Late Night Talking [h.s.]

three

Tonight - Phoenix, Ezra Koenig

"That's it from me for today. Thanks for listening to 97.5 Variety! I'm Charlie Sutton, and I'll see you tomorrow." I finished my shift with my usual closing message to the people of San Francisco, queued up the next song, and happily rose from the desk chair I had been sitting in for the past three hours.

I hosted from noon to 6pm today, much preferred over my recent lengthy night shift. Today had been good. Easy.

"See you later," I said to Alice, who was sitting at her usual spot at the soundboard.

I opened the door of the booth and turned the corner towards the exit, excited to be going home.

"Hi Charlotte."

Eric was standing in the hallway right by the exit. He was staring right at me.

My body immediately tensed up. I couldn't tell if the look on his face was of disapproval or just the usual, stoic Eric face. I smiled, pretending not to be scared that my antics on Valentine's Day were now known. The use of my full name was almost unheard of though, confirming my fears of being in trouble.

"Hey Eric. How are you?" I asked, trying to be friendly and unaware of the anxiety bubbling in my stomach.

"Fine." He nodded, trying to seem as professional as possible. "I wanted to talk to you about your shift on Valentine's Day."

Fuck.

"Listen Eric, I-"

"No, let me go first." He sighed.

Was I about to get fired? This cannot be happening. How many radio stations in San Francisco are there? And how many are actually hiring? I can't afford to lose my job. My apartment is way too expensive to be paid by solely unemployment checks.

My mind was moving at the speed of light, and he hadn't even said anything yet.

"You did a great job, from what I heard. I listened on the way home and I really liked what I was hearing." His mouth transformed from its usual line to a slight smile. "Alice spoke highly of you too. I wanted to offer you the option to switch back and forth between the afternoon and night shifts. It wouldn't always be 9-4. It could be shorter, if that's better for you. Cary has been asking me to see if I could find someone to trade back and forth with him for a while, and you seem to fit the bill. You're young, enthusiastic, and you do an outstanding job hosting on you own. There would be a slight salary increase as well, seeing as though the night shift is not as desirable."

Eric stopped talking and evaluated the expression of pure shock that I was absolutely positive was on my face.

"If you don't want to, that's okay. I'll talk to Mike and see if he's interested, but I thought I'd offer it to you first." He continued watching me. "So, what do you think?"

"Wow," Was all I said at first. I had to take a moment to process all the information I was just given. Eric thinks I'm outstanding? This doesn't make sense.

"Thank you for thinking of me Eric, I'm really surprised." I finally spoke again. "Yes, I'd love to do it!"

"Great," He smiled wide. "Was there something you wanted to say before?"

"Oh no, not anymore." I chuckled. "See you tomorrow!"

I walked out to the parking lot.

Once I was in my car, I screamed.

"Holy fuck!"

I took a deep breath and calmed myself down before driving back to my apartment.

No, the night shift wasn't ideal, but I got a pay increase. I'd also be hosting on my own more often, meaning that I'd have more creative control over playlists.