Memphis Kramer slowly made her way to the back of the small auditorium. Butterflies filled her stomach as she prepared to open the double doors. It was her first full on staff meeting as a WWE employee, one where all the execs from Creative would attend along with every single RAW and Smackdown talent. Vince McMahon would be the main speaker as he always was at what was called the Town Hall meetings. It was a big deal and no matter what, Memphis could not get her nerves under control for some reason. The meeting was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and she had decided to be early and arrive 15 minutes prior. Beneath her confident exterior and devil may care attitude, she was self conscious and the last thing she wanted was extra attention on herself. As much as she hated to admit it, things hadn't been going as well as she had wanted in the WWE. Though buzz about her was already trending throughout the WWE Universe via the Internet, she had yet to referee a match outside of a house show or Superstars. She was booked for the RAW brand but hadn't seen air time for it or for Smackdown and that was disappointing.

One thing she had noticed since joining the WWE was how the employees interacted with each other. It didn't remind her of a family, in fact it reminded her of high school. There were several cliques and everyone seemed to stick together. Cliques traveled together, ate together and hung out backstage together. The crew stuck with the crew. Couples stayed together or sometimes with other couples. The bitchy Divas hung together while the nicer, more down to earth ones hung out. Veteran wrestlers hung together as did the new guys and so on and so forth. The other big clique consisted of the referees. There were eight men to be exact, veterans and rookies…Mike Chioda, John Cone, Jack Doan, Charles Robinson, Chad Patton, Aaron "Goose" Mahoney, Justin King and Rod Zapata.

They hadn't been rude to her. In fact no one had with the exception of Randy Orton on that first night. But as she had explained to April, no one has exactly gone out of their way to be nice or welcoming. People said hi upon the initial introduction and it pretty much stopped there. Memphis was used to dealing with that kind of crap on the Indepednent scene but she had been naïve enough to think that maybe things would change once she reached the professional wrestling Promised Land known as the WWE. But it had only gotten progressively worse. She wasn't looking for a BFF but a little common courtesy would have been nice. She had worked hard to gain everyone's respect yet she was still viewed as a joke, a fad, a novelty, a gimmick.

The loneliness was hard but Memphis' determination and strong will saw her through it. She remained optimistic that things would change, get better and in the meantime she would keep working her ass off until it did. The best way to prove herself was to keep on doing what she was doing and prove them all wrong. Traveling alone, eating alone and basically doing everything else alone afforded her the opportunity to think a lot during her down time and do a lot of soul searching. Every day was a different challenge and she could never forget why she was there. She had to keep her eyes on the prize at all times.

She had learned of the important Town Hall meeting via her Blackberry. It had been orginally scheduled for four 4:00 p.m. so Memphis had arrived at the location early enough to grab a bite to eat in Catering. She had been ignored when she walked in which was nothing new but she did notice one of the other referees, Goose eating alone. Making herself a salad, she sat and ate by herself, basically in her own world until the tall presence towering above her garnered her attention.

…

"Memphis, right?"

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and took a swallow of iced lemon water.

"Yeah…"

He smiled.

"Goose," he extended his hand. "We met before but I was pretty busy so it wasn't really a proper introduction."

Memphis shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"I've been meaning to come talk to you, see how things have been going."

"Pretty good," she shrugged.

"I caught your match on Superstars. You were good."

"Thanks."

"You're a natural in there, I was just wondering what made you choose that as a career path, instead of wrestling or being a valet."

It was a question she got often.

"I always loved wrestling especially the WWE. I was really into the different moves and everything and realized early on just how important of a job the ref has. They are in the center of the action and that's where I wanted to be. It's just always something I wanted to do."

"Well welcome."

"Thank you."

"I guess I'll see you at the staff meeting later."

"Sure. It's my first one."

"They're not so bad. Vince and the others can get a little long winded at times but it's pretty cool. You know, me and the boys sit together…you're welcomed to join us."

By "other boys" she knew he meant referees.

"Okay. Um, sounds good."

"Just find us. I'll save a seat for you."

"I appreciate it."

"Oh and you did get the memo that the time was changed, right?"

Memphis frowned.

"No. No, I guess I didn't. What's the new time?"

"Just a half hour difference. 3:30."

"Okay. Well, thanks for telling me, Goose. I will see you there."

…

Just that conversation and minor interaction made her feel that much better. It had even slightly calmed her nerves. Memphis had finished lunch alone before finding a private corner in the back of the venue to try to relax and read a novel. She had kept one eye on the time the entire while she sat there and had taken off a few minutes early to get there early. She was grateful Goose had given her the heads up on the time change. It would have been truly mortifying to walk into the meeting late.

