The Voodoo Doll
by Snookie Biscuit

I was lucky to make it back to the apartment, after that monster worked my leg like a musical instrument. The sound of my roommate Stacey coming in, woke me. She chuckled when she saw me lying on the sofa with my ankle raised on a couple pillows. "So," her long pause told me she was choosing her words carefully. "HOw did your audition go?" She was able to keep her devious smile hidden, but not her eyes couldn't. "Do you think you'll like working at that studio?"

Boiling with anger, I listened to how she placed special emphasis on certain words like 'studio' and 'audition' as she tried to find out what happened to me. "Oh, yes," I thought to myself, I'll play your little game, "I think it went well. They've got some great, uh, ...performers there." I smiled back as pertly as I could. There was no way she was going to have the satisfaction of knowing what really happened. "I'll be going back tomorrow night. The owner wants me to see a real performance." I felt that I could play along as far as she could.
"Wow. That's great, Snooks. I wish I didn't have a party to go to, or I'd go with you." Whew - that was close, geez, what if she actually believes me. I had probably better make a good show of this, and really go. Besides, what would it hurt to make some new friends.

When the next night came, my leg was feeling a lot better. There were lots of people walking into the studio that night. Each finding a seat, first among the small tables scattered around the ring. Where there were no tables, folding chairs were aligned in rows. Each person was buying their ticket from their seats. I recognized one of the girls selling tickets, from the other day.

As she stepped down the aisle of chairs to me, I recognized her as the girl who wanted my slippers. "So, you made it back? Ha Ha. Good to see you again, doll. I'm Stephanie, and admission is $15. There's refreshments over along the left wall." I thank her. She was quite attractive, with soft freckles running over her nose. She looked even taller in her pumps, and the modest cotton dress didn't disguise the physique she obviously had worked hard to achieve.

"It's nice to meet you, Stephanie. I hope my slippers get returned someday." I laughed, to lighten atmosphere. She could tell I was joking, and she laughed, touching my shoulder and motioning to lead me to a seat near the front, "So, Stephanie, Who will be wrestling tonight?" I asked, hoping to learn some of the names.

"Tonight's a special request match. It was set up weeks ago when one of our sponsors paid a lot of money to set it up. You'll learn more about these matches soon enough. For now, just enjoy the show," her smile made me feel more at ease. She turned to continued down the row, then looked back and winked.

There was a commotion inside the ring as the announcer was testing her microphone. A tall woman dress in a business suit, waving at something caught my eye. Could she be waving at me? I looked around, and then she shouted my name laughingly. That's when I realized it was the owner I had met yesterday. Leaving my seat, I joined her, as she gestured to the empty chair next to hers. We both sat, crossing her legs. "Thanks for joining me, Snookie. I wish to find out more about you." I could hardly believe what I was hearing. The owner was interested in me? Hmmm....already?

Meanwhile, there was great excitement in the gym, as the introductions of the two wrestlers were made. Someone named Hardcore Haddie was fighting the champ, Mean Esther Wild. Haddie was dressed in black leather boyshorts and halter, with black boots that looked somewhat like biker boots. Mean Esther looked more muscular, probably because she was a few inches shorter and dressed in more of traditional wrestling attire. Blue and black leotard with some sort of geometric design to it, beige pantyhose and black wrestling boots.

I barely noticed them again, until the bell rang. But, they banter back and forth to warm up the audience. I was more interested in what the owner was saying to me. "You can call me, Kate, I have been involved in wrestling for more years than I care to count." Her laugh was a little gravelly, but I smiled as she explained the purpose and mission of the group. But, when she got to the money part, I was convinced this might be a good gig for me.

"We want to provide good quality entertainment to our guests, Snookie. We have some guests that pay a lot of money to be part of a special group of guests we call, 'The Sporting Club.'" From the corner of my eye, I could see the wrestlers circling in the ring. "The Sporting Club offer their suggestions, like tonight's match, which is a 'Towel Match.' She saw the inquisitive stare I gave her when she said that, so she began to explain, "See that gentleman over there, in the pink polo shirt and khaki slacks?" I nodded, "And, that one over there, sitting with a blonde in a blue sequins dress? Well, they each have a white towel. They have each sponsored one of the girls in the ring now. And, at some point, one of them will throw their towel into the ring, signaling that their girl can't continue."

