The biggest difference in Sophie James’ life since getting over her addiction was that she discovered she wasn’t quite as confident as she was generally seen as any longer. You find that with addicts, people who turn to substance abuse in order to fill whatever empty void they’re trying to ignore; drunks will find their confidence at the bottom of a bottle, drug users – like Sophie – well, speaking from her own personal experience, she knew that the drugs helped her be as outgoing as she was and once she stopped filling her system with those drugs, she quickly realized that she wasn’t anywhere near as outgoing as those narcotics had led her to believe. She was no shrinking violet, that much would always be true... but Sophie found that she second-guessed herself a lot more now that she was clean and off drugs entirely, and that made things far harder to her when doubts started to creep in, which was something that she had to figure out if she ever wanted to live a life as fulfilling as it almost seemed her life was before the overdose! Yes, the health benefits were an obvious improvement; not risking death on a daily basis is kind of a no-brainer but it took Sophie a while to figure out how to embrace her new found sobriety while also living life to the full... because there was that tiny voice at the back of her mind, the same voice that told her one line wouldn’t hurt or that one pill wouldn’t kill her, that asked how she would ever live a life as fun as the one she had when she was still using. That voice terrified her. Not because it was a scary voice or anything, but because she was terrified it was right; that voice was her voice, slightly distorted through desperate need for mind-altering substance yes, but her voice none the less. And if you couldn’t even listen to your own voice then who could you listen to?!
At least that was how it felt to Sophie anyway; the fiery redhead had lived a life of excess and had spent most of her life saying “fuck caution” where her fun was concerned... and it was a hell of a learning curve to try and figure out how she could enjoy life without the same high that she once experienced. Having people who cared was a contributing factor to that process; her boyfriend was crazy in practically every sense of the word, but he was there for her unconditionally and would drag his balls across broken glass to make her happy if he had to, so just having his support was a huge help. In fact, it was David who had perhaps helped her the most since that fateful day that she almost died; yes, Ace and Cassidy had saved Sophie’s life and Sophie would never want to undersell just how huge that was... but since that day, or since the pair had helped her clean up at least, Sophie had found that the one person who helped the most to at least find a new equilibrium in her life was her boyfriend David. When she was doubting herself, saying she wasn’t good enough or smart enough to get involved in the charity she was now helping – The Phoenix Project – it was him who made her see that she had what was needed to do it. It was Dave who had changed her heart and opened her mind to the idea that she was good enough, no matter how much she doubted herself... and she was eternally grateful to him for that, probably more grateful for everything that she could ever tell him. She gave him a hard time for sure, he deserved that a lot of the time... but by the same token, Sophie loved David Callahan more than he probably knew, even if she showed that love by poking fun at him most of the time...
And she needed it. When The Phoenix Project asked Sophie to help their cause by getting involved with the project, to help them raise money, Sophie doubted herself so much that she almost called the Joanne Sims woman that had approached her about helping to pull out, to make excuses why she couldn’t be involved at this time and run away from her own doubts. If you don’t try, you don’t have to worry about failing, right?
But David had calmed her down and convinced her that Sophie didn’t need to be a rich elitist or an overeducated douchebag to get through to these people how important it was to actually help others fight their addictions. Sophie knew that already really, it wasn’t as if she was blind to the fact that narcotics addiction programs were horrible underfunded and brushes aside for other causes such as covering up the many transgressions of the current President or bombing other countries to get their resources. Political statements for the win. But that same voice that caused Sophie to doubt herself regularly now she was clean had caused her to believe that she wasn’t good enough to help the cause, wasn’t good enough to talk to people who could help and convince them to provide the money to do just that. David’s voice made the more compelling argument and he won out. She hadn’t given the talk at the charity dinner yet, that was coming up in a few weeks... but with her speech now written, Sophie actually felt good about the whole thing and was hopeful that she could do something to help! Before the charity dinner and her speech though, Sophie had arranged with Ms. Sims to do something that was a little closer to home for Sophie... because while funding was important in the war on drugs, that was only part of the battle. The true fight came with those who used drugs, something which Sophie was all too familiar with herself, which should hopefully mean that she would be able to connect with people far easier than she will when she has to deliver the aforementioned speech in a couple weeks’ time.
