The Friction Spotlight featuring Taylor Parker!

Hilde picked up the glass of water and slid it in front of a chair. She then moved it an inch in one direction and an inch in another. By the time the glass had moved a full foot without really moving from its spot, Mai Nagasawa clasped her hand on Hilde's shoulder. and smiled. "Are you nervous?" She asked.

Hilde sighed. "Yes, and no." She said. "I just hope this goes well. It's hard not to be a perfectionist and I've never been used to being center stage."

Mai smiled. "Well then, it's a good thing you're not! You'll do great... boss!" Mai said, flashing Hilde a vee as she stepped up to the podium and adjusted her tie. The two of them were on a stage with a curtain in front of them and behind them. Hilde took a seat in a comfortable chair at a round table. There were two other other similar chairs at the table. One across from Hilde and one next to her. There were also three glasses of water set out at each seat.

Off to the side there was a podium where Mai was standing, looking over a few index cards. Behind the curtain in front of her, there was an audience waiting for the show to begin. A studio audience of guests and wrestlers alike, waiting for the show's interview. After trading glances and nods, Mai smiled and prepared for the rising curtain. There was a spotlight on her and the rest of the stage was darkened, leaving Hilde in the shadows.

"Hello and welcome! Thank you everyone for coming tonight! I'm your emcee for tonight's event, Mai Nagisawa!" Mai threw out a vee and winked at the crowd. "This is Friction Spotlight where we'll be featuring an in depth question and answer segment with one of Friction's stars! Let's see how this story unfolds and let's introduce our guest!"

Another spotlight shown towards the stage entrance. "Please welcome former Entropy champion, Taylor Paaarker!"

An electric thrill ran down Taylor's chest through her stomach and into her legs. She was used to this sort of thing. She'd been on stage for most of her adult life, but there was always that stab of apprehension in the moment just before walking out.

Drew drew a breath, and let it out evenly, just like she had a million times, and then strode confidently out into the spotlight.

She flashed her razor sharp, punky grin at the crowd and gave a casual wave while she walked to her chair. Her loose swagger had an athletic spring to it that hinted at what her tight, sleek body could do. Her blonde pigtails bounced on each step, and there were two pinkish-red streaks through her side-swept bangs.

The sleeves of her snug-fitting, white, buttoned down shirt were rolled up to her elbows, and her black necktie was slackerishly loose. The short tails of her shirt fell over the pleated, red-and-black plaid skirt and studded black belt that she wore, and her legs were clad in fine, almost invisible fishnets. As she sat in her chair, she habitually propped her legs up on the table, one half-laced, heeled combat boot thudding down before the other crossed over it.

Her wrists were adorned with a dozen assorted bracelets, brightly colored rubber ones, a leather strap, and a silver chain with a KAZE pendant. She wore a small ring in her eyebrow, two rings in each ear, a tiny silver stud in her nostril, and dark, punky eye makeup that highlighted her deep, sapphire irises.

She tossed her bangs to the side with a flick to keep them from blocking her royal blue eyes and looked at Hilde. "Hey," she said with a grin.

Th spotlights remained, following Taylor until she sat down and shining on Mai. Once Taylor propped her legs on the table, the lights of the studio slowly began to illuminate until the lighting revealed the stage proper. Once the spotlights were shut off, Mai spun around and strode towards the only empty chair.

"Here's how we're going to do this, ladies and gentlemen!" Mai said, looking to Taylor and then back to the camera. "This will be an in depth interview featuring a wide range of pre-selected questions." Mai sat in her seat. "The lovely Hilde Von Creuzfeldt and I will be asking semi-alternating questions!"

Hilde smiled at Taylor and nodded. "It's as Miss Nagasawa says. Are you ready, Miss Parker?" She said. "We'll be going in a partially chronological order, starting from the beginning of your career. Let's begin if you're ready."

Hilde stared down at her index cards, adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. "What was it like, entering the AFW as a little fish in a big pond? What were your initial thoughts? What were your expectations coming into the league?"

"Go for it," Taylor said. After a scattering of hoots from the crowd she checked her short skirt, which had ridden up her thighs a bit too far from the angle of her legs. She gave a lopsided smile and smoothed it down while her boots thudded back on the floor.

"Oh, um..." She leaned forward, popped up on her elbows while she stared through the table in thought. "Well, I thought I was just going to show up and kick everyone's ass!" She laughed. "I didn't have too much experience when I showed up, but I always won in New York. When I got here, I just figured that, like, Japan's never seen anyone like me."

