Things Have Changed

I sat impatiently in the foyer, nervously tapping my feet to the beat of the newest Pussy Cat Dolls song which that was coming through the radio.

It reminded me of the day I got the job here; I was shaking nervously and unable to sit still. I was sitting among some of the best senior journalists in the country, all dressed in pinstriped suits and hard faces.
I sat there wide eyed in a pale blue summer dress which was dotted with sun flowers. Still, I got the job, out of everyone in their overly professional suits, I'm the one who got the job.

I was different back then, even though it was only eleven months ago. I was happy, I didn’t feel all the pressure I felt now.

“Liz, Mark’s waiting for you” Julie the receptionist told me, breaking me from my thoughts.

Mark didn’t tell me what my job was over the phone; he wanted to tell me in person, in the office. That meant that it was A. Really Horrible or B. Really Amazing. Although I was hoping that it would be the latter I knew that I was probably going to be stuck in a crappy motel room reporting on the influence of the lesser socio economic area’s hardships and the influences in which these hardships have shaped so many rock icons today. Or something boring likes that.

Mark gave me a curt smile as I entered the office taking a seat in front of his desk.
He folded his hands and leaned over the desk “Liz, it’s been quite an interesting week huh?”

I nodded.

“How have you been coping?”

I shrugged “Good I guess” can you just hurry up and get to the fucking point.

“Well here, we scored one of the most envious stories of the year.”

I raised my eyebrows, why was he telling me this?

“Panic at the Disco, are having one of our journalists go on tour with them.”

Oh no, oh shit, oh, fuck

“Liz,” he started again “I think we can all come out and say that you’re Panic! Article was pretty shit. Here’s your chance, you do this good and you’ve got your job back.”

“I-I-I ca...”

I had no idea what to say. My immediate decision was to say no. One whole month with Brendon would end with one of us throwing ourselves off the bus. But then there was my job, what I had been working toward all my life, which I had completely ruined last week, and now I had a chance to save it.

“Mark, I-I can’t.”

“Please Liz, we need this, sales have been down the past ”

“Give it to someone else”

“Yeah” Mark rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair “I would’ve done that... but they wanted you.”

“What?”

“They requested you.”

“You can’t be serious” I sighed. Yeah, Ryan’s going down.

“They’re coming in two weeks.”

“Mark, I don’t think I can.” I said quietly.

“Liz, come on, you have to.”

I shook my head, completely blown away by the situation. I closed my eyes, here was my chance, to make things right, with my job and with Brendon.

I looked up “Fine but only if Lilly comes.”

Yeah, I was going to use this situation to my full advantage.

Mark checked his computer for Lilly’s jobs over that month “Sorry Liz, she’s got The Kings Of Leon, The Kooks, The Arctic Monkeys and The Scorpions.”

I smirked, my smug confidence returning. I stood up “Well sorry Mark, I guess you’ve just lost the most envious music story of the year.”

“Liz come on, they said they’d go to Kerang.”

“Only if Lilly comes” I said defiantly.

Mark sighed “Fine, I’ll give her a call and you two will be on your way.

I grinned “Perfect.”

Mark bought out a contract regarding the job “There’s only one condition.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“You can’t sleep with any of the band members, crew or Lilly.” He broke out into a smile.

“Gee Mark, you’ve made this pretty hard for me, are you aware of how sexy Lilly is?” I joked.

“They sell chastity belts just down the road” he laughed “And Liz” he smiled as I got up to
leave “Welcome back.”