“Okay, they’re ready for you Ms. James,” Joanna Sims said as she stepped back into the hallway of the community center that Sophie had arrived at maybe ten minutes earlier. This would be the first time Sophie had personally interacted with any of the groups that the Phoenix project worked with and she was a little nervous to say the least, but this bit was going to be the easy bit, that’s what she had to keep reminding herself. No snobs in business suits looking down their noses at her in this room, that would be at the dinner. “Not a great turnout this week, but then people tend to come and go, it’s a fact of life where addiction is concerned unfortunately,” Sims explained as they stepped into the room that was being used for the days meeting; there were perhaps ten people all together, sat on blue plastic chairs... Sims wasn’t wrong. Three times that many chairs had been laid out, optimistically in Sophie’s view but she wasn’t going to judge, and at the back was a refreshments table with tea and coffee urns and cakes laid out. Those who were there mostly held plastic cups in their hands, all apart from one girl at the back of the room by the refreshments, who sat holding a can that Sophie at first mistook for a beer can, until she saw the three claw marks logo of the Monster energy company. “We weren’t sure what you were planning on doing, so we didn’t clear a space or anything,” Sims said as the door closed behind them and a couple of heads turned curiously before turning back to the middle aged black man at the front of the room who was talking to the room. “I know you mentioned starting a project of your own and that it would involve some sort of training and we’re fine with whatever you want to do, but as this is an introduction, we weren’t sure if you’d just want to chat to people or talk to the room or whether you’d actually want to do a demonstration of what your classes are going to be, so...”
“No, that’s fine,” Sophie said, turning her attention away from the girl at the back of the room and back to the charity coordinator who stood there looking expectant. “I’m not planning on doing any demonstrations or anything today... not in this outfit anyway,” she said, motioning to her clothes; tight finny skinny jeans, a white vest top and leather jacket, complete with a pair of Nike Jordan’s. “I haven’t actually planned out all that much if I’m honest, sweetie... I mean, I know what I want to do for the class once I start it, but I’m just going to wing it today, you know? I want to kind of explain what my plan is, chat to some of the people and gauge interest, that’s about it...”
“Okay, great!” Sims said, beaming broadly. That was the one thing you could say about Joanne Sims, Sophie thought to herself; she was always smiling, always positive... which must be difficult given the cause of the charity she was employed by. Sophie wasn’t an idiot, she knew the statistics for drug related deaths in the country... it must be hard to keep a smile on your face when you may not see a face tomorrow that you saw today. “Well, I’ll introduce you to Derek, our volunteer leading todays class, and then you can just do what you want to do, sound good?” she asked and Sophie nodded her agreement before allowing Sims to guide her across the room.
“—and I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking Derek, why are you talking out of your ass,” Sophie heard the aforementioned Derek saying now that she was paying attention. He was probably in his late forties or early fifties if she was any judge but he could be in his late thirties if he was an ex addict, or even a young looking sixty... so maybe she wasn’t any judge at all. “You’re thinking ‘it’s easy for you to say from your white tower, we’re living it’, is that right? Well let me tell you--” he continued before spotting Sims and Sophie approaching and he nodded to let them know he saw them before turning back to the group. “Guys, let’s take a quick five minute break, shall we? Grab a coffee or a smoke if you’ve got them, though if I catch you smoking inside we’ll have trouble... that’s for you Esme, you hear me over there at the back?!” he said with a smile on his face but Sophie turned to look over at the back where the young girl she’d noticed earlier, Esme her name according to Derek, and she saw the girl roll her eyes before throwing the hood of her jacket up and head to the door, pulling out a carton of cigarettes as she walked. “Sorry about that ladies,” Derek said, once again dragging Sophie’s attention away from the young girl and back to the person in front of her. “So you must be our guest that Joanne told me about? Derek Waltz, pleasure to meet you Ms. James,” he said, holding his hand out towards Sophie and she took it in her own to shake.
“Please sweetie, call me Sophie. Or Soph. Ms. James makes me sound like my mom and I don’t want that image,” she said, cracking a smile and Joanne Sims smiles nervously back but Derek let out a booming crack of a laugh that actually put Sophie at ease.
It was obvious that this was someone who was down to earth, she could tell that just from the way his face wrinkled when he laughed; he didn’t put on a show, and he obviously cared if he was volunteering his time for free to help people... that made Sophie wonder if he was like her in that regard, an ex user who wanted to give something back now that he was clean. “Well, I’ll leave the two of you to get to know each other if that’s alright? I’ve got some calls to make and a meeting in an hour that I can’t be late for,” she said and when nobody objected she turned to Sophie. “It was a pleasure to see you again Ms. Ja—Sophie, I trust we’ll see each other again soon.”
“Yeah, you too Joanne,” Sophie said, smiling before the nervous mouse of a woman made her exit and Sophie watched her leave before turning back to Derek. “So... not gonna lie sweetie, I’ve not really got a clue what I’m gonna do here today...”
“Don’t worry about that none, most people are like that at first,” Derek told her reassuringly. “We all kind of find our way just by jumping in with both feet... and hey, you’re here on the other side of the equation, which is a nice place to start?” he reasoned, smiling again. “I don’t know all the details, but I’ve heard some about how you’ve battled your demons and overcome them. How long now?”
“How long clean?” Sophie asked and Derek nodded. “Nearly sixteen months now,” she told him, feeling proud of the achievement but also ashamed of her own past. Not exactly a great place to be in, especially when she thought she was stronger than that...
