Two Worlds

CHAPTER 3

Alsephina

It's been two days since I started my job, but it feels like a lot more than that. People here were very welcoming and I found a safe place with Jenna. As I come out of the lift still thinking about my life here, I notice that there is a lot of bustling today in the office and not the usual calmness. Everybody is running from one office to another, some with documents, some with photographs, articles and even their laptops. I go to my desk and drop my purse and all other belongings and head towards my Department Head's office to see that the door is ajar and he is talking to the cameraman who is also new here. I knock on the door, which seems to catch their attention and both of them look towards me.

My Department Head, Killian, who has been nothing but welcoming towards me says, "Good, you are here, I was about to call you."

"I just popped in, what's with the ruckus outside?" Entering the office, I look at Killian, he is tall and on the lean side with brown eyes and sharp jawline. He doesn't even look forty if you don't notice his salt and pepper hair.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, there is going to be a press conference in a couple of days about a new movie which has been in buzz for quite some time, well not the movie but the male lead. I want you and Mike here to cover that." Gesturing towards the new cameraman, he explains everything to me.

"Okay, I'm on it." Turning towards Mike, I extend my hand towards him, " Hi, I'm Alsephina, looking forward to working with you." Mike returns my handshake, "Hi, Same here, Alsephina." He is also pretty young, in his early twenties with a soft and kind face, black hair and an average build.

"Great, now that the introductions are over, Alsephina, I want you to do all the research necessary before the conference, search about the movie, find as much as critical information as you can, especially on the male lead, dig into his life. Here, this is the information you will need to start your search. Prepare a series of solid questions. That will be all. Please get to work." Killian rounds the desk after handing me the paper and both Mike and I leave his office.

"So I will see you in a couple of days, and we both will go together to the press conference, Is that alright?" Mike asks while noting this in his planner.

"Of course, so how do you like it here?" I ask while we walk in the direction of our desk.

"It's really good. Not as hectic as I thought it would be, but great all the same. Is it okay if I come up with information on this movie and we'll discuss it when we go there in a couple of days?"

"Definitely okay, see you then." I say to him while going to my desk to do my research. I read the paper that Killian gave me. The name of the movie is "My Fault", which is adapted from a novel. The name of the female lead is ,"Natalie Walsh". I type all of this in my notepad.

Just as I was about to read the male lead's name, Jenna halts in front of my desk catching her breath.

"Woah, easy... Girl did you run a marathon or something, What's the hurry about?" I ask her while handing her a glass of water.

"Is it true?" she asks as soon as I finish my question.

"Umm... I would answer you if you tell me what you are talking about?" smiling I pick up my paper again.

"That you are the reporter that is going to the press conference of Gabriel Garcia?", she squeals through the whole sentence.

I try to hold in my laughter, but it comes spluttering out.

"You... You l-look like a little girl who just got her favourite candy floss." I say between catching my own breath.

"What do you mean? Don't you know that Gabriel is one of the top popular celebrities in the world, he's just twenty-four, this being his second film, but he is way more popular than other celebrities who have been in this industry for over a decade. His looks are to die for. Don't tell me you didn't know about him Alsephina?" she completes her monologue  in one breath while typing something furiously on her phone.

"I would have known all this in a moment when I was researching, but thanks, you saved me the hassle." giving her a sly smile, I type everything Jenna told me in my notepad.

"You mean you didn't know him before I told you all this?" she asks me with an incredulous expression.

"No, I didn't." I deadpan.

"You have got to be kidding me. Where have you been living all this time. Your home is not under a rock,  right? I would not like my stay there if I ever came to visit you.", she sticks her tongue out and we both laugh. But her statement makes me reminisce about a couple of years ago and my laughter dies instantly.

Jenna looks at me, and the expression on my face must have made her alarmed, "Shit, did I say something wrong? I'm so sorry, Ana!!" she speaks frantically.

"No, no... It's fine. Wait, did you just call me Ana?", my eyebrows shoot up. I have been  trying to make her call me Ana, since we have become good friends but she insisted on taking time because she never had a real friend.

She smiles sheepishly, " It's okay if I call you Ana, right?"

"Are you kidding me? I've been insisting on you calling me Ana since the first day. So a guy, that you have a major crush on can make you say my nickname, but I can't?" quirking my left eyebrow, I try to make my best offended look, but fail, at which we both start laughing.

"Okay, okay but you have to call me Jen in return." she tries to say with a stern face.

"Alright, you got it, Jen. And while I did cover a few famous celebrities in Canada, they were famous locally, only in the country, so my search didn't extend beyond that and I didn't really search for anyone outside my job." I explain to her.

"Now get back to your research,  I have taken much of your time with my fangirling." with that she takes off and I give her a two finger salute.

I turn my head again towards my laptop and type the movie title. I pick out the important articles from the web and copy them in my notepad, so that I can take notes manually from them at home. I do the same with the female lead. Taking as many impressionable articles as possible, regarding the movie and a bit from her personal life. By the time I am finished, it's already time for lunch. I grab my purse, shut down my laptop and go to the cafeteria on the ground floor to have lunch with Jenna. We both meet for lunch at the table by the window, which has become our usual. We both sit down in our seats to eat.

"How much have you done so far?" asks Jenna between bites.

"It's not good to speak while eating, Jen." I say in a stern but mocking tone.

"Hey... Don't mock me. Tell me how much have you done?" she says.

"Okay so I'm done with the information about the movie and the female lead so far. Now I have to dig into the male lead, the director and the author." I sip my coffee after explaining to her.

"Ooh, trust me when you look at the male lead, you will definitely want to dig into him." she says with a wistful expression.

I get shocked, swatting her arm playfully, I say "Jenna!!! How can you say that? Eww.... Thank god I finished my lunch, you would've ruined my appetite."

She finishes her burger and holds her hands in surrender, "Okay, okay I'll not say that again. Maybe."

We both laugh in unison and head towards the lift for work. Reaching my desk, I power on my laptop again and search for the director, Jacob Mills, pick out important articles and copy them on my notepad. Then do the same with the author, Reese Carter.
By the time I am finished with them, I see that it's already time to clock out. Packing everything in my purse and taking my laptop, I leave my office.

Wrapping my coat around my body, I decide to walk to my apartment as it is only four blocks away and in a safe neighbourhood, I think about what Jenna told me about Gabriel Garcia and decide to research on him when I reach my apartment.