7th Floor West | JF

Chapter 25

I had bought a condo next to Seth and Alexi, and I was only 5 minutes away from Jimmy's house. I knew that he wasn't exactly a fan of my idea, but he let me. The condo tower that I had bought my condo in was one of the more prestigious ones in the city- people like Seth Meyers, Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Higgins stayed here- so it was extremely safe. My condo was on the 9th floor, which meant that it was high enough that I could overlook the city. I was excited for this.

Jimmy helped me bring all of my belongings into my condo, and he helped me set everything up. "If you need me, just text me, okay? You have Seth next door if you need him, too." Jimmy hugged me and said, "As much as I hate to see you go, I'm proud of you." I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Jimmy... I'm gonna see you every day at work. Don't get all sappy on me." He smiled and laughed. He left, and I was alone in my condo. I still had to unpack some things, but it was just stuff like clothes and everything. My condo was a pretty decent size- it had a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, a master bedroom, and a guest bedroom. I began unpacking my clothes and putting them away, and I smiled.

I was finally on my own.

I paused and took in the feeling. It felt... off. It didn't feel right to be all alone. I was so used to having Jimmy with me a lot of the time, and in college I had a roommate. Now I was completely alone. I had to pay for everything and keep my condo clean... This should be fun.

•

"Megan, can you come here?" Miles asked me as I sat in the writers' room. "Sure thing, Miles." I replied, and I followed him to his office. "I need help with this sketch." He said, and he pulled the sketch notes up on his smartboard.

I began to read the sketch, and as soon as I saw the theme, I frowned.

Depression.

There were some jokes that were offensive in the sketch, which I didn't appreciate. I got about halfway through the sketch, and one of the so-called 'jokes' finally caused me to snap.

People who self harm shouldn't beat themselves up about it.

I sharply inhaled a breath, and my voice strained as I said to Miles, "I need to go use the restroom, I'll be right back." He nodded, and I hurried out of the room. The tears surfaced at my eyelids, and I just barely made it into the bathroom so that I could let go.

I had cried for about 10 minutes solid, and I wet my face to try and make it look more natural. I took a deep breath and left the bathroom, and as I almost made it to the writers' room, I heard a voice say, "There you are, Meg! Miles is looking for you!"

I turned around to see Jimmy, and when our eyes met, his expression immediately grew from happy to concerned. The tears resurfaced, and Jimmy quickly ran over to me and held me to his side as he escorted me to his office. He shut the door behind me as I sat down on the couch, and I just let all of my tears go. As I recollected myself, Jimmy asked me, "What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath and replied, "Miles' sketch that he showed me..." I couldn't bare to continue. I stuttered emotionally as I said, "It shouldn't have gotten to me as much as it did... I just let it get to me..." Jimmy put his arm around me and asked sincerely, "What was the theme of the sketch?" I looked down and the floor and took a few deep breaths.

"Depression."

I hated that word. I hated everything about that word.

Jimmy gently put his hand under my chin and lifted my head up so that my eyes met his. "Listen Meg." He said, and I looked into his eyes deeply.

"If it makes you uncomfortable and you think it's offensive, we won't air that sketch. I don't want you to get triggered, especially here at work. I know you love this job and this atmosphere, and I don't want that to change."

I looked into Jimmy's eyes again, and all I could see was care and love. He wasn't angry at Miles- neither was I. It wasn't his fault at all, because he had no clue that I was dealing with depression and anxiety. I felt Jimmy squeeze my shoulder and rub my arm, and I smiled. He always knew how to comfort me and make me feel better.

•

I sat in the creative meeting with the producers and writers, and Jimmy stood at the head of the table. "So, what do we have?" I knew that Miles' sketch would come up in the meeting. Soon enough, he raised his hand, and Jimmy shot me a sympathetic look as he let Miles speak. Miles read off some of the jokes, and a few people stifled some laughs. As Miles finished his presentation, Jimmy looked down and took a deep breath.

"I think that some of those jokes might offend some viewers. I know we're edgy, but this crosses the line. I don't think that mental health is something to joke about."

Miles respectfully replied and said, "I didn't think about it that way, Jimmy. I'm sorry..." He paused and looked around the table. "I'm sorry if this offended anyone. That's not what I intended."

Higgins chimed in and said, "We know that you wouldn't intentionally try and offend anyone, Miles. It's fine. We need feedback like this, and that's why we have creative meetings like this. Nobody's angry at you." We all agreed with Higgins' statement, and Jimmy smiled.

"Gosh, I love our staff. We're all a big family."

•

I sat in Jimmy's office, waiting for him to come back after his meeting with Lorne. It was around 10pm, and I was pretty exhausted. Jimmy had told me that he wanted me to stay, so I did. I had no clue why, because I could walk across the street to my condo building.

My train of thought was interrupted by the door opening, and Jimmy walked in. He closed the door, and he looked directly at me.

"Something has been off about you, Megan."