"Our First Trip Together"

"Our First Trip Together."

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2021
SACRAMENTO SUPERIOR COURT -- SACRAMENTO, CA

"Objection!" "All rise!" "Leading the witness!"

Alright, maybe these are all common things you hear within a courtroom, but honestly, she did hear them come from someone's mouth, though she couldn't place who it was. Her vision was blurred, her hearing sounded like she was some place far, far away. Mentally, she was. No, she didn't take a tab before coming into the court room, she was simply having an out of body experience.

"State your full name for the record!' "Call your next witness!" "Councelors approach the bench!"

These ones she was almost certain she had heard at some point during the hearing, though she couldn't tell you if they were said to her or not.

"If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit!"

Wait, no, that for sure was a different case, but you get the point. She was tuned the fuck out during the court case. All she knew, was that Vincent had promised her that she'd be okay. So she stood there, as coherent as she could be, and placed complete trust in the man she'd known most of her life who had just recently started representing her. She'd done it before - trusted him with her life, and he'd never let her down. He always managed to pull it out, no matter how hopeless. I guess that's what money and a respected family get you...but at least Vince had a good heart.

"We were very lucky I knew that judge, and you're only getting probation. Could have been a lot worse."

Her first created memory that she had for sure, she was sitting inside the courtyard with Vincent. The judge had just declared his verdict, and she was supposed to feel relieved. But no relief came.

"If you...agreed to testify, we would've walked..."

"No."

She had been silent the entire time, so her sudden outburst caught Vincent off guard and took him aback. She cut him off sternly, and at for a second he was surprised. Then he remembered the person he was talking to, and his expression softened again.

"...no I told you, I can't."

"I know, I know. I'd never push you in that direction unless it was a last resort. Luckily for us, it wasn't. Of course, there's going to be strict terms to your probation. You'll be asked to drug test at random times, attend AA and/or NA meetings, check in with your PO often...but you'll be free, able to hold a job, and all that boring regular people stuff."

He could almost see the intrusive thought entire her mind, taking it over like some sort of plague. She looked to the ground, mulling over something not seen.

"What is it?" Vincent asked, placing a hand on her chin and meeting her eyes.

"It's just...what if my job requires me to be out of state?"

A guilty smirk spread across her face. In the middle of everything that had been happening, she had forgotten to mention how she had a tryout with a newer promotion. The place was still getting it's feet wet, and the first letter of any sort of contract hadn't even been started yet - but it was a step in the direction she wanted to go. Pro Wrestling Excellence. It called to her. She knew it would be some sort of other process, and likely the fact that it slipped her mind would cause Vincent more trouble.

"I-would need to petition the court for that..."

He rolled his eyes, sighing, as if it was going to be a big hassle for him. In truth, it probably was a bit of trouble, but trouble he knew he'd get into for her. Trouble seemed to follow her.

"Well, I guess we better get on that then, shouldn't we?" she laughed.

The situation wasn't funny for either of them, but sometimes you laugh out of politeness - and so they laughed together, before heading back into the courthouse.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 15th, 2021
BALLARD COMMUNITY CENTER -- SEATTLE, WA

We open inside a small, dimly lit room. Dimly lit because a lot of the lights are burned out in the community center. The muddy tiles on the floor tell you how much money this place has. There's a long wooden table on the far side of the room with various items upon it, including what looks to be a coffee maker. Two people are standing at it, awkwardly chatting back and forth. The rest of the room was mostly filled with empty chairs. There was maybe five or six people sitting in the chairs, the majority towards the front of the room. At the front, a podium. A woman walks up, her hair tied back and half of her face painted. She's got on a leather jacket over a dark brown shirt just barely peaking out from beneath. She stood there, hands in pockets, swaying from side to side.

"Most of you aren't going to know me, I don't really come to these things..."

She looked out into the crowd, somewhat expecting a response, but nothing came. She laughed nervously, shuffling her feet a little before bringing her gaze back up.

"I've always hated this part, like we're in some sort of early Eminem video. Do we all stand up and say our name now, or just the newbies?"

Eyebrows raised towards the five or so people sitting in the chairs, who all starred back at her sheepishly.

"...Okay, I'll go first. I'm Acid Beth."

