More Than Meets The Eye (Gina Neon All-Star Championship RP)

[Gina, THE WINNAH!]

I

Spring 2006

Sovereign Bank Arena

Trenton, New Jersey

'Vinnnnyyyyy!!!

Gina Carelli rolled her eyes as she saw her brother begin to walk in the opposite direction she was headed, and reached over to tug at his sleeve.

'Jake's over there', she said, pointing at a table a few feet away, where a fair-haired youth sat meeting and greeting people. Her brother, however, paid her no heed, merely yanking his sleeve free from her grasp as he strode across the convention hall at a brisk pace.

'We'll go see Jake in a minute', he called, not so much as turning to look at his sister. 'I wanna get an autograph from Glitterella first!'

Gina rolled her eyes again, groaning pointedly as she strove to keep in step with her brother.

'What'chu want to go see her for? Don't'cha remember what happened last time?'

'Last time, she was havin' a bad night', Vincent Carelli pointed out. 'She had lost the Women's belt to Millie. She's got it back now. It's gonna be different.'

'Ugh!' Gina groaned at the painful recollection. 'Don't remind me...!'

'Besides', her brother said, oblivious to her reaction, 'Ella's always sayin' in interviews how much she likes to give back to the fans. An' you know you're not supposed to lie in interviews. You get caught, and then it's worse.'

Gina could not argue with this logic. Even at eleven, she read magazines, and she knew you weren't supposed to tell lies in print. She'd even seen reports on TV of people who had tried to do it and ended up losing all their fans and their reputation. There was even a music group she used to like who had tried that way back in the day, and they had had all their awards taken away for lying!

(She didn't like them anymore, of course. She didn't support liars and cheats.)

Still, she could not help but feel her brother was being too optimistic about his chances this time around. Glitterella, the reigning ICWA Women's Champion, didn't exactly come across as the nicest of people, regardless of what she might tell journalists. She voiced this concern to her brother, who laughed:

'She doesn't have to be nice. She's hot.'

'Hot?' Gina scratched her head in confusion. 'Whaddya mean, hot? It ain't even summer yet! Does she have like, a fever or somethin'?'

Vinny laughed. 'No, birdbrain. Fuhgeddaboutit. You're too little. You wouldn't understand.'

'Would too', Gina grumbled, as she resigned herself to following her brother as he resolutely made his way to a table at the far end. There, a long-legged blonde woman stood chatting to a shorter, darker-haired lady in a mauve skirt suit, who listened with an expression of utmost empathy.

'...and so I was like, 'excuse you?' and she was like 'yeah, you suck' and I was like 'bitch, get a life!'' The blonde tossed her hair irritably. 'Seriously, Deena, whyyyy do I aaaaalways get the jealous bitches? Like, ugh!'

'I know, Ella', the brunette said, leaning in to place a hand on her interloper's arm. 'It's just not fair to you...'

'...so not fair', the blonde cut in. She seemed poised to launch into another litany of misfortunes, but before she could so much as string her thoughts together, she was made aware of the presence of the two children.

'Ugh', she sneered, looking down her nose at them. 'What do you brats want?'

'Uh...' Gina's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she saw her usually self-assured brother fluster and begin to stammer. 'Miss Ella, I was wonderin' if...well...if I could...'

'...he wants your otter graph', Gina put in, helpfully. Vinny began to glower at her, but his anger turned into shocked surprised at Glitterella's reply:

'So? I want a yacht made out of gold, but I can't have that either. Sucks to be you.'

For a moment after this, a stunned, pregnant silence seemed to descend upon the convention hall; then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was shattered, as an indignant voice rose up:

'Heeeeey! That wasn't nice!'

Before Glitterella or her publicist knew what had hit them, they found themselves subjected to the wrath of a pre-teen girl. Gina rounded up on both women, a finger outstretched and a dangerous, reckless spark in her eye.

'Now you listen here, lady', she continued, 'I don't care that you're the Women's Champion! I wouldn't'a cared if you was the President! You don't gotta be a butthead to my brother! He's a real big fan a' yours, an' all he's been talkin' about since we got here is getting your otter graph an' takin' a picture with you! An' I know it don't take that long to do those things, 'cause Jake Mason always does it for a bunch'a people an' it only takes him like two minutes! So there's no reason for you to be a jerk to my brother! 'Cept 'cause you want to!' 

