The Promise

[Jessica Reed]

{ Our scene opens up under the warm glow of the autumnal evening sun which slowly sinks towards the mountain range behind a large forest. The trees are a mixture of yellow and orange and bare branches as our view slowly swoops down towards a picturesque pathway which winds amidst the seasonal decay. Soon we can see the figures of Jessica Reed and Hannah Reed walking side by side, both wrapped up in long coats, woolly hats and gloves. The pair walk at a gentle pace, Jess kicked at the leaves as they walk past the large piles which litter the sides of the path as her sister walks calmly alongside her. }

Hannah Reed: Do you remember the walks you, me and mom used to have?

{ Hannah looks around at the golden leaves as they continue to move through the woods. }

Jessica Reed: You mean the walks we had so that I could, and I quote, “see some sunlight and get away from those machines”?

Hannah Reed: You know she kind of had a point, pale skin really never suited you.

{ Hannah bumps playfully into her sisters shoulder, knocking her a little off balance. }

Jessica Reed: I thought it was the callouses on my thumbs from clutching controllers that meant I’d never find a husband?

Hannah Reed: Sure, that too. And your terrible bed hair.

Jessica Reed: Geez, this “perk up Jess walk” is really doing the trick. Do I need to remind you about the type of men you were bringing home?

Hannah Reed: Hey, Jason was ok!

{ Jess turns and looks at Hannah with a dead pan face. }

Jessica Reed: Jason? The guy who “didn’t believe I capitalism” and wanted to take you to live in the mountains with him?

Hannah Reed: Well, he did have a nice beard. And technically Roberto has taken us both to live in the wilderness.

Jessica Reed: I don’t think a ramshackled serial killer cabin quite compares with a mansion.

{ Hannah laughs. }

Hannah Reed: It’s been so long since we had some time alone together. We really should do this more often.

Jessica Reed: Yeah, but…

{ Jess kicks at some leaves as she continues to look down at the path. }

Jessica Reed: Things have changed.

Hannah Reed: What do you mean?

Jessica Reed: Well, you run a whole legal department now that’s a lot of responsibility, it takes a lot of time. Plus for some reason you enjoy spending time alone with Bertie for more than ten minutes.

Hannah Reed: True… plus, you’ve got your own career now.

Jessica Reed: Yeah… that.

{ Hannah rubs her hands together as she looks at her sister. }

Hannah Reed: Yes. That. You know I’m proud of everything you’ve accomplished.

Jessica Reed: Yeah, I know that it’s just…

Hannah Reed: You’re afraid of letting everybody down?

Jessica Reed: Yes, but mostly I’m afraid of letting myself down. I’m not stupid, I realise that the world of pro-wrestling has and will continue to exist with or without me, nobody is bigger than the whole business however much they may convince themselves otherwise. Yet… I’m not sure mine would if I walk away again.

{ Hannah looks at Jess, her face awash with concern. }

Hannah Reed: What do you mean your world wouldn’t continue?

Jessica Reed: It’s ok, I don’t mean it like that… just… you don’t know how hard it was to establish a life outside of your shadow, to finally prove that I could accomplish something for myself, with your help, without mom’s help…

{ Jess closes her eyes. }

Jessica Reed: Without… his help.

{ Jess shakes her head. }

Jessica Reed: When I burst onto the scene, I felt alive for the first time… probably ever, it was all down to my hard work, nobody gave me anything. I built something for myself and then… then I got injured and at first, I thought I’d just take some time out and come back, just as strong as I was before… but I just couldn’t.

Hannah Reed: Nobody could blame you for that…

Jessica Reed: Yes. But I can. Because I’ve let myself down, Hannah. Every time I’ve gotten myself fit for in-ring action, I’ve walked away again. The first time? I could chalk it down to nerves. But the second? The third? What makes this time any different? If I lose this weekend, if the several bound of leather and gold obligation is taken away, will I buck that trend? Or will I just walk away again? I’ve held back… I’ve not allowed myself to commit… I’m afraid of investing… of losing myself in my coping mechanisms, of being who I really am.

{ Hannah pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath. }

Hannah Reed: But… what do you have to lose?

