Set in Stone

Chapter 2

Arriving for a Monday Night Raw event for the first time as a member of the roster was a huge deal for Grace. She had barely slept the night before. She had confidence in herself to nail her performance out in the ring when the time came, it was getting to that point that she was anxious about. As the kind of person who liked to go and get things done, the waiting for a big show or an important match always killed her.

Other than the fact she was going to form a team with Zelina Vega, Grace didn't know what to expect from her debut. She hadn't been told if she would be cutting a promo, having a match, or what the deal was. At least it wouldn't be long before she found out, she thought as she followed the paper signs that were taped to the walls, directing people to the various backstage areas. 'Female talent' were the ones she had to follow. Holy shit, she thought, shaking her head slightly. She was now female talent on the main roster. It was real.

The first person of any importance that Grace encountered was Bobby Roode. He came walking towards her along the hallway dressed in a smart dark grey business suit, carrying a stack of some kind of paperwork. On first instinct, Grace felt nervous. She didn't know Bobby at all. What she did know, as did everyone else, was that he was banging the boss. Indeed, he now lived with Lucy Thorne, or so she had heard. The relationship hadn't done him any harm, that was for sure. He was now semi-retired from wrestling, and worked back at the office as part of the booking/creative team. His move up the ladder had gotten him some heat from the boys in the locker room, according to rumours. Somehow, she doubted Bobby cared about that too much, all things considered.

"Grace, how are you?" Bobby said, giving her a friendly smile.

"I'm good. How are you?" she replied, stopping so that they could talk.

"I'm doing good. Congrats on the call up. I'm into the idea of you and Zel as a team. We've been throwing some names around, and it looks like we might go with The Stone Roses."

"The Stone Roses?" Grace echoed, unsure what the logic behind the Roses part was.

"Think about Zel's ring attire," he prompted. "She wears those roses in her hair when she comes out."

"Oh yeah," Grace said as it clicked in her head. "Yeah, that's not a bad name. I can see imagery with some kind of stone sculpture of a rose, if we get to the point where we have merch. Heck, it could even work as a logo or something to put on the screen for our entrance."

"I like that. I'll pass it along for you and we'll see what we can do."

"Thanks," Grace said. Pleasantly surprised, she flashed him one of her winning smiles.

"You're welcome. Listen, I've got to run," Bobby said, holding up the stack of papers as his reason. "Have a good night. Remember to enjoy it. You only get one debut."

"Thanks, I will," Grace said as he walked away. Remember to enjoy it. At first it seemed a bit patronising, but it actually was good advice, she realised upon reflection. It would be easy to go out there so focused on what she had to do that she didn't really take in the fan's reaction to her call up. That was something she definitely wanted to remember.

Proceeding along the hallway, Grace reached the women's locker room without bumping into any more colleagues or superiors. She was quite early, having wanted to make a good impression on her first day on the main roster. Being one of the last to roll into the locker room wouldn't have been a good look.

Grace took a deep breath for luck and opened the door. She saw that not many people had arrived as yet. Happily for her, Zelina Vega was among the few who had. She was standing on the far side of the room, chatting away to Bayley. Neither of them had apparently noticed the door open.