She halted herself, out of breath, and glared at the offending party for a moment before delivering the final blow:

'My brother said you was hot, an' I didn't get what he meant, but now I do. You're hot 'cause you got a brain fever, that makes you act like a butthead!'

Then, turning away from the speechless starlet and her agent, she pulled her brother by his shirt-sleeve yet again.

'C'mon, Vinny. Let's go over there an' talk to someone nice.'

She threw a final glower back at Glitterella and Deena, still staring at her slack-jawed, before once again tugging on Vinny's sleeve. This time, the boy did respond, and they began to make their way back across the hall to where 'Amazin'' Jake Mason continued to work through the substantial queue of devoted fans.

'When I'm a wrestler, I'm gonna make super-duper sure I'm not like that', Gina vented, as they walked. 'I'm gonna sign all a' people's otter graphs an' take pictures with 'em an' stuff! I'm gonna be a nice Champion. Like Jake!'

To her surprise, Vinny did not make his usual, snippy remarks about her ambition to become a professional wrestler; instead, he seemed more interested in examining the size of the queue waiting to see the ICWA Champion.

'Tell you what', he said, after a moment's reflection. 'That queue over there's about the size a' Jersey...so whaddya say we go get some ice cream? On me?'

Gina's mouth fell open. She blinked and stared at her brother, in disbelief.

'You alright, dude? You sure you don't gotta brain fever like that lady?'

Vinny shook his head. 

'Nah. What I have is a heck of a sister', he replied, with a wink and a grin.

Gina grinned back, her eyes twinkling.

'Race ya!'

Vinny did not need telling twice; he promptly took off after his laughing sister, in the direction of a vanilla and chocolate double-scoop.

II

Ten Years Later

Gina Carelli's Apartment

Trenton, New Jersey

Gina barely managed to get her shoes off before dropping onto the familiar couch in the familiar living room of her familiar house. After a week spent on the road with Visionaries of Wrestling, the worn green baize upholstery, with its increasingly strong smell of sweaty dog, seemed comfortably and comfortingly familiar, a weary traveller's final rest stop.

'Man, Dorothy was right', Gina murmured, taking a whiff of the sofa. 'There ain't no place like home.'

'...you gonna sleep on the couch, Geeg?' Behind Gina, her best friend, Mandy, made her way through the apartment's narrow door, her arms full of camera equipment that she struggled to balance without dropping. Her and Gina had just driven up from Michigan, where VoW had held its latest show. Or rather, Mandy had driven; Gina's contribution had been limited to looking gloomy and speaking in monosyllables before going out like a light about an hour into the drive. Now, several hours later, she still seemed oddly subdued, even as she helped Mandy put away the equipment. As they returned parts to their cases, the film student made an attempt at cheerfulness

'Man, was that a show or what?'

'I don't wanna talk about it', Gina grumbled.

Mandy sighed, moving over to stand in front of Gina and placing her hands on her shoulders. 'Geeg, listen...I know it's a bummer, and I know you wanted to teach that woman a lesson, but it ain't like you to mope, honey. What happened to Neon Power?'

'It's gone out', Gina muttered.

'No it hasn't. Neon Power never goes out. There's always some reserve of it somewhere. There always has been, ever since we were four. I don't believe it's gone off now.'

'Well, it has.' Gina folded her arms resolutely.

'Really? So lemme get this straight...' Mandy began to count on her fingers. 'It didn't go off that time your pet goldfish died...or that time you got an F in Geography...or that time Nicole Van Peet told everyone you had herpes...or that time that one dude hit you with a chair...or the other two times you lost...but it goes out now?' The film student shook her head. 'That's a bunch'a hooey, Gigi, an' you know it. Besides...' She tried for a smile, and was happy to see her friend grin back, albeit sadly. '...besides, you got a chance to show Becky that just 'cause she beat you one time, don't mean she put you down! All you gotta do is go into the Valentine show on Sunday an' win that belt!'

'Yeah, but now I don't know if I can', Gina mumbled.

