Chapter 8
MASON
“Alright everyone, let’s get down to business.”
Fiona stalks around the office like she’s a predator hunting their prey. Her eyes are fierce and serious, and everyone stands completely still like they’re in the army, awaiting directions.
Mason gulps and plays with the strings of his hoodie as he watches Fiona walk around the room, eyeing everyone suspiciously.
“The Goldberg’s readership has been on a steady decline for the past three years. It means that whatever we’re writing about is clearly not riveting enough. So we need to change. I need ideas. And I need to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
Fiona whirls around and stares down someone a few people down from him.
She squints and focuses on one person. “Fields! What do you have for me?”
Mason cranes his neck to see a guy from his journalism class swallow hard.
“I—uh—I’m trying to—to do an article on the secret clubs at Montgomery…”
Fiona purses her lips and squints harder at him. Mason’s terrified that she might just fire him on the spot by the way she’s looking at him.
Fiona turns around to look at the whiteboard which has all the sections of the paper. “And tell me, Fields. Do you have any leads?”
“My name’s Alex…” the guy mumbles, likely expressing his displeasure in being called by his last name, Fields, just like Mason.
“What’s that?” Fiona asks, her tone seeping with displeasure.
Alex gulps. “Nothing. I—of course I have leads. I’ve already talked to a couple of people that are a part of one club.”
Fiona turns back to Alex and nods. “Good. Keep going. Should increase readership since freshmen love that kind of stuff.”
She pivots to face Mason.
“Fanning. What do you got?” Fiona asks, crossing her arms at him.
Mason freezes. He rubs the back of his neck. “I, uh—I didn’t know I was supposed to come up with something; I thought you would assign me what to do. Like reporting on the games…”
He winces as he realizes he just made a grave mistake. How was he supposed to know there was more to sports than just reporting on the games?
Fiona pinches the bridge of her nose and mumbles something under her breath.
Fiona opens her mouth, surely about to say something terrible, but Mason cuts her off as the worst idea in the world comes to him.
“I could do a player profile on Callum Brown?” he asks, his voice high-pitched and frantic.
He wants to immediately silence himself forever for offering such a vile option for an article.
He just offered to intentionally spend more time with Callum, and not only that, but to have a conversation with him, which will inevitably tie he and Callum together even more than they are already becoming like a sailor’s knot.
Fiona smiles and points at him. “Now that’s a great idea, Fanning. Thank you for coming up with something. Go with that.”
Mason smiles weakly at her and closes his eyes as he realizes he’s made a grave mistake.
It’s one thing to go to the games and report on them, and now he just offered himself up to kiss Callum’s ring.
He opens his eyes and looks to his right, seeing Alex raising an eyebrow at him.
Mason pretends to choke himself and Alex laughs silently, his cheeks flushing as he looks at Mason again.
Mason smiles back at him and thinks for a split second that Alex might be interested in him.
He tries to shelve the thought away. The more he becomes tied to The Goldberg, the worse things will get for him.
Is it good that he’s getting more involved? Yes.
Does he not want to spend any more time that he has to trying to keep his cover? Also, yes.
Does he also think that Alex is cute? Yes.
Fiona keeps going around the room, pointing and squinting at people.
It reminds him of one of his elementary school teachers who would call on people to reduce improper fractions at the drop of a hat.
Fiona rips into some girl for having an unoriginal idea and Mason thinks she might throw up into the garbage can next to her.
Fiona runs a tight ship, and even if Mason doesn’t appreciate her intensity, he has to commend her ability to keep things on track.
“Meeting adjourned,” Fiona eventually says and makes a beeline for the door with a folder in one hand and her coffee thermos in the other.
She needs her coffee privileges taken away from her.
Mason glances at Alex, who’s packing his bag next to him. “Has she always been like this?”
Alex smiles. “Yes. Don’t take it personally. At the end of the day, she’s just as insecure as all of us.”
Mason nods. It doesn’t really make him feel that much better, since he doesn’t feel insecure about his writing. He doesn’t care how good his writing is. He’s not trying to make it a career. But everyone else here likely is, and guilt pangs in his chest at how much he feels like a fraud.
“Your first semester?” Alex asks as he throws his backpack on.
Mason nods. “Yeah, you?”
Alex shakes his head. “I was in English Lit for my first year, then transferred to journalism this year after being on the paper. Fiona changed my mind on my writing. She helped me realize I was meant to report.”
Mason nods. He finds it hard to believe that Fiona can inspire anything other than fear.
Alex puts out his hand. “I’m Alex, or just ‘Fields’ if you’re like Fiona and don’t have the common decency to call people by their first name.”
Mason chuckles. “Mason, or ‘Fanning’ if you didn’t already know from my incompetence.”
Alex chuckles and shakes his head. “See you around, Mason.”
Mason smiles and watches Alex leave.
Knowing that other people are scared of Fiona makes the regret of him choosing to do a player profile on Callum sting a little less. At least he has someone on the paper in his corner, and he won’t have to live through it on his own.
He bids goodbye to his colleagues and leaves the office.
He breathes a long sigh out. Now he knows what he has to do, and unless he wants to face Fiona’s wrath, he’s going to have to go through with it.
Mason passes by a poster of the Hornets as he leaves the building, a pang of anxiety racing through his stomach as he looks at it and sees Callum in the middle in his maroon and gold football uniform, his helmet in one hand and a football in the other.
He’s pretty much Montgomery royalty, and now, Mason is going to crown him king with his player profile.
May as well make himself into Montgomery’s court jester.