Mean Girls? (Gina Neon RP v Trixie)

[Gina, THE WINNAH!]

I

Spring 2012

Trenton Central High School, Trenton, New Jersey

'Carelli!!!'

Gina Carelli flinched as her named boomed across the gym, drawing snickers from some of the other cheerleaders.

'Sorry, Miss Davis', she mumbled.

Joan Davis walked up to where the sixteen-year-old stood staring at her sneakers. 'What the heck was that, Carelli? You know you're supposed to go right. All twenty times before this, you went right. What happened just then? Did your brain stop working?'

'She was probably thinking of that dumb fighting stuff she likes', Nicole Van Peet, the head cheerleader, chimed in. Gina and her best friend, Mandy, turned to glower at her, but Joan was quickest off the mark.

'You don't have any room to talk, Van Peet. I still haven't seen a double backflip from you.'

Some of the other girls giggled, and Mandy elbowed Gina in the ribs, grinning. The brunette, however, did not join in the mirth, flustered as she still was by her mistake. Her cheeks still smarting, she simply assumed her position in the line-up, as her teacher once again barked out:

'Ready? Okay!' 

The rest of the practice went without incident, but for Gina, the end could not come soon enough. When Joan Davis called for the end of the session, she breathed a huge sigh of relief, and was the first to start making her way to the locker rooms.

'Carelli', her teacher called out after her, 'don't forget! Right side!'

'I'm such a butthead', Gina groaned to Mandy a few moments later. 'How did I screw up my right an' my left?'

'Happens to everyone, Geeg', her friend soothed. 'At least you're not Nicole Van Peet. Little Miss Perfect, but ask her to do a double backflip, an' she chokes every time.'

'Double backflips are hard, Mandy', Gina pointed out. 'I can't do one yet, neither.'

'Yeah, but you didn't tell Miss Davis you could...'

Whatever reply Gina may have been about to make was cut short when a locker slammed shut nearby. Every head in the room swung round just in time to see Nicole Van Peet, her face ruddy but her posture as frosty as ever, hurriedly collecting her things and hastening out of the locker room. One or two of her friends made half-hearted attempts to follow her, but it was Gina who bounded over discarded uniforms and open gym bags to cut the head cheerleader off at the door.

'Nicole, wait!'

Nicole turned around, her expression a sneer of disgust. 'Ew...? Like, dork alert?'

Gina looked around her, in surprise. 'Dork? Where?' She turned to the other cheerleaders. 'You guys see a dork? Are they behind me or somethin'?'

'You're the dork, you stupid priss!' Nicole rolled her eyes at her friends, but averted them quickly as they met with Mandy's glower. Gina, however, did not seem to take the insult to heart.

'I know I'm a dork. It's okay. Everyone's different.' 

This drew another mean-spirited fit of giggles from Nicole's entourage, but Gina gave no sign of having heard it; her attention was fully focused on her next thought, one which had her tone rising with unbridled excitement.

'Anyway, I know you're havin' trouble doin' a double backflip, an' I think it would be really cool to know how do one, so I was thinkin'...maybe we could kind'a practice 'em together.' Gina turned to point at her friend. 'Me an' Mandy been practicin' ours...you're welcome to join in anytime, baby!'

At first, Nicole did not seem to believe what she was hearing, simply gawping at her interloper uncomprehendingly; then, as Gina's proposition took hold in her mind, she let out a single, high bark of laughter.

'Yeah, right! Like I'd ever be seen with you in public! Get a clue, freak!'

With this, the head cheerleader for the Trenton Central Tornadoes pushed past her fellow squad-mate and stalked out of the locker room, leaving a puzzled Gina to look around at the other girls on the team:

'Seen with me in public? But she's seen with me in public every week durin' football season, ain't she? ...Guys?'

She found herself talking to an empty room, however; with the exception of Mandy, everyone had hit the showers.

II

30 Minutes Later

Trenton, New Jersey

'Why's she gotta be so mean?'

Gina Carelli kicked up a smattering of gravel with the tip of her Converse, grimacing as it rattled against the side of a nearby car. Walking beside her, her best friend shrugged.

'I dunno, honey. Those girls in her group are weird. Don't worry about it.'

Gina, however, was having a hard time letting it go. 'I mean, doesn't she want to have friends? 'Cause like, I'd totally be her friend if she didn't keep being a butthead to me on purpose! Know what I mean?'

'I know what you mean, honey. But that's the way it is. I been tellin' you since we was kids – you can't be friends with everybody!'

Gina seemed poised to reply when something else drew her attention. Placing her hand across Mandy's chest to stop her, she pointed to a spot a few yards away, where a dejected-looking Nicole Van Peet sat on the kerb, her face buried in her hands.

