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ugly-anastasia · 11 months ago

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Talk and Talk and Go Viral | The Swynlake Squire

Featuring: @toby-determined, @amelia-o-gabble, @miss-holleyshiftwell, and introducing Pamela Hearst-Pulitzer

Date: Mid January

Warnings: None!

The Swynlake Squire staff is called in to discuss a recent controversial incident... and who's to blame.

ANNIE

As soon as Annie saw the surprise all-hands meeting on her calendar, she was worried. Even in the best of times, that could be a sign of bad things. And now there was that ridiculous petition calling for herself and Toby to be fired, and it didn’t matter how ridiculous Annie thought it, her job was on the line.

She and Toby were the first ones at the meeting, thankfully. Annie really didn’t want to make small talk with the traitorous blondes (who had never liked her from the beginning) while they waited for the new editor to get this meeting started.

“Be honest, Tobe,” Annie whispered. “Do you think we’re toast?”

TOBY: Toby was also highly anxious about this meeting. So much so that he was eyeing the little waste basket beside the door, wondering if he could make it there before the several cups of coffee swishing around in his stomach made a move. He had not thought a story like this could lead to termination or demotion of any kind! Though…he couldn’t say he wasn’t pleased by that since the story had obviously garnered a lot of attention and things like that always had consequences. He had just been hoping they would be of the good kind.

He glanced to Ms. Tremaine when her voice broke the otherwise quiet room as they waited for their colleagues to join them and found himself shrugging.

“I don’t know,” he whispered back, leaning toward her a little. “I suppose it’ll depend on where the paper’s loyalty lies. With the truth or with public opinion.”

ANNIE

Annie nodded in agreement, her expression serious. Yes, Toby was right about that. This wasn’t just a petty dispute between coworkers. This was a battle between truth and lies! Between good and evil!

“We’ll have to see,” she said, watching as the door opened and the new editor walked in. Annie raised a hand to wave to her, but Pam Hearst-Pulitzer was laser-focused on something on her laptop. Not a very good sign for Annie, who actually believed she was very charming. “I guess it’ll come down to her. Ugh, I wish I’d had more chance to talk to her, get a read on her vibe. You think we should say something?”

TOBY: When the door opened Toby shrank a little into his seat, grateful that the editor seemed to be distracted and was not looking at them. Or him, really. He wasn’t quite ready to be under the scrutiny of someone who had the power to make him unemployed.

He shrugged at Ms. Tremaine’s suggestion. It wouldn’t hurt to try, right? Shiftwell and Gabble weren’t in here to nay say against them, yet. If this meeting had been called to fire Ms. Tremaine and himself then what did they have to lose?

Well, they could actually dig themselves a deeper grave. If they were getting kicked then Toby would still want a recommendation from the Squire.

“...she seems…busy,” he said. “Besides, there’s nothing to say that we haven’t said with the work we’ve put in here.”

ANNIE

“That’s true,” Annie whispered back, still keeping her gaze on Hearst-Pulitzer, who was deep in concentration and hardly seemed to notice that her reports were obviously whispering about her.

It occurred to her that it might be a good idea to form a strategy, while they still had the chance. “We’ll present a united front, yeah? You and me, same team. No taking the blame, no blaming each other, just the truth.”

TOBY: He frowned, turning to look at Ms. Tremaine.

“What? No,” he shook his head. “No, it was my idea in the first place. If- and I’m not saying it will, but if it does come to that I…I think I should take whatever the punishment is. We can say I…I don’t know, that I forced you into it or something.”

The story started to form itself inside his head.

“Maybe that was always the case. That it was why I got you the job, because I knew you had more insight into the people of the town. And that’s why our articles are better than anything I’ve written here before,” Toby nodded to himself, like he had convinced himself and the idea solidifying for him. “I’ll be fine. You’re the one that has family here. A life.”

ANNIE

Annie’s stomach dropped. She was so used to Toby going along with her ideas. They’d really only disagreed once before. And Toby had been right, in the end, which was maybe a sign that she should listen to him now…

…And really, if it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have thought twice about accepting the offer. I did it, she would have told herself. I tricked someone into taking the fall for me, and I planned it from the beginning.

Except, she didn’t. Toby was her friend, not just a person who existed for her own benefit. Weird, right?

“But what if you get fired? We’re a team, Toby, we work better together,” Annie insisted. TOBY: “If I get fired, I get fired. It’s happened before. I’ll just have to find somewhere else to write again. That’s all,” he said, a bit of a sad smile lifting at the corners of his mouth briefly. As much as he had been longing for home, he couldn’t go back there for a job. And he didn’t want to leave Swynlake, either. Not when it felt like he was only just getting started. “Like I said, I doubt it will come down to that, but if it does I don’t think both of us should have to go. You deserve to be here- You’re meant to be here! Doing this. Writing. And it wouldn’t be fair to you since you’d probably stay in Swynlake, wouldn’t you?”

He took a breath, realizing his whispering had gotten a bit louder as his emotions got the best of him. Toby quickly glanced over at Hearst-Pulitzer to make sure she was still occupied.

She was.

