Page 1 of Chaos and Crowns

1

The paper coffee cup in Odelle’s hand creaked in protest as her long nails dug into the cardboard sleeve. She forced herself to relax her grip before cappuccino exploded onto her new blazer.

“A talk show host?” Odelle asked her producer, trying not to let her anger creep into her voice. She partially succeeded.

“It would be a great gig,” Ernie insisted. “A charismatic woman like you—you’d get to cover all the fun special interest pieces, instead of all the bleak news the rest of us are stuck with. You would be a household name!”

Odelle resisted the urge to douse Ernie’s encouraging smile in hot coffee. Instead, she did her best to keep her tone cool as she responded, “Plenty of journalists become household names without having to resort to being the background noise in doctors’ office waiting rooms. I mean look at Amy Biderman. National News America wouldn’t be the same without her as their anchor.”

Her boss’s smile remained plastered to his face, taking on a condescending edge.

Odelle pressed on. “What about covering some of the gun violence in the city—I could work on covering that. There’s been so many shootings recently, I’m sure we need more people in the field to do more eyewitness interviews. Or maybe the upcoming mayoral elections—”

Ernie waved a dismissive hand. “You don’t want to cover that. Hardcore journalism can be so messy. It’s easy to think the next story could be your big break, but who knows if it will work out? With a talk show, you can use that captivating reporting style of yours without having to do any of the leg work.”

“You think I’m not willing to put in the work for serious stories? I didn’t bust my butt to get this far, only to be relegated to interviewing the internet celebrity of the week.”

Her boss appeared humbled, but he didn’t back down completely.

“Just think about it. It could be a step up from your current beat.”

“Yeah, I’ll think about it,” Odelle conceded. “I’ve gotta go for now. I need to check something for the election story I’m reporting on tomorrow before I leave.”

Odelle strutted from the room, pointedly avoiding thinking about how wonderful it might be to host her own morning talk show. She had become a reporter because she was committed to delivering the truth to those who deserved to know it, and she wasn’t about to give that up now. Instead, she focused on how to find her own big break, to show him just how capable of a journalist she was. After all, reporting was a world she understood.

* * *

Odelle laid her head on the granite countertop of her sister’s kitchen island with a groan. The coolness of the surface against her forehead grounded her even as she vented to Nora.

The clink of glass against stone made Odelle look up to find the stem of a wine glass inches from her face. She sat up, plucking it from the counter and taking an appreciative sip of the rosé within.

“You’ve gotten out of being pigeonholed before,” Nora pointed out as she picked up the two other glasses of wine she had poured, bringing them over to the couch where Adam sat.

“Yeah, but a morning talk show is harder to get out of than sports reporting. They may have wanted to put the cute blonde on the sidelines of the football game, but the truth is I know nothing about sports.”

“You know more than you let them know.” Nora collapsed onto the couch next to Adam, casually throwing her legs over his lap.

He absently stroked Nora’s shin and offered her a smitten smile as he accepted the wine from her. Odelle’s heart squeezed painfully at the exchange, but she shoved the feeling down to get back to the matter at hand.

“Maybe, but it’s getting harder to put Ernie off. I haven’t done any really great reporting in the field since the blizzard a few months ago. I need to nab something big, cover something so impactful they won’t be able to ignore me anymore.”

“Knowing you, you already have something in mind,” Adam observed.

“There are a few things coming up. The Mayoral election is at the end of next month, and coverage is really ramping up. In fact, I managed to score an invite to Charles Gainey’s fundraiser this weekend. Getting a few good quotes from him—it could give me an edge in getting assigned to more election coverage.”

“You always did know how to work a party to your advantage, and you’re at your best in heels.” Nora paused before asking in a tone of forced nonchalance, “Are you bringing a date to the fundraiser?”

Odelle examined her fingernails instead of looking at Adam and Nora, frowning at a chip in the trendy greige polish.

“I wasn’t going to. I didn’t want people to think that I wasn’t focused while I was there,” Odelle explained with a shrug. She glanced up and saw Nora and Adam exchange a knowing look. Odelle felt scrutinized, and it was unbalancing for somebody who was used to being the one asking the questions.

“That’s not like you,” Nora commented. “You’ve always liked having some ‘arm candy’ as you like to call it. Didn’t you literally once call a date the most enviable accessory?”

Odelle snorted lightly. She supposed she had said that in explanation of why she was bringing a fitness model to a charity auction.

“I just haven’t met anybody interesting recently, I guess.”

It was Nora’s turn to snort. “I literally introduced you to a secret society of immortal sorcerers a few months ago. If that doesn’t count as interesting, I’m not sure I really want to know what interests you.”