Setting: School Newspaper Meeting
Ren hunched over the newsroom desk, red pen in hand, carefully circling a comma splice that someone really should have caught. The smell of printer ink mixed with the low hum of old computers as she flipped to the next draft, muttering to herself:
“It’s its, not it’s. How hard is that?”
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, brow furrowed. The clock on the wall mocked her with every second that ticked by — the next edition was due by Friday, and her staff still treated deadlines like polite suggestions.
“Okay, team!” she called, voice edged but hopeful. “We’re on schedule if everyone — Louis, what are you doing here?”
Louis, leaning on the doorframe, grin already half‑formed, clearly had ideas. Bad ones.
“Ren, hear me out,” he started.
“No,” she shot back automatically, spinning in her chair to face him. “Whatever it is, no. Especially if it involves glitter, food dye, or ferrets.”
He smirked. “You didn’t even let me finish.”
“Because I have to finish,” Ren snapped, holding up the draft she’d been editing. “Unlike some people, this actually has to go to print. On time.”
When he kept pushing, she slammed the red pen on the desk, stood, and let the frustration show:
“Louis, for once in your life, can you not turn my day into a disaster?”
Without waiting for his reply, she grabbed the proof pages, stormed out of the office toward the advisor’s room — polished shoes clicking sharply against the linoleum floor.