She paused, though she knew enought to know that it was customary to pause right about now in these kinds of meetings. At least that's how they did it in the movies.

"Hi Beth" the room responded.

Oh hey look, seems like Hollyweird got something right for once. Beth nodded to complete the introduction, before continuing on.

"I guess this is what you're supposed to do when you sign a new contract, eh? Introduce yourself to the rest of the roster, to the staff, the audience, so on and so forth. Personally, I've always been way better at showing someone just who I am. Besides, someone can tell you who they are all they want, but you don't really know who they are until they show you. Take for instance the first person I'm destined to meet here in PWE, Sapphire Delgado."

Beth outstretched a hand to the small crowd, causing the five to look around at each other with suspicion. The assumption was that one of them was Sapphire, but nobody rose.

"I'm a native Puerto Rican, born and raised on the streets on SAN JUAN! I remember seeing Sapphire's father on the indepdent circuit while I was growing up. If you watched Puerto Rico wrestling, you watched the Saph's father. I understand the idea of being content with that scene though, being happy with where you are in life. I, myself, got my start in PR and I didn't make a name for myself until I left. I understand wanting to stay there in obscurity, I do. But you, Saph, what was your reason? I know you haven't been given the same choice of obscurity as your father - it was thrust upon you. I think it's from this attitude you have, being honest. Where's your sense of honor gone that I KNOW your father instilled in you, Saph?"

She chuckled a little while looking to the camera, "Bet you're wondering why I'm calling you Saph. Well, Sapphire is a stripper name..."

Beth quickly held both of her hands in the air, stopping the crowd from objecting to her comment. The crowd in question was probably the least five to have objected to anything Beth was saying at the podium currently, but her motions begged them to hold off until they hear her whole statement.

"Most of you are going to see that as an insult, and it definitely is, but not for the reason that you're thinking of. Female dancers are some of the strongest women I have seen in my life. Sex work is work, and to be in that business you bet your ass you're working every night, harder than the majority of the people watching me right now. You may have been wrestling for over ten years, but I'm not sure if you've earned that name yet, Saph."

She wagged a finger at the crowd, and each one thought she could be scolding them. Either way, she was doing it playfully, regardless.

"Because you may be able to claim your debut all the way back in 2010, which I'll admit is much longer than I. But I ask you, Saph, what have you done since then? What kind of road blocks did you hit on your way up the ladder that knocked you all the way back down? Maybe that's an assumption on my part...to assume you took some time away from the industry, but the facts laid out for me lead me to one of two conclusions. The first is a lot more favorable - maybe you got pregnant, had a good reason for stepping away for a bit. The other assumption for such a long area of dead space is that you just aren't...that...good."

A cringe expression crept across her face. You know the one. The only one that comes to mind when you think of someone making a face at something cringey. She didn't like to think about the possibility.

"But I'll choose to believe the best in my opponents. I'll choose to believe you really ARE that good, Saph. I'll choose to believe you really are as tough as you make yourself out to be. I'm not going to go out there and underestimate you, give you the opportunity to make me look like a fool. When you step into the ring with Acid Beth, you're given ZERO opportunities, ZERO chances. I don't play games with you the same way I don't play games with PeeWee Herman or Godzilla...it's all the same to me. You're always going to get my entire Limit Break no matter who you think you are. Because that's just who I am. I don't discriminate, you're getting punched in the face either way!"

A closed fist came flying into the air, complete with 'pow' noise from Beth's mouth, but connecting with absolutley nobody, of course.

"Your career here in Pro Wrestling Excellence has just begun, and I'm sure you're going to learn from this loss, and come back to me. When you do, I'll be ready for you. But for now, I can't let you take me down, Saph. I won't let you take me down. Victory Four is just around the corner, October Eighteenth, here in Seattle, Washington at the Climate Pledge Arena..."

She paused, beckoning the group forward with her right index finger and a smile.

"Let me take you on a trip!"

She unclenched her fist, blowing a rainbow-colored powder into the camera lens. Suddenly, the camera begins to see in technicolor, and all you hear is laughing as faces begin to appear on various inanimate object.

We fade on Acid Beth's smiling face, but somehow we aren't afraid.

It is comforting, and we know we'll be fine.

She is our guide.