He turned back to Ms. Tremaine, calmer.

“It’ll be easy to pin this on me. Maybe a bit below the belt since the Squire currently has more women employed, but I think the public has done a great job for us to be able to say people have less of a problem pointing fingers at you, a woman, than at me, a man who was equally as responsible, if not more. They can take the win on the front of having a harsher punishment on the male employee than the woman, who they still want to give a chance. As they should,” he added at the end with a little firm nod

ANNIE

Annie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Look, she was a feminist or whatever, but she wasn’t going to agree to Toby getting fired just because of that. Honestly, it sounded like he was making an excuse to make the fall. Which was touching, but…

Well, Annie really didn’t want him to get fired. She’d miss him, if he did. The job wouldn’t be half as fun without him.

She’d just opened her mouth to say exactly that when the door opened and the other women in question walked in. Annie glared at them. But when Hearst-Pultizer looked up from her laptop, Annie rearranged her features to a pleasant smile just as quickly.

“Oh good, you’re all here,” the editor said. “Everyone listen up, this is important.”

Annie swallowed hard.

AMY Amelia had gotten the email that the new editor wanted to meet with some of the staff this afternoon, so the meeting wasn’t a surprise. What was a surprise was the list of names specifically requested at this meeting. Toby Determined, Amelia Gabble, Holley Shiftwell, and Anastasia Tremaine.

Amy couldn’t comprehend what Holley and herself had to do with Annie and Toby… their little exposé was their own mess. And if Hearst-Pulitzer wanted to make the just and the self righteous shake hands and make up… well, Amy would give them a piece of her mind!

The blonde stood next to the guilty parties with her chin high and shoulders back, confident in her own resolve. She smiled smugly at Annie’s two second glare. Amy had nothing to worry about, especially not if someone that outed Magick’s against their will liked her or not.

“I absolutely agree, Ma’am,” she replied in dramatic earnesty.

HOLLEY:

Holley was furious about this whole ordeal. There was only so much she could do, though, with her hands tied behind her back. She thought about unleashing a virus on Annie and Toby’s computers, but Agent Wahed had warned her to stay out of it directly. The best thing she could do, he told her, was to continue to be active at the Squire so that she could keep abreast of any new situations and keep the RAS informed.

Still — Holley wished she could do more.

So, standing in the new editor’s office, Holley thought about what she could say that could let Hearst-Pulitizer know that she would not stand for this in the future. Luckily, Amy was also here, which meant that she had an ally. She’d seen Amy retweet the petition, and she knew that together they could back Hearst-Pulitzer up.

“I have never in my time as an editor been so ashamed,” said Hearst-Pulitizer. She shook her head. “This kind of behaviour is absolutely unacceptable from a prestigious newspaper.”

Holley tried to suppress her smile. Annie and Toby would finally get their comeuppance, and more importantly, Holley would not be faced with the moral dilemma of having to work with them.

“I am so deeply disappointed.” Hearst-Pulitizer swept her gaze over the four of them. “Holley and Amy — why on earth would you publicly take a stand against the article that has gotten the most clicks in my entire time at the Squire?!”

Wait —

“Wait —” Holley started to say.

“Do you understand what a big deal this is? This is single handedly making our ad revenue for the month. And you two go ahead and make it seem like something bad? This is the sort of thing that’s gonna save your jobs, girls!” Hearst-Pulitizer slapped down a hand on a stack of newspapers on her desk. “Local news is dying. That’s why I was brought on. The people don’t want cutesy write-ups about farm animals or town hall minutes. They want something that rocks their world! Annie and Toby delivered. This is exactly the direction I want the Squire to go in!”

TOBY: Toby did not turn to look at their colleagues as they joined the room. He kept his eyes forward and on the editor, hands clasping one another behind his back.

With the plan at the forefront of his mind he continued to work through it, trying to figure out what he was going to say in order to take the loss of employment with poise rather than falling down to his knees and begging for Hearst-Pultizer to please rethink. Not that he was above that by any mean, but it wouldn’t be what was needed in order to pull off the argument that he should be the only one to be let go.

His mouth pressed into a thin line at the sound of the words ashamed, unacceptable, and worst of all deeply disappointed.

Crikey. They were really in for it, weren’t they? Toby took in a deep breath, preparing to give his speech.

That was until Hearst-Pultizer didn’t say his name. And she didn’t say Ms. Tremaine’s name either.

She was, instead, addressing Gabble and Shiftwell. Toby’s eyes moved to the side, daring to minutely move his head in order to catch Ms. Tremaine’s gaze in an effort to confirm that she was hearing the same thing he was hearing because-

He flinched, attention quickly whipping back to Hearst-Pultizer as the strike of palm against paper tampered. Toby couldn’t believe it. But then again, yes he could. After all, this was what he had been saying all these years! All this time, he had been trying to pitch stories that he knew the public would bite on only to be shut down. He had never felt so vindicated in all his life.

ANNIE

Annie flinched at the harsh words, her eyes downcast and her stomach filled with dread at Toby’s impending dismissal. Maybe she could offer to take his place— but was she really brave enough to do that? Could she give up the one part of her job she actually enjoyed…?

