Dexter Grant vs. Kimberly Williams

[The Matt]

2 of 2
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December 17th, 2024
Baltimore, Maryland
Off Camera
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The scene is set in a dimly lit Waffle House on the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland. Midnight has only recently passed. The restaurant feels almost deserted except for a few individuals scattered here and there; but that is how Larry Dempsey prefers it, especially for his regular visits with his close friend Kimberly Williams and tonight is the night of one of those meetings. Their meeting are a special time, not just to catch up, but also to keep each other honest, to make sure neither one is falling back into the darkness that led both of them to spending time in a mental asylum. The Waffle House is filled with the hum of the fluorescent lights, and the occasional clang of a spatula against a griddle. The air carries the aroma of coffee and sizzling bacon, mingled with a faint metallic smell from the worn-down appliances. Yellowed linoleum tiles line the floor, some edges peeling slightly, and the vinyl booths are cracked in places, patched with duct tape. The walls, adorned with faded photographs of classic Waffle House dishes, seem to have absorbed years of stories from weary travelers and late-night regulars. Larry sits alone at a corner booth near the window. Larry’s rugged and weathered face is illuminated by the harsh overhead lighting. His jawline is covered in a few days’ worth of stubble. He wears a thick, olive-green utility jacket, its sleeves pushed up to reveal calloused forearms and a worn leather watch strap. The jacket is frayed at the edges, with a few grease stains on the front, as though it’s been through years of tough conditions. Beneath the jacket, a faded plaid shirt in muted tones of red and gray hangs loosely over his chest, untucked over his dark blue jeans that are scuffed and torn at the knees. On his feet are mud-caked work boots, their soles worn thin, and one of the laces has been knotted together in a makeshift repair. A steaming cup of black coffee sits untouched in front of him, alongside an empty plate that once held hash browns and a half-eaten waffle.

Larry checks his watch. Kimberly is late. A small grin forms on his face; this is normal for his eccentric friend. She has never been on time for their regular meetings at this Waffle House. He would start to worry if she ever was on time. He is anxious to hear from her, though. The last time he heard from Kimberly, she was planning a trip to Europe to learn more about her past and hopefully try to discover some insight into how she fits into the Jones family. It is a connection she has never truly been able to make and he hopes and prays that she found the answers she was looking for. Just then the bell hanging from the door rings, signaling the arrival of another guest. Larry looks up and spots her; Kimberly Williams. But something about her is different. She looks much different from the last time he saw her. Her outfit is chic and elegant, including a black blouse with shimmering gold accents at the collar and sleeves, paired with a bronze, textured mini skirt that hugs her frame and exudes sophistication. Her tights, patterned with a bold honeycomb design, while a pair of heels click sharply against the scuffed linoleum floor as she approaches Larry’s table. She sits down across from Larry without waiting for an invitation. He studies Kimberly for a quick moment. A slight grin forms on his face.

“You look lovely, my friend. Is there a special occasion that I am unaware of?”

“Huh?” Kim shakes her head. “No, not that I’m aware of! Unless you’re gonna buy my food tonight.” She tilts her head, studying him closely. “You gonna buy me food? Cause if so I am warning you, I’m gonna order basically the whole damn menu.”

“You can’t eat the entire menu, Kimberly.”

“Nooooo but I can take some to go!” She smirks. “Leftovers on your dime!”

“Of course.” Larry chuckles. “But forgive me, my friend, you do not always dress like this…” he motions to Kim. Kim looks down at herself and shrugs.

“Dress like what? Like a normal human being?”

“I wouldn’t put like that but…yes.” He nods his head. “Thus my question, what is the special occasion?”

“Nothing special. This old outfit isn’t even anything new, really. It’s my sister’s.” She grins with devilish delight. “Being an identical twin means I can steal her outfits and I know they’ll fit!”

“So you are dressing like a classy fashionista…something you despise…just to annoy your sister?” Larry says with a bit of skepticism in his eyes. Kim shakes her head.

“No, it isn’t that either! I have my reasons let’s just leave it at that.”

“Very well. You do look lovely, though.”

“Thank you!” Kim says grinning. “But we aren’t here to talk about freaking awesome I look, are we?”

“No, not at all.”

They pause when a server approaches the table. The staff here at this Waffle House know these two by name. They know that they have their regular meetings here and they know their orders. The server places a cup of coffee, black, in front of Kimberly. She nods her head in silent appreciation. The server walks away. Kim sips her coffee. The Woman Scorned points a finger at Larry.

“Let’s begin with you, tall, dark, and brooding. How have you been coping with you recent mental issues?”

