Guests 4
Monday morning, when Charina—who always arrived early—wasn't there, Selma wondered if she alone had some special scenario lined up.
Rina had already seemed to be receiving preferential treatment from WWO, but Selma herself was getting more push than the other TPA wrestlers, so she had no real complaints. She just hoped they could end up on the same WWO brand together.
"I saw Jamie Cargill at the entrance a little while ago."
"Really? What's she doing here?"
"No idea. Something new blows up every single day, so I'm excited and nervous at the same time."
"Same here."
Other wrestlers were murmuring around them, and once it quieted down a bit, the director came in. The two male and two female wrestlers following behind him stirred things up again.
The men were Mits and Camelot Hagey; the women were Jamie Cargill and Brianna. Especially Mits and Jamie Cargill—both former champions with big name value.
"You all know who these two are without me saying, right? Conres and Miguel."
"Yes, sir!"
"Mits and Camelot are your opponents. You're going into two-on-two tag match practice. Get the scenario from Mits."
Conres and Miguel answered loudly.
"And Donna and Share—"
"Yes."
"Your opponents are Jamie Cargill and Brianna."
"Thank you."
"We'll give it our all."
"Both teams grab a corner ring and practice! Everyone else, stay out of their way."
The director kept going as if that wasn't all.
"Heritage, Inquisitors, Dorothy, Olivia, Selma—head over to the WWO Performance Center right now."
"What?"
"All of us?"
"Yeah. Your opponents will be waiting there. Men are four-on-four, women are three-on-three. Leave as soon as you're ready. And Anne, Elizabeth, Michael, Luke—you'll be getting a call soon. Anne's opponent is Tashani Strackton, Elizabeth's is Kayla James, Michael's is Corey Rhodes, Luke's is Jay Wood."
"Got it."
"Yes, sir."
"We'll prepare well."
When her match was set, Selma was so happy she could jump. Then someone butted in. Naturally, it was Natasha Blancherd.
"Director, what is this? Are these the Halloween Battle participants?"
"If practice goes well, yes."
"What about me? What am I doing?"
"For the next two weeks, the shows will be built around the wrestlers not participating in the Halloween Battle. Those shows are also part of the evaluation, and you might even stand out more—so don't be too disappointed. Prepare."
"I'm out of the Halloween Battle?"
Natasha shrieked sharply.
"As you know, WWO has full control over the scenarios. If you're really unhappy, go find Paul Levesque. That's all."
"Fuck."
Even with the director standing right there, Natasha spat out a curse and stormed out. The director didn't seem to care and just kept talking.
"I'll say it again—weekday shows are only for the non-participants, so don't be too disappointed. It might actually be a better opportunity."
The director said a few more words and left, and Selma quickly headed over to WWO with Olivia and the others.
When they arrived at the Performance Center parking lot, a familiar SUV was waiting.
"That's Rina's car."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. The plate matches."
"Really? So Rina's here too."
"That little brat! She didn't even answer her phone—must've been planning a surprise show here."
"Heh. Pretty clumsy, parking it right out front like that."
"Maybe she's hiding by the door to jump out and scare us?"
Dorothy parked right next to Rina's car and swaggered inside. But the ones who greeted them weren't Rina.
Nadia Jackson, Vianna Belair, and Alicia Bliss.
They hadn't expected opponents of this caliber, so even veteran Dorothy tensed up. As a result, they completely forgot about Rina and threw themselves into practice.
"Let's call it here for today."
"Good."
"Great work, everyone."
Whoever had put the matchups together had done it perfectly. Olivia, nearly 120 kg, versus Nadia. All-rounder Dorothy versus Vianna. Lightweight Selma versus Alicia.
Olivia was thoroughly enjoying her match against Nadia—someone similar to herself, and even taller. Nadia liked it too. Dorothy and Vianna, who already knew each other, were fine, and Selma herself was thrilled to face Alicia, the so-called fairy of WWO she'd only ever seen on TV.
"Feels weird to just split up like this. Want to grab dinner together?"
"Sounds good."
"Know any good places?"
"Depends on the menu."
"What's there to think about? Protein. Meat, no question."
As Selma listened to their conversation and glanced toward Alf's group, they seemed to be heading somewhere too. Only when they reached the parking lot did she remember Rina.
Just then, Alicia opened the trunk of Rina's car and started loading her things.
"Hey. This is Rina's car. How…?"
"Yeah! This is Rina's car!"
"Why did you drive it, Alicia? Where's Rina?"
Alicia froze, not knowing what to say. Nadia, who'd been wanting to meet Rina, piled on. When Nadia grabbed Alicia by both shoulders and shook her hard front to back, she immediately spilled everything.
"So Charlotte is at Charina's house right now, and the two of them are practicing? And you're staying at that house too? Is that right?"
"Yeah."
"Vianna! You knew and didn't say anything?"
"You didn't ask."
Nadia shouted with determination.
"Let's go!"
"Where?"
"Where else? Charina's place."
"Aaaah, no!"
"What do you mean no? Yes!"
