Prologue: Knowing

"The better you know someone, the less there is to say.
Or maybe, there's less that needs to be said."
- Unknown

“We go live in one minute,” a voice called out from across the studio. Conversations begin to falter as everyone took their places in the studio and glanced over the rundown for the final time. It was now or never.

“Forty-five seconds” the floor manager yelled and the room became dead quiet Forty-seconds away from going live all across Denson County.

I might want to mention now that I am completely insane. I hate being put on the spot with everything focused on me yet here I am, under bright lights and three cameras pointed directly at me, less then forty-five seconds away from being in television set across the county. What the hell was I thinking?

Just forget the fact I want to be a journalist and this is a good opportunity to get footage for my resume tape. Also forget that it’s only 4 PM so it is too earlier to get many views. Forget that I have done this a hundred times already. So yeah – forgetting all that, it was perfectly clear as to why I was nervous.

I’m a huge fan of rehearsing, I love retakes and I need the ability to have options. Unfortunately, LIVE TV doesn’t accommodate those needs. Once it is over, it is over. If it didn’t turn out the way you wanted, well, you would just have to do better the next time, that is, if you are allowed a next time.

“Thirty seconds,” he shouted doing a once over of the studio to make sure all the talent as well as equipment were in there correct places. It was easy for him to be calm, he wasn’t the one being telecast to thousands of homes.

