Post by Caitlyn Wright on Feb 15, 2018 18:02:28 GMT -5
Caitlyn sat nervously on the MBTA bus, duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She exhaled slowly, pulling out her phone for what seemed the ninth time so far this trip, and her thumbs flew as she typed out a message.
Are you sure this is a good idea? I've been fine so far...
It took only a moment or two before she received a reply.
Seriously? You call getting your head stomped in by GI Jackass fine? Bull. You're doing the right thing.
The bus shook as it drove over a rough patch of road, suspension thumping and bouncing the back of Caitlyn's head off of the safety glass. She winced, rubbing the back of her head before replying.
As long as the MBTA doesn't concuss me first, it could work. How's the family thing going?
Sun's reply comes almost as quickly as the first, dripping with sarcasm.
It's great. I always enjoy being stuck with my uncles as they shout at each other and my mom gets drunk. fml
Caitlyn snorted, shaking her head and looking up at the flickering fluorescent bulb hanging from the ceiling of the bus. She watched the fixture rattle and sway slightly as the bus passed over cracks in the road, closing her eyes for a moment. She opened them quickly again, however, and sent another message off.
Are you sure this is the right call? I mean, what if it doesn't work? Maybe I just can't be helped.
The response seemed to come so fast, it felt like it had been prepared beforehand.
Bullshit you can't be helped, woman. This is just your anxiety talking again. Fix what you can fix. And send help, they've started talking politics.
Caitlyn closed her eyes again, a restless expression on her face. Almost as soon as her eyes closed, though, they flew back open, feeling the phone vibrate in her hand again. Caitlyn groaned, looking down at the screen, a rejoinder already making its way to her lips. It died there, though, as she read the next message.
Wish I could be with you. More fun. Don't be too long?
Caitlyn paused, hesitant before she replied this time.
You okay, Sunshine? That was almost concern.
I'll live. Being around these people makes me miss your dumb face...almost.
She cracked a crooked smile, fondness and warmth in her eyes as she tapped out a reply.
Almost. Of course. Tell you what. Binge night when we get home? You pick the series?
She chuckled, knowing she had just signed her own death warrant, and sure enough, the response comes with the haste of overenthusiasm.
Deal. You're gonna regret this.
"Am I ever..." Caitlyn murmured to herself, shaking her head. She looks up and out the window, recognizing her stop, and stifles a curse, pulling herself up and onto her feet. Caitlyn adjusts the bag over her shoulder, walking towards the front of the bus, and negotiates her way down the steps with a smile, stepping off the bus and onto the curb.
As the door sealed behind her, Caitlyn stepped forward, taking a deep breath. She looked up at the sign marking the entrance to the Xander Kane Memorial School, looking down at her feet again and mumbling to herself. "You can do this, you can do this, you can do this..."
She pauses in her tracks, closing her eyes, and taps the back of her phone, whispering to herself. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death...there is the Force."
With a sharp intake of breath, she looked back up again, squaring her shoulders. "Okay. Let's go." Caitlyn walked forward to the door, pulling it open, and, after a moment's hesitation, stepped inside as we fade to black.
"How do you fight your idol?"
We open on Caitlyn sitting in a chair in her bedroom, a pensive look on her face. Her hair is tied up in a sloppy ponytail, and the bags under her eyes betray a lack of sleep. She looks into the camera, sober-faced for once. "Like...how? How do you put yourself in a place where you can fight one of your biggest inspirations for doing what you do?"
She shakes her head. "I don't know how. But I need to learn how, because I'll be doing it again. I've got to go toe-to-toe with Zelda Knite, and...I don't know. I didn't expect to be here. I didn't expect to lose to Amber. I didn't expect you to lose to Crystal. It makes me wonder what happened, that we're in this funhouse mirror version of what should be." Caitlyn buries her head in her hands for a moment, groaning before looking up again. "And now we're in the last chancers' section. You and me, Zelda. Looking for a continue we didn't expect to need."
"But hey." She manages a weak grin. "Everyone loves a comeback story, right? Whether it's the scrappy underdog buying herself a new lease on life or the veteran showing she's got more fight in the tank, we all love a comeback. Rocky, the Mighty Ducks movies, Final Fantasy X—I mean, come on, who doesn't love the Besaid Aurochs? Point is, when someone storms back to win the big one, everyone loves it. And we're going to have to pull off one mother of a comeback here."
Caitlyn pauses again. "This is hard for me. It really is. I don't want to think that the Zelda we all saw last week is the real you, sleepwalking through the motions. I want to believe that the Zelda Knite that ran roughshod over her competition for so long is still in there. I want the Pixelated Princess, not the dollar-store bootleg. Because...well, I've been asking myself a lot of questions lately too."
She looks down at her hands, twiddling her thumbs. "I know I don't have the experience you do. I don't have the training, I don't have the pedigree, I don't have a lot of the advantages you do. All I've got on my side are youth and heart, and that can only take me so far." Caitlyn takes a deep breath. "...as I was so painfully reminded last week." She rubs the back of her head, wincing slightly at the memory, before continuing. "But that's not going to stop me from trying."
"I have to try, Zelda." Caitlyn's voice wavers slightly, emotion bleeding into her words as she closes her eyes. "I have to try. I need this. I can't let the last four years have meant nothing. You, you're a legend already. You could never wrestle again and still be regarded as a pioneer. Me? What am I if I quit now? A college dropout with no real work experience?" She breathes deeply, voice still trembling. "I've failed before in my life, but I can't fail now. Not with the eyes of the world on me, not in front of my hero."
She opens her eyes again, focused finally, and nods to the camera, corners of her eyes damp. "I'm going to make this comeback. I'm going to win. I know I can. I believe I can. And I'm going to do what I said I would. I'm going to be the first Combat Women's Champion, come hell or high water." Caitlyn nods, taking a deep breath. "I have faith...and for the first time in a real, real long time, I think it's in me. See you out there, Zelda." She nods, managing a smile, and we hold on that shot for a moment before fading to black.