I have no idea how often I'll update this. Here it is.
Chapter 1: Late Arrival
Overwhelmed. That was the sensation on Alexa Bliss' mind. Overwhelmed. A little over sixteen hours ago, Alexa departed from the Cincinnati airport, everything she owned packed either in her one nice suitcase or an olive green trunk she'd purchased from a nearby Army surplus store. It was a decidedly impulsive move from a young woman who'd never been spontaneous in her entire life.
Sighing deeply, the tiny blonde stepped from the curb outside the Honolulu Airport, peering over at a beaten silver jeep with the words "Ohana Makai Resort" stenciled in white. The letters were fading from years of wear and tear, but the smile on Alexa's face when she saw her promised transport out to her new job remained luminescent.
"Lexi!"
Alexa bounced on her tiptoes and waved enthusiastically toward the source of the amiable cry.
"Candice! Over here!"
The sound of squealing tires echoed under the high awning, making Alexa chuckle at her friend's recklessness. Swerving across several lanes of traffic, the vehicle skidded to a stop directly in front of the vibrant pixie, with Alexa quickly noting that her longtime friend hadn't come alone.
"Lexi, how are you?" Candice began, springing from the passenger door and enveloping the smaller girl in a breath-rattling embrace.
"I'm… okay," Alexa gave back honestly. "It's been a weird few months, but I'm here, and I'm ready to be away from Ohio, so this is good."
Candice pulled away, but kept her hands on Alexa's arms, giving her companion the once-over. "When we get you settled, I want to hear the whole story."
Before LeRae could get another word out, she was interrupted by a loud and deliberate throat clearing from someone else in the vehicle.
Laughing, Candice glanced back at the vehicle. "Oh yeah, sorry. Alexa, this is AJ Lee-" she pointed at a tiny brunette, who smiled and waved while giving the middle finger to motorists who were honking their horn at the idle jeep. Picking up her introduction, she gestured toward the driver, a hulking bald man covered in tattoos. "This is Baron Corbin. He works with us and kindly gave up his morning off to give us a lift to come get you."
Alexa gave the man a kind smile. "Thank you, Baron."
The bald monster gave her a tiny nod and as much of a smile as he could muster through his wicked hangover and fatigue. Taking note of Alexa's giant trunk, Baron engaged the parking brake and circled around to the curb, snatching up the green case and sliding it gently into the back storage compartment, along with the rest of her belongings.
"Shit, we better get going. Traffic's bad here during the day and we need to get you taken care of ASAP, but I want to hear the whole story on the way out there, okay?"
Alexa nodded. "Can we stop and get something to eat? I didn't have a long enough layover in Seattle to grab anything and all I've had in the last ten hours are those peanuts and little Biscotti cookies."
Candice giggled, then laughed harder as AJ yelled random obscenities at a passerby expressing their displeasure at where the jeep was parked.
"Absolutely," she agreed brightly. "Since you're living with us, that's one less stop we'll have to make before we get to the resort. We'll have plenty of time for food."
With that, Alexa followed her friend into the oversized vehicle, which pulled away from the sidewalk with a great deal of noise and one or two honks from passing vehicles, causing another outburst from the diminutive dark-haired firebrand and another wave of laughter from the jeep's occupants…
"Holy shit," Dean Ambrose muttered to himself, his alarm blaring and his head pulsing with pain. .
"Holy shit is right," came the answer from across the room. Roman Reigns, Dean's best friend and coworker, reached for an open beer on the floor next to the bunk bed he occupied.
"Your dad's gonna kill us," Ambrose shot back, sitting up on his mattress and searching for his work clothes.
"Nah," Reigns grumbled. "Summer season isn't until next week. As long as we get to that stupid ass staff meeting, and get those boats checked out and gassed up before nightfall, dad won't even notice we slept until-" Reigns glanced over at the digital clock on the cinder block and 2x4 structure behind his crude bed frame -"2:47 in the afternoon. What the fuck?"
Ambrose chuckled wryly. "Yeah. We gotta get our shit together. Can't be showing up six hours late to give island boat rides to lame-ass tourists and shuttle hotel guests out to the inlet."
Reigns rolled his eyes. "Fuckin' howlies. Fuck 'em."
"Hey, I'm a howlie," Ambrose kidded.
"Nah," Reigns growled, standing and throwing on his work shirt, which had clearly seen better days. "You been here as long as any of us. You're Kama-aina."
Ambrose smiled, rolling his eyes and finding his own attire. "Thanks. I'll be sure to put that on my next application after I get fired for being six hours late."
Sharing a laugh, the two roughnecks went their separate ways, getting mentally prepared for what would surely be an ass-chewing of epic proportions from their employer and for the onslaught of guests that would soon be upon them…
"What have I gotten myself into?" Alexa Bliss mused to herself. Her old friend Candice LeRae was by her side, her friendly arm wrapped around Alexa's shoulder as orientation dragged on. In one of the resort's Grand Ballrooms on the first floor, several hundred young people, male and female, did their best to block out the abject boredom and inherent fatigue associated with these long training sessions. Finally summoning the wherewithal to block out the peripheral thoughts in her mind, the tiny blonde focused on the older woman speaking at the podium.