I looked at her with astonishment, "Isn't that dangerous?" But, the buxom entrepaneur just chuckled and smiled, gazing back into the ring. From my seat, I could see pink polo shirt guy cheering for Haddie, as she struggled back up to her feet, from being slammed. No sooner was she up, and she scooped again, and thrown back down to the mat. Just then, my eyes met the woman's eyes who did the throwin'. Her smile said, 'that could have been you,' and that's when I realized who she was.

The owner turned to me and smiled, "Oh, don't let Esther get to you. She loves intimidating the new girls. But, don't let her drive you away, too."

"I recognize her..." several seconds passed before I could form the words, "Isn't that who I wrestled the other day?" The owner nodded assuringly. "and, she's the...ch-champ?? Oh, dear gahd. I was in the ring with the champ." My right pressed against my flushed cheek.

"You sure were, and she likes you, I can tell." Kate's laughter worried me, I watched Esther, the Champ grabbed a handful of Haddie's hair and dragged her to the ropes in front of us. Then, placing poor Haddie's neck across the middle rope, she kneeled on Haddie's back with one knee -- bouncing several times, as Haddie choked and sputtered, flailing her arms outside the ring toward us.

I crossed my legs slowly. A corner of my lower lip being tugged upon by my teeth, as i watched helplessly at Haddie being abused. "Isn't that cheating?" I asked the owner.

"Ha Ha Ha..., Only in some places. This is a no disqualification match, so it doesn't matter. Haddie knew what she was getting herself into when she signed the contract," the owner said so matter-of-factly. "That's why the girls make so much money for doing these special request matches."

Poor Haddie. Esther flung her backwards, head over heels, by holding onto the ringrope and tugging it to her. As Haddie held her throat and tried to catch her breath, Esther pointed toward us. Actually, it was me, and said, "This next one's for you, Missy. Welcome to Hell." I turned to the owner, speechless. She nodded back toward the ring, and i could see Esther reaching down, grabbing one of Haddie's ankles, and winding that leg around and through her own. Then, dropping down to the mat into a sitting position, the entertainment level and the audible level rose by decibels.

Haddie screamed and rapped her hands on the mat. The poor girl's face was twisted into a fitful mask of agony. The audience stood, and cheered for the champ, but she seemed oblivious. she turned to look straight at me, her gaze burned holes into me. Then, with a knowing smile, she cas her gaze upon the owner, and I saw her nod approvingly.

"Looks Haddie's not going to have to work hard to sell that hold," Kate chuckled while Esther scream and thump the mat with her arms. "It also looks like Esther has taken a liking to you, Snookie. She's already told me that she wants you in the next special request match." I slowly turned my head to meet the owner's eyes, and then looked back into the ring, as the guy holding Haddie's towel stood up.

"SIT BACK DOWN!" Esther commanded him. You could see that he was worried. Haddie was practically begging him to throw that towel into the ring. But, Esther wasn't going to have any of it. "SIT DOWN, and let this audience enjoy themselves!" Esther shouted, and the audience began shouting obscenities at the man. I think he'd have been killed if he had thrown that towel. Apologetically he shrugged to Haddie, who was crying and slapping the mat furiously, from the pain in her twisted leg.

"Geez, can't someone do something about this?" I asked, covering my mouth with my fingers, as I watched in horror. "It's almost like Esther can keep her in there, as long as she wants!"

The owner didn't have to say a word. Her smile said it all. And, then she turned back to the ring and watched Esther raise up her butt and drop back down, torturing Haddie's leg even more. Esther finally unwound their legs and rolled to her knees, as Haddie flopped over to her side and cried. Haddie's leg wasn't moving when Esther grabbed that same ankle, and dragged her over to the corner by it.

