On-Camera for XWF
12/10/2020

The scene opens on a wide, open field in the dead of the night. There’s a fire lit in a stone pit off to the side for warmth. A wool blanket was spread out and upon it was Betsy Granger in head-to-toe flannel. Her thick blonde hair was in a thick braid, her head covered in a wool cap. Over her was another thick blanket. There was a steaming thermos of peppermint hot chocolate within reach. Currently, she was flat on her back, staring up at the clear night sky. The stars were like diamonds against the velvet black velvet of the expanded universe.

“Aren’t the stars fascinating? One of the most marvelous sights to behold in all the vast universe. Trillions up trillions of miles away… Impossible to get to even the nearest one. And yet, I’ve already seen several, and then some..”

Her voice is dreamy, faraway.

“Everyone counts me out due to my young age. They look at me and all they see is a young, nice girl who may be too naive, not only for her good but for the wrestling industry. I’ve been accused of being too nice, and told flat out that my good manners and friendly demeanor would get me walked on, written off, and ran out.”

She props herself up on her shoulders to give the camera an amused look before flopping back down.

“I’m not what meets the eye.”

The camera reangles so that we can see her face as she speaks.

“I don’t call myself the impossible traveler for nothing. The things I’ve seen… The things I’ve done. Most of my competition doesn’t even have the imagination to go past playground insults for an edge. These veterans, they look at me and they see a dumb, naive rookie who has no idea what she’s getting herself into. They see the youth of my appearance, but not a single one in the entire sorry lot has looked into my eyes and seen what this cheerful smile and happy disposition hide. They don’t see or even sense what lurks beneath the bubbly exterior. They will… Soon enough.”

Betsy starts to move a finger over to the nine position but flips off the camera instead.

“Everyone continues to dismiss me. The only one smart enough so far to pay attention is Jenny Myst, and boy is that saying something right there. That girl has her head stuck so far up her twat, I’m shocked she even knows what day it is half the time. Then I got Miss Memory Loss; perhaps I didn’t leave Geri Vayden with enough pain to remember my name. Listen here, Geri: I don’t know what high horse you think you rode in on, but I’m fixing to knock you right off of it. You lost. Same as Ash, same as me. The difference between you and Ash and myself is that I shouldn’t have. I made Jenny tap out. That belt should be around MY waist right now, and instead, I’m over here trying to figure out why you think you get a shot at Jenny OR Atara before I do. But we’ll circle back to that another time.”

Betsy makes a brief rotation with her finger and stops at what would be three on a standard clock.

“It’s funny, from the first moment I saw Atty, I knew she was different. Her aura burned the brightest shade of red I’d ever seen in my life. This girl… No, this woman, she is an endless well of passion and talent. There is so much more to her than people seem to realize. It rather is a shame that no one has tried to take a deeper look at who Atty is. It just goes to show that surface does matter more than substance in this world. It just so happens that my world lit up the moment Atara became a part of it. My experiences have taught me how to read every part of a person just by looking into their eyes. Right about now, I can sense my haters and confused watchers wondering why I’m doing a spoken love-letter to my tag partner. It’s as simple as this: She deserves it. Despite all of Jenny’s hee-hawing, Geri’s lording over her single victory, and whatever it is Ash is doing, Atara Themis is the one and true TOP female in XWF. Jenny may currently hold the title that all the aforementioned want, but Atara will be the one to topple the current possessor. It hurts, that it won’t be me she squares off against, but I’m glad that it is my friend that will claim what is truly hers.”

Betsy opens her mouth to say something more but snaps it shut again immediately. The look in her eyes promises something more than she’s letting on, but she smiles and switches gears. She holds her finger up again and moves it down to six.

“I’ve been making impressions everywhere I go. Some are most favorable, which is always fun. Getting recognized as quickly as I have is flattering, to say the least. But some who turn their nose up at me. That sees me as just a rookie and not the threat I’m quickly proving to be. I get to deal with two… Well, let’s be fair, one and a half. I did more digging and man… Jim barely counts as a functioning human ninety-eight percent of the time. I can see why Atara is genuinely worried about hurting himself during this match. It’ll be okay, though. Just make sure he lands on his head, we’ll take care to avoid anything vital.”

A soft giggle escapes her before she can reign it in. Oh well.

