The Encounter Part 3
The Encounter Part 3
It was a normal day. I was called in for my weekly meeting with the newspaper I wrote for. These meetings involved all kinds of interesting news and facts that I had never even thought of. Most of the time, I just sat and doodled on a sheet of paper that I was supposed to take notes on. I turned in my story, and ate the muffin that the office staff had provided. For a no name writer, I had it pretty good; a steady job, decent pay for the work, and free breakfast once a week. After several hours of meaningless (to me anyway) chatting and information flying faster than any dragon, the meeting finally ended. I just sat in my seat until the crowd of people had thinned out enough for me to walk out the door. It was the same old routine as always.
I casually strolled through the office room, noting how busy and chaotic everything seemed to be. It was like a swarm of bees, hard at work.
"Through the chaos, it's a surprise anything gets done huh?"
The voice came from behind me. I knew who it was before I ever turned around.
"Mr. Stevenson," I said, "it is indeed a wonder. I don't see how you manage. I guess I have it really good back at the house."
"Yeah," he said, seeming to pause for a bit. "I am glad I found you before you left. I had something to talk to you about."
'This can't be good,' I thought to myself. "Sure. I have time, though I need to get home to check on my dr-dog..." I had almost slipped up big time there, though even if I HAD actually said dragon, I am sure he would just think it had to do with my story. Oh well back to reality... "Lead the way," I finally said.
Mr. Stevenson's office was totally different from the others. The first obvious difference being that it was an actual office, with real walls and a real door. The others were simply portable cubicles that allowed easy access of information from one journalist to the next. The other main difference was that it was so unnervingly quiet. There were many papers on his desk, but they all seemed to be completely organized. Everything was perfect, and that is what scared me.
"Did I do something wrong?" I asked as I sat down in an uncomfortably large leather chair. "If this is about the doughnut thing I swear, I didn't start it."
"No. I know you didn't start that...I did."
Needless to say I was surprised at that information. The office workers had given me hell for it and I had JUST gotten there when the first fried pastry went flying. "Okay sir. So what did you need to talk to me about?"
"The city is making a few budget cuts. One of them is the newspaper fund. I think it's a load of shit but I can't do anything about it. The problem here is, I have to get rid of a few people, and unfortunately your name falls under 'extra.'"
The news hit me like a long sword, except I wasn't a big tough dragon with an armored hide. My face showed how bad it had hit me. "okay... How long do I have?"
"I can pay you for a couple more stories. I need you to end it. I wouldn't want the public outrages at not having a good ending." He frowned. "I am a big fan of your story myself, so I hate doing this but I really have no choice. If it helps I will put a good word in for you to any employers you find."
"I appreciate it. I guess I should get to writing then. I promise these last ones will be my best yet. You'll get that good ending," I said as I got up. "Gotta get back to my pet now...figure out how to feed her."
"Why don't I help with that?" he offered. "I may have no control over your pay or your job, but I can help you out. I have a few pets myself."
"Um...Just make sure I am there when you do. She isn't what you would expect." I didn't lie about that for sure. No one would expect a dragon. I surely didn't. However, I think out of all the people that I could trust with her, it would be him. He was a well-known animal lover, and as I had just learned, a fan of dragons.
"So what is your dog's name?"
"Sophie" I said as I turned to walk out. "Thanks...for everything. This might be exactly what I needed to get started in this industry. It has been fun."
"If they ever give me some money, I'll call you," he said as I walked out. I tuned out all the craziness as I walked out to my car. My mind couldn't take much more information at the moment. It was going to be hard for me. I had a few family members I could ask for money until I could get a job, but I didn't like the idea of it. The main reason was that many had told me that going into writing was a dangerous thing to do. I was going to have to swallow my pride though. I could sell some of the stuff in the house...I could...I don't know. My mind was going a million miles an hour and I had to tell myself out loud to stop and focus on getting home. "Sophie would hate for you to get in a car wreck," I said out loud to the parked cars. It took me a while to walk to my car, but I managed to get in and drive home, without killing myself (A feat any day around here with all the WORST drivers). I opened the door and saw Sophie lying on the living room floor. She stood up and walked over to greet me as I closed the door. I scratched behind her horns and she let out that deep purr I loved to hear. For a second my troubles started to melt, and I stood there, content to pet the attention-loving dragoness. Sophie looked up at me, and instantly seemed to be able to read me, something that sometimes scared me.
"Don't worry. It's okay," I said to her "I just need to find a new job. That and come up with a good story for them." She just looked at me. I knew she understood, but as smart as she was, I doubted she could actually help...
I defrosted some chicken tenders in the microwave and threw them into a dish for her then walked into my office to start my search. A few minutes later I heard my door open a crack. I turned to find Sophie, holding the dish with two of the tenders still on it, but fully cooked. 'Can she really...either she can cook or she can really breathe fire,' I thought. I looked down at her and she put the dish at the foot of my chair, and looked at me. I couldn't help but smile at her actions. She was trying to take care of me. "Reversing our roles are we?" I said. "I'm supposed to be the one taking care of you."