It's Saturday afternoon. Alicia is sitting down on a bench in the locker room in her ring attire. Her legs are apart and her elbows are resting on her thighs with her arms outstretched. Her head is bowed. It's well known that Alicia is not a woman of prayer. She appears to be meditating to channel her focus. She's not startled when Elle bursts in the room, but slowly lifts her head until their eyes meet. Someone with a camera tries to push in behind Elle but she shoves the camera back in his face and closes and locks the door behind her.
Elle
It's getting kind of crazy out there. How are you feeling?
Alicia
Calm. Focused. Ready.
Elle
You feel up to doing a pre-match interview?
Alicia
I suppose I could. I'm not really in the mood for asinine questions though.
Elle
Well there are several interviewers and cameramen outside waiting for superstars to come out of the locker rooms. I don't see any way to keep you off camera but it's up to you what you tell them. Might I make a few suggestions? I think that we could repair your image if we have you...
Alicia
My image?? What the hell is wrong with my image?
Elle
Alicia, calm down. All I'm saying is that I'm trying to promote you. You have a certain image to uphold that the fans are looking for. They expect you to be dignified and graceful in your words and to consistently win matches. Lately you've been coming off as a bit unruly, out of control, and angry. That's not an image that's really an easy sell, especially for such a...um...
Alicia
Such a what? What, Elle?
Elle
Such a femme...
Alicia stood up and walked up to Elle. She backed her towards a locker and looked her in the eyes with a look of disgust on her face. Alicia slammed her hand on a locker next to Elle's head, causing Elle to jump a little. She hated being reduced to labels almost as much as she hated other people projecting their expectations of those labels onto her.
Alicia
You know what? If you have such a problem with me, maybe you should just quit. It would save me the trouble of firing you.
Alicia backed away from Elle shaking her head in anger. She pushed open the door of the locker room and walked out. Back in the room, Elle sat down, her face stoic, contemplating her next move.
Two interviewers had been standing outside the locker room door, trying in vain to hear what was being discussed inside. Alicia sneered at them and walked past them without speaking. They hurried behind her with their cameras and notepads talking over each other and shouting questions at her back.
Interviewers
Alicia, a word please?
How are you feeling tonight Alicia?
Are you and Elle having problems?
How do you feel about facing Leon Caprice one on one?
Can you win your match tonight Alicia?
Have you had time to train between your travels and the funeral preparations?
Is it true that your mother committed suicide?
At the mention of her mother, Alicia stopped in her tracks. She turned around abruptly and the men following her almost crashed into her. They readjusted their pads and took a few steps back and waited for her to speak.
Alicia
Listen here. It is common knowledge by now that I suffered a devastating loss two weeks ago. My mother passed away and as she was very important to me, it affected my performance in the ring in my match against Destiny and I'm still dealing with difficult emotions. While it may be your job to ask questions and speculate, that subject is off limits now and in the future. If you know what's good for you you'll leave it at that. That goes for all aspects of my personal life. Keep your noses out of my family life and my relationship or I'll make sure that you never have another job as a journalist again.
Alicia turned to walk away but one of the men tapped her on her shoulder. She turned around and glared at him.
Interviewer #1
Your match?
Alicia
Last week the Fusion audience witnessed greatness when Spike Blade and I defeated Jay Brooks and Ace in a truly embarrassing match for the two losers. Run your tapes back when you get home. Look at how I was dismissed by those two and those in their pathetic training entourage. Words are meaningless unless they are backed up with action. It was made clear in the match who is superior and who was just idle talk.
This week will be no different. In fact, I'll be surprised if Caprice even has the cajones to show up to our match tonight. I hope he does though. I have a lot of rage bottled up inside and I would love to beat that ridiculous grin off his pasty little face.
Interviewer #2
You seem to be very confident going into this match, Alicia.
Alicia
Well, just look at me.
In typical Alicia fashion, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and flashed a sly smile at the camera behind his head. Alica looked down slowly and the camera followed the direction of her eyes, panning over her body and down her long, muscular legs. She looked back up again and smiled and the camera zoomed in on her face.
Alicia
Wouldn't you be?
Alicia turned and walked away without waiting for a response.
END RP
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Subject: Alicia Before Her Match 
Sat Aug 01, 2009 8:40 am