"...which means that you'll each have one full day and one half day off during the week, and Sundays off. On Sundays the University students come in and do their work studies. Your employee lunches and dinners are free in the commissary, and we have the clinic for minor medical issues. So no jet ski 'incidents' this summer, right Ambrose?"
Alexa scanned the crowd for who the woman was talking to.
"That jetski was leaking oil before I used it, Ms. Runnels, and I've thrown one thousand cigarette butts in the cay without a single problem."
The congregated workers laughed, most of whom remembered the event in question.
"Nevertheless," Ms. Runnels continued, "no more lagoon fires while guests are here. Clear?"
"Crystal," Ambrose returned.
Glancing over at her old friend, Candice rolled her eyes, though she snickered at the young man's comment. "That's Dean Ambrose," LeRae muttered to her friend. "He's been here longer than anyone and thinks he's hot shit."
From Alexa's other side, AJ Lee chimed in. "In fairness, he is hot."
LeRae chuckled again. "Too bad he's such a dipshit."
AJ tapped Alexa's knee lightly. "I'll introduce you after. He is kind of an asshole, but he's the only person here who knows both crews."
"Both crews?" Alexa retorted, a puzzled tone in her voice.
Candice exhaled deeply. "This resort is like a really petty High School. The indoor employees and the outdoor employees have like, a long standing rivalry."
"Wait, what?" Alexa whispered sharply, wanting desperately not to be overheard by the speaker at the front. Just as she spoke, Ms. Runnels drew to a close.
"... well, that's just about everything. In the next few days I'll see you all in my office to make sure all your W2 information is correct and to get your permanent ID badges." Sensing the audience was losing focus, Runnels switched gears.
"And now, to tell you about the many employee intramural sports and social programs we have, please welcome your senior staff manager, Nia Jax."
The crowd reacted much more positively than Alexa had honestly expected. A tall, full-figured woman who appeared to be a Pacific Islander of some type took the stage, with a friendly but no-nonsense demeanor that seemed to command the attention of the room.
"Okay, okay, I know you're all anxious to break into your staff assignment groups and start your training, but we have a few things to go over." The crowd groaned, but Nia continued with a shake of her head.
"I highly recommend everyone sign up for at least one intramural activity. Trust me, if you don't do something in your downtime to break up the monotony, you will lose your mind. That's what happened to Ambrose," Nia quipped, letting the wave of laughter take its course before speaking again.
"We have several levels of competition, from 'recreational' to 'inter-staff,' which is when we compete against teams of staffers from other resorts for the prestigious 'Diamond Head' Trophy and bragging rights for the entire island of Oahu."
This time a cheer broke out over the staff, though the most enthusiastic applause came from veteran staffers who had apparently competed for the trophy at some point.
"Sign up sheets will be in the employee lounges and in the office. Seriously, I cannot stress this enough; pick a sport and give it a shot. Even if you suck, it's better than sitting in the quarters and sulking." Nia glanced down at her clipboard. "Okay, that's all I've got. Lunch will be served in the Maui Ballroom in, like, fifteen minutes," the woman continued, glancing down at her watch. "Until then, hang out in here, get to know one another, just no fires."
"Yeah, Ambrose, no fires!" Yelled an unknown voice from the back of the makeshift auditorium. Rather than responding audibly, Ambrose simply raised a middle finger over his head in the general direction of where the verbal jab had come from, while Ambrose kept his eyes on his phone screen.
"Overwhelming, isn't it?" LeRae finally let out, noting the wide-eyed demeanor of her friend.
Alexa nodded. "I am in WAY over my head," she returned, her stomach sinking at the thought of spending at least six months thousands of miles from her land-locked home.
"Nah," AJ Lee shot back. "It's all routine. Once you get the hang of what you're supposed to be doing, it's easy. Where are you starting out?"
Alexa pondered a moment. "I'm tending bar on the beach."
AJ raised her eyebrows. "Nice! I wait tables out there! It's easy money. All you have to do is tie up your shirt and all the dudes overtip the shit out of you."
Alexa snickered, though she wasn't super comfortable with the idea of using her sexuality to manipulate customers. "That's good, I guess."
AJ nodded, intending to speak again, but before her words formed, the huge young man who'd driven them all back from the airport scooped the tiny latina up in his massive tattooed arms, prompting a giggle from the erratic young woman.
"Baron, stoooooop," whined the miniscule Lee, though she was clearly enjoying her boyfriend's public affection.
"They always overtip AJ because she wears those tiny ass jean shorts," Baron quipped, slinging his paramour over his shoulder effortlessly.
"You love those tiny ass jean shorts," AJ managed to gasp between squeals.
"I do," Baron admitted before finally letting his paramour slide to the ground.
Smacking her boyfriend multiple times, playfully as it was, AJ rolled her eyes at Baron. "You're a pig."
Alexa grinned. Deep down, it made her happy that her new friend seemed so happy in her relationship. Everything Alexa had been through in the last month seemed to dictate that there was no fulfillment to be found in romance. But her migration to Hawaii seemed to be exactly what she'd needed. "And," she internalized, "if I'm being honest with myself, maybe I'll find a fun fling before I have to go back to the mainland."
Like I said, I have no idea how frequently I can update this. I only want to do about 13 parts.