“Quite well, thank you very much.” Larry nods. “The new medicine that therapist of yours put me on has worked brilliantly and, as promised, she has kept it all confidential and has not even brought up the possibility of reinstitutionalizing me.”

“Ol’ Doc Jenny Warren is a real miracle worker.” Kimberly answers.

“That she is.” Larry nods his head in agreement. “What of you, though? Last I heard you were on a quest of discovery…you were going to travel to Europe in hopes of finding out about your family, about finding out where you fit into your family. How, pray tell, did that go?”

“Quest of discovery?” Kim smirks. “Who do you think I am, Aaron Rodgers?”

“He went on a darkness retreat.”

“Same difference.” Kim scoffs.

“Just answer my question, my friend.”

“Fine.” She sighs. “I spent most of my time in Poland.”

“Ah Poland.” Larry smiles. “It is such a lovely country. I didn’t know you had family there?”

“I don’t. Well, my half-sister was born there, but none of blood relatives were from Poland. I was doing some digging into my grandfather and he isn’t from Poland. He was born and bred here in America. He ended up dying in Poland, though.”

“I see.” Larry remarks as he sips his coffee. “Who was your grandfather?”

“Bart Jones. It turns out he and I are a lot more alike than I had ever imagined. Like me he preferred a simplistic style. Like me he was an incredible investigator and loved doing detective work. And like me he had a strong desire for justice, true justice, not justice that the legal system may say is right or wrong.”

“And how does that make you feel?” Larry asks inquisitively.

“Aren’t you a Curious Cathy?” Kim smirks.

“I’m just keeping you honest, my friend.”

“Well if you MUST know…” she sighs “...for the longest time, I never truly knew where I fit in with my own family. My mom and all my sisters are upscale fashionistas who enjoy the lap of luxury. That’s just not who I am. And most prefer to try to operate within the confines of what the law says is right and wrong. That’s also not me. The law…for what it’s worth…can be wrong. It is a man made construct. My grandfather and I agreed on that. And you know what else? That whole Dragon nickname my mother uses…it was originally my grandfather’s. She got it from him.”

“That’s some interesting information.” He nods his head. “I imagine that had quite an impact on you, correct?”

“Yeah…” Kim smiles warmly “...for the first time I feel genuinely worthy of the Jones name. I feel as if I truly belong.”

“I am pleased to hear that you are happy.” Larry says with a warm smile as he reaches across the table and takes her hands into his hands. “Now what do you plan to do with this knowledge?”

“Honestly I’m not sure.” Kim shrugs her shoulders. “My grandfather did good in his time. So have I…I mean, for a psychopath…” she sighs “...but I still don’t feel like a good person. I’m no hero.”

“But you are a good person, my friend.”

“I dispute that.” She sighs. “I may have found my place in the Jones family but am I a good person like my grandfather? No, not at all.”

“You are making progress, at least.” Larry leans back. “No longer do you feel like an outcast in your own family. That pleases me. Is that the reason for your more…upscale attire?” He looks at her knowingly. “You feel more in touch with the rest of your family so you want to fit in with them as well? Is that it?”

“I hate you.” Kim snickers. “I hate how damned good you are!”

“I know you too well, my friend.”

“Yes, you do.” She nods her head. “And yeah, I suppose that’s why I am dressed up nicer than usual. I’m trying to imitate my mom and my sisters but…” she sighs “...this still doesn’t feel right. You know?”

“My friend, Kimberly, you found where you fit in with your family. That doesn’t mean you have to conform to their every move and appearance. Did your grandfather conform?”

“Noooo…” Kim’s voice trails.

“Then neither should you.” He says with a grin on his face. “Be yourself. If this is what you want then so be it. Or be the Crazy Kim that I have grown to love. Be who you want to be, not what you think is expected of you. From what little you have told me about your grandfather, I am convinced that is what he would want.”

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December 21st, 2024
On Camera
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The camera begins to roll and we immediately find ourselves outdoors at night on a street corner. There the camera spots none other than Kimberly Williams leaning casually against a stone wall. The Woman Scorned has shoulder-length red hair and she is wearing a bright orange knit sweater with a textured pattern, paired with a short plaid skirt in warm tones. Kimberly has black tights and over-the-knee black suede boots, adding to her stylish, urban look. In her left hand, she is holding her beloved penguin pal, and deadly weapon, Wasley. Behind her features a setting of streetlights illuminating the area. The atmosphere is lively and yet slightly casual.

“Greetings to all my Kimmymaniacs! Your fearless leader, The People’s Bunkhouse Stampede Champion is here to speak out about the reason for the season…” she nods her head enthusiastically “...that’s right, ME MAIMING PEOPLE FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES!” She throws her head back and laughs maniacally. Eventually she regains her composure and looks back into the camera, her face once again regaining its sense of stoic composure.

