Yesterday, 07:02 AM
There truly was no rest for the wicked. There Scoops was, trying his best to just get some lunch, but already the neverending flow of Xtreme challengers was beginning to funnel in. His stomach growled in recognition - there were about a million better things that he could be doing with his time, but instead he had to sit through this.
“You did sign up for this,” Noah the cameraman whispered in Scoops' ear.
“That don't mean I gotta like every little part of this,” Scoops groaned. Still, he stood and listened to Maddy making her points, and before he could even respond, Maddy... put a finger to his chest? And NOW a referee decided to show themselves?
“How the fuck is this being counted as a pin?” Scoops rolled his eyes as he grabbed Maddy by the wrist and forcefully brought her hand away from his chest, thus serving as a KICKOUT! “Listen here, little lady. Yer' damn right that ole' Scoops is facin' down the barrel out there. But you know somethin'...”
Scoops wraps an arm around Maddy, ignoring her clearly present discomfort as he guides her down the corridor. “I've faced plenty of impossible challenges before. Sometimes I lost, yeah, but sometimes I won too. This is about bein' able to stand up to the challenge. To whatever the Hell decides to pop its head outta the blue. If I had the chance to fight for all the stakes and I willingly threw up my hands and surrendered ahead of time and practically admitted defeat, then what the fuck kinda champ does that make me? Fuck that. Fuck all of that.”
Scoops shares a look quickly with Noah, who silently nods. Maddy, without realizing the look, is brought to stop in the middle of the hall as Scoops brings both of his wrinkly old hands onto her shoulders. “I don't need to make a goddamn deal with a snake to do what's right for me. If I lose, so be it. But you and all the other little bastards better know that I'm fightin' no matter what. And if I go down, then you bet your ass I'm goin' down swingin'. Until then...”
Scoops pushes Madison backwards into the open janitor's closet that Noah opened while he was talking! Maddy tries to rush out, but Noah shuts the door! She tries to struggle out, but Scoops notices a nearby vending machine! He shoves it forward as Noah scrambles out of the way, and with a loud BANG, Maddy is trapped inside!
...Suddenly, Scoops is reminded of his stomach growling. Muttering to himself, he drags a wrinkled single dollar bill out of his wallet and into the vending machine. Unfortunately for him, as he furiously pounds away on the buttons, his food refuses to come down properly.
You know. Because it's on its side now.
“Nothin' can go right in this Goddamn place,” Scoops sighed with one final kick to the vending machine as he walks off, leaving Maddy locked away.
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