In the end, everyone headed for Charina's house. They arrived quickly, parked, and piled out.
"Quiet, clean neighborhood."
"This kid's so young—why's she living in a place that looks like a retirement village?"
"Rina's different from how she looks. She likes quiet and doesn't care for flashy stuff."
Dorothy chimed in on Vianna and Nadia's conversation. Selma had so much she wanted to say, but these were the big stars she'd only ever looked up to—she couldn't bring herself to jump in.
Nadia tapped the still-fidgeting Alicia on the back.
"What are you waiting for? Ring the bell. Or I will."
"Ah, shit! Whatever."
Alicia pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
"Who is it?"
"I-it's me. Ali…cia."
Charina's voice from inside.
"Good work today, Alicia."
Rina opened the door with a greeting. Then she saw them, and her pupils shook violently.
Bang.
Before anyone could say a word, she slammed the door shut.
"What's with her?"
"Funny kid. Move."
Nadia rang the doorbell herself and pounded on the door with her palm.
Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong.
Bang! Bang!
"You not opening? I'll break this door down."
"Puhahaha!"
"Haha."
Everyone burst out laughing at the sight.
"Wasn't that Alicia? What's going on?"
When I slammed the door shut, Charlotte walked over toward the entrance at the sound.
Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong.
Bang! Bang!
"You not opening? I'll break this door down."
And laughter too.
"Wait. That's Nadia's voice."
"Th-they're all outside…"
"Then open the door. What are you doing?"
I'm going to lose it. My private space being invaded like this… I never should have let Charlotte stay here in the first place.
"Haaah!"
"Move. I'll open it."
Charlotte stepped up and opened the door.
"Hey! Charlotte."
"Whoa, quite the crowd. No wonder she freaked out."
As I leaned against the wall, they all poured in.
"What, are you moving out? Moving in? Why's the place like this?"
"Totally empty. Your voice echoes."
"Better than messy, right?"
"Doesn't even wear much makeup, and doesn't decorate the house either."
"It's clean and looks nice—what's the problem?"
Everyone tossed a comment as they walked past me. Dorothy and Olivia, treating this as better entertainment than strangers, felt even more annoying.
Then Selma came right up to my ear and whispered.
"You never invited me even once, but you invite Charlotte and Alicia? You! Just wait till later!"
After her icy words, she pinched my side and walked past. The pinch snapped me back to my senses.
Everyone was looking around the living room, but no one opened any doors. I should get them seated first.
"Please have a seat for now. I'll bring more chairs."
"Forget it. You said this place has a ring—let's go there."
"Yeah. The ring's the most comfortable."
"Why make the kid uncomfortable like this?"
"Charlotte, stay out of it. We didn't come to see you."
When I looked awkward, Charlotte tried to stop them, but there was no holding back Dorothy or Nadia.
Hwaah. Whatever.
I shot Alicia a glare and led them downstairs.
"Wow. This is insane."
"Oh. Shit! What is this?"
"Whoa. This house is incredible."
"I've seen mansions with rings built in, but never a regular house set up like this."
"Shall we hop up?"
With praise, they changed into shoes and climbed onto the ring. Then they tested the rope bounce, jumped around, checking the ring condition. I just plopped down on the floor and watched their rampage.
"Proper stuff."
"Better condition than the Performance Center ring."
"Rina, how much did something like this cost?"
And that Selma dragged the dummy from the corner, tossed it onto the canvas, and climbed to the top rope.
"Selma, practicing here too?"
"Just want to try it once."
With that, she jumped and planted an elbow drop.
Thud.
"Oh. Sounds good too. Selma, how are the springs?"
"Maybe because it's new—really nice."
"Yeah?"
Hearing Selma's answer, Nadia called me.
"Charina!"
"Ah. Yes."
"Get up on the ring once."
"Just a second. Let me change shoes."
"No need. Just come up and try lifting me once."
Even if their rampage had left me dazed, I still had to do what needed doing. I kicked off my slippers and climbed barefoot onto the ring.
"What should I do?"
"Can you do a choke slam on me too? I'm a lot taller than Olivia, so lifting me should be harder."
"Doesn't matter."
Nadia might be tall, but 180 cm. Still shorter than Bibi Dudley.
"Here I go."
I grabbed Nadia's neck and tapped her waist with the other hand. As a veteran, she recognized the signal without words and gave a little hop. I lifted her right up, held for a moment, then lowered her very slowly to the mat. Supporting her neck and back the whole way, laying her down gently like putting a baby to bed, Nadia was quietly set on the ring.
Nadia seemed so surprised she said nothing.
"Whoa! I've seen the videos, but that's completely insane. How are you that strong?"
"Lifting is one thing, but setting someone down like that takes serious strength."
"Rina. Did you get stronger since last time? Or better technique? You seem to lift even easier than me…"
Heh! Perfect setup. Olivia!
"Ms. Jackson seems a lot lighter than Olivia."
"What?"
"You really need to diet a bit."
Olivia stared at Nadia in disbelief.