A green screen flickers a few times before the image of a backstage area settles into the view of the camera. From the left side of the screen, Elm, the protege of Jason Cashe enters the picture. An orphan since he was 15 and even as an adult, he prefers living on the streets.

“Welcome, I am..” He squints his eyes as he reads off a teleprompter off camera. “Steven Soyers.. Sayors!” Scoffing, he turns and looks to the right and asks a question. “Why am I wearing a wig and this dress if the interviewer’s name is Steve?!”

“Just read the lines.. Geezus man..” A voice recognized responds and while you can probably identify the voice, you cannot yet see the person it belonged to.

“Ugh..” His head sways from right to left as he pulls up the microphone into the view of the camera. “Bump that, I’m Elm Sayors and I am here waiting to get a word from the newly crowned Television Champion of XWF, Jason Cashe!”

Playing his part, Elm ‘Sayors’ looks up as if seeing someone approaching and takes a step back as Jason Cashe stomps into the picture in full ring gear.

“GAWD DAMNIT!” Cashe roars as he kicks a garbage can over that had no garbage in it.

“Oh my..”

“What?” Cashe cuts to Elm ‘Sayors’ and gives him a stink eye. “What do you wanna talk about, huh?” Almost breaking character to smile, Cashe maintained his role in all of this.

“Can I have a word?”

“A word? You want a word?!” Cashe growls at Elm before turning and flipping one of those hard plastic picnic tables for the backyard. The table wasn't there moments ago but was now present and accounted for. “What word would that be?”

“Ummm.. Challenger?”

“Who? Hixx? Fuck that bitch, what is she going to do?”

“So you are not worried about this match? About following behind the curse of the Championship?”

Cashe scoffs. “Worried?” Giving the thought a laugh before continuing to respond. “Latoya Hixx is bigger than me. Probably pound for pound, stronger even. That's a big bitch!”

Elm looks confused and intrigued all at the same time. “Wait, how big?” He asks.

“Two seventy plus, easy. Big girl.”

Nodding at Cashe, Elm pulls the wig off of his head. “What's she look like?”

“You haven't seen her?” The roles being played were put on pause. Cashe pulls out his phone and pulls up a picture off the XWF website. “There.. Latoya Hixx.”

[iM“Yoooo!”[/i] Elm bounces with excitement after snatching the phone from Cashe to get a closer look. “I would get tongue tied in the land of her thick parts!”

“I thought you wanted to get signed with Anarchy?” Cashe asked as he reaches and gets back the phone from his protege.

“I do, and? What's that have to do with this whole bag of yum yum?”

“She is on Anarchy. You might end up in a match with her..”

Giving Cashe the whole tsk that sounds more like a Psssssh, he waves off his mentor. “I would let her fold me up and use me like a tampon!”

“Don't be gross..” Not much bothers Cashe but the randomness of it gave him a disturbing visual. “Come Saturday on Warfare in XWF, I will successfully defend my Television Title on Warfare in XWF..”

Elm’s head tilts as he stares at Cashe. “Why are you talking like that?”

“Because she does.” Not wanting to break too far out of character, Cashe clears his throat and rolls a hand at Elm. “Play the role, kid..”

“Right!” Forgetting what they were doing. Elm stepped out of camera and returned with a new wig on. “Why do I have to keep changing wigs?”

“Because this dumb bitch has a bunch of females interviewing her but all of them are named Steve Soyers..”

“Be nice, she's got a Pirates Treasure in her back pocket.”

“Say huh?” Cashe doesn't follow the punch line.

“Booty. She's got all that Booty and I would bury myself in her box.”

Cashe stiff arms Elm, knocking him stumbling backwards a few steps. They share a laugh over the weird conversation. Elm steps back up and gets back into his Elm Soyers character.

“So Jason.. Let me ask you what you plan to do in this match against Latoya Hixx on Warfare in XW..”

Realizing that the teleprompter is making him mock Hixx. He sighs as Cashe jumps in and begins to respond.

