Once Upon a Time in Storybrooke - OUAT DR

Chapter 5 - A Mine Collapse

Monday morning I headed downstairs to the paper to inquire after a job. Thankfully the doors were unlocked and I went inside, speaking with a woman up front about the open position they had. She informed me they did have an inventory control specialist position open.

The job description sounded easy enough – they were going from paper to digital and needed help uploading the archived newspaper articles to the system that allowed someone else to upload them online. I also had the opportunity to go around town and search for stories they could use in the paper, as well as filling the newspaper dispensers on Main Street. The paper was partially funded by the city, and this particular position was considered a city position, so I would be on salary and have full benefits.

I accepted – obviously – and was hired on the spot. The woman told me to come back that afternoon to fill out the paperwork and get a key to the office. Later that afternoon she showed me around the small office, how to use the copier, and where to find the boxes of archived newspaper articles and told me I could start scanning them in until I felt like leaving for the day. I had a key to the office and was on salary, so as long as I met the weekly quota it didn't matter when I uploaded them. 

As for the newspaper drop-offs, they would leave the newspapers outside the office doors every morning by 7 a.m. with a label on which stack went to which dispenser. I would be in charge of all the newspaper dispensers on Main Street, and needed to have them stocked by no later than 9 a.m. Monday-Friday unless there was a breaking news story. If there was an unplanned weekend breaking news story that needed to be distributed, I would have to do this, but would get what they call a "Weekend Bonus" - a cash bonus as well as reimbursement for my gas & mileage on top of the extra bonus on my next check. The only downside to my position, according to the office manager who was showing me the ropes, but it didn't sound like a downside to me. 

I began scanning articles, deciding to go through the past week before calling it quits for the day. I would have plenty of time to read the articles as I waited for the machine to copy the pages front and back, I quickly realized. 

Before I left for the day the woman who hired me, the office manager, had given me a notepad and a Daily Mirror pen and encouraged me to keep them on me – you never know what you might come across in this little town that's newsworthy.

I had barely made it up three stairs toward my apartment when what felt like an earthquake struck. I walked back down the stairs, noticing Henry running down the hall followed by a man with red hair and glasses, carrying an umbrella. I followed after Henry and asked what he was doing here as we followed the sounds of people not too far off towards the woods. He explained that he had been in therapy with Dr. Hopper, gesturing to the man following us. Dr. Hopper asked who I was and he introduced us as we walked, explaining who I was and that I was part of Operation Cobra.

Dr. Hopper looked at me quizzically but we came across a crowd of people standing around what looked like a crater and he didn't get a chance to ask whatever question had been buzzing in his head as he looked at me.

I looked around and didn't see any of my colleagues from the Daily Mirror standing around, so decided to start writing in the notepad the office manager had given me. Henry spoke up about Regina wanting to bulldoze, collapse, and pave the old mining tunnels for city use and everyone's safety and protection. I noticed Emma standing in the crowd with her red leather jacket holding caution tape and asked what brought her out here when she informed me that she decided to take Graham up on his offer to become deputy and plant some roots in town. I smiled and told her I was glad to hear it, and that I myself had gotten a job at the local paper today myself, hoping to make it a more reputable news source, pointing to my pen and paper. Regina came over then and sent Henry to the car to wait for her and gave Emma directions on what to do to control the crowd.