'What d'you think happened to her?'

Mandy shrugged. 'Dunno, don't care. Why, do you?'

To her friend's dismay, Gina nodded. 'We should go see if she's okay...'

'No, we shouldn't!' Mandy pulled at her friend's sleeve, attempting to drag her away. 'Gina, do you want to get made fun of? Let's go!'

Gina's mind, however, was made up. It was all Mandy could do to keep up as the brunette strode towards the street corner to check on the head cheerleader.

'Hi, Nicky...' Mandy was surprised to see her friend could still muster some compassion after how Nicole had treated her earlier. 'You okay?'

The blonde looked up, and Mandy could see the dark blue lines where something had smudged up her mascara. Her green-blue eyes swam with fresh tears and her chest heaved with dry sobs - yet her attitude, Mandy noted, remained unchanged

'Ew! What do you want, freak?'

Mandy would have left right there and then; let Little Miss Perfect sort out her own problems. Yet Gina simply shrugged, her tone as earnest and sympathetic as it had been a moment before.

'We saw you from across the street an' you looked kind'a sad, so we wanted to see if you needed help or anythin'.' She crouched down next to her rival. 'Now c'mon, spill it out. What's buggin' ya?'

Nicole glowered. 'It's nothin', okay? God!'

Once again, however, Gina seemed to barely register the head cheerleader's tone. 'It's not nothin'', she stated. 'You're sittin' here on the kerb cryin'. It's somethin'.'

'Well, it's none a' your business, okay? Now buzz off! Go watch pony cartoons or somethin'...!'

Mandy would have gladly followed that advice, but her friend was not ready to give up just yet.

'Nicky', she murmured, leaning forward to touch the blonde's shoulder. 'You can tell m--'

This time, the brunette did recoil, as Nicole shrugged her off violently. 

'Don't touch me, freak', she hissed.

'But Nicky--'

'I said buzz off! Just...buzz off, all right?' To Mandy's surprise, the usually frosty blonde collapsed into a fit of sobbing. To her even bigger surprise, Gina stayed right where she was, wrapping an arm around their squad-mate consolingly.

'It's 'kay, Nicky', she soothed. 'It's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine, okay?'

'S-st-stupid good-for-n-nothin' jackass', Nicole sniffled. 'Boys are such idiots!'

'Yeah they are.' Gina nodded her head gravely. 'Total buttheads.'

'Right?' For the first time in three years, Nicole Van Peet looked at Gina Carelli without any trace of contempt, real or imagined. 'It's like they don't know how to be normal!'

Gina nodded again. 'Yeah...' Then, all of a sudden, the dime seemed to drop. 'Waitaminnit, you're havin' boy trouble?! You?!'

Nicole nodded. 'You know Scott? My boyfriend?'

'Yeah, the running-back...' Mandy flinched in horror as her friend failed to suppress a giggle. 'He's cute!'

'Well, he's also an idiot', Nicole sneered. 'You're welcome to have him!'

Gina scrambled to her feet, her hands shooting up. 'Whoa! It's not like that, baby! That ain't how I roll!' Then, unable to restrain her interest, she once again crouched beside her fellow cheerleader. 'What'd he do, though? Did he break up with you?'

Nicole nodded forlornly. 'Yeah. We had a fight. He threw me out of his car. That jerk!'

Gina shrugged. 'Well, if he's gonna be like that, you're better off without him, baby!'

Mandy all but gasped as Nicole managed a grin. 'You bet I am. I'm gonna do my own thing. There's lots'a hot guys out there. Mr. Running Back Scott Stapleton ain't even all that!'

'That's the spirit!' This time, Mandy did gasp, as her friend landed a chummy slap on the head cheerleader's back. 'You're gonna be just fine, Nicky baby! You're cute, an' popular, an' smart, an'...well, you ain't really nice, but, y'know...'

Mandy braced herself for the worst, but once again, it did not come; Nicole seemed to shrug off both Gina's presumptuous gesture and her appraisal of her, instead simply clambering to her feet and locking eyes with the younger girl.

'You know what, Duh-relli? You're not as big of a dork as I thought', she proclaimed, with a smirk. 'At least you stopped to check on me. That's more'n any of my 'friends' did...'

Gina grinned back.

'Anytime, baby!' 

Then, as if remembering something, she added:

'Hey, listen...me 'n' Mandz were on our way to get some Slurpees. You wanna come?'

Mandy's already considerable surprise only increased when, rather than dismiss the thought off-hand, Nicole actually seemed to give it some thought.

