headed right back up the stairs I had just come down. Going into my room, I didn’t even bother to turn the light on. I simply got into bed, on top of the covers, and stared up at the ceiling, wondering what the next day would hold for me.
I didn’t know then what I know now. I remember so many thoughts going through my head. Who was going to help me and what was in it for him? Why was he helping me. What had my father promised him? After what I had seen I didn’t want to simply coast through life anymore. I didn’t want to be the daddy’s girl who was handed everything on a silver platter. I wanted to earn my way. I wanted to be taken seriously. I wanted the opportunity to prove my worth. I would get all of that and then some.
I had eventually passed out that night with the thoughts that coursed through the pathways of my brain. The next day had come and the annoying sound of the buzzing alarm clock had gone off. I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t want to get up, get dressed in proper attire, and head to a courthouse to hear my fate. I did though and as we got to the courthouse and stood at the base of the steps looking up at the entrance of the grand cement building I could feel a sense of nausea in the pit of my stomach.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Daddy, I’m nervous.
Antonio Mastrangelo: Don’t be my darling. Everything is under control.
Ashley Mastrangelo: But…but…but what if something goes wrong? What if your friend doesn’t show? WHAT IF I GO TO JAIL!?
He put his hands on my shoulders and reassured me that nothing would go wrong. Very rarely did they when he was spearheading the operations. So I took perhaps the deepest breath I had ever taken and nodded affirmatively. I turned back to the entrance and the two of us together slowly began our ascent to the courthouse entrance. After answering the questions of the prosecutor and hearing the witnesses both eye and character, I sat there and awaited the judgment.
You guys think you know pressure? You think that this Sunday is pressure? You don’t know pressure until you sit in front of a group of people who just took forty minutes to deliberate about the future of you as an individual. I remember it like it was an hour ago. I had on a fitted dress and I swear that with each and every second that went by, my heart could be seen beating right through that dress. As the foreman stood from his seat and read the verdict, I tried so hard to keep my composure.
The foreman stood and I could feel the nerves in my body tense up with every word. Then there were two words that took it all away…”NOT GUILTY!”
The most serious of charges were all found as not guilty. The relief overcame me like a blast of air conditioning on a hot humid day. The suffocating feeling was gone. I could breathe again. For all intents and purposes, I was a free girl. Then I heard that other word…”GUILTY!” I had been found guilty of the lowest charge, evading the police. As I sat there and wondered what my punishment would be, the sound of a man’s voice echoed throughout the courtroom. He then walked up to the judge and had a conversation with her. After said conversation, she looked in my direction.
Judge: Young lady, you are a lucky little girl. This high standing citizen, Mr. Laszlo, has decided to take on the responsibility of your care. You are being released into his custody to serve out your community service.
I watched him as he walked by, a wink in his eye and a point toward the hall as he headed out from the proceedings. The judge smacked her gavel and the court was adjourned.
So, as we all know, that was Mike Laszlo. He saved me from some horrible, wretched community service, like picking up trash or something stupid. My life changed that day.
We met the Mike in the hall and after he shook my father’s hand, he turned his attention to me. The cold look in his eye is the same you guys see on television. He said one thing to me.
Mike: This is where the journey begins young lady. You have two options under my care. Option A: You meet me at my gym and I rehabilitate you to the best of my ability. I make you worth something again to yourself. Option B: You leave this courthouse today, I never see you again, and you continue on this bullshit path of stupidity. The choice is yours.
He handed me his business card and walked off. As I watched him leave, there was a confidence about him that intrigued me. I then turned to my father.
Ashley Mastrangelo: Who was that?
Antonio Mastrangelo: A man who is offering you a great opportunity. My words of wisdom to you are simple; if you see an opportunity worth taking…take it. Take that opportunity and take the fullest of advantage of it. This is your first of what could be many.
The scene fades as I contemplate the words from my father. Words of wisdom indeed.
===
Ashley Mastrangelo: So that’s where it all comes from. I took the words that my father dispersed on me that day to heart, and have lived by them ever since. Some would look at my ordeal with the law and say THAT was my biggest opportunity to date. I would look at you and laugh, because I’m not that girl anymore. I’m not the slut who got into trouble. I don’t do the wrong thing for the wrong reasons anymore. For example, this Sunday. The match for the Ruby Title that will see Amber, Tara, and me go to war like three women have never gone to war before. Amber or I could have easily chosen to steal the opportunity. That would have been the wrong thing to do.
Reaching over, Ashley grabs a pair of capris and pulls them over her legs, standing to pull them around her waist and button them. She then reaches up and removes the towel from her head, allowing her blonde hair to drop down behind her, past her shoulders in scraggily fashion. She sits back on the bed and runs her hands through her hair again.
Ashley Mastrangelo: What you all fail to realize is that neither I nor Amber “fears” Tara. We wanted the best competition in this entire federation and we got it this coming Sunday. The two of us had a few words and came to the same conclusion. We earned this together, we will cash it in together.
She gets up from the bed and heads to the vanity dresser where there is a brush and hair straightener sitting side by side. She grabs hold of the straightener and turns it on before setting it back down and grabbing the brush. Firmly, but slowly she starts to brush the tangles from her hair.
Ashley Mastrangelo: That’s where the friendship ends. The mutual admiration can continue on for decades, careers, but the fact is, this Sunday we’re opponents. You and I stand in opposite corners against the current Ruby Champion. I’m not there to make sure you win, and you’re not there to make sure I win. I’m walking out as the Ruby Champion because it is the opportunity that I have searched for my entire life.
She finishes brushing her hair and picks up the now piping hot straightener. She begins going through her hair layer by layer.
Ashley Mastrangelo: I want to prove that I’m the best and that statement in and of itself should suffice the masses. That idea should resonate soundly and be understood clear as day. However, that’s not the only reason I go into battle this Sunday. I go in for vindication. Vindication of not a career but of my entire life.
She switches from left to right and continues the straightening process.
Ashley Mastrangelo: I’m not looking to vindicate a career because there haven’t been many failures to do so with. I am looking however to vindicate a life…MY life. I’ve been in the shadows of others for way too long. I’ve had things handed to me for way too long. This Sunday on Pay Per View, I take the opportunity I have long awaited and I run so far with it that there isn’t a soul on this roster who can catch me. This Sunday I prove my worth to the world for the first time rather than just being talked up by someone else. At Lineage…it’s all on my shoulders.
The scene fades to black as Ashley stares at herself in the mirror.
Well howdy there pardner.