Mallori Reed nervously chewed the inside of her lip. She was mere hours away from a moment she had been waiting for, one she had dreamed about all her life. She had been working for years to fulfill a destiny that at times had seemed so uncertain and unattainable. Growing up in a suburb of Indianapolis, she had been the older of two girls born to working class parents. Pretty and popular with striking dark olive skin, black hair and piercing blue eyes, she had been quiet but popular and after high school had attended two years of Ivy Tech Community College to pursue an associate's in business. Through her college years and the time that followed after as her days were spent as an administrative assistance in an architectural firm, most nights were dedicated to the independent circuits of the professional wrestling scene. Always athletic, she had been a standout track star in high school but ever since the days of watching Ric Flair and The Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant with her grandfather, wrestling had been her real passion. While most young girls dreamed of walking down the wedding aisle, Mallori's visions included the aisle lined with screaming fans that led to the squared circle.
Her big break had come with a two-year developmental contract with Florida Championship Wrestling. It was the latest WWE development territory and the catapult that had launched many a struggling Indy no name into a sports entertainment superstar. With just two thousand dollars and a lifelong dream to her name, she had packed up and driven her ten-year-old Mazda the 1001 miles to Florida. Known for her eagerness to learn, positive attitude and never quit outlook, Mallori had been popular in the locker room. A mid –card performer in the Women's division she had made the most of her off time working out in the gym and wrestling in the ring any wrestler who would bump with her. 24 months and many life lessons late, she had waited with bated breath and finally the letter, a letter she had waited for all her life arrived, freshly postmarked from Stamford, Connecticut.
And once again she had found herself on the move. Life as she knew it had been turned upside down once more all in the name of a dream. Leaving behind a tiny unfurnished studio apartment in Florida and her few friends behind, Mallori found herself on an airplane headed for Cleveland, Ohio. Carrying nearly everything she owned in two pieces of luggage, a taxi had dropped her off at the Quicken Loans Arena. Standing in awe, huge grin on her face, there she was. She had made it. Smackdown's newest diva had arrived.
Slowly Mallori had made her way backstage. The area was busy with people walking, talking, hustling and bustling about. Roadies went about setting up the ring as she stood in the middle of the hallway taking it all in. Her moment of clarity was ruined when she took a brisk elbow to the side. Nearly toppling over she looked up to see the man she recognized as the Intercontinental Champion, Drew McIntyre. If he had even noticed that he had nearly knocked her over, he certainly didn't seem to care. Looking around for someone by the name of "Jack" she scoured the tags on the employees' passes even though they scurried by faster than she could read.
"Excuse me. Um. hi, I'm Mallori. Mallori Reed, are you Jack?" she asked, looking for the man she had been instructed to meet with about her angle.
Upon further look she saw that his name badge read Jake. He shook his head and walked away without further acknowledgement of her presence. Mallori blew out a breath. So much for that everybody knows your name feeling she had been accustomed to down in Florida. Adjusting her own credentials clipped to her chest and nearly covered by a mass of unruly black hair, Mallori turned on her heels and followed the crowd until she arrived at a huge red door with a sign that said, WWE Diva's Locker Room. She smiled to herself. WWE Diva. That was her.
Walking in she set her belongings next to a plush dark blue sofa. Nervously she sighed. Where the hell was this Jack person? He was supposed to be there to go over her angle. There had been the possibility that she might start right away. If so, she'd have to do her hair and makeup and get into costume. And she'd need at least a minute to mentally prepare. After all, this was Smackdown. She could be facing the formidable likes of Layla, the Women's Champion Michelle McCool or even the Glamazon Beth Phoenix. It was almost too exciting. Mallori felt like pinching herself to make sure that her dream had really come true.
"Can I help you?"
The voice startled Mallori. She turned and saw a familiar face from her TV, Natalya Neidhart.
"Wow…"
Natalya gave a half smile.
"Sorry no fans back here."
"I'm not a fan," Mallori began. "I mean, I am. I'm a fan but I work here. I'm new. It's my first night. I wrestled down in FCW."
She flashed her badge and when Natalya was somewhat convinced, she extended her hand.
"Sorry I didn't know. Happens all the time."
"It's cool," she returned her handshake.
"I'm Nattie. Mallori, right?"
"Yeah. Sorry to meet like this. I was waiting for someone named Jack and I couldn't find end so I kind of ended up here."
"Jack," she rolled her eyes. "Good luck with that. No offense but he's a bit of a spazz."
Mallori laughed.
"That's okay. I just want to make sure I know what's going on and where I'm supposed to be."
"I understand. Listen, I have to get ready for my match. If I run into Jack I'll tell him that you're looking for him. Nice meeting you."
Just like that, the blonde was gone.
"Nice meeting you, too," Mallori called out to no one in particular. Kicking at her bag, she tugged on her lip a habit she often turned to when she was nervous. "Welcome to the Big Leagues, Mal. You're not in Florida anymore."
"And thank God for that."
Another voice but this one was familiar. Mallori grinned.
"Serena!"
"Mal!"
Serena Deeb. She embraced the woman she had known for two years, someone she had wrestled with and against and one of the few people she could call a friend even though the two had fallen out of touch when the other woman had been summoned to the WWE first.
"Dude, I am for sure digging the G.I. Jane look," Mallori joked.
"Make all the fun you want, you could be next, Mal."
"I don't think the Straight Edge Society could handle Genesis," Mallori joked referring to her FCW character's name.
"You found out your angle yet?"
"No, I'm looking for Jack."
"Good luck with that."
"That's like the second time I've heard that in five minutes. Doesn't seem like a good omen."
Serena shrugged.
"Jack is just…well, he's Jack. You'll get used to him. I'll help you find him. In the meantime, I'm just glad you're here. I mean that. This is so awesome. We used to talk about this all the time."
"And now we're here."
"We're here. Come on. I'll introduce you to everybody. Jack is bound to be running around here somewhere."
Following Serena back into the hall, somewhere turned out to be right around the corner.
"Mallori Reed?"
"Yeah. Hi. You must be…"
"Jack and you're late. I've been looking for you all over," the words seemed to tumble out of his mouth.
"But…"
"It's no use," Serena whispered with a chuckle.
"Sorry."
"No time for apologies," Jack grabbed her hand. "We have to go. Less than hour until show time and we've got some major changes going on."
"Changes? You mean with my angle?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Or lack thereof."
"Am I gonna get to wrestle tonight?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Look, I'll explain on the way. You were booked for a match with Mickie James but plans apparently changed. It came from the Bosslady herself."
Mallori raised an eyebrow.
"Stephanie," Serena answered referring to Mrs. McMahon-Levesque.
"You got it. Anyway, the match with Mickie James got canned but she has something else planned for you."
"Am I still wrestling?"
"Something like that," he called behind from the brisk pace that kept him ahead of the two women. "Now keep up. We have to get you fitted. Hope you like boots with fur."
Serena and Mallori exchanged glances. With the clock ticking down, it the first night was about to get interesting.