“Christmas is near, just a few days away, and I know Santa Claus has been taking a list and checking it twice and he should notice that I have been a good little psychopath all year! I fully expect some good gifts underneath my tree this year! But with Christmas fast approaching, what gift did I get early?” She shrugs her shoulders. “Did I get an opportunity to prove that I am the rightful number one contender to the SCW Underground Title? No. Did I at least get a chance to maim someone I absolutely despise? No.” Kim kneels down and picks up something off the ground. She takes it up to the camera and holds it up close, showing that it is a DVD. The cover is a drawing using crayon of a green stick figure. The name “Dexter Grant” is written in crayon underneath the green stick figure.

“No! Instead I got this lame ass bootleg DVD copy of ‘How The Grinch Stole Social Media’...” she takes one look at the DVD and tosses it aside, a cat can be heard meowing as if it hit a cat off screen, but Kim seems unbothered by this “...but at least The Grumpy Old Man did get me a good gift this year. He booked me against Dexter Grant on Breakdown and you know what? I will take a match against that loony toon any day of the week! Even though it isn’t the Underground, even though I really don’t gain anything from kicking his stupid ass, I still am very much looking forward to this. And you know why?” She grins from ear to ear, a look of mischief washes across her face. “I get to drive him absolutely batshit crazy!”

“See, Kimmymaniacs, I pretty much represent everything that dim bulb hates the most. Social media? I am a social media butterfly! Just check out Twitter…or X as Muskrat calls it now…my crazy, fun filled antics have earned me the moniker of People’s Bunkhouse Stampede Champion because you…THE PEOPLE…enjoy how I flood the timeline with my unique personality! My brand has taken off thanks to me spreading the message of chaos via social media!” Kimberly holds out Wasley the penguin and her iPhone is attached to him. Kim’s twittter/X page is pulled up on the screen and it displays a picture of Dexter Grant she has posted.

“See, Dexy-Poo, I know you hate social media but when you are wrestling for a major promotion like SCW, you cannot escape the media and you cannot escape a lunatic like me or Ace Marshall photographing you from one of your matches and plastering your ugly mug all over twitter…facebook…instagram…everywhere! Keep up the act, Dexter and you might draw the attention of an orange Oompa Loompa and get yourself the attention of Truth Social as well. We wouldn’t want that now would we?” She smirks devilishly.

“You have a mission to tell the world about the evils of social media. Great. Wonderful. But no one understands your stupid little mission except you. No one cares about your mission except you. People find you interesting simply because of how crazy you are. Well here’s a newsflash, junior, I wrote the book on crazy in SCW. I was crazy before crazy was cool. I made being crazy marketable. Now millions of people all over the world have embraced my message of chaos and have become Kimmymaniacs! I could take your silly little cause and make it a success story too because despite outward appearances to the contrary, I am not a lunatic and I know exactly what the hell I am doing. But you…” she shakes her head “...you are just a cheap Kimberly Williams imitator.”

“As my step-father would say, come and place your bets…but don’t bet on Dexy-Poo because you will lose that bet. Bet on the often imitated never duplicated original Crazy Kimberly Williams, the one and only Queen of the Death Match, the only god damn Queen of Chaos that matters anymore! Bet on Kimberly Williams.” Kim turns Wasley the penguin towards her and starts keying away furiously at her phone.

“Hashtag #QueenOfTheDeathMatch”

“Hashtag #PeoplesBunkhouseStampedeChampion”

“Hashtag #SCWBreakdown”

“Hashtag #KimVsDexter”

“Hashtag #AmIDrivingHimCrazyYet”

“There! Sent!” She smirks and gazes back at the camera. “Now feel free to respond with other hashtags you can think of! We want to drive Dexy-Poo to the brink of madness and then, when the time is right, I will push him over that edge…because I would never let you edge, Dexy.” She quickly covers her mouth with her free hand.

“Oops, that wasn’t PG, now was it? Then again, with some of the shit that happens in SCW, I’m fairly certain we are not PG. We may not even be PG-13…” she shrugs her shoulders “...in any event, I hope you get the point, Dex. Your message of anti-social media is really a fruitless endeavor. Social media is the wave of the future whether we want to admit it or not. Embrace it or be left behind. Just like you should embrace or get run over by it.” She winks at the camera. “And on Breakdown, you WILL get run over by chaos!”

The Woman Scorned takes Wasley and turns around. She starts to walk away into the night. The camera fades to black.