'We go to that slurpee shop near the mall', the blonde finally declared. 'Less people from school go there. And if either of you two try to talk to me outside a'cheer practice tomorrow...' Nicole waved a finger back and forth between the two girls. '...I don't know you. You got that?'

Mandy was too stunned by the head cheerleader's response to manage anything more than a vaguely coherent gurgle. Gina, however, was once again able to demonstrate enough composure for the two of them, as she held out her hand to her rival:

'You got yourself a deal, baby! Put 'er there!'

As the two girls shook hands, sealing the deal, Nicole added to Mandy's astonishment even further by adding:

'Oh, and about that double backflip thing?' 

She grinned. 

'Gimme your number. We can work something out.'

III

Four Years Later

Gina Carelli's Apartment

Trenton, New Jersey

'YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH, BAAAAAABBBYYYYYY!!!'

Her room-mate's joyous whoop brought Amanda Fratelli rushing out of her bedroom to see what the commotion was about. She barely managed to negotiate the ten feet or so separating her room from the living area, however, before getting caught in one of her friend's trademark tackle-hugs.

'Whoa', she cried, holding onto Gina to maintain her balance. 'Easy there, Geeg! Why so excited?'

Gina's eyes twinkled as she looked up at her friend. 'Guess!' 

Mandy gave it her best shot, pondering for a long moment as she went through a mental list of things that made her friend happy; eventually, however, Gina's looming, expectant presence got to her, throwing off her concentration and forcing her to admit:

'I got nothin'.'

Only then did Gina take her friend by the hand and drag her into the living room, where the laptop the two shared sat on the dinner table. Flipping it around to face Mandy, the rookie pointed at a spot near the bottom of the webpage she had open on the browser. Mandy began to squint at the screen, but did not need to strain her eyes any further to figure out what her friend was pointing at – Gina herself offered gushing clarification:

'Main Event, baby!!'

'Gigi, that's great! Congratulations!' It was Mandy's turn to embrace her friend. 'Who's it with? VoW, or that new place?'

'The new place', Gina retorted. 'VWS. They're havin' their first TV episode, an' little Gina's the main attraction, baby!'

The two girls high-fived, giggling.

'Are you nervous?'

'Nervous?!' Gina chuckled. 'Are you kiddin' me, baby? Remember what happened the last time I was in a company's first ever TV episode? And the last time I was on Main Event?! I got this, Mandy, honey! I can do it! I got Neon Power, baby!'

It was Mandy's turn to chuckle. 'If you're sure, babe...but it's not a title match this time, is it?'

'Nah. That's in three weeks. But it's still a Main Event spot for two of us girls, baby! We still did what we said we would! We still stole the show!'

'Good on you', Mandy said. 'So who you facin' this time? Is it that girl Fiona again? I know she was sick last time, are they giving her a rematch?'

'Nah.' Gina shook her head. 'It's the other girl. Trixie. Y'know, the one that got attacked and stuff?'

'Trixie? The cat girl?' Mandy could not suppress a sneer. 'I thought they were givin' you a real opponent...y'know, Main Event an' stuff...'

'Hey!' Gina suddenly turned on her friend, her expression unusually stern. 'We don't judge people like that around here, baby! You know that! How would YOU like for Trixie to say I'm not a real opponent?'

'She probably is gonna say it', Mandy muttered. 'But I'll slap the taste outta her mouth if she does! You are so a real opponent!'

'E-xactly, baby! You ain't gonna like it if she just assumes stuff about me! Which is why we ain't gonna assume stuff about her, neither! 'Cause you know what they say about assumin'...'

'I know', Mandy groaned. 'It's like your second favorite thing to say, after 'Neon Power'...'

'That's 'cause it's true', Gina pointed out. 'When you think you got somebody figured out, that's when they surprise you! Remember Nicole Van Peet? From school? We thought she was a total butthead, but she was nice to us that one time...'

'...yeah, and still a total so-and-so every other time', Mandy said. 'But okay, you win. We're not gonna judge Trixie. Happy now?'

'You bet I am, baby!' Gina lunged forward again to hug her friend. 'Now go get the camera! We're gonna shoot ourselves a video right after I'm done with somethin'...'

'But Gigi, what about this girl they have as special ref--'

Her words, however, were lost on Gina, who was already whipping her phone out of her pocket and striding towards her own bedroom. As Mandy retreated into her own quarters in search of Gina's father's vintage VHS camera, she could just about hear her friend begin to relay the news to her interloper:

'Hello, Joey? Guess what? I'm main eventin', baby!'

IV

Twenty Minutes Later

Gina Carelli's Apartment

Trenton, New Jersey

'Woo! We did it, baby!'