“As for you, Charlie. Wowee, I couldn’t have been more wrong about you if I had tried. I guess I’d only found the PG version of your story. Google, Wiki, and You-Tube are such sugarcoating pansy asses. I had to search the deepest depths of the dark web to find out about you… I’m sorry I did. I thought you were okay, I did. A little unhinged, a bit manic, definitely more on the violent side of things, but hey! That’s the business, right? But holy shit, my dude. Abuser of many kinds. Misogynistic pig. Sadist. You are the worst kind of person, but I suppose you wear that like a badge of honor. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but little ‘Becky’ here won’t be the easy prey you were hoping for. You have no idea the depths my training has taken me to. Nor could you ever fathom the ways I’ve had to get my hands dirty against worst creatures than you. I won’t be your next victim or plaything. I won’t be broken, bound, subdued, you and your brand of evil won’t taint the light I carry within myself. I’m more than what I appear, but the world isn’t ready for that yet.”

Pausing to take a breath, Betsy sits up and snatches her thermos. She visibly relaxes and set the thermos down and pulls the blanket around herself.

“I’m not a pushover. Don’t mistake my friendliness for blissful ignorance. I’m the smartest person you’ll likely ever know in real life. Everyone looks at me and they think they have me figured out based on what I choose to show them. The fact is, I’m not your average idiot blonde. These wheels are always turning, my brain never shuts down. I watch all, I hear all. If you think no one will ever find out what skeletons you have hidden in your closet, you better believe Betsy Granger is the one that will seek them out, one by one. I have power on my side that none of you could comprehend or compare to on your best days. Atara and I were fated to stand together to take down the cretins that lurk the halls of XWF and GCWA. The Goddess of Justice, and the Impossible Traveler. It certainly sounds like a good book and the story practically writes itself. Two women from two drastically different ways of life, coming together, bound by celestial forces most of the world couldn’t even imagine. This isn’t just about two friends sporadically deciding to team up and take the fed by storm. Okay, it is, but there’s more to it than that. Everyone is starting to see that women like Jenny Myst and Geri Vayden are slowly starting to fade. One clings desperately to a title that she’s soon to lose. The other has an impending date with the men in white and a padded room. The roster is on notice, and soon, so shall the rest of the world.”

Betsy looks towards the heavens again and points at the sky.

“I miss it out there. The sights, the smells, new worlds under my feet. So many strange and wonderful languages to explore and learn. New beings, peaceful and violent alike, but never boring. The universe is so much bigger than even I could have ever grasped. Science has always been one of my passions, and getting to explore the stars is more than I ever hoped for as a child. It’s wild, beautiful, and deadly. Just like the Goddess and the Impossible Traveler.”

Drifting over to the fire, she holds her hands out for warmth. The flames whip around in the breeze, casting shadows over her face. She doesn’t look over her shoulder as she addresses the camera one more time.

"Jim, look. Just… Keep eating your popcorn and stay out of the way. Charlie, you’re messing with the wrong ray of sunshine. But you’ll find out for yourself soon enough. Until then… Przygotuj się na najgorszy dzień.”

Off Camera
12/09/2020
Iowa Correction Institution for Women

Betsy stood outside the barbed-wire gates of the women’s correctional center that currently held her estranged mother, Elena Granger. A phone call from her father the night before had spurred this rather unexpected visit to the last person Betsy wanted to see. Elena had used her free call to contact her husband in a plea for Betsy’s company. This shocked both father and daughter, but Betsy begrudgingly agreed. Now she looks up at the intimidating guard tower and dreary building. A shiver runs through her as anxiety claws its way into her stomach. Finally, her ID is approved and she’s escorted through the gates. In the first entry, she’s stopped and searched. When she’s permitted to move through, another guard is ready with hand sanitizer and clear plastic gloves. Betsy complies and is then lead down a long hall and through several doors before the guard opens a door and gestures for her to enter.

“How long until she’s here?”

Betsy tries to sound casual, but there’s a quiver in her voice. The guard checks his watch and shrugs.

“‘Bout five-ish minutes. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Coffee would be great.”

“Sure. Any cream or sugar?”

“No, thank you.”

With a nod, the guard leaves her to her thoughts. She begins to pace, trying to figure out why her mother had called for her. The guard returns in a moment with her coffee and exits again. Taking a sip, Betsy scrunches up her nose at the low-grade quality of the coffee, noting the burned taste. It had been sitting for a long time. Before she can let her thoughts run down that path, the door opens and Elena Granger, escorted by two guards, enters.

Mother and daughter gape at one another in shock. Betsy wonders why her mother is looking at her in surprise until she remembers that she doesn’t exactly look the same since her mother had last seen her. For that matter, Elena didn’t either. The once-proud Miss Iowa runner up was now a product of her surroundings. Blonde hair was unbrushed and unwashed. She had lost a dangerous amount of weight. Her orange prison jumper hung loosely off her skeletal frame. Her face was gaunt, cheeks sunken in and eyes lifeless with dark circles around them.

“Wow… Betsy, you look amazing.”