She pulled back the double doors and expected to see a half empty room and her fellow referees saving a seat for her. Instead, Memphis got the surprise of a lifetime. Every seat as far as she could see was already filled and as the doors opened, they let out a loud embarrassing creak. Even worse, the meeting had already started and the boss, Vince McMahon himself was already at the podium speaking to his employees. Her entrance had single handedly stopped the action. Vince gave her a confused then stern look and a shocked Memphis felt her cheeks burn.

"Well, well, Miss Kramer, so nice of you to join us a half hour late," he called her out like he was the principal and she was the troublesome nuisance of a student. "Please find a seat."

With her head held high and doing her best to hide her embarrassment, she walked down the aisle with every single eye on her. To her right was the group of eight referees all sitting clustered together. The men exchanged knowing glances, barely able to contain their smirks and a few even chuckled out loud. Mortified and angry, Memphis was forced to sit front and center as she realized that she had just been had. Goose had obviously given her the wrong time, a half hour later, on purpose. It was common knowledge that wrestlers loved to rib each other but Memphis couldn't help but think that they were laughing at her instead of laughing with her. It had been a setup and she had reason to think it was more serious than the typical prank.

Vince continued as he went over several Corporate changes as well as Creative decisions. The meeting dragged on and on as Memphis shifted in her seat uncomfortably. The information being communicated was important but it was hard to focus or concentrate. Inside the ring, in front of the cameras and the fans, doing her job was where Memphis felt most comfortable, most at home. Any other time, she felt like a fish out of water.

"…And in closing, I would like to take this time to introduce and officially welcome the newest member of the WWE family. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting her, you certainly saw her tardy but grand entrance earlier this afternoon. Miss Memphis Kramer comes to us from Long Island and has an oustanding record as a referee in several Independent promotions. Her very presence here is history making and we are thrilled to have her so please make sure that she is welcomed. Especially to my other refs…Goose, Chad, Charles, Jack, John, Justin, Mike and Rod…look after her guys. Show her the ropes, take her under your wing."

They murmured and nodded and minutes later, the meeting finally adjourned. Embarrassed, she wanted nothing more than to make a quick getaway. The young woman had had enough of being the center of attention for one day. Again Memphis wasn't on the card for the show that evening but she was scheduled to just watch and learn, something she had been doing her whole life. She respected the ring and the other referees even though it was obvious that the feeling was not mutual. Heading back to the front of the arena, she passed by a corner where the referees had gathered together. They were whispering and talking, laughing out loud like school girls.

"Did you see the look on her face?" one of them asked.

"Absolutely classic," another chimed in.

Goose led the charge.

"Yeah, that was too easy. Like taking candy from a baby."

"But you heard what Vince said," Justin added. "We have to help her out."

"Bullshit."

"But those were his orders," Justin continued, much to the dismay and annoyance of the others. "Besides, remember when we were all new? She's gonna need some help."

"Then you go for it, King," Mike told him. "I am busy enough and I take too much pride in my career and worked too had to get here to spend or waste my valuable time babysitting some no talent broad."

"She's not that bad," Justin shrugged.

"What are you, sweet on her?" Charles teased him. "She is hot…"

"I give her 30 days," one said.

"Two weeks."

"She looks tough. Maybe three months."

"Yeah right, put your money where your mouth is."

Memphis stood stunned. The very people who were supposed to have her back, the ones who were supposed to be supporting her, teaching her and taking care of her were the ones taking bets on how long it would be before she got fired or quit. It was disheartening. It was hurtful. She swallowed hard and tried not to react but it was hard. Turning away, she looked up and happened to see none other than the Legend Killer himself. He was just a few feet away, tattooed arms folded, icy stare in his blue eyes. It was clear that he had heard everything the referees had been talking about. She stared at him, waiting for some kind of reaction and she got one. He looked right in her face and smirked, shaking his head as he gave a cold and heartless laugh.

"You know, I'd like to get in on that one. I've got five hundred big ones that says your ass is out of here in two months or less."

Staring her down, he walked off leaving Memphis all alone and feeling very much alone. A tiny part of her wanted to cry but she soon got it together. It was politics, the nature of the game, harsh treatment she was used to. As much as it sucked, she would just have to ignore the antics and her own hurt feelings and simply keep it moving. She had been doing it her whole career,why stop now?