“Win.”

“It’s that simple is it?”

“Yes.”

“What can you tell me about your opponent?” Elm wasn't reading the teleprompter anymore but his question fell into place and Cashe went with it.

“I can tell you that she is Razor Blade’s friend. That they are both tied for being the biggest joke on this roster.. Warfare or Anarchy alike. I can tell you that the ONLY chance she has to even compete in this match is to not shower.”

“Wait, what?!” Elm leaned back with a sudden look of disgust on his face. “NOT shower?”

“Yeah. Let that dun da nun get real sour! Let the booty grease turn into swamp ass and make the air around her unpleasant and painful to breathe and then.. And only THEN can she even have a glimmer of hope!”

Shaking his head, Elm wasn't liking this. “I hope she wins..”

WHACK!

Instinctively, Cashe slaps Elm and the wig flies off his head as he stumbles off camera. Playing his role perfectly, he whimpers out a cry from being slapped. Cashe bends over and picks up the microphone that Elm was holding.

“Let me take it from here, STEVE!”

Returning into the picture, Elm was wearing yet another wig. This time it was blonde and cut a little short. Crossing his arms, Elm was trying to look pouty as Cashe turned to the camera with the mic in hand.

“Latoya Hixx isn't the one. Her talent and record is that of a goldfish trying to compete with a shark. A mouse standing up to a Mountain Lion. She has NO chance, no hope to find success. Not just in this match but in any match with even a pinch of worth to it. She is filler and that's being disrespectful to the curtain jerkers in this business.”

“I bet she is a FREAK in the sheets tho!” Elm chimes in. Cashe outright ignores and moves along with his shoot.

“A waste of fucking time..” Cashe mutters. “I haven't earned the Title I carry around. I haven't done anything to be called a Champion and I don't even think by the time this airs that my name has still not been added to the website as a current Champion.

Yet it will never be something you will win. The day you or even Razor Blade become Champions in any company is the day that this business is truly scripted and fixed because you are the very fumes on a foul pile of shit..”

Letting out a single snicker, Cashe looks over at Elm and back to the camera.

“You know what? She's not even worth a maximum effort.. That's how simple and plain this match and this bitch is. Why sugarcoat it otherwise?”

Snatching the wig off his own head, Elm blurts out a question of his own. “So are we done here?” 

“Yeah, I want to go see my wife..”

Walking off camera, Cashe disappears as Elm hurries to shut down the recording and follow after his mentor.

.

..

…

Have you ever laid on the floor and looked up at the ceiling just to get lost in thought? I should have made the trip already. I should have went and handled my business with this ‘Fan’ so that I can move the fuck on already.. Yet I was finding every reason to not go.

First it was wanting to spend time with the wife. She was going through some stuff and might not get back in the ring for a bit. That didn't matter to me any because her presence was all I wanted along with her happiness. She was happy. I hadn't ruined that yet..

“Hi!” Her voice dragged my attention out of deep thought and I lifted my head off the floor to see her standing above me. In her hands was Wig, one of the two Hedgehogs she had.

“Hi..” I responded.

Dropping down onto her knees, Sloane first places Wig onto my chest before she lays down next to me. Against me at my left side and as my arm slips around her to hold her, her chin settles on the side of my chest. We both watch as Wig just sits and stares at me like she is challenging me to a stare off.

“Whatcha doing?” She asks.

“Just thinking..” I replied.

“About?” She adds.

“You. Me. Us. My Fan. My next match.. Football.. A little bit of everything at once.”

In my opinion, everyone handled multiple topics in their heads all the time. I was just letting the visuals of thought project on the ceiling.

“Anything I can do to help?” She asked, wanting to be helpful and/or distracting. I could immediately think of a few things she could do to be a good distraction.

“You already are.. Just being here..”

I gave her a squeeze. She laid her head against me and we just laid there. Sometimes it was good to just take a bit of time for yourself and this was what I needed. Soon enough, I would be buried in business and this would be remembered as the calm before the storm.