Post by Annabel Lee on Aug 31, 2016 21:52:21 GMT
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee
• • •
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee
• • •
4AM flights were literally the worst thing ever. Worst. Thing. Ever. The real killer was that SEATAC, of all the places in the world, did not have a Starbucks that was open at this hour. What backwards kind of world was this?
Annabel trudged through the airport, lamenting that she couldn't have a nice hot cocoa to wake herself up. She glared dolefully at the closed coffee shop as she passed it. Whoever heard of an airport that didn't have shops that were always open? You know what was open? The damn Chipotle. (She mentally put 25 cents in the swear jar, even for the thought.) She wanted cocoa, not Chipotle.
As much as she had been tempted to make a quick stop off in Atlantic City before heading down to Louisiana, she had resisted. She knew that she needed to be well rested before this match. She could go see Az after, it was just one more day. She was going to stay all the way through that big rumble thinger too. Almost a whole week with him. It would make up for lost time and lost cuddles.
That thought finally made her smile. Annabel without her smile was a lot like a sundae with no hot fudge. Or so her father had told her when she used to pout. She was smiling now, but now she also wanted hot fudge. That was going to be her reward after the match, for sure.
She sunk down into one of the uncomfortable chairs at the gate and dropped her carry-on between her feet. She was so tired. The excitement was setting in and making it hard to sleep, like it always did. It felt like she had barely closed her eyes before her alarm had gone off so she could catch this flight. Her head hurt just a little from lack of sleep.
She found herself slouching down in the seat after a few minutes, leaning her head back and letting her eyes drift shut. It was the most uncomfortable position ever, yet it was making sleep creep in.
Almost.
She got a feeling like she was being watched, and when she peeked out of one eye, she saw a child standing in front of her. Annabel quickly sat up, looking around. Seeing a little kid all alone was a bit alarming, but really the girl could have belonged to anyone else there at the gate and wandered of a few feet.
“Hi there.”
She didn't get a chance to say anymore before the girl blurted out, “You look bigger on TV.”
Annabel couldn't help laughing a little. It was a bit flattering knowing that the girl had seen Wicked DVDs. “Yeah the cameras make us all look pretty big, don't they?”
“Is Kelsey big?”
“Kelsey's right about the same size as me. There are some real big guys though. Some of them are as big as they look on TV.”
The little girl was about to say something else when an exasperated mother came stalking up. She shot a look at Annabel and made a face that startled the young wrestler. Clearly the woman recognized her, but the reaction was unexpected. As she hauled the child away she could overhear what the mother was muttering under her breath, “I swear if your father is letting you watch that garbage again... It's a bad influence.”
So that's what devastation felt like.
Annabel could feel the smile leave her face at the thought. Was she a bad influence on little girls? She didn't want to be. She felt like her positive outlook and hard work were good examples, weren't they?
Her father was a good influence on her, she was sure of it. He'd taught her the value of appreciating and making the most of what she had. He taught her to work hard for what she wanted and never expect anything she hadn't earned. Those were all good lessons. Those were all things everyone should learn.
Her bottom lip quivered and she got a little frustrated at herself for having to wipe her eyes. Logic told her that it was just getting to her more because it was so early and she hadn't slept well. Logic had a real hard time getting past emotion though.
She so rarely thought about the larger world outside of wrestling, that not everyone watched or enjoyed it. It was such a stark realization that some people really hated it. Like that woman. The woman didn't even know her, but saw her as a bad influence because she was a wrestler.
Was she? She should have immediately thought, “No!” if it wasn't true, right? Did the doubt mean that the woman was right, or at least partly right?
She couldn't help it. Annabel buried her face in her hands and sniffled. It was too early for this shit. (25 more cents for the swear jar when she landed in Louisiana.)
• • •
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee