Post by Jana Rikar on Nov 26, 2018 2:21:58 GMT
Norfolk VA
Jamison Residence
11/22/2018
5:30 PM Local Time
“Don’t Fall.”
Jana Richards looks around the table after her mother’s response, trying to gauge everyone’s reaction. She glances over at Chandra and her stepfather Todd. Her eyes glance towards the end of the table The table is filled with turkey and all the trimmings as the extended Hills, Richards’ and Jamison's families sat down for Thanksgiving dinner. Food is being pass from person to person as Jana chimes up again.
“Uncle Vince, Aunt Kimona, why does everyone say that when I ask the question?”
“Because it’s true.”
“Absolutely.”
“Uncle Jacob?”
“What they said.”
“Uncle Migo?”
“Knock them off the ladder and….”
The entire table chimes in at the same time.
“Don't Fall!”
Jana rolls her eyes then presses again as the family continues to pass the food around the table
“But there’s gotta be more to a ladder match than that?”
“Back in June, when you had your first ladder match, what did Todd tell you then?”
“Don’t Fall.”
“And what did you Kessler and Collins tell you about a ladder match?”
“Don’t Fall.”
“Didn’t you even Ask Jeeves or Google or Siri or Alexa and what did they tell you?”
“Don’t Fall. Don’t Fall. Don’t Fall. Don’t Fall!”
The family of wrestlers all laugh as Jana tries to fight back a laugh.
“I'm Serious!
“So are we, Kiddo.”
“But Uncle Jake!”
“Listen, it’s simple stuff, Kiddo. All of us have been in this type of match, Kimmy and Chandra too. Even your dad was in a couple himself.”
Jana sighs as Todd stands up and walks into the kitchen.
“You’d just think that a ladder match would have some sort of strategy or plan.”
“It really doesn’t, sweetie. You just have to look within, take the lumps, fight through the opponents and the pain, and…”
“I know. I know… Don’t Fall.”
Jana looks towards the kitchen and starts laughing hysterically as Todd walks out, carrying a ladder-shaped dessert with an action figure of Jana on the top of the dessert, holding a lit candle.
“Seriously!?!”
He sets the dessert in front of Jana as Chandra stands up and walks behind Jana.
“Blame your mother, she had the idea.”
“Momma! Really?”
“Jana, you got this.. Just….”
“Don’t Fall.”
Jana blows out the candle as the rest laugh and carry-on.
Los Angeles
11/25/2018
5:30 PM Local Time
The camera opens as a pair of women’s black leather boots walks down an outside stairwell. The boots step off the last stair and the camera pans upwards to the smile of Jana Rikar.
“Interesting view, hmm?”
Dressed in a leather jacket, t-shirt and blue jeans, Jana runs a hand over her ear and through her hair.
“Hopefully this will be the view that my opponents will be seeing at the Labyrinth at the end of the match, Looking skyward as the Time Bomb takes down the … well, whatever they put up there for us to take down to advance in the tournament.”
The camera slowly moves up to look level with Jana’s brown eyes.
“At first glance, this looks like a huge disadvantage for me. I’m taking on two men in one match. One of them, could be my father. He might have even know my father for all I know. I asked my family about you, Larry Gowan.”
Jana takes a few steps forward, the camera backs up as she does.
“They’ve heard of you. A few even know of you, it’s a plus when you have a wrestling family that’s worked around the world, they sorta remember stuff. They’re actually surprised you’re still wrestling at your age. But here you are. And standing in between me and the next round. But doesn’t that conflict you a little bit? I mean, from what I know, and I’ve done my research, the last thing you wanna have is a little conflict. You like everybody, which isn’t a bad thing. I like everyone too. It’s much easier to sleep at night when you can be at peace with the world. But this is a match, and there’s gonna be a winner and a loser. That means you have to get dirty and get into a little bit of a conflict.”
She puts her hands in front of her face and thinks for a minute.
“And that conflict is what I gotta do to get by you. There’s no way I can out wrestle you, You’ve learned, forgotten, learned again, and forgotten again moves that I haven’t even thought about learning in the first place. You’ve probably got gear that’s older than I am. Uncle Vince has his first pair of boots from thirty years ago, and that’s no slight on him or you. It’s just me pointing out that what I think is new and cool and hip, you probably made up when I was drinking from a bottle.”
Jana giggles at the visual of that then straightens her face.
“But the bottom line is, we still gotta go out there and do what we do best. Well, you have to go out there and do what you do best and I just have to get lucky. I’m going into this know i’m outclassed and outgunned, but in every match I’ve had, I’ve been in the same boat. So far, 13 times I’ve been lucky enough to get the winner’s purse, as Uncle Migo told me as a kid. One of those lucky wins was a ladder match, just like this. The stakes may not be as high as a Wild Card Title, but the idea is still the same: Get up the ladder and Don’t Fall.”
She continues to walk down the sidewalk.
“And that brings me to you, Chris Eno. I don’t know you. I don’t know much about you at all. I just know what I’ve seen on Youtube and Dailymotion. And it’s quite impressive. Is it enough though? This match really doesn’t work well for you. You’re a striker and a damn good one, but you and heights, really don’t mix, do they? Now if this was a one on one match or even a three way dance, you’d probably be the odds-on favorite. It plays to your strengths. But this is a ladder match. This doesn’t help you at all.”
Jana throws a playful fist towards the camera.
“You’ve got a powerful fist as well as a foot that can probably take my head off, but you still gotta climb, even if you do knock me out. And we both know as soon as you take a step off the mat, it’s gonna go bad for you . But not for me, my size isn’t a weakness in a match that demands speed and quickness. I don’t have to knock you out, i just have get you out of the way long enough to run up that ladder and take home the prize. And of course… Don’t Fall.”
She stops and looks upwards at a sign above a door with a smile.
“It’s my first match for the Guerreros… And I don’t plan to make it a one time appearance. On paper, there’s no reason I should have a chance. Larrry Gowan has been in the business longer than I’ve been alive. Chris Eno has been knocking out people for longer than I’ve wearing a bra. And then there’s me. Just a little girl in a big person’s world trying to do the impossible.”
Jana glances down the door.
“And I have been since day one. I’m the Underdog. I’m La Niñita. And I’m also in the perfect match for me. One opponent who despises hardcore matches and another who fails at every aerial move he tries. I don’t have to beat them, I just have to outlast them. I just have to be quicker, smarter, faster, and when I have to … Boom goes the Dynamite.”
She starts to open the door but stops.
“I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to be doing what I’ve been doing for the last 6 months. But here I am. And I’m not going away anytime soon. The Time Bomb is here… and I’m going to be Super Awesomo Epico!”
She throws up the victory fingers.
“Be Well.”
Jana opens the door and steps through. The door closes behind her.