And then Hearst-Pulitzer directed her ire at… not Toby? And not Annie either? It was Holley and Amy on the chopping block?!

It took everything in Annie not to burst out laughing in relief. And in glee! Amy and Holley with their stupid, smug little faces and their perfect blonde hair (they reminded her of Ella, honestly) were the losers today and Annie was the winner! And also Toby! They had been right all along!

She hazarded a glance at Toby before turning her attention back to the editor. “I couldn’t agree more, Pamela,” she said proudly. “I am just so happy you could see our vision.”

AMY Amy’s mouth was wide like a fish gasping for air. Suddenly all her fire and righteousness was doused as she stood for a moment, trying to make sense of how the tables turned. Annie’s smug face made her want to scream, Toby was still in the same state of shock that she and Holley were in. Almost like he knew what they did was wrong!

Finding her voice, “No…”

“No,” she shook her head, refusing to accept this verdict. “What they did was wrong! You can’t–”

Hearst-Pulitzer held up a finger and interrupted what would have been an amazing speech about Magick sensitivity. “Wrong? Ms. Gabble, in journalism there is no right or wrong! Only the truth and fact. What would have been wrong was if Toby and Annie sat on this information and did not shed light on the truth!”

Amy was incredulous. To be scolded and lectured about what journalism is, she could have scoffed in the editor’s face if she wasn’t still so shaken. Annie wasn’t even a journalist for the Squire! She was a damned columnist, she didn’t need to worry about fact checking her little opinion pieces that no one asked for! Amy crossed her arms in a huff and refused to meet anyone’s eyes other than to share an angry look with Holley.

HOLLEY:

Holley could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her ears buzzed. Her throat felt like it was closing. Was she — was she getting in trouble?!

Holley never got in trouble. From the time she was in school to her time at the RAS academy. For years, she’d been the example that the old editor Morales had pointed others to. Agent 100 complimented her paperwork all the time. Holley was the shining star, the beacon of hope, the perfect student. She never got in trouble!

Oh God, she was going to be sick. Her stomach clenched. She had a hard time looking at Hearst-Pulitzer right now.

But it would be worse to grovel and admit that she was wrong. Because she wasn’t. This was wrong! Outing a Magick was wrong. It went against everything the RAS stood for —

— which is why she had to stay here. It hit Holley suddenly. She was doing important work, keeping abreast of potentially dangerous situations. She was working on the inside. Granted, it wasn’t taking down a smuggling ring or a trafficking cartel. But it was something.

“In the future, everyone employed at this paper needs to support each other’s work 100%,” said Hearst-Pulitizer, crossing her arms over her chest. “What we say and do on social media reflects upon our organization as a whole. I know some of us have little side ventures.” She shot a glance at Amy here, and Holley gulped. “But that’s exactly why we need to present a united front — show the world that this is the new Squire and that we’re not afraid to tell the cold, hard truth. That’s what our readers want! That’s what sells papers! And you know we need that.”

Holley parted her lips. She needed to nod. Needed to force herself to nod and not snap at this vile woman. But she just stood, wide-eyed and shocked.

“Annie and Toby — you’re my all-stars.” Hearst-Pulizter pointed right at them. “Follow their lead, girls, and maybe we can save this dinky paper just yet.”

TOBY: Wow.

It was all Toby could think as the editor continued on. Wow. And not just five minutes ago he had been contemplating being unemployed all over again! How he was going to have to get fired in front of everyone, how Shiftwell and Gabble would no doubt be very pleased by this despite what pleasantries they’d exchanged with him over the years in the office. How he would have to walk out the door to his cubicle, pack up his stuff, and get back to his apartment to tell Lucky the news! And that he would no doubt be moving out soon, off to look for work elsewhere. It had all been such a clear image in his mind.

Instead he was living this. His ideas being shared and said aloud by someone with authority, witnessing his colleagues getting reprimanded, being called an all-star. He blinked as Hearst-Pulizter indicated to them, a small smile managing to appear on his mouth. Not that he wasn’t rather thrilled about this whole thing! He was just very surprised by it, and perhaps was as shocked as Shiftwell and Gabble were at how the tables had been turned.

He could think of nothing to say, either. His gratitude for still having a job and for being encouraged to move forward with more stories like this was so much that it hindered his ability to form proper thoughts let alone string together a series of words. And he was a writer, so he knew how hard words could be. So he just stood there, awestruck, and nodded.

ANNIE

Annie had told herself, had told Toby, that she didn’t really need anyone else’s approval. She knew she’d done a good job, and she trusted Toby’s instincts. That was all that really mattered.

But damn, if it didn’t feel good to hear Hearst-Pulitzer say that!

“Thank you, Pamela,” she said, excitement buzzing through her veins. Oh, it was intoxicating! Oh, it was like a drug! Oh, if only she could bottle those looks on everyone’s faces right now and keep it forever, for when she doubted herself and her journalism! Now, every time Annie worked on a story, she would think of this moment. God, she loved this job.

#toby #amy #holley #talk and talk and go viral #the squire

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