She shook her head with a smile. "Didn't work out like that. Right out of the gate I dropped a match to this middle aged mom-tank that I think retired right afterward. Kei Maxwell was her name. Then I picked a fight with Gatt, and I thought I was so smart because, ya know, I'd just kick her ass and then everyone would know my name. But..." She considered her next words with a frown. "Man, Gatt's kind of a joke. She's always got help, because she doesn't have the balls to fight you straight, and all she knows how to do is fuckin'... wing haymakers at you and shit. I still put up a fight," she shrugged, and then straightened up in her chair, and smoothed down her black tie.

"It was really hard, though, because I had never been outside of New York before, ya know? I was totally alone, didn't speak the language, didn't like the food, didn't know my way around. I just had an empty apartment and a phone with no numbers in it. I mean... other girls who've been in that same spot can tell you that you just go crazy, sitting up at night and wondering if you just made the worst mistake of your life, wondering if you still have enough money for a plane ticket home. It's really hard." She nodded, with a sober look at the German interviewer.

Hilde nodded along with Taylor as she answered the question at length. When Taylor was finished, she leaned forward. "You always won in New York? Independent leagues? What got you into the profession in the first place?"

"Yup! All three matches!" Taylor said brightly, and then had to think about the next question.

"And, well... See, I'm not, like, the smartest chick in the world. I graduated high school, but that was it. College wasn't in the cards. I didn't really get a lot of guidance or whatever in school, but I did get my ass kicked a lot. There was... kind of a bullying issue, and I have a big mouth. And I'm stubborn. Just ask Johnny." She laughed, if only to break the tension.

"So after high school, I had a job as a waitress, I got kicked out of my last punk band, and that was it. That was my life, and it got old pretty fast. I had seen pro wrestling on TV, and like, the girls were tough and awesome and super hot, and I loved the way they looked under the lights and how they put it on the line. And I thought, what a coincidence, I'm tough and awesome and super hot!" She laughed easily. "Really, I thought that fighting was all I was really good at, and I do really well with being on stage and stuff, and I had the body for it. And having a big mouth could actually help me in a wrestling career!

"So I worked whatever job I could hold onto to pay for my gym fees and trained really hard. Matches were kinda hard to get in New York, and I was unstoppable, anyway. So I set my sights a little higher and came over to conquer Japan."

Once Taylor finished, it was Mai's turn to ask a question. She smiled at Taylor with a playful grin. "You introduced yourself as Taylor Sparks. Tell us how you came up with that nick name. Why did you ultimately decide to drop it?"

"Eheh..." Taylor glanced down with an embarrassed tint to her smile. She knew that question would have to come up. "Well, it's from when I was eighteen or nineteen. I was small and fast and good at aerial stuff, so that seemed like a good idea at the time. I used to say that when sparks fly, they start fires..." She shook her head. "Once I got to Japan and realized I wasn't all that, I dropped it, to try to be more of an adult 'n junk." She paused. "I don't really know why it's so embarrassing to me, but... Actually, yeah I do, the guys at the gym started calling me Sparky. Then I got here, and Lia Cross called me Sparky, and I was like 'fuck it, this is not what I wanted!'"

"Too bad Mecha Neko's taken." Mai said, flashing a grin at Taylor.

Hilde took a quick sip from her glass and adjusted her glasses before looking at the next question. "You experienced a tough start. Your first win was by DQ, but you were on your way to three straight losses to start off your career. Your first win was an easy victory. Do you think that the management felt you weren't going to cut it early on? Did YOU ever feel like you weren't going to cut it? "

Taylor laughed dryly, and then she was done smiling. She nodded grimly. "Yeah, for sure. With Satomi... if I couldn't beat her then I knew I'd need to find a new line of work. I remember checking prices for a plane ticket back to New York before that match. She set the bar pretty goddamn low, know what I mean? And it was a way harder match than it should've been, but I didn't buy that plane ticket."

She shrugged and shifted in her seat and tugged absently at her tie. She uncrossed and recrossed her legs. It was tough to think about this stuff. "Adrian was... Don't tell her I said this, not that she won't find out anyway, but she was like my first real match. I... we had a really bad start. I didn't think she belonged here, I still don't think she's on my level, but I knew that she was a pro wrestler and not a fucking waitress like fuckin' Satomi. A lot of bullshit led up to that match... Natalia gave me a concussion in the hallway over... Whatever." She twisted in her seat to try to point the part of the Friction building where Natalia and Adrian had ambushed her.

"That match sucked. I didn't feel like myself. It was a hard fight, and I kicked her ass, but... I've taken a lot of shit from people for what I did. People said I didn't have what it took to do what I needed to do to win. Adrian said that, for fuck's sake. But, like, she was just lying there, and... like what if there was something really wrong with her? I couldn't just keep pounding on her. The match was over, I know I won the fight, and I didn't need a win on my record so bad that I'd kill for it. I don't think most of us actually want to hurt people. The crazy ones just get a lot of attention."