She watched the street lights from the backseat, becoming a blur in her vision as they passed. She had been on the road for so long, the days seemed to become lost and the time never fazed her mind anymore. She could hear the conversation being carried on by the other occupants of the large SUV, but had drowned out their voices long ago. It was something she had learned to do on the road when she needed to clear her head before facing an audience.
She wasn't being rude, and those close to her knew that. On the contrary, she was normally an easy, out-going, bubbly person; usually the life of any party. She was simply trying to focus and become "one with the ring," as she had came to call it. It was her own strategy for preparing and planning before any appearance.
As the car jolted to a stop in the parking lot, her lids flashed open as she looked at the community center she would be performing in that night. It was larger than she had expected, which meant more people would be attending. She liked it that way. It made her feel a little bit closer to the dream she had worked so hard at achieving.
As she exited the car and walked towards the back door entrance, she smiled seeing Jim Ross standing a few feet inside talking with her boss. Anytime someone came from the head office, it excited her, even if she wasn't the one being moved up, it meant that Talent Relations were at least observing the matches that were on the card for the night.
She entered the building and tilted her head in his directions before continuing inside. She felt a hand grab her arm lightly before she turned around. She looked at her boss, Kevin before looking at Jim, wondering what she was being stopped for.
"Amy, can we talk for a minute?" Kevin asked, pulling her to the side, as Jim followed close behind.
"Sure, what's up?" she asked, looking between the two men.
"Well, I'm gonna have to take you off the card tonight." Kevin began, waiting for her reaction.
She placed her hands into her jacket pocket, as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She was clearly becoming angry, knowing she wouldn't have the chance the perform tonight after all. She had traveled nearly 3 hours when she could have stayed at home and got a good nights sleep, something she had not gotten for some time.
"I don't understand why, Kevin. I mean, why did I have to travel tonight then?" she asked, trying to control her anger.
"Well, that's where Mr. Ross comes into place here. Jim?" he said, smiling in the older man's direction, giving him the floor to speak.
"Amy, we received tapes of your progression about 2 weeks ago. After viewing them..." he said, trailing off and looking at Kevin, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "...we believe your ready to be brought up."
Amy stood still for a moment, afraid that this was some sort of dream and she would wake up any second. She hadn't been prepared for such life-changing news, especially not tonight of all nights. She looked at Jim and Kevin, not sure if words were able to escape her lips.
"Amy, you'll be leaving us tonight and flying back for the second-half of Raw." Kevin said, trying to bring her back to reality.
"I...I don't know what to say." she said, shaking her head.
"Well, I was hoping you would say that because we have to get going if we're going to catch our flight back in time." Jim said, laughing lightly.
"Um, sure." she said, smiling at Kevin. "Thank you."
"You've earned it. Now, go make us proud." he said, giving her a small hug.
She followed Jim to another car waiting outside the doors before slipping into the backseat and taking one last look at the small venue. She knew from that moment on, she would be performing in front of thousands of people and even if she was used to the aspects of the wrestling world, she knew she wasn't fully prepared for the big leagues.
"Is there anything I need to do?" she found herself asking Jim.
"Not tonight. You get to sit back, watch the show and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow however, you'll be rather busy, my dear." he said, smiling.
"Can I ask what I have ahead of me?" she asked softly.
"Well, tomorrow we'll have your contract ready for you to sign. To my understanding, there will be a script ready for you for next weeks Raw, so I'm sure Stephanie and the rest of the creative department will want you to meet with the Superstars and Divas you may be working with." he replied.
"Are you saying I'll be debuting next week?" she asked, taken aback.
"It seems that way. Apparently Vince has high hopes for you and your character. He's impressed with what progress you've made in OVW." he answered.
"This is all happening so quickly. I never thought I'd be brought up so soon." she said, sighing deeply.
"It's a little overwhelming and I know we're starting you early. I'm hoping you can get the hang of things this week before next Monday hits."
"I don't want to disappoint anyone, but I'll do my very best." she replied sincerely.
"I'm sure you will." he said, tapping her knee lightly before staring out the window.
She let her mind trail off then, thinking of what her life would hold from that moment on. She could feel her nerves swimming within her stomach, along with the anxiousness to work and the excitement to perform on the big stage. She couldn't help but smile the entire ride to the airport. She knew her life was about to change, and rather good or bad, she was ready for just that.