Chapter 5:

Vince stuck me with both his children during the live show that night and it was disastrous. It all started when he told both Shane and Stephanie to just sit back and let me handle it because I was already well versed on the script and the budget for the show.

It was a power struggle from the word action. Shane and Stephanie already wanted to one up the other.

"Shane, you can't set off the opening pyros in this building. You'll smoke the place out." I complained after hearing him order the tech crew to set up the large firework display.

"These people paid for a show. Wouldn't that be cheating them?" He nastily snapped back into the headphones. "Don't roll the recording, we're going live." I listened to the countdown then covered my ears and prepared myself for the blast that would echo off the small arena and make it shake as if an earthquake moved the ground beneath us. Just as I said, the entire room filled with so much smoke that the staff couldn't stop coughing and the talent in the ring was rubbing smoke from their eyes. The arena had to be evacuated.

It was a nightmare. The show was live; there was no waiting for the smoke to clear without leaving dead air for millions of viewers. I held my head as I watched the fans outside the building complain.

"I need every last bit of security we can get." I was on the run, my mind working faster than it ever had before. "Someone get a headset to Wade."

I quickly orchestrated a mock street fight and many of the fans gathered to watch Wade and Drew go at in the alley way. I had the cameras on them and the on air show was saved, but there would be no getting out of refunding the thousands in attendance. I had Cole and Jerry on a headset doing the best improve commentary they could and then I had the video team splice together a montage of past matches to cover the air time. It ended up being a raw special that highlighted the best feuds over the past ten years and I ended it with an argument between Cena and Diesel in the parking lot just so the main storyline would not be out of place the following week.

Vince was furious and Stephanie of course blamed me and was infuriated when her father didn't buy it. I guess I had proved myself to the man. As you can guess, they wouldn't be outdone on the smackdown show.

"Where are we going, Stephanie? I don't have time for this and you're going out to the ring in five minutes. You should already be in place. Stephanie was taking Teddy's place temporarily because he was sick with the flu and the spot had to be filled.

"Quit whining. There's an issue with the titontron and we have to figure out what to do before the show or we'll have to run without it.

"Just postpone the show until it's fixed. We can have a few matches for the fans before we begin the taping." I suggested, but she grinned menacingly and gave me a shove. I hadn't been looking and I allowed her to easily lock me in a janitor's closet.

My head set was turned off and I couldn't call anyone for help. I banged on the door, but no one came to let me out. I was so close to the stage entrance that I could hear the music and the pyros nearly made me deaf. I had to cover my ears and shield myself from the things that were rattled from where they had hung on the walls.

I rubbed my arms.

"Who the hell puts an a/c vent in a closet?" I complained to no one. The room itself wasn't extremely small, but it wasn't huge either. It was lined with mops and buckets, but no tools that might ad me in escaping.

I began to panic. I hated enclosed spaces. I hated to feel trapped. Soon, I couldn't control my breathing and I gave up on pounding on the doors because I had already bruised the sides of my fists. I began to cry hysterically. I yelled until my throat hurt, then screamed again as the pyros shook the room causing a bucket to come tumbling from the top shelf and the metal washers and bolts it contained came raining down on me.

I ran my hands around the wall for a light switch. I found one, but the light in the room was either blown or had been removed. I sobbed even more. There was another hour of the show left. I had no clue how long it would take for someone to find me. And then in my terrified state I was sure no one would miss me and no one would come. I was sure I was going to be locked in that small space long after everything was packed up and heading to the next town.

I shook, partly from my fears and partly from how cold the room had grown. I was claustrophobic, my biggest weakness and my biggest fear. No one I worked with knew so I couldn't imagine Stephanie had known about it when she locked me in.

Everything grew quiet and sat hugging my knees and sobbing. I heard someone talking right outside the door, they sounded upset. Then the door opened.

Eve was by my side. I threw my arms around her. I was still crying hysterically and shaking.

"Geeze, she's claustrophobic," Randy stood outside the door with Kofi who Eve apparently had to enlist to help her move a large rolling trunk from the door. "You're a real bitch Stephanie."

Eve helped me out. I couldn't stop shaking.