Gina Neon barely gave her best friend time to correct the focus on the camera before she launched into her typically excited spiel, which she punctuated with jabs of her right index finger.

'We did it! We showed VWS, an' all the cats an' chicks out there in the stands in Vegas, that the girls could steal the show from right under the boys' noses! You want proof? The first episode o' TNT is an ALL-GIRL MAIN EVENT, baby!'

Gina let out a whoop of delight, throwing a fist in the air.

'An' before I forget...Fiona? We ain't done, baby! Somebody told me you were sick on the night of the event.. Well, tell you what - let's do this again when you're healthy! If you weren't sick, things could'a been different. So get yourself in fightin' shape, an' let's have ourselves a rematch, baby!'

Gina winked at the camera before moving on to her opponent at hand.

'That's for another time, though – right now, I got another show to steal, against a girl who should'a been right there with me an' Fiona at March Madness, but couldn't! Trixie, I don't know what that lady's beef with you is, an' I think she had no right attackin' you and keepin' you from stealin' the show with me an' Fi – but that don't matter right now, baby! 'Cause right now, we got ourselves a second chance to prove how good we are! At Tuesday Night Tenacity on April 12, it ain't about who's got beef with who, or who beat who, or who won what. At Tuesday Night Tenacity on April 12, it's about Trixie the Bad Kitty an' Gina, THE WINNAH, provin' they belong at the top with the big boys! It's about Trixie the Bad Kitty an' Gina, THE WINNAH, puttin' their names right up there with the best at Valentine Wrestlin' Syndicate! On Tuesday night, baby, it's about you an' me puttin' on a Main Event to remember!'

The youth paused just long enough to catch her breath, then promptly continued.

'An' I know what you're gonna say. You're gonna sit there an' try to act like I'm not at your level. Try to make out that I'm nothin' but a dork. Well, lemme tell you somethin', baby – that kind'a thing don't work with me! I've known girls like you all my life – I was a cheerleader, honey! An' guess what? As much as those girls wanted to look mean, deep down, they weren't all that bad! An' you know how I found that out? 'Cause I took the time to get to know 'em. 'Cause I didn't just assume they were mean girls an' leave it at that. An' Trixie – I'm doin' the same with you. Everybody's like 'oh, she's just a girl who thinks she's all that'...I don't work like that, baby! I know there's more to you than meets the eye – an' until we get in that ring at Tenacity, I'm gonna be lookin' for it. Until we get in that ring at Tenacity, I ain't gonna assume. 'Cause assumin' makes an ass outta you an' me!'

The rookie leaned forward.

'But the thing is, Trixie...assumin' works both ways. I ain't gonna assume nothin' about you, but you better not assume nothin' 'bout me, neither! 'Cause lemme tell you somethin', baby – everyone who thought I was nothin' but a little hundred-pound rookie who couldn't hold her own ended up getting' a taste of the Neon Power! Everybody who went in there thinkin' I'd be an easy win ended up thinkin' twice! 'Cause I may not have all that much experience, but baby – I never back down! I never give up! I never stop until I can' t go no more! It don't matter if it's five minutes, fifteen or fifty – li'l Gina's gonna hang in there for as long as she can!'

Gina raised a fist confidently.

'An' lemme tell you somethin' else, Trixie - it don't matter how many titles you've won, neither. I've won a couple myself. But Tuesday night, at the T-Mobile Arena, it ain't gonna be about that! It ain't gonna be about who has the most titles! It's gonna be about who's the best wrestler. An' baby, lemme tell ya – they don't call me Gina, THE WINNAH for nothin'! On Tuesday night, I'm gonna show everybody why VWS chose a six-month rookie to Main Event their second-ever show! An' Trixie – I hope you're plannin' to do the same. I hope you're ready to go there with me! 'Cause I know, together, we can put on the match of the night, baby!'

Gina threw her fist in the air again.

'An' Kayla – I hope you're ready too, baby! I hope you're ready to call the match of the night! I hope you're ready to help us make history! 'Cause together, we can show VWS that girls rule!!'

The rookie once again leaned in towards the camera:

'Trixie...Kayla...on April 12, at Tuesday Night Tenacity...I'm gonna show the world my Neon Power! An' you two should do the same. 'Cause girls...we only got one chance to impress!

Let's make it count, baby!'

With that, and once again barely giving her camerawoman time to react, the rookie made her grand exit, bounding towards her bedroom, her Jack Russell sprinting excitedly behind her. Mandy was, therefore, left to check if the tape had recorded all right, her head shaking slightly in benevolent mirth. Her best friend had Neon Power, all right. Mandy only hoped that would be enough this time around.

Unlike Gina, she had a bad feeling about this match.