The Devil of Hawkins || Stranger Things

Chapter 11: Chances

With a deep, bracing breath Nancy walked through the familiar doors of the Hawkins Post. Chuck Bailey had been appointed as the new Chief Editor by default after most of the staff was flayed the year prior. For Nancy, this meant a relatively new start. Unfortunately, all of the reporters remained men, with only a few women as secretaries and editors. She knew that Chuck Bailey was going to be a hard hurdle, but she looked at him as a challenge to conquer in her pursuit.

"Welcome back, Ms. Wheeler," the front secretary said sweetly as Nancy walked in.

Nancy gave a friendly nod. "Thanks," she put on a forced smile, "glad to be back."

"There she is!" a familiar grating voice rang out.

Nancy's smile dropped. She took a deep breath to calm her annoyance and brace herself for the incoming misogyny. She forced another smile and spun to greet her new boss. "Yep, here I am."

"Look at you, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." He had the classic sleazy businessman look: a dark blue suit, short unstyled dark brown hair, and a wide punchable face.

"Hi, Chuck." She did her best to hide her malice.

"Let me show you to your desk."

"My desk?" she asked, trying not to sound too surprised.

"Of course," he cooed, "you aren't an intern this time, so obviously you get your own desk."

Nancy was torn between having some hope for change and wondering what they had up their sleeve. She followed him to a small desk in the corner. It looked harmless enough, and even had a small plaque with her name on it. What is happening? "Thank you," she said tentatively. She set her purse on top of the desk.

"Got a story lined up for you already."

"Oh," she quizzically looked at the file on the desk, "okay."

"Take a look at it when you get a chance." He smirked at her and walked away.

Well, that didn't go too bad. She told herself as she sat down at the desk. She pushed her purse aside and opened the folder. After one look inside, she closed it with an annoyed sigh. It was a crude drawing of a dead rat. "Real mature guys," she said as snickers echoed through the office. While composing herself, she picked up the folder and walked into Chuck's office. She slammed the file down on his desk.

"Whoa there, Nelly," Chuck said playfully, stopping his water bottle from tipping over.

"I know you guys think I'm some kind of joke," Nancy said sternly.

Chuck snorted.

Nancy grit her teeth and continued, "and you know what, I'm okay with that. I've accepted it. But I won't accept being treated like trash. I am here to do a job, a job you hired me to do. I don't expect you to give me the big stories, or even the promising ones. I don't care if you give me the dead-end leads, or the stories that no one wants, but I'm not here to waste my time being mocked again. I'm not your secretary or delivery girl. I am a reporter and I damn well better be treated like one."

Chuck smirked at her. "Very impressive, Ms. Wheeler." He sat upright in his chair and opened a drawer. "Fine," he said plainly as he removed a thick folder from the drawer and dropped it heavily on his desk in front of her. "Here is every lead we have decided wasn't worth our time." He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Have fun."

Nancy took a deep breath and nodded as she picked up the heavy folder and walked back to her desk. She sat down, her heart racing from the encounter. She nodded supportively to herself before opening the thick file.