“Four years, eleven months for me,” Derek told her calmly, once again reassuring her. She had a hunch that his story would be similar to hers, but it was reassuring to hear it as face. “I’d give you the days and hours too, but I don’t want you thinking I’m that anal retentive... look, how about this; just take a seat to the side and observe for now. If you want to talk to the group at any point then the floor’s yours, if not, that’s a-okay too. Whatever makes it easy for you, how’s that sound?” he asked and relief washed over Sophie with that suggestion and she was grateful to the man in that moment.
“Sounds great to me!” Sophie said with a smile, as people started filtering back in, fresh off their smoke break. Derek brought a hand up and patted Sophie on the shoulder before turning back to his seat and Sophie grabbed one of the chairs before pulling it to the side of the room so that she could just observe. As things got back underway, it took a whole five minutes at most for Sophie to realize that Derek did indeed care about the people using the service. He talked to people as if he’d known them all his life and he listened intently to everyone who did want to talk, and that was sometimes part of the battle for people with addiction problems, they worried that others wouldn’t actually listen to what they were saying, that they would look down their nose at you for being a junkie.
She must have sat there for a good twenty minutes, just watching people talk about their problems, about how they were feeling, their struggle... those stories from the people attending the class made her realize once again just how fortunate she had been, that her struggle could have been so much harder if it hadn’t been for having people in her life that cared about her wellbeing and took it upon themselves to take matters into their own hands. If she didn’t have those loved ones, she wouldn’t be here right now, that fact never escaped her... how different things could have been for her, if just one of numerous factors were different, it was almost eye opening for her as she listened to people talk, listened to Derek responding. “Thank you Andrew, for sharing that with us my man, that’s awesome. Come on everyone, give Andrew a round of applause!” Derek said as a man finished talking about how he was able to resist an opportunity to take cocaine earlier that week and most of the group did as they were asked, cheering on the man who looked so proud of himself. It made Sophie think about Jamaica and how she nearly cracked all those months ago and that Zoe had stopped her from doing so. Before she knew what she was doing, Sophie was standing on her feet and applauding enthusiastically, a fact which Derek picked up on and seemed to realise what it indicated. “Well folks, looks like our special visitor wants to talk to y’all; what you say Sophie, got some words of wisdom to drop on us mere mortals?” he asked, and Sophie grinned before giving a small nod and she approached the front of the class where Derek was vacating his seat to give her the floor.
Sophie nervously bit her lower lip for a moment before deciding she had no reason to be nervous; she was one of them, wasn’t she? An ex-junkie who wanted to better herself, and she tried to remind herself that she could help if she didn’t let her doubts get the better of her. “I, uh...” she started, pausing to take a deep breath which she let out slowly in an effort to calm her racing pulse down before the said to hell with it and went for it. “So listen, I’m not here to blow smoke up anyone’s ass today... no, I mean that, I’m not,” she said, noticing a few chuckles from some people watching her. “I dunno if anyone in this room even recognizes me from tv or not, but I don’t care about the answer to that either way... my name’s Sophie and like you guys, I used to be an addict... and that’s kind of the important part, isn’t it? The words ‘used to be’. I hated the idea of groups like this back when I was using... I was convinced I’d end up surrounded by utter losers, total fucking sad cases who wanted gushing sympathy more than they wanted help...” she said, laughing nervously as the people listening looked at her uncertainly. “But now I’m clean, I realize that the only loser involved in that whole scenario was me... that the only real loser in that situation was me, because I was pumping my body full of drugs in order to feel something. I could have asked for help any time I liked but instead I continued to look down on stuff like this, looked down on people who asked for help, all because I was too arrogant to do it myself... I was wrong. And the fact that you guys are here right now, that speaks volumes about how much stronger each and every one of you are than me, because I see now that I was weak no matter how tough I thought I was...” she added, and everyone in the room seemed to be picked up by her words, smiling as they looked around at one another. All but the redhead at the back of the room that didn’t seem to want to be there. “Like I said, you may not know who I am... for those who do, I’m sorry, I’ll only bore you for a few seconds before I shut the fuck up,” she said with a smirk. “I’m a wrestler. I work for a company called Supreme Championship Wrestling and I used to work for a company called the Uprising Wrestling Alliance, holding the world championship at one point while I was there. None of that really matters though, other than the idea that I kinda know a thing or two about working out... because that’s kind of why I’m here right now,” she said to the room at large and the onlookers watched in slight confusion but general interest as Sophie cleared her throat and started to explain what she meant, even if the redhead at the back of the room had started looking at her phone instead of paying attention. One out of about eleven people not listening wasn’t a bad number. “I’ve been a user for two periods in my life... once when I was a teenager, and again for around three years until last year. The second time, I almost died from an overdose and friends saved my life. The first time was different... I won’t bore you with the details, but my life was a bit of a shit show and I was spiraling out of control. A friend ended up helping me out then too, because he got me interested in kickboxing. I know that sounds weird... it was weird, because I had no interest in it until he started making me train with him. He was already a kickboxer by the way, not saying he dragged me to classes to start learning. But he showed me a few things and helped me get in shape, and you know... it helped.”