Jessica Reed: What do you mean? I just…

Hannah Reed: I mean… what do you have to lose by throwing your all into this? You’re constantly living in fear that you don’t have what it takes to cope, to handle the pressure… but you won’t commit… you won’t give it your all… you’re just creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, one you’re doomed to repeat.

Jessica Reed: Well… I…I mean…

{ Hannah steps in front of her sister, grasping her hands firmly as she looks her in the eyes. }

Hannah Reed: Jess… listen to me… you can’t predict the future, but you can influence it. If you’re going to keep one foot out of that door, the other is inevitably going to follow. The only way you can reclaim your career is if you throw yourself into it… I know it’s scary… it was scary when I chose to leave home and move to pursue my career... it could have failed, all the relationships I ran away to chase did, but I knew that if I didn’t do it… if I didn’t give it everything I have, I was going to come crawling back to Dad.

{ Jess sniffs as she wipes away a few tears. }

Hannah Reed: You owe it to yourself to give all you’ve got this week, next week, and every other week after this that you feel you can do this, but you can’t half-ass it. You have to commit, you have to stop hiding and avoiding who you are, deep down. Embracing that is what allowed you to have chance after chance to re-establish your career, if you fail to do that, then you can kiss goodbye to a full-time career.

{ Hannah tightens her grips as Jess looks up at her. }

Hannah Reed: Do you remember the promise you made to me? When you first moved in?

Jessica Reed: Of course I do…

Hannah Reed: Then it’s time for me to cash it in… you promised that if we let you live with us, you’d not quit. You’d not give up and just use our house as a bunker to hide from Dad. I am asking you to honour that, not for me, not for Roberto, but for you. No more what ifs, no more maybes… do this for yourself, go out there this week and fight Paige and make sure that whatever happens you walk back through those curtains with your head held high. We are behind you, we will always support you, but you need to do this for yourself… can you promise me you will close that door… for good?

{ Jess screws up her eyes as the pair stand in silence, the wild howling through the trees as tones of orange float gently to the floor. Hannah holds her hands firmly, reassuringly stroking them with her thumbs as eventually Jess begins to nod, slowly at first, before building her pace. }

Jessica Reed: Ok…

{ Jess looks up, her eyes red but a soft, gentle smile running across her lips as a slight sparkle lights up her eyes. }

Jessica Reed: I promise.

So here we are.

I’d be a liar if I claimed I wasn’t nervous.

Since the moment I unhooked this belt, I knew that eventually I would be obliged the defend it, and I knew the challenge would be a difficult one. There is so much talent on this roster that no matter who I was standing in the ring with, I was in for a battle.

It just so happens I am due to face down my second Garcia in as many weeks.

The longest reigning IWF Shieldmaiden, Paige Garcia.

You know, Paige, I meant every word I said last week.

No matter what I think about you as a person, I respect the fact you don’t hide who you are. Yet, I never expected that to be taken as being tantamount to endorsing your behaviour, because let me be clear, I don’t. You’re selfish, you only think about yourself and how other people can benefit you and you believe yourself to be superior to everybody around you.

You may wear your heart on your sleeve, but it’s not a compliment when that heart is black.

Sure, you’re better than the girls who wear a mask and pretend to be something they’re not, but your toxicity being out in the open doesn’t do much to diminish it’s effect. Whilst I completely respect your ability to hold on to that position as the IWF Shieldmaiden for so long, I can’t condone your methods, nor can I behave like I think your beyond scrutiny for achieving your ends by any means necessary.

I guess that makes me sound like a hypocrite, right?

After all, where was I when Roberto was running roughshod over everybody for nearly a year? Why did it take me so long to stand up to Ana Valentine? Why is it ok for me to profit from Eternity’s misfortune to become the champion but you’re to be vilified for creating that misfortune upon which you built your success?

But you’re wrong.

I have always stood up for honest competition, I have always prided myself on ensuring that no matter what the result it was never under a cloud of suspicion, at least as far as my own actions are concerned. Maybe that makes me naïve, maybe that makes me sound like an idiot to an opportunist to you.

Maybe.

But I take me role as head of this division seriously. You see, Kathy may be responsible for the corporate side of our roster but I know that it’s me who the little girls at home are watching and looking up to for answers on how to behave. The fact that I stick to my guns and continue to preach the virtues of fair competition may seem counterproductive to some, but to me, proving that you can stay true to yourself and still succeed is a far bigger achievement than simply adding a few more days to a title reign.

