At the Birchwood Chronicles building, Annie sat at her desk, intently going through her computer. Every now and then, she jotted something down in her notebook, then placed the end of her pen on her lips as she thought.
Her attention shifted to another desk nearby. It was Oscar's desk. Sitting next to him was another woman. Her name was Jessica Lane. She had reddish-brown hair and fair skin. On Oscar's desk was his laptop, and in Jessica's hand was a notepad. At first glance, it seemed like they were working together, but their actions betrayed that notion. They were chatting animatedly, laughing and giggling every so often, barely doing any actual work.
As Annie focused on them, Jessica turned and made eye contact, giving her an almost taunting smile before resuming her conversation with Oscar.
"Tch." Now exasperated, Annie got up from her desk and strode over to Oscar's, taking her notebook with her.
"Hey, Oz, did you hear about that rumor of missing students at BU?" She cut into their conversation abruptly.
"Oh, hey, Annie. Uh, yeah, I did hear about that, but I thought it was just a rumor," Oscar replied.
"Oz?" Jessica interjected.
"Oh yeah, it's just a name she calls me," Oscar explained, his face flushing slightly.
"I am honored to be in thy presence, oh great wizard," Jessica teased playfully.
"Oh, stop it." Oscar playfully smacked her shoulder, and they both broke into laughter.
"Ahem." Annie cleared her throat, drawing their attention back.
"Oh, sorry," Oscar apologized.
Annie's exasperation was evident, but she sighed and pressed on. "Anyway, some of my sources lead me to believe that one of the Winslow twins—Julian, I think—is among the students rumored to be missing."
"Really? Now that makes the rumor a lot more interesting. Are you going to write about it?" Oscar asked.
Jessica seemed momentarily lost in their conversation.
"Well, first, I need more evidence before I pitch it to Newman. Do you want to come with me and look into it more?"
"Oh, I'd love to, but Newman assigned me to work with Jessica." As soon as Annie heard Jessica's name, her expression soured. "...on these short, easy-to-digest news videos for the Chronicles website."
"Oh?"
"No, it's alright," Jessica spoke up.
"Really?" Oscar asked.
"Newman gave us until next week to get started, so we have plenty of time," Jessica assured him.
"Alright then, I guess it's settled. Let's go, Oz." As Oscar got up to follow Annie, Jessica stood as well. Noticing this, both Oscar and Annie turned to her.
"I want to come too. Duh."
"Oh, sure, you can totally—"
"No!" Annie cut Oscar off.
"Why not?" Oscar asked.
"These are working hours. You can't just leave the office. Only investigative journalists like myself have that privilege," Annie explained.
"Um, news flash—that rule applies to Oscar too," Jessica pointed out.
"Oscar is tagging along with me. I need his expertise, so I'm giving him permission to leave."
"Ugh, you don't have that power," Jessica retorted.
"And who's going to stop me? You? I'm the best reporter here—I can do whatever I want," Annie declared. "Let's go, Oz." She turned on her heel and walked off, and Oscar hesitated before reluctantly following.
"Oscar, are you seriously going to let her drag you around like this?" Jessica called after him.
"I..." Oscar hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Jessica scoffed. "You want him that badly? Swallow him up then. I don't care anymore." With that, she turned and walked away too. Her last words left Oscar deep in thought.
"What did she mean by—" He turned to ask Annie, but she cut him off again.
"Don't worry about it, Ozzy. She's a shallow tramp. Let's go look into those rumors." Annie strode ahead, and Oscar followed silently.
As they stepped out of the building's front door, Oscar spoke again. "What you did to Jessica back there, it wasn't right."
"Oh, just let it go, Oz."
"Fine," Oscar conceded with a sigh.
"You drive today, Oz," Annie tossed the keys at him as they approached her car. Oscar, spaced out, snapped back to reality just in time to catch them before they hit the ground.
They both got into the car, but Annie could tell Oscar was still lost in thought. "Are you still thinking about what happened with Jessica?"
"Yeah, I just don't feel comfortable with it," he admitted.
Oscar's hand rested on the gear shift. Annie placed her hand over his and locked eyes with him. "I get how you feel, but she was trying to use you. She's a shallow tramp, and that's all there is to it."
"Are you sure?" Oscar asked.
"Of course I'm sure, Oz. Women know these things," she assured him.
"Alright… so where are we going first?"
"We're driving out of main town to the outskirts, like you're heading to BU," Annie explained.
"That far? We won't be back till evening if that's the case."
"I know, but I think we'll find something there."
"Shouldn't we take permission from Newman first?"
"Don't worry about it. We'll be fine," Annie dismissed his concern.
"Okay then." Oscar turned the ignition, and they drove off.
Not long after they left, Annie started chatting on her phone. The atmosphere remained silent for a while, so Oscar tried to break the ice. "Since we'll be on the road for a while, we should get some food for the trip."
"Huh?" Annie barely looked up from her phone. "Oh, uh, sure, that sounds like a good idea."
"Bet."
They pulled into the Burger Queen parking lot. As they stepped out of the car, they saw the mascot doing a silly dance at the entrance.
"Hey, Frank," they greeted as they walked past.
"Hiya, pals," Frank responded in a goofy voice, not missing a beat in his dance.
Inside, they approached the counter, Annie still glued to her phone.
"Welcome to Burger Queen. What will you be having?" the cashier asked.
"I'll have the Queen's Court Combo with a smoothie. And Annie, what about you?"
Annie didn't respond at first, giggling at something on her screen before realizing she was being spoken to. "I'll have whatever you're having," she said without looking up.
"I guess she'll have the Court Combo too. Make that to go, please."
"Will that be all, sir?"
"Wait, add another Court Combo for me," Annie suddenly spoke up.
"You're getting two?" Oscar asked.
"Yeah, I'm feeling extra hungry today," she said.
"Cash or card, sir?"
"Actually, we're paying separately," Oscar clarified.
"Awwn, help me out, Oz. I'll pay you back later," Annie said sweetly.
Oscar hesitated before sighing. "Sure."
"Alright, sir, please have a seat and wait for your order."
Oscar and Annie sat at an empty table near the counter. Annie remained engrossed in her phone, giggling every now and then, barely paying Oscar any attention.
"Mr. Oscar, sir, your orders are ready!"
They got up, grabbed their food, and headed out. As they stepped through the door, Annie's phone began to ring. Her smile faded into a frown when she saw the caller—Boss Newman. The phone was on silent, so Oscar didn't notice. She quickly declined the call and went right back to texting.
"Bye, Frank," Oscar said as they passed the mascot again.
"Ee-hee-hee, goodbye!" Frank responded, still dancing.
They got back into the car and drove off.