'Of course you can, butthead.' Gina gasped as her friend used the Ultimate Insult against her. 'So, what, just 'cause you lost a match, that makes you a bad wrestler? What about your belts? What about bein' Top Rook-Dog? What about being the cheater beater, odds defeater, all that stuff?' Gina seemed poised to reply, but her friend did not give her the chance. 'That's still who you are, Geeg. That's who you're always gonna be. Win or lose. And that's how come I know you're gonna kick butt out there on Sunday!'

Mandy smiled as her little motivational speech seemed to have an effect – something resembling a smile finally broke through Gina's sullen expression, immediately brightening it.

'There's my girl!' Mandy grinned big, leaning in to hug her friend, and rejoicing when she hugged back. When, after a long moment, they pulled away, Mandy once again looked into Gina's eyes.

'You gonna be okay?'

Gina nodded. 'Yeah. I just gotta do one thing.'

'What?' Mandy caught the expression on her friend's face, and gasped. 'NOW?! But Gigi, it's the middle of the night! And we just put all the camera stuff away! Can't it wait 'till tomorrow?' She answered her own question before Gina could. 'Nah, nevermind. If we wait until tomorrow, you're just gonna wake me up at stupid o'clock wanting me to go film you.' She sighed. 'Fiiiine. But you're helping me put everything back afterwards. And if the neighbors complain, it's on you. Capisce?'

To her surprise, Gina grinned. 'It's a deal, baby!'

Mandy nodded. 'Go get dressed. We're gonna have ourselves a little night time shoot.'

III

Ten Minutes Later

Gina Carelli's Apartment

Trenton, New Jersey

'Before I say anythin', I gotta apologise.'

Mandy was startled at the way her friend started the video, going straight to the point and without any of her usual infectious excitement.

'Neon Nation, I know you guys like to feel the Neon Power...but there's been a power outage tonight. The Neon Power Plant is down. An' I guess if you guys watched my match this week, you guys know why. So if I'm runnin' a little low, I'm sorry. I know you guys understand, but I still wish I could send some Neon Power your way.'

Gina had a feeble grin.

'But it's all right. I'll bounce back. 'Cause I'm a star. I take meteor showers.'

The grin gave way to a little giggle.

'Anyway, I ain't here to talk about stuff that already happened. I don't like thinkin' too much about stuff from the past, 'cause I can't change it anyway, so what's the point, y'know? What matters is what I can change. An' one thing I can change is my future at Valentine Wrestlin' Syndicate.'

Mandy had to confess herself impressed with how smoothly and naturally her friend had made the transition into the topic at hand. She did not dwell on that too long, however, as soon Gina demanded her full attention yet again.

'Now, if you guys have been payin' attention, you know I'm facin' Christina Millar at Uprisin', for the Ana Valentine All-Star Championship. An' at first I was totally surprised, tryin' to figure out why they had picked me instead a' one a' the other girls. An' I think I got it.'

Gina leaned forward slightly.

'I think the reason they chose me to go against their hand-picked contender was 'cause they thought I was the easiest to beat. This was way back at the beginnin', they hadn't seen li'l Gina wrestle yet, an' they probably thought Christina could just trample all over me an' stuff. An' by the time they figured out they were wrong, it was too late, an' the match was already made.'

A small grin appeared on Gina's features, surprising Mandy with how self-assured it was.

'But the thing is...they're still thinkin' it. Even when I've won all my matches. Even when everybody's sayin' I'm a shoe-in for the title – an' by the way, guys, cut it out, it's not cool to be arrogant. But anyway, even after all that, Christina an' the boss lady are still actin' like I'm chopped liver. Like at Uprisin' on Sunday, Christina's gonna be fightin' a dummy or somethin'.'

The old flicker of confidence finally began to gleam on Gina's eye, as the traditional finger came up to point at the camera.

'Well, lemme tell you somethin', Christina. You're awesome. You are. You're a zillion-time Champion all over the place, an' you were in places people heard of, an' you won belts there. But guess what? I won a bunch'a belts, too!'

The rookie nodded.

'That's right! In fact, I won a belt on my first match ever! I ain't got that belt anymore, but I still got my other one. I got it right in there, in my bedroom!'