I never defined myself by the digits next to my name, I always left that to those who invested more of their self-worth into their finite successes.

To me, showing everybody that they can be upstanding people not just chewed up and spat out “by the machine” was always more important than applying the “dark arts” to get a few more wins. Perhaps my methodology is less successful, after all, when you look at the history of this company, the girls and boys holding the top belt are rarely those preaching the merits of being morally upstanding.

On the contrary, their normally anything but.

However, if I can be that one example which bucks the trend, the anomaly which disproves the rule… then I have accomplished everything I set out to do. I have shown the world that you don’t need to exploit people like you do, you don’t need to cheat like you do and you don’t need to break people like you do to get ahead.

Most of all, I have shown everybody that being a good person isn’t an automatic death sentence.

Too often the good people of the world are destroyed for their refusal to break their promises to themselves, they are broken down and martyred for their causes and they often finish dead last in the mad dash to the finish line. Weighed down by the weight of their commitment to representing something bigger than themselves.

Yet… despite all that… I have thrived.

Yes, it was years ago, I admit that. Right now, regardless of this belt I hold, I don’t have any illusions to being higher than you in the totem pole Paige, you’ve earned your spot near the top with Eternity, albeit not perhaps fairly and squarely. However, I did return, and I was lucky enough to succeed, I have accumulated accolades, I have overcome obstacles…

All of it without sacrificing who I am on the altar of success.

Perhaps that makes me weak to you. Perhaps that makes me pathetic to you. Perhaps that makes me an easy target to you.

It’s entirely possible that I am. I never refuted what your sister said, because I’ve never claimed otherwise. Whilst I won’t credit Alexis for my victory, I’ve been quite honest about the manner of my victory. I bought a ticket and entered a lottery like every other girl out there and you’re right.

I got lucky.

That’s why this weekend, I have to go out there to prove myself, but I’m not alone in that, am I Paige? You may be the most successful Shieldmaiden in company history, but despite everything else you may be, you’re also somebody who defines herself on her ability to achieve. We both know that as far as you’re concerned, the next logical step is the very belt I plucked from the sky in a moment of luck.

But to do that, you’ve got to go through me.

Now, I’m quite sure you’re confident that you have the ability to do that, and I wouldn’t disagree. You do. You have all the talent in the world, but that isn’t always enough. For as much as becoming a two time champion was a stroke of luck, you don’t walk down a ramp and get into the ring with somebody as dominant as Eternity and walk out with her property without digging deep, deep down inside yourself to find an extra gear.

I gave everything I had in that ring to survive long enough to exploit her one moment of weakness.

You may have the ability to beat me, but the question this weekend is not about who has the most in-ring skill, it’s about whose heart will give in first. I’m not deluded enough to think I have no talent, I accept that I do, but I also know that my biggest strength has always been to dig as deeply as I can on any given week and leave everything I have inside that ring.

Can you say the same?

You’ve taken shortcuts, you’ve gone the easy route time and time again, and whilst that achieves results, it doesn’t prepare you for the kind of battle I you’re in for this weekend. It doesn’t prepare you for a match where the margins are narrow, where the difference between success and failure is miniscule.

As much as people are asking question about me, like it or not, this weekend they’re doing exactly the same for you.

Is Paige really more than a one trick pony? Can she secure the big one off the back of her own undoubted talent? Is she really as good as she claims she is.

But more of all, they asking a much bigger question.

What will Paige Garcia do if she fails?

I’ve come to terms with that possibility, Paige. I’ve embraced that fact I could walk out there and completely fail, I could see my second chance go up in smoke… and I’m ok with that. I am determined, win or lose, to keep going, to keep doing my best to be somebody the girls at home can look up to.

To move forward.

But what will you do? You’ve built up an aura of invincibility around yourself where failure can only tarnish your momentum. You have carried yourself as everybody else’s superior since the day you walked into IWF…

So how will you cope, on such a big stage, if all of that is proven to be a lie?

Where does Paige Garcia go if she can’t beat an airhead who was in the right place at the right time and owes her career to Alexis Caffrey?

What happens when the walls you’ve built up around you come crumbling down?

We’ll find out who is licking their wounds come Monday.

Let’s see who the best woman really is.