"She's ice cold." Eve exclaimed and I know she had felt the air conditioning in the closet. Randy took off the light jacket he had on and put it around my shoulders. Stephanie stood watching with a smirk on her face, satisfied with her prank.

"Next time, stay out of my way."

Randy's bus had been delivered a few moments before and when I didn't meet with Eve, she had come looking for me. She said she had looked for me everywhere and everyone told her they hadn't seen me all night.

Randy had happened to go to Stephanie to ask about some changes on the script for the next show when she had popped off something about letting me out of the closet. He said she had thought it a funny joke.

I felt foolish and embarrassed by the state Eve had found me in. I was even more embarrassed that Randy had seen it. I sat on the sofa on Randy's bus with a thick blanket over me while Eve continued to bring me cups of hot coffee. I had calmed down a great deal and I curled my feet beneath me. I was more comfortable, but I had a chill I couldn't get rid of.

It was only Randy, John, Eve and myself on the bus this time and I felt like I was intruding. Randy sat down beside me and flipped on the television.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. You must think I'm pretty messed up."

"Why, because you're scared of being locked in a closet? The only thing I find messed up is the fact that Stephanie locked you in there."

"I don't know why. It was so childish of her."

"That's Stephanie. She always has to have her way. One way or another."

"Yeah, I know that now." I tried to laugh. "Where are Eve and John?"

"They decided to go to bed early." He pointed at the closed door in the back of the bus. "So, it looks like you're stuck with me for company for awhile." He tossed me my bag. "Make yourself at home. The shower works even thought when we're moving. It might help warm you up, but the hot water doesn't last very long."

Randy was right, the shower did help to warm me and I put on my shorts and a tank top. I sat at the small booth style table and I pulled out my laptop. I had a lot of work to do and I already had several emails from Vince who couldn't' reach me because I had never retrieved my phone.

Randy pulled out the sofa into a bed and laid down on it with his hands behind his head. He stared out the window behind him and distracted me from my work for a moment. Finally, after I had finished the estimated budget for the next weeks show, I emailed it to Vince and closed my laptop.

"That table folds down and makes into a bed, but it's very small. You can share the sofa with me, you'll probably be more comfortable and you can't see the TV from over there."

I tried to imagine how big the table would be when it was made into a bed. It didn't appeared it would be just big enough for a small child and I did want to relax and watch TV for awhile, so I laid down beside him and got under the covers. I lay back on a soft pillow and laughed at the adult cartoon he was watching. I had never seen it before and I was shocked that something like that existed.

"You don't watch TV much, do you?"

"I don't have much time usually." Randy turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow. He stared at me. "What?"

"Nothing." He bit his lip for a moment then finally told me what was on his mind. "The wwe is done with me aren't they?" He looked genuinely worried and sad.

"No." I couldn't hold back even though it was probably something I wasn't supposed to discuss with him. "Why would you think that?"

"I'm barely getting any air time. I'm really just filler in between the big matches now."

"I mean, they are upset about you failing a drug test, but it was just weed. They don't look down on that as much as you think. Trust me; you guys are only in trouble because it's not legal in all states."

"But I bet that's not something you think much of?"

"Why do you care what I think?"

"Because, Vince listens to you. He likes your ideas. At least that's what everyone keeps saying."

"I don't know about all of that. Honestly, I think marijuana should be legal. Actually I think it would be a safer pain reliever than the pills they give out are." I sighed. "Randy, I'm not supposed to say too much to you about the future plans, but trust me. No one has forgotten about you. You are not in the process of being faded out."

He smiled.

"So, what did you do to get on the McMahon morons shit list?"

I laughed.

"I don't know, but Shane did accuse me of sleeping with Vince."

"You? No way." Randy made it clear that he thought the idea was absurd and I sort of took it as an insult and I turned away from him. "Wait, I don't mean that Vince wouldn't be interested. I'm just saying you're too good for him. I can't see you screwing around with a married man." He sighed. "Ugh, I wish I had married someone more like you. You have morals and decency. I bet your man doesn't have to worry about who you're in bed with when you're not with him."

He rolled over and went to sleep. I laid a wake for a while. I felt so bad for him. He seemed like a really nice person. There was a soft side to him that many people didn't see. Not in the ring and not backstage. It was something he only showed around his friends and it made me smile to think that he thought of me as a friend.