London Leaks

In a room full of students, a pretty brunette sighed in relief when her English Professor dismissed the class. The day was a tiring one, but that was expected when someone had tossed and turned the night before. With only three hours of sleep, the brown haired girl had one goal in mind, and that was to be in her bed.

A step away from passing the door frame, her name was called from behind. Annabel made sure not to slump her shoulders in defeat, but couldn’t resist the roll of her eyes before she turned around in response to her Professor. She hoped that she wouldn’t hear news about the paper she handed in the day before; she wasn’t in the mood for anything bad. But what she saw in Professor Thompson’s hand was something that did not belong to her; it was a colorful booklet that instantly caught her tired eyes. What was it?

After a few words were exchanged from herself and her Professor, Anna was finally able to leave. Although this time her hand was occupied with a colorful gossip magazine.

When Friday morning came around, Annabel was sitting beside the white telephone, looking over the magazine her Professor had given her with a blank look upon her face. It was a job advertisement that Professor Thompson recommended for her to check out. Although the advertisement was something that Anna was looking for, she couldn’t stop the distaste she gained from staring at it.

This was something that she never wanted to do. What she wanted was to be working in a bakery. Heck, she wanted one of her own! But no, being a Pastry Chef wasn't an ideal career, it was sure to come to an end a few years of being successful due to competition and blah, blah, blah. She didn't care; she would take those risks any day.

Anna glared down at the booklet in her hands and with a growl she threw it across the coffee table. Screw the responsibility-filled adult life, Anna cursed leaning back against the recliner, folding her arms in the process. A few minutes passed and all Anna could hear was the ticking of the clock. She was convinced that the clock was mocking her. She wanted to take it down the wall to pull an Amanda Bynes and throw it out the window; instead she took a deep breath to calm herself.

She glanced out the window, and back at the clock. She nodded, yup, she definitely had time ‘til her afternoon class started, maybe she could try making that new cupcake rec—

Annabel Marie Mason, a voice that sounded suspiciously like her mother’s scolded. Instantly a wave of despair flew through Anna, causing tears to build in her light eyes. She squeezed them shut; right… she shouldn’t think about such non-sense.

She had to admit it though; the magazine did give her an opportunity she knew she couldn't pass up. They were looking for the ‘most ambitious’ of people, and even though this was not what Anna wanted, she would give London Leaks everything she had. She has a future she needed to start on. Anna gave a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her hair, all she had to do was pick up the phone, and dial. With a slight shake of her head, she moved to the edge of the seat and picked up the phone.

A few rings in and she convinced herself to hang up, but then a feminine voice greeted her ears. Here goes… She opened her mouth, and froze. An extra push and Anna finally blew out a breath. “Hi, good morning, um, I was jus- I- sorry.” Anna cursed herself silently; she cleared her throat to start again. “I was calling about the London Leaks ad on page 4, and it says to speak with a- Tanner, or Franc- Yes. Thank you.”



Despite the fact that her weekend was busy with editing and printing out pages for her interview, which was in a building located fifteen minutes away, homework assignments, and a dentist appointment, Anna found that she couldn’t sleep the night before the big day. And so she spent the night tossing and turning ‘til 3AM, which was when she finally decided to get out of bed to make apple turnovers for the morning.

Anna cursed all that is life, and wondered why she decided to make those delicious turnovers at three in the morning? She groaned as the most hated contraption continued to beep annoyingly; she couldn’t be assed to turn the alarm off though, knowing that it’ll stop and be replaced by the morning news.

Swearing under her breath Anna moved out from under her bed covers. She considered herself lucky of the fact that she didn’t have Monday classes, but damn it, now that was taken from her. She continued to grumble to herself as she got to her feet to find an appropriate outfit. Anna tried to convince herself that this is what she wants to do in life, but really… all she wanted to do was stay in her cozy flat and bake pastries all day.