“How so?” the man who had been sharing his story with the group before Sophie stood up, Andrew, asked as he looked at her with genuine curiosity on his face. Sophie turned to him and smiled, genuinely glad that someone was trying to interact with her intead of her just blabbing on while stood in front of the group.
“I think I heard Derek call you Andrew, right?” she asked and he nodded. “Well Andrew... Andy?” he nodded again. “Well Andy, I know I don’t have to talk to you guys about how it feels between fixes, because we’ve all been in that situation I guess... but that feeling you get, when you’re searching for your next hit, line, pill, when you’re basically planning out when you’re gonna get your next high. You can channel that into working out. I know, I know, it sounds like bullshit,” she says, chuckling to herself. It did sound like a load of shit, she was well aware... but when the endorphins hit during a workout? That was close to the high she used to get while using and it was one of the few ‘highs’ she got now, other than sex, and she sure as shit wasn’t going to talk about that in front of everyone. “It’s like, I dunno sweetie, you find something to channel your addiction into if that makes sense? I used to waste so much time and energy, devoting it into my habit. I literally chased the high, I put more energy into that than I ever did my career, I never took that seriously at all... but when my old friend got me training with him, I realized I could put my energy into that instead, and the more I got into it, the less I took drugs or went out drinking...”
“So you managed to control your addictive personality by getting addicted to something good?” another one of the ex-addicts said, a woman maybe in her mid-thirties and evidently a heavy user if her sunken face was anything to go by.
“Exactly,” Sophie said with an excited nod. “I channeled all of my effort into training. In truth, I may have gone a little too far at times, but that’s what addiction does to you I guess. Either way, I found that the harder I pushed myself, the less I thought about numbing myself with drugs... which is why I’m here today, because I want to start a class of my own right here in the center,” she said, looking over at Derek and getting a reassuring nod from him before she turned back to the people watching her. “I’m going to start a kickboxing class, once a week, for anyone who wants to give it a try. I know it may not be for everyone, and I’m not going to be upset if you choose to give it a miss... but it helped me once and if I can help just one person like I was helped all those years ago then great! I’m talking basic stuff, start from the very beginning... but I hope I can help you guys realize that there are ways to keep your mind off of drugs, so I’ll be working with Derek and with Joanne, and together we’ll come up with a night for these classes and we’ll see how it goes. I just wanted to basically introduce myself and give you a little info about my own story and how I ended up here, so... yeah. If any of you are interested, I’ll be sticking around for a while today to talk and you can ask Derek any questions you may have and hopefully he’ll be able to answer them once we’ve got everything set up,” she said with another nervous grin, taking a breath and biting her lower lip again before she finally let herself off the hook. “So yeah, uh... thanks for listening and I’ll hand you guys back to Derek to finish up,” she said and gave half a wave as Derek walked back over, clapping his hands together and the people in the room, all started clapping along too.
Sophie gave another wave and stepped back to give Derek the floor back again and he turned to face the gathered addicts, smiling as he spoke. “Well, first of all, I’d like to thank Sophie for coming down here today to speak to us, thank you Sophie,” he said and the group, almost as one, as the redhead at the back still wasn’t paying attention to anything going on, thanked her too. “And with our appreciation shown, that brings us to the end of today’s session more or less, so... don’t forget guys, class next week will be a little later but I’ve already managed to twist Joanne’s arm and instead of the cakes we’ll be ordering pizza, so hopefully that makes up for the change of time. Other than that, remember that you can always call me if you’re in need or want someone to talk to and if I don’t hear from you first then I’ll see you next week!” he told the assembled crowd and they all said their goodbyes to him before one by one, getting out of their seats and either gravitating towards the door or coming together to chat. Sophie had expected everyone to shoot straight for the door when it was over, but that was obviously a misconception about the whole thing; these people obviously relied on one another for strength, for sympathy and support... it was actually really nice to see. “So how was it?” Derek asked, turning to Sophie and she simply sighed theatrically, which brought a broad smile to the guys face. “Yeah, it can be a little daunting, I know that all too well... but you did good! I was watching and your class seems to have some solid interest. Should be another helpful addition to the Phoenix Project once we’ve got it up and running!”
“God, I hope so,” Sophie said, nodding. She’d already started planning classes and trying to source gear and equipment, asking local gyms about sponsorship or supplies and she was getting some positive responses too... she just hoped that she’d have interest from the one’s she was trying to help too. “Gotta say, most people did seem interested, which was a nice positive experience... can’t say everyone was all that into the idea though,” Sophie said, nodding towards the redhead at the back who was now eating a donut by picking small pieces off between finger and thumb.
“Yeah, our Esme doesn’t exactly instill confidence in ya, does she?” Derek asked rhetorically, shaking his head sadly.
“What’s her story?” Sophie asked as they both watched the skinny girl put the barely touched donut back down on the table and dust her hands off on her jeans.