Gina jerked a thumb at the wall behind her, and Mandy suppressed a giggle, so as not to throw her friend off. Gina, however, did not notice this, as she continued:

'That's right. Bet you didn't know that, huh? Well, guess what? Just 'cause I don't go around talkin' 'bout my belts all the time, don't mean I ain't won 'em. I just don't talk about 'em 'cause they're not from VWS, so they don't matter at VWS. Know what I'm sayin'?

An' sure, you're probably gonna say you never heard a' anyone I fought. An' yeah, I started out in smaller companies. But guess what? A belt's a belt, baby – an' I fought a lotta talented dudes 'n' chicks to get my two! An' I never lost any of 'em, either! I just vacated one 'cause I had to leave the company!'

Gina once again leant forward, gazing intensely into the camera.

'But no – you went an' made the same mistake everyone else makes. You looked at me, an' you saw I didn't look like much, an' you saw I was a six-month rookie, an' you thought I was a pushover. You thought you had it made in the shade. You thought that title was as good as yours. Well, you know who also though that, Christina? The dude I pinned on my first match 'cause he didn't think li'l Gina would counter his move. The dudes in the RRS Rook-Dog Round-Up, who thought the li'l rookie wasn't gonna be no threat. These scary girls I faced at my other company, who thought I was gonna be so scared of 'em that I would forget to fight. An' guess what, Christina? All a' them ended up the same way – on the losin' end of a match with me!'

The rookie's tone began to regain its usual liveliness as Gina continued:

'In fact, Christina, you know how many people beat me?'

She held out three fingers to the camera.

'Three. Count 'em. One, two, three. An' one of them only beat me 'cause some butthead hit me with a chair an' let the other guy pin me. Every other person I've faced since I started wrestlin' in November has ended up losin' to me. An' you know why that is? 'Cause they all make the same mistake. They assume. An' when you assume...'

'...it makes an ass out of you and me', Mandy mouthed along.

'See, Christina, the truth is, when it comes to wrestlin', I'm like a Transformer – more than meets the eye, baby! I may not look like much, but if you come at me thinkin' you already won, you're in for a surprise, baby! I'm as quick as a cat, as fast as a feline! I float like a butterfly an' sting like a bee! I stick to the left, move to the right, an' if you ain't ready, you won't see me comin' 'till you're flat on your butt!'

Mandy was happy to see the enthusiasm returning to her friend's voice as she continued:

'An' lemme tell you somethin' else, Christina...just 'cause I ain't got the experience you got, don't make me any worse than you. You probably think you know how to get in my head – I'm just a dumb li'l rookie, just make me feel bad an' I get thrown off my game, right?! Well, here's the problem – I don't let anythin' or anyone throw me off. My Dad always says sticks an' stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt you. An' you know what? It's true. It don't matter what anyone says. They don't know me like I know me. Only opinion that matters is mine. An' I know I ain't any of those things people usually say about me. I know who I am. I'm Gina. The WINNAH! The Princess of Neon Power. The President of the Neon Nation. The Cheater Beater. The Odds Defeater. The li'l rookie with the big hair an' the big heart. An' you know what? It don't matter who I get in there with – another rookie, a Champion, a bunch'a Champions, a mop...don't matter. I bring my all, every time. I do my best, every time. An' I don't go down easy. So if you're thinkin' you can sleep through this match, Christina...think again, baby!'

Gina leant forward yet again, her eyes now twinkling, her mood having turned itself completely on its head.

'So Christina...on Sunday, for Uprisin'...bring everything ya got. Don't be the butthead that says mean stuff about people. Don't be the girl who doesn't care about her matches. Be the Champion you wanna be. Be the Champion I know you can be. Show me you want this, baby. Show me you're gonna be a good Champion if you beat me. Show me you care. 'Cause if you don't...'

The smirk returned to the Neon Princess's lips.

'...if you don't, you're gonna end up feelin' the Neon...

...Power.'

'Gigi, that was great', Mandy said a moment later, speaking as loudly as she could without disturbing the neighbors. Gina nodded, grinning, but the energy seemed to have ebbed from her with the last two words of her promo, and Mandy could tell the Neon Power Station had shut down for the night again. Her friend's next few words corroborated this, causing the film student to once again chuckle:

'Let's go to bed, Mandz. We gotta drive to Vegas tomorrow.'