After her shower Anna stood in her room with just a towel covering her, she took in the view of her unmade bed and her choice of clothes that lay on top. She huffed, and moved forward taking a seat on her bed before she reached into her bed side table to grab the photograph underneath a pad of paper.

Silently she stared down at the photograph that now lay in her hands. She licked her lips, forcing the oncoming tears back. “Well… I’m close to getting what you two wanted. With this job I’ll be getting what I need to start off my real career goal,” Annabel spat at the photo that she held in her hands, she paused before letting out a breath. “I’m sure you have an idea at how angry I am at you both. But of course, despite all of that, I miss you.”

Her mobile beeped, reminding her that time was limited, “Wish me luck on my first day.”

Anna moved with a smooth pace as she made herself presentable for the day. She called for a taxi cab while walking around filling her tote bag with what she thought she might need. Relieved for a mini break to calm her nerves, Anna took a seat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, an apple turnover, and her daily planner. Anna was not the type to stay organized by a book, but she figured that she'd give it a try for the new semester and so far it was working.

As she chewed on the turnover, Annabel started a to-do list. Work was first of course, and she needed to pick up a few things from the shop. She sighed; she really didn’t want to spend more money on cab fare. A bus ride would be cheaper for sure, but would take a lot longer, either way she still needed to stop for groceries.

Her phone's ringer went off, she jumped off her chair and greeted the caller, letting the driver know that she’ll be right out. Anna hated to rush, but here she was, running around. She Ziploced her turnover, found a cap for her coffee, and slipped on her signature blue coat. It was these moments that she wished she had a car, she grumbled as she grabbed her bag, locking the door behind her.

Anna was almost positive that she got dropped off at the wrong building when she arrived minutes later, simply because the main floor was quiet. But that thought flew out the door when she saw London Leaks on the front of the main desk. She was glad that she wasn't the only one, besides the receptionist, on that floor. A thin girl around her age, Anna guessed, was speaking to the worker.

Anna tried to stay a few feet back and not eavesdrop but couldn’t help but move forward when Tanner, from the phone call and interview’s, name was mentioned. She and the other girl were then given two clip passes, and got instructed with the whereabouts of the others.

So far, everything wasn’t insane, all seemed calm. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.



“Since you’re all sitting here, I’m sure you know how this type of business works. What we’re looking for is what you all seem to have: ambition, we can’t emphasize that enough. That is the main quality we are after. Especially for this type of job, but I would personally like to think of it as a ‘mission.’ Only because that is what this is.” Tanner paused to stare at four of the girls, including Annabel.

“As I’m sure you all know, London Leaks is not doing too good, and the boss wants to get this magazine back up to the top 10. And to do that, we need to be the first to find out anything worth printing. And that is anything from novels to movies to celebrity news, anything that readers feed on.”

And that’s how Annabel found herself sitting at a white table in a conference room, wondering once again in the past 10 minutes, why she was here, while her friend was at the flat. Who was probably eating the apple turnovers she had left for her, this was something that Lydia, her best friend slash flatmate, was passionate about, not her. Gossip didn’t interest Anna much, even though she was up to date with things, with the help from all of the magazines on their coffee table, and the daily TV recordings of Entertainment Tonight UK.

Just then the telephone that sat at the end of the table rang; Tanner’s assistant Francine huffed impatiently, and went to pick it up. Turns out that Tanner and Francine were related, the latter being the youngest of the two. A few minutes later, Francine took her spot beside Tanner and whispered something to him. A knock then came from the closed door and a girl, who looked around the same age as the girls, stepped in with a folder in her hands. Despite her lack of interest for the job, Anna’s curiosity peaked at this.

“It seems that three others we interviewed and called had dropped this opportunity, and with such short notice we don’t have anyone we could get in on this. So-“

Ignoring how Tanner gestured for the dark haired girl to stay behind, Anna gave a slight raise of her hand that drew attention to her. Lydia was saying that she wouldn’t mind doing something else… Anna gave a smile when Tanner nodded towards her.

“I would like to recommend someone, if that's OK?”