“I wish I could say the same for you.”

Elena gives her younger daughter a weak smile and reaches out to embrace her. Betsy lets out a low hiss and jerks her entire body away. Hurt flickers in Elena’s green eyes, but she nods her understanding. She instead takes a seat and offers the one across the table to her daughter. Betsy sits down, watching her mother suspiciously. Elena looks over her younger daughter with warm eyes, still smiling.

“Thank you for coming.”

Betsy nods curtly.

“And why exactly am I here?”

Identical sets of green eyes lock on to one another. The smile slips away from Elena’s lips as she leans forward and places her cuffed hands on the table. There’s a foreign look in her mother’s eyes that Betsy could never recall seeing before.

“I… That is, to say I made a lot of mistakes with you would be the understatement of the century.”

Betsy bites her tongue to keep from blurting out a scathing retort.

“What I’m getting to Boop-”

“NO!”

Reason leaves Betsy in a flash as rage takes over.

“You don’t get to use that name! You never earned the right to EVER use that name!”

Elena holds up her hands supplicatingly, eyes wide.

“Right, you’re right. I’m sorry, Betsy.”

Glaring over at her mother, Betsy begins to pace again.

“Mom, what do you want?”

“I’ve treated you so badly. Oh, Betsy, I’m so sorry. For everything. For being the worst kind of mother to you. For demeaning your incredibly gifted brain, all that intelligence. I should have nurtured that, built you up, and encouraged you. My priorities were so far askew, I don’t know how you even managed growing up under the same roof as me.”

“Grand Pappy and Papa.”

“Of course. Your knights in shining armor. You were always Pappy’s favorite. The first time you beat at chess, you won his heart completely. You were an itty bitty thing, all of five years old. Do you remember that?”

Despite her current mood, Betsy lets her guard slip for a moment as she recalls vividly her earliest memory. A smile sneaks its way across her lips as she recalls; The crinkle around his green eyes as he surrendered his king to her. The smile lit up his face as he patted her gently on the head and congratulated her. The look of clear pride on her father’s face… and the eye roll and look of boredom on her mother’s. Her smile fades as quickly as it appears.

“Almost a perfect memory.”

Elena nods regret clear in her expression.

“I should have been so proud of you that day. Pappy and Joel were so thrilled, they knew even then that their little Betsy Boop was going to change the world.”

Betsy sits and listens to this stone-faced, arms crossed against her chest. Elena carries on.

“Or how about the time you won your first science fair? Third grade, if I remember correctly. Everyone was doing volcanoes and play-dough core samples, but not my Brainy Betsy. You were always leaps and bounds ahead. You took your chemistry set and you tinkered away until you figured out how to separate hydrogen and oxygen to prove they made water. You knocked the other students out of the park and I remember every single adult being amazed. And still, my own twisted, sick priorities kept me from seeing what a gifted child I had brought into this world.”

Tears appear in Elena’s eyes. Betsy shifts uncomfortably in her chair.

“I spent so much time with Addy… Praising her, forcing her to focus on her looks, and entering her into an exhausting amount of beauty pageants. Never paying any mind to when she told me she hated it, hated me. Scolding her when she begged me to let her quit so she could follow her true passions. It’s no wonder she hates me now. Both of my girls…”

Elena’s voice cracks and she begins to weep. Betsy watches this, as unwanted pity starts to seep into her rage. Tentatively, Elena reaches out once again and gently places her hands on Betsy’s.

“I’m so sorry, for being a terrible mother to you, Betsy. I understand completely if you can’t forgive me, but I mean it. I’ll never be able to make it up to you, to Addy, to Joel… But I’ll do whatever it takes to show you I mean it when I say I’m sorry. Despite what you may think and what I’ve led you to believe… I do love you, Betsy. Very much. And I’m so proud of you and everything you’ve done with your life so far.”

Betsy yanks her hands out of Elena’s and jumps to her feet, knocking over her chair. Tears of rage now spring into her own eyes as she looks down at her pitiful mother.

“No… You don’t get to do this! You had 24 years to be a mother to me, and now that you’re locked up for life, you want to be June Cleaver?”

Her words are scathing as she spits each syllable towards the woman she’s detested for so long. The little girl inside her head was screaming for her to forgive her mother and hug her tightly. But the jaded woman she’d become would never allow that.

“It’s too late, Mama. You made your bed, now you get to lie in it. Alone. We’re no longer family, we never truly were. This is goodbye, Mama.”

Betsy walks towards the door and exits without looking back. Once she’s far enough away, she presses her back against the wall. Sliding down, she hugs her knees and begins to rock as the sobs are finally freed…

FORMER