The poor guy holding Haddie's towel looked worried as Esther draped his girl's leg over the middle rope, and bent it back inside the ring, holding on to her ankle, and twisting it around, as the audience cheered the cruelty being done to Haddie's leg using the ring ropes.

"This is one of the more popular special requests from the SPorting Club," Kate said as she placed her hand on my knee and gently patted it. "But, don't you worry yourself to death, I told Esther that only SPorting Club members can make these requests." Kate was so sure of herself. I got the uneasy feeling that perhaps I was becoming a pawn in some sort of game. Leaning over to me, Kate whispered in my ear,"Esther can be cruel, when she's trying to make a point. You're not going to be wrestling Esther anytime soon, Snookie," Kate's hand began to lightly squeezing my slender knee, "I've got plans for you, and what you need to build a little confidence first, and to get yourself acclimated to the studio."

Esther just sat back, beside poor Haddie, and pulled HARD on her boot, twisting her foot around like it was a toy. Haddie screamed, lifting up and helplessly dropping back to the mat. Each time her handler stood up, several people from the crowd would shove him and a shower of popcorn would rain down on him, until he sat back down, the towel still clenched in his hands. Haddie would cock her head back, looking over her shoulder in his direction, signalling for the towel, waiting for it to flutter into the ring. But, all that guy in the pretty polo shirt could do was shrug, and wring that towel between his hands.

After several minutes, Esther released the hold she had on Haddie's leg, quickly rolled to her knees and stood up. Haddie could barely move that leg. She writhed in pain, and looked exhausted. Esther raised her left foot, and stomped down on Haddie's stomach three times. Walking to Haddie's head, Esther bent down, grabbed two handfuls of hair, and dragged the raven haired beauty back to the middle of the ring, kicking and screaming.

Esther didn't just drop Haddie, she threw the poor girl back down to the mat, then walked around her, winking and waving to the appreciative crowd. With two good kicks, Esther forced Haddie over onto her tummy, and went back to work on that leg, bending it back, into a single leg boston crab. I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that Haddie was facing us. And, every time Esther would twist or bend that leg, she would punctuate her cryptic message to me, by either blowing a kiss in my direction, or pointing to Haddie's leg, and then to me.

"Did I hear that you are a dancer, Snookie?" Kate asked, obviously seeing that I was distracted by the show going on in the ring, "Uh-um, yes. Yes, I am." Haddie looked so helpless in the ring. I couldn't take my eyes off of her sobbing face; the makeup she wore was running down her cheeks, and she was tugging on her own hair in agony, as Esther sat on her back, and pulled that leg back so far that it didn't even look like it could be attached anymore.

"Well, that makes sense," Kate said, interrupting the pitiful scene. "Just look at her. It's obvious that Esther is trying to intimidate you by making Haddie your voodoo doll," her laughter was deep and punctuated with the dry residue of a smoker. I failed to see the humor in it, and I am certain that Haddie wasn't enjoying this, either. Esther had Haddie's leg not only bent back, over the poor girl's shoulder, but she was also using her body against that knee, causing Haddie to wave at her handler to just throw that damn towel in.

It was obvious that Haddie was going to be hurt if something didn't happen soon. And, thankfully, that guy's conscience got the better of him. Almost out of nowhere, that towel unfurled in it's long arc into the ring. The ref signalled for the bell, and a huge 'Boo' reached the rafters. The audience was booing that guy, not Esther, and she knew it.

Esther looked over her shoulder, right at me, and gave Haddie's leg one long wet liiiiiick, then stood up slowly, smiling, to parade around the ring. When the referee raised Esther's left hand high, as the announcer shouted to the pleased audience that they had "their winner, and still the reigning champion, Meeeeeeeannnnn Essssssther, The Molester, Wiiiiiiiiiillllllllld!"

I said my goodbyes, and tried to move through the crowd toward the door. Occasionally, I would look back to Kate, and see a few of her guests inquiring about something. Strangely, many of them seemed to be looking toward me, while they spoke with her.