“She’s here by court order,” Derek said, sadly. “She’s been arrested twice now, once for shoplifting and once for prostitution... judge sent her to rehab the second time after her court appointed got it down from actual time,” he told Sophie as he turned away from Esme to look back at her. “Conditions were that she completed her ninety days and then attended these classis for twelve months after. She gets brought here and picked up again afterwards, random drug tests the whole nine yards...”
“There’s no wonder she doesn’t look all that enthusiastic then,” Sophie said, casting a sideways glance over at her before turning back to Derek. “You said brought here and picked up again. By who?”
“Her parents,” Derek replied, frowning. “I try not to speak ill of people if I can help it, but between you and me, I’m not sure her folks are helping matters all that much...”
“They’re that bad?” Sophie asked, wondering what could possibly make Derek say that.
“They’re not bad people, it’s just...” he started before sighing. “Well, they’re helping her, but it’s not because they want to help her, if you know what I mean. It’s like they don’t want their daughter to be a drug user, so they’re helping sort the problem, not helping their daughter get better,” he told her and Sophie understood all too well.
“Yeah, I know the type,” she replied without elaborating any further. She did know the type... all too well. “Think she’d talk to me or would I be wasting my breath?” she asked, and Derek looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging.
“You can give it a try if you like Soph,” he said without any real conviction. “But honestly, don’t be too hurt if she tells you go take a hike, okay? She’s not once spoken at one of these sessions... she’s attended every single one, but... well, she attends because she has to, not because she wants to, which says it all really...”
“I can give it a try at least,” Sophie said with a smile and Derek wished her luck before she set off across the room. She wasn’t sure what it was about the girl that drew her in but for some reason, Sophie really wanted to get to know this girl and maybe help if she could. It wasn’t attraction, that much was for sure; even if Sophie was single, this girl wouldn’t have been her type... it was like looking at herself in her teenage years, and that would have been weird. But it was probably the reason why Sophie took an interest in the first place, especially after finding out the info about her parents. “Hey, I like your kicks,” Sophie said as she approached the young redhead, and the girl looked down at her sneakers before looking back up at Sophie.
“Oh yeah? Wanna buy em?” she asked, looking at the surprised look on Sophie’s face. “What, too good for used kicks, being all famous and shit? Fair enough,” she added, before turning back to her phone to keep flicking through photos on Instagram. Sophie stood there in silence and the girl noticed she hadn’t moved so looked back up from her phone again with an irritated expression on her face. “Okay, I get it... awkward small talk, right? Oh, I like your shoes, that’s a great jacket you’ve got, nice hair, so why you doing drugs girl?, is that how it’s meant to go? Well do me a favour, Ms. Motor City Bitch,” she said, pausing as she saw the expression on Sophie’s face, another look of shock, at being recognized this time. “Yeah, I know who you are Sophie James, don’t be all shocked and stuff... what, you think because I’m a junkie, I can’t watch tv? Do me a favor okay? Leave me alone...” she said before going back to her phone and at first Sophie thought about doing exactly that, turning and walking away; if the girl wasn’t wanting to talk then so be it, Sophie wouldn’t force her into conversation. But something made her do the opposite and instead and pulled up a chair and took a seat next to her, which cause the girl to sigh heavily, rolling her eyes. “You dumb or something?” she asked, her attitude stinking to high heaven but Sophie simply smiled back at her, which clearly rubbed Esme up the wrong way if the scowl on her face was anything to go by. “Look. I dunno how else I can say that I don’t wanna be bugged by you, okay?”
“Oh I got the message sweetie,” Sophie said, still smiling. “But they don’t call me a bitch for no good reason, you gotta know that if you know who I am...”
“All I know is that you’re annoying me right now,” Esme replied, shaking her head. “So get out my face and get out my space so I can wait for my old hag of a mom to pick me up and take me out of this dump...”
“You know, you can be a bitch to people all you want, but sooner or later you’ll end up alone, you know that right?” Sophie said and the younger girl looked up angrily.
“And what the fuck do you know, huh?” Esme asked, spitefully. “Look, princess, I’m not going to sit here in hero worship because you’re on tv, and I didn’t come here because I wanted lectures from anyone about hot to make good of my life, so how about you save me the boredom and save your breath and just leave me alone?”
“Alright, if that’s what you want,” Sophie said, standing up and sliding her chair back against the wall. “But what I just said? You telling me to fuck off doesn’t change that... and if you actually do know anything about me then you’ll know what I’m talking about with that one,” she added before turning to walk away. She was stopped when Esme shouted after her.
“I know you’ve gone soft in the last year, if that counts?” she shouted and Sophie came to a complete stop before slowly turning on the spot to look at the younger redhead. There probably wasn’t much between them, maybe four or five years, but you could definitely see it all the same. “Yeah, you heard me... you’ve gone soft. You used to be a badass and now you, well lame I guess? You wanna come here and look down on us because you pussied out and sobered up, fair enough, but I’m not coming to your stupid class and I’m not going to grovel at the feet because you’re famous,” she added and Sophie felt a bit of a sting at her words; pussied out? She’d almost died. She was forced into going cold turkey and cleaning up... and the idea that she sold out because she chose to not risk death every day was ridiculous.
