The Stringer

Chapter Three

I probably seemed so creepy; googling him. My window was small so I covered it up with my photoshop project hurriedly. "Pretty good I think," I laughed nervously. His sunken in eyes darted around the cubicle.

"Good, good," he hummed in response, chewing his lip thoughtfully. "Catch you later, Tanya."

I tried not to think too much about what Frank had said but it began to worry me. "Concentrate on your work," I grunted to myself.

A notification popped up from the file sharing software. "Hi Tanya! I'm picking up small dinners! I usually do this once a week, would you like to put some money in so I can get you something? -Kerry"

I smiled at the message. There was a rumble from my stomach; that was an answer enough for me. "Yes please, that would be wonderful, thank you! Where do you pick stuff up from?"

I continued on my work, saving several times as I waited for a response. "I get the food from the Fresh Market a few blocks away," she replied. I asked for a sub and then told her I'd pay $5.

Nearly half an hour passed until I actually got to meet the woman who offered to pick up food. She stood in the doorway and wore her bouncy brown curls in a high ponytail. "Here you go, Tanya. Welcome to KWLA!" she chimed, beaming at me. She had the energy of a middle schooler; gosh I'd kill to get that energy back.

I thanked her, handed her the money, and focused back in on my work. I prayed that no one would come to interrupt me, especially Lou. The only disadvantage to this job was that I'd probably have to work closely with him since most of the projects I would have to do involved his work.

Around quarter after five, Kerry came back with the food. "Here you go," she said as she set the sub on my desk.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." Kerry left briskly, delivering the rest of the food. I felt my phone buzz softly in my pocket. Frustrated, I let out a barely audible grunt; I had been broken from my zone. I fished my phone from my pocket quickly, hoping no one would come in and think I was goofing off. It was a text from Jason. Gosh, I loved him but I would've been annoyed no matter who had contacted me.

'Hey what's going on? :)' The message read. I tried not to smile but my lips gave in and I let out a giggle.

"Dear god," I whispered to myself. "I'm like a little schoolgirl all over again."

'Working, sorry. Gotta text you later,' I responded curtly. Before anyone else could break me from my concentration, I finished up the still frame and exported. To add to the effect, I cracked my knuckles in triumph.

There was still plenty of time before the story was to air; I found myself walking to Frank's office. I darted through the various people running their errands and sharply turned into the doorway. Frank looked up from his desk and greeted me with a smile.

"Would you like to sit?" he asked, gesturing to the chair in front of me. I nodded and did my best to sit ladylike. "Is everything alright?"

"Yea, yea everything's good. I just don't know what to do now. I already completed today's task... now I feel stuck," I admitted shyly. Frank chuckled, causing me to stiffen.

"Relax, it's ok. Just ask Nina. I do when I'm not quite sure what to do. Should I call her in here? She might want us to start working on some websites and headings."

"Sounds good."

Nina strutted in, as called. Her eyebrows were slightly raised at us and her nose lifted in a hint of arrogance, but the sparkling smile she wore contradicted such expressions.

"Our twitter needs to be tidied up quite a bit. We need a new header, new profile picture. Anything you can do to improve it. We might have new pictures taken of the crew. Tanya, would you be willing to do that?"

"Of course! I'm no photographer, though." I swallowed nervously, hoping that my words weren't gritting on her nerves.

"That's fine, if you could just take some basic pictures of the whole crew- all of out reporters- that would be terrific. We have a couple of old Nikon cameras in the back, you could use one of those and upload to your computer and work some magic. Have Frank help you, I want this to be a partner thing." Nina seemed to slowly be warming up to me. I remembered the other day how she sounded snippy on the phone, but now it felt like I had known her in a previous life.

"Frank tweets a lot of things, like links to reports that are up on our website. He knows exact dimensions needed and everything. I also hope you wouldn't mind improving our website?"

Nina began to head for the door, still looking back at Frank and I. "I don't mind at all, I'd love to help in anyway I can," I assured her. She grinned before exiting the office.

"So, my desk or your desk?" Frank asked. I shrugged sheepishly. I almost felt bad to admit that I wanted to remain in his office. "Mine?" He chuckled and rolled his eyes, rising from his seat. "Alright well let's go get that Nikon and see if it still works."

"How old is it?" I inquired as we weaved through the cubicles and halls.

"I think Nina told me once that it was from 2008. It's not that old, but it's been in the back room for a while and I'm not sure if it's charged fully or if there's a wire for it."

I silently followed the rest of the way. "I googled what you told me early," I whispered softly as we entered the room. Frank turned around and raised an eyebrow at me.

"About Rick? His partner?" he mouthed back, looking around cautiously.

"Yea. He walked in right as I was doing that. I don't think he noticed." Frank took a step towards me and I grew tense.

"Don't ever let him know that you're even the slightest bit suspicious of him. I believe Rick's death was his fault and he filmed it for crying out loud. He's twisted," he warned. He took a step back and cleared his throat, acting as if he was just broken from a trance.

I didn't know whether to believe in Frank's words or not. Maybe he just had something against Louis for being charming to Nina.

"Great work again, Tanya. Thank you," Nina complimented absentmindedly. She spun on her heel towards Louis. "That was such a fantastic piece. I never thought anything could beat the police chase you caught, but you have proved me wrong."

I could see a blush rise to Louis' cheeks as he bit his lip. "That means so much to me, Nina," he murmured.

At that point, I was free to go. I hopped in my car, feeling the tension melt away. The thought of a nice, warm shower had me eager to get on the turnpike as quickly as possible. When I pulled up to my apartment complex, I noticed an unfamiliar car in my parking space.

"Wow you took forever," I heard a heartwarming voice complain jokingly. There was a laugh.

"Jason?" I called through the dim light of the twilight.

"That's me," he responded, running to hug me. "I've missed you so much."

"Move, I want a hug too," I heard Jessica add.

"Are you guys all here to surprise me?" I asked in shock.

"Of course we are," Danielle stated matter of-factly. I nearly burst into tears. We gathered under the nearby street lamp and group hugged.

"I've missed this more than anything," I admitted. Anything that had been bothering me before was gone now. It felt as though a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Although it's nice to meet fresh faces, it's always such a relief to reunite with the old ones.

A/N: lol tanya's friends are literally based off of my friends, only we talk a lot more. but my best guy friend is twd af and pie af so..