Page 8 of The Thorne at My Side
And, I remember falling hard for Channing. And getting caught up in how cute Amanda Bynes looks as Sebastian and then how hot she looks as Viola at the fair. Truly a masterpiece of early 2000s pop culture. I hate to love all the moments that Duke should figure it out but doesn't.
Watch it, you'll love it.
???
My alarm sounds at 5:15. Waking up early was a habit I nurtured during law school. So many of my friends would stay up late trying to study and I had a few late nights but learned that if I went to bed by 11:00 I could be up by 6:00 to get a jump on the day. When I graduated I kept adding to my morning routine and had to add another 10 minutes when the SMS phone arrived.
Speaking of…I roll over and poke the sleep out of the corners of my eyes with one hand while the other hand pulls out the little phone. I press the power button and wait.
Ping.
DCFox:She’s The Man huh? I think it is brave of you to admit that your favorite movie is about a girl who dresses up to pretend to be a boy and falls for her roommate. But then again, my favorite movie is Angels In The Outfield and we probably don’t need to psychoanalyze me for that.
I was surprised to get your note tonight, I always pictured you writing to me with morning hair and hot coffee. For the record I’m writing mine before bed. I was up working later than I wanted to because there’s a lot going on with my job at the moment. I know we can’t share details but I’m excited for what is in the works, and where it’ll lead me.
???
A few hours later I am smiling as I carry my Sunrise Bakery breakfast with me to the senator's office. Sam has been eerily quiet so far this morning. Usually I’ll have heard from her at least twice by now. She’s my morning news source. When I first started this role I would wake upand read every headline myself and that would determine the tasks for the day. Now Sam takes the first pass and flags things for me before I go in and read everything myself when I get to the office.
My smile disappears as I walk into the conference room and see Sam’s expression.
“Who died?” I ask assuming we’ll be rescheduling our week around some senator’s memorial.
“Our jobs.” Sam says stoically.
“What are you talking about?” I ask with a laugh as I sit down next to her at the table.
“She doesn’t know?” Jorge asks as he comes in with a tray of muffins and fruit and sets it on the table.
“Know what? Seriously, what has gotten into you two?”
With the drama of a made-for-tv movie both Sam and Jorge slowly turn their attention to me.
“Maggie,” Sam starts.
“Stay seated while we tell you this,” Jorge cautions.
“There’s been some news.”
“If this is all some prank to tell me that we’re like seventy points ahead in the polls I’m going to kick both of you in the shins.” I say as I rip a piece of my croissant off and pop it in my mouth.
They both pause and then flash eyes at each other.
“I’m not gonna tell her,” Jorge insists but he makes no move to leave the room.
“Ugh, fine,” Sam pouts, turns back to me, “I’m just going to say it. Quickly. Rip the bandage off.” She inhales and exhales. “Go time.”
“Sam?”
“Okay, Thorne Media Corp announced a new AI Media app that will create custom news content for its users.” She rushesthrough the sentence then gasps for breath.
“What?” I ask, blinking hard and squeezing my hands into fists. It is nearly impossible to stay on top of the 24 hour news cycle as it is. Then add in social media and it becomes exactly impossible. How am I supposed to do my job effectively if a robot is writing news too?
“TMC, is set to release, “AIM” their calling it, but it’s an app that will deliver custom news stories to consumers all day long.” Sam repeats slowly.
“That’s,” I stutter, “that’s,” I throw my hands up in the air, one still clutching my now decimated croissant.
“It’s something, alright.” Sam mutters.