“Shame,” Sophie said, stepping back over to Esme and lowering her voice as she refused to let her emotions show on her face. “Because you can judge me if you like sweetie, I don’t give a damn what people think about me... but I’ll say this; if you think my class is gonna be stupid then you’re stupid... because kickboxing gave me the skills to learn how to wrestle, and I made a two hundred and fifty grand a year in UWA until it shut its doors, most of that time high as a fucking kite without them knowing too, so judge all you want but I’m the ex-junkie who made serious bank while snorting, popping and injecting her way through the vegas drug scene, you’re the chick who got busted selling sex for drug money... think I know which one of us made the smarter choices,” she said before straightening up again and while her face had a smirk on it, inside she felt like complete and utter scum. She didn’t want to throw those facts in the girls face and in truth, she was ashamed of much of what she’d just said too... but she knew the type, she knew Esme’s attitude and how to deal with it. She knew that because this girl was her a few years ago, and so the only way to get through to her was exactly wht Sophie had just done.
“Oh fuck you,” Esme said, glaring at Sophie. “You think you’re better than me because I don’t wanna go to your stupid kickboxing class? It’s a dumb idea! Like kicking a bag is ever going to replace how you feel when you’ve done a line of coke, you idiot fuck!” she said, and part of Sophie agreed, but the majority didn’t. If only the girl knew.
And so Sophie just shrugged. She had to hope that she was using the right tactic, she couldn’t be sure, not one hundred percent, but it felt right so she went with it. “Fair enough. I won’t expect to see you when classes start then. Oh, and your kicks?” she said, nodding at Esme’s sneakers. “They’re last seasons... so try lifting stuff from Foot Locker next time, instead of TJ Maxx, okay?” she added before turning and walking away, a ‘fuck you’ from Esme called out after her as she walked back to where Derek was now saying goodbye to some people who were ready to leave. He waved them off then turned back to Sophie, who clearly must have looked troubled.
“Didn’t go that well, huh?” he asked and Sophie just shrugged; she wasn’t really sure, not really.
“I dunno,” Sophie told him. “Could go either way... but I think I may have gotten through to her... we’ll find out when the classes start I guess,” she said, casting half a look over her shoulder at Esme – who was scowling as she flicked through her phone again – and she had to wonder if she had gotten through to her. That would have worked if someone used it on her... it kind of had worked on her, when Tyler first told her she was going to train with him. He’d not spoken to her like a baby, or spoken to her like she needed mothering, he just told it her like it was before throwing in a little reverse psychology... and even though Sophie was smart enough to know exactly what he was doing, she fell for it anyway. If she was any judge of character, and she liked to think she was, then this girl was no different to her, but whether the same tricks would work, she didn’t know... time would tell, and maybe if Sophie kept attending the meetings and got the classes up and running sooner rather than later, then she’d find out quickly. But meeting this girl, it had at least strengthened Sophie’s resolve that setting up clases was a good idea... and now she had a project to work with too, because it was obvious that this girl’s life paralleled Sophie’s in a few different ways, and it was also obvious that she needed help like Sophie had. She wanted to be the one to give it. Now she just had to let the girl let her...
The video begins to play and as it does we first see an opening title sequence of sorts, professionally put together for this purpose, showing clips of The Motor City Bitch herself, Sophie James, in the ring wrestling with various opponents, edited in with videos of her that were filmed outside of the ring, some self-shot like a vlog and others of her at various appearances throughout her career. It’s intercut with images of Detroit Michigan, the place she grew up from the age of around five, along with the Las Vegas strip where she lives now and the whole thing is accompanied by music from the band ‘A Day To Remember’, which plays over the top of the video. The song comes to a sudden end as a logo then flies at the screen which reads “Motor City Bitch”. As the logo crashes into the screen, the appearance of the glass seemingly cracking then flashing up, the video begins to fade out, making it all the way to a black screen before a new clip pops up and as it does, we’re greeted with a close up shot of Sophie James herself, or her head and shoulders at any rate, as she sits on a computer chair behind a desk and she throws a thumbs up at the camera before opening her mouth to speak. “Sup, Motor City Bitches?!” she asks passionately, grinning into the camera on its tripod as she brings a hand up to wave excitedly to her fans before lowering her hand again to grab the can of Rockstar energy drink that sits on the desk, which she cracks open and takes a swig from before placing it back down and continuing to speak. “It’s your girl, back for another fun filled video where I rant about all things SCW that pissed me off this week… alternatively known as the Motor City Vlog, Unflawed edition! Oh yeah, because that’s right baby, Unflawed is this week and maaaaaan, I’m getting excited! I dunno about you Bitches, but I love pay per view week, the excitement, the fun, the passion flying in the air… what beats that, huh? Nothing! Not even Sasha Grey could beat that, and she’s practically a professional beater, so that says it all!” she says with a grin, smirking at the horribly bad joke before continuing. “And you know… I’m freaking ready for this, Bitches, because while I’m still new here and while I get I still have a lot to learn about SCW, while I have a long way to go before I can win you guys over, what with the whole ex-UWA thing and all… I’m really looking forward to this show! I mean, Retribution was kind of a bitter sweet night all in all, given we technically walked out winners in that huge six man tag match, but when you think about what went down after the match was over, it didn’t exactly feel like we came out the winner in the end, you know?! And that suuuuucked, because we worked hard that night to prove a point to Har Magiddo and score that victory, and by the time it was over, it looked like we didn’t even try! Just goes to show how worryingly destructive those assholes can be, I guess? And I hate giving credit to assholes who throw their weight around like that, but I can’t ignore the fact that me, Dave and Konrad threw out everything at those douches and they still knocked us on our asses after the match was over…”
Sighing, Sophie takes another quick sip of her drink before turning her attention back to the camera. “But that was then and this is now,” she says, smiling broadly again. “I’m not going to let what happened stop me from being optimistic and upbeat about the future, because I’ve been at rock bottom before and I know that things get better, no matter how bleak they look, so yeah, there’s that. I mean, when you’ve technically been dead for a few minutes like I have, life kind of takes on a new perspective anyway, you know? Doesn’t matter how low you feel; the fact that you’re still alive and kicking is a blessing every single day and it’s one I cherish, because if it wasn’t for the people who saved me - love you guys! - I wouldn’t be able to sit here, talking to my Bitches, knowing I work for the best wrestling company on the face of the planet!” Sophie says with a confident nod, beaming into the camera before looking off screen for a moment and sighing. “Okay, so maybe Dave doesn’t agree with that statement, but we all know that Dave is a miserable cynical bastard at the best of times, so when he’s being a grumpy ass, just tell him to shush his face and cheer the hell up. Tell him Sophie says so, and if he gives you shit for it then I’ll withhold certain privileges until he sorts his shit out!” she adds with another big grin as she settles back in her chair and throws her arms behind her head. “So, I guess I’d be dumb to ignore the fact that it feels like I’ve been here before, huh?”
A chuckle passes Sophie’s lips as she grins. “I’m not talking about here in this room, this is my apartment so of course I’ve been here before… I’m talking about Tag Team Turmoil!” she adds, clapping her hands and rubbing them together excitedly. “Do you guys remember that? I sure as heck do! It was my first ever match in SCW, way back before I was actually a member of the roster even… I was still contracted to UWA at the time, and my bestest buddy in the world, Ace “yes I know he’s an asshole but he saved my life and I kind of have to love him regardless” Marshall begged me to come here, he wanted me to be a part of SCW with him, to enjoy in the fun. Funny how things turned out, huh? But yeah, I competed in the last Tag Team Turmoil match and man, that was a trip. A one night only deal that could have turned into a regular gig if we’d won that night, but we were eliminated by Honor Code, one of the many impressive teams that were part of the company, something that this place should be proud of because tag team wrestling has always been well represented in SCW, as it hopefully will be again soon…” she says, sighing and shaking her head. “As you can probably tell by that, my opinion on the current champs isn’t all that high, though I’m pretty sure that there are few people who do have a high opinion of the two of them anyway, so I highly doubt my opinion is all that controversial either,” she says with a sad little laugh. “I’ve said and done a lot of horrible things in my life, so maybe I’m not one to really judge… but the worst thing is that even the most deplorable of people usually redeeming features that make up for their worst bits. I was loyal to my friends even if I was a horrid person to a lot of people and took more drugs that the combined Russian Olympic steam put together. A guy like Blake Mason, a horrible fucking person most of the time, yet he’s apparently an incredible father to his daughter… essentially, the worst of humanity can find ways of showing they’re not quite irredeemable, you know? But Chad and Lexi… everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve heard? I’m not so sure…”
Leaning forward again, Sophie takes another big gulp of her Rockstar before leaning her arms on the desk and looking back into the camera. “Thing is, even if I thought Lexi Von Aaron was redeemable, I’ve made that mistake once before and that didn’t exactly go all that well for me, did it? I faced her early on in my time here and at the time I was almost pleading with her to let me help her because it was like, soooo damn obvious that she needs that help… but I also should have known better, because from experience I know all too well that you can’t be helped unless you want to be and put bluntly, Lexi doesn’t want any fucking help from anyone, not as long as she has her head shoved so far up Chad’s ass that she can taste what he’s eating before he does!” she says passionately, a slither of a smirk spread thinly across her lips as she blinks before continuing to talk. “It was that match that made me realise that sometimes, you simply can’t take the moral high ground and that you have to play people at their own games… I guess in that way, I should have taken Dave’s words on board every time he’s told me we need to make a statement and I’ve told him that we don’t want to upset the apple cart… because sometimes, you just have to accept that you need to make some fucking applesauce, bitches! That’s why I’m gonna try and remind myself just why I got the name the Motor City Bitch all those years ago… because I think, at least for one night anyway, that vintage Sophie James needs to come out of hiding and show the world what she’s god damn capable of!” she continues, the grin on her face now more than just a ghost, but a full vision of her amusement
