The Next Edition

Katherine

WOAH! SHE'S BACK!

I read some of Jonna's oneshots today, and got a bunch of inspiration to post. So have some TNE, and the introduction of Katherine... 

"Are you not coming, or what are you saying?!" Katherine shouted, hoping she sounded demanding enough for her friend to give an actual answer. The last two times he'd just told her he didn't know.

Katherine and Darcy were stood in the kitchen of the small apartment they shared with their third friend, Bill. The former two were waiting in the kitchen, and had been doing that for fifteen minutes.

"Bill!" Darcy shouted.

"I've already said I don't know!" came a voice from one of the small bedrooms.

"Make up your mind then!" Katherine got enough. She marched over to the room, and swung the door open. Bill was sitting on his bed, still in his pajamas and with his laptop sturdily placed on his legs.

"Will you please just get dressed and come along?" Katherine pleaded.

"I don't know if I'm coming," Bill answered, without taking his eyes off the screen. "I want to, but I still gotta work on this article."

"One more minute, then I'm deciding," Katherine informed him, turning around and closing the door in what she hoped looked like a determined fashion.

She walked the short distance to the kitchen and placed herself by the apartment door.

"Can't we just leave without him? He's obviously not gonna come anyway," Darcy said, sounding uncharacteristically impatient.

Katherine glanced back at Bill's bedroom door. It did feel a bit like Bill was only saying that he didn't know to seem friendly.

"Alright, let's go," she said, trying to mask the lingering hesitation.

"Bill!" Darcy shouted. "We're leaving!"

"Okay, cool, have fun!"

Katherine scoffed. "That was half-hearted."

With that sentence, she led herself and Darcy out of the apartment, and locked the door behind her. The two of them weren't going anywhere in particular. They were just heading out on a short morning walk. This was a thing they did every day, as it really helped wake them up. Usually all three of them went together, but then there were days when someone bailed. Days like today. Katherine did understand why Bill couldn't come along. He was writing quite an important article. But so was she. Although where she stood in her career, every article was an important step on the ladder. As if he had read her mind, Darcy asked:

"So how's your article going?"

"It's... moving forward," Katherine answered. If she was completely honest, she didn't think it was going that well. "It's fine, but nothing that's gonna get me the next big story before Eric."

"Is that so?"

"Definitely. They already favor him over me, so of course they gave him the story of the governor's trip to California, and sent me to review this evening's performance at the Larkin Theater."

"Sounds rough," Darcy said sympathetically, while pushing open the door to the apartment building.

Katherine took a deep breath of the outside air. It wasn't enough to be called fresh, but at least it was something else than the stuffy air in the apartment. The two friends hooked their arms together and started walking down the street.

"Vaudeville's fun though, isn't it?" Darcy said.

"It is," Katherine admitted. "The problem is, it doesn't get me anywhere. They've purposefully put me in a place where I can't reach the next level. Especially not compared to their beloved Eric Brewer."