In the Life of a MySpace Photographer (Chapter Two)

Chapter Two

I ran back and forth between the studio and the proofing room all day just to make Lisa happy. When we finally finished, the photo was almost exactly the same as it had been before. The clothes were simply different colors and the makeup was the same but different shades. I ran the cover through the printer and sent it off to publishing to have the copies printed and bound.

Pushing my tray across the counter to the server, I nodded when she pointed to a Caesar salad. She drizzled some oil and vinegar on top of it and pushed it back to me. I snatched up a bottle of Evian water and placed it on my tray. Handing the clerk a twenty dollar bill, I told her to keep the change and went to find a table. Sitting down with some people from my department, I robotically nodded and laughed and smirked at their comments, not really taking in what they were saying. Finishing my lunch, I said my goodbyes and threw my tray away.

“I cannot believe her!” Jason, a man with vibrant blue hair fumed over what had just happened. Lisa had popped into the office and announced that everyone was to stay two hours later than usual to do overtime on the next issue. “I mean,” Jason paced, “I have plans tonight!” I didn’t care; Alex wouldn’t care that I came home late as long as I picked her up some food on the way. I walked over to the copier and made twenty copies of the memo Lisa had given me. I tore off strips of tape and stuck them to arm so I could put the memos up on the department heads doors. Walking around the fifty-first floor was not an easy task. Everyone who was in a cubicle answering phones had their space just like they wanted it; and that meant hopping over bags and plants and anything else that was in my way.

Plastering the memos to all the doors, I sat back down at my desk and punched one of the blinking lights on my phone, “MySpace magazine, this is Teryl Argyle, assistant editor, how may I help you?” Alex’s exasperated voice roared through the earpiece I wore, “Oh my god, Teryl! You’ll never believe what just happened! Josh asked me to marry him!” I paused, trying to let this new piece of exciting news sink in. “Are you…congratulations! You said yes, right?!” She laughed, “Of course I did!” I congratulated her again and reminded her that I wasn’t allowed to take personal calls at work. She apologized and said she’d talk to me later when I got home.