“Sometimes guys, you simply have to fight fire with fire,” Sophie tells the camera confidently, not missing a beat. “And in a world where those two arrogant, ignorant annoying ass-bags are holding tag team gold, I think it’s fair to say that they end justifies the god damn means, don’t you?! And unless you’re colorblind or somehow failed to notice, if there’s anyone in this turmoil match that’s capable of dealing with fire, it’s this fiery redhead right here! I’m no scrub, I held the Uprising and UWA tag team titles for more than a year, with both Marie Jones and Kimberley Williams, I know exactly what it takes to be a team player and how close a bond you need to have to be a successful tag team, and given the things that me and Dave get up to in the privacy of our own home, you better believe that there aren’t many people as close as we are if you catch my meaning,” Sophie says with a smirk, winking at the camera playfully before she goes on. “It’s fair to say that I’ve not exactly made my mark in SCW yet, especially since I can’t here off the back of a run as UWA world champion when nobody thought I had what it takes to ever get there… but with that in mind, can you imagine a better way to finally set my flag in the ground here in the biggest wrestling company on the planet than to walk out there with the guy I love, kick some ass and walk out as World Tag Team champions?! In fact, I hope we end up out there at number one, the first team out in the match, because Lexi Von Aaron is so demanding of teams to step up and hove then competition that I don’t just want to walk out as champions, I want to do so from the first fucking spot! That’s right my Bitches, I want to do the impossible, me and Dave to start and end this match, walking out with the titles - or title, given how disrespecting those two assholes have been to the belts - on our possession, and its champions or bust as far as I’m concerned because for one night only I’m laying it all on the line and not holding anything back, even if I have to regress to someone I’ve come to hate now I’ve grown a lot over the last year and a bit! Ask Rachel Tatum Lee how tough the Motor City Bitch can truly be and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about there!”
Sophie winks mischievously into the camera before leaning back to stretch, pushing her chest towards the camera as she holds her arms out wide and tenses her muscles before turning back to the camera. Pausing to take another chug of her drunk, she puts the can back down and continues to talk. “Do you want to know what the best thing about this match is though?” she asks, looking slightly amused. “That it’s going to be a ‘just deserts’ type of situation, because Lexi is the one who has been ranting about wanting competition, about how the tag division in SCW doesn’t stack up to her and Chad... and now the board, or should that be our new Commish – hi Boss, remember me?” she asks with a grin, but she actually is pleased that David got the job. Sophie owed David Helms a lot from her time in UWA and she hadn’t forgotten everything he did to help her. “But Helms booking this match, that’s just so fucking fitting, because Lexi Von Aaron, and through association Chad Evans too, they ran down the entire division over the last couple of weeks... and now the entire division more or less has a chance to shut them the fuck up! You have to find that poetic, right? I mean, she said they want competition and now you’ve got us, The Network, the Red Empire and Team Desire, all looking to kick their asses and take that last remaining belt away from them! Seriously, I may or may not like a lot of these people, but it says it all when an entire division can band together almost because they want to see the champs go to hell in a damn hand basket, and that’s pretty much the situation SCW is in right now with the tag team division! And I fucking love that, Bitches! I literally love that David Helms booked a match that allows the entire tag division the chance to wipe the smile off of Lexi’s face, wipe the... well, I’d say smile off of Chad’s face too, but I don’t think we ever see the miserable ass-hat smile, so slap the smugness out of him is probably a better phrase,” she says with a chuckle, taking another drink to finish the can before crushing it and throwing it over her shoulder theatrically before she turns her attention back to the camera. “Credit where it’s, unfortunately, due... Chad and Lexi, they beat a hell of a team in order to win those titles; two former world champs, one supreme champion and future hall of famer, so it’s no shock they still have the belts now... but that doesn’t make them invincible and it doesn’t mean their odds are any better of walking out with them after the turmoil match either! And for everything I’ve said up until now, for every match I’ve had, for every time I’ve stopped Dave from being Dave... the gloves need to come off this weekend, because if I get my wish and we enter at number one, I’m not going to stop until Lexi and Chad are dealt with! I’m not going to let them continue to disrespect those titles like they have been doing, so if we have to slap a bitch then fucking be it! And Lexi, Chad, any of the teams in this thing, they can say whatever the hell they want about me in their promos, I don’t give a flying nothing about that, but I will say this, my darling dearest Motor City Bitches... whether they love me or hate me... it’s still an obsession! Mwah!” she says, grinning and she brings her hands up to her mouth and kisses them before blowing the kiss directly at the camera. With a wave, she winks and as she does the video cuts to the end slate, similar to the clip at the start of the video but with a button that provides a link to her previous video and a space that teases the next video to come.
Tesco