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Elena
“You got the job?” Riley’s voice comes out in a high-pitched squeal of excitement.
“I sure did.” Elation washes over me because I still can’t believe it. I keep looking at Zan’s text even though I’ve memorized it.I’ll take you on a trial basis.It’s not much, but it’s everything to me.
“What’s your first assignment?”
“Well, that’s the thing.” Some uncertainty creeps in. “I don’t have one yet.”
“She hired you, though,” Riley says. “For sure?”
All the forms that they sent over to me to fill out prove it. “Yes, definitely.”
“So the assignment’s going to come soon, right?”
Riley’s my biggest supporter but I might have a slight history of getting ahead of myself, so I can’t be offended at the doubt that she’s trying so hard to keep out of her voice. I clear my throat. “The editor said she’ll be in touch.”
“That’s good, isn’t it? That’s how it works?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I’ve never worked for a big magazine publisher before. I guess it is. She said the bigger assignments go to the writers who have worked there the longest. I expected that so I have to wait and see what comes up for me.”
“Well, that sucks if you can’t start writing right away, but I’m still so happy for you. This is amazing. It’s the beginning of your brand new career. Soon I’ll be reading your name in the New York Times, El.”
I let myself visualize it for a moment. “That’d be something else. I can’t wait.”
“So.” Riley hesitates. “What are you going to do for money in the meantime?”
“I’ll have to keep waitressing for sure, but that won’t be enough. People still aren’t going out to eat like they used to before the pandemic.” The question of money’s been hard to avoid. I told my manager that I need more shifts and he told me everyone else wants the same thing as he’s spreading the hours there are around between all of us. I don’t think that’ll change anytime soon.
If it wasn’t for the money, I wouldn’t mind having a lot fewer hours. My coworkers are great, but the job’s kind of getting to me. I had two guys grab my ass during my last shift while I was balancing hot plates on my arms. Moments like that make me want to quit on the spot and I can’t wait for the day that I can.
“Hey!” Riley exclaims. “I’ve got it.”
I sit up straight. “What? Do you know of some more writing work I could pick up too?”
“Kind of. You should start blogging.”
“Blogging?” My lips curl up. “Do people still do that?”
“Yes,” she said, sounding a little hurt. “Of course. You know I still do, right? I thought you read my blog.”
“Of course I do,” I say hastily. Damn it. I do whenever I remember to. “I thought you weren’t posting very much since law school because you didn’t have time anymore. So I haven’t checked it lately.”
“I don’t spend as much time on it as I used to,” she admits. “I still do post whenever I can. I’m making reels instead of writingsince they’re faster to do, you know? I still do some actual writing occasionally. The point is, you could be too. I can get you set up.”
“I know that blogs are still a thing, but it’s a little different for me. You’ve had yours forever. You’ve got followers, ads, everything all in place. There are so many people like you that have been doing it for so long. I let mine lapse completely so I’d be starting from scratch at a time when everyone’s all about video.” I think for a moment. “I’m not even sure what I could write about. I don’t know how you do it.”
“I can help you get set up,” Riley insists. “It’s not hard and I think there’s still room for new blogs to come out even now. I mean, a lot of people still like to read instead of just watch videos all the time, and there’s tons more who like to do both.”
She gets up and goes over to the living room window to stare out of it again. “How can you not be inspired when you live here? Besides, it can be some writing that you can do while you’re waiting for your assignments to come in. I think it’s worth a shot. It can take some of the pressure off once you start making money from it. I don’t know why you didn’t keep yours going this whole time. You really should get it back up and running. I had a look and you haven’t touched your old blog in ages.”
I join Riley at the window. I can’t get enough of the view here either. “That’s because no one wanted to read the kind of stories that I was writing about. Everyone gets their in-depth news from major outlets and magazines. That’s why I really want to work for someone else instead of doing it on my own. People didn’t pay any attention to my tiny little blog. I don’t just want to write for myself. I want people to read my stories.”
“I know, and they will soon. This time, maybe blog less about real news and more about gossip or something. Save the realnews for your new job. Making money’s the key right now. You need readers fast,” Riley says.
“I know. I guess I can get it going again. Can’t hurt.”
“Yeah, and I can help you get it more modern-looking. We’ll get some ads going because you don’t even have any.” Riley goes back to the sofa and flops down. “Anyway this is a huge deal, you getting a job with City Scan. It’s one of the ones you really wanted to work at, isn’t it?”
