New Recruits

Chapter 10

It struck Sonya that she had never felt such a sense of nervous excitement in her life. Mandy had just parked their car in the area designated for talent and staff at the arena where they would be working their first NXT show in just a matter of hours. After more than two months of busting their asses six days a week in training, they were actually about to become wrestlers.

"This is it, Son," Mandy said affectionately, turning to look at her after killing the engine. "I'm so proud and happy to share this moment with you. I love you."

Sonya was taken aback for a moment. It was the first time those three words had been spoken between them. Although they had both known it for some time, it was something else to take the step of saying it, and it melted Sonya's heart. "I love you too, Mandy," she said leaning in for a kiss.

They sat there passionately smooching for a good couple of minutes. Luckily, since they hadn't checked, no one was in a position to see them.

"I'm living the best period of my life right now, and a massive part of that is because I'm with you," Sonya said when they eventually stopped kissing. "Thank you for being there for me, and for being a part of this journey. There's no one I would rather have by my side."

"I feel the same way," Mandy said, squeezing Sonya's hand. "This is going to be one hell of a ride, but we're on it together, the whole way."

"The whole way," Sonya promised solemnly.

Mandy pecked her on the lips. "We'd better get in there. We can come back to the kissing tonight."

"I'll hold you to that," Sonya said, her second promise in under a minute.

With that, they got out of the car and retrieved their travel cases from the trunk. Walking across the lot towards the entrance for talent, Sonya found herself thinking that tonight the show was going to be put on in front of a few hundred people, maybe a thousand at a stretch. In WWE terms, it was a humble beginning. One day, she could be performing in front of one hundred times that many people at Wrestlemania.

But that was a long way, likely years, in the future. Tonight, she simply had to hope she was booked to have a match. All ten members of the group Sonya was a part of, now referred to as trainees rather than recruits, had been instructed to be at all three shows over the Friday to Sunday period. They had been told that none of them would wrestle on all three shows, but everyone would get a match on at least one of them.

Walking into the building, Sonya and Mandy headed for the women's locker room. Before they got there, they came across a format for that night's show. Printed on a single sheet of paper with the NXT logo at the top, it listed all of the matches along with the time they were allotted. The name of each winner was underlined. There was no sign of Mandy's name on the list, but Sonya saw hers. She was booked in the third match of the night.

"Son, you're on the card!" Mandy squealed in delight. "And you've got Becky. Holy shit, that's incredible."

Sonya felt as delighted as her girlfriend. So much so that it took her a moment to process it. This really was the night. She was going to have her debut match, and with someone who was the closest thing NXT had to a seasoned veteran. Becky had been there at least a couple of years, and had wrestled all of her adult life before then, too. There was no better opponent Sonya could have chosen if the decision had been her own.

"You don't seem excited," Mandy commented, looking at her in surprise.

"No, I am. I'm just... a bit overwhelmed," Sonya said slowly, feeling herself tearing up.

"Oh, bless," Mandy said, embracing her and holding her tightly. "This is what you deserve, Son."

"Thank you," Sonya said softly into her ear. "But you deserve it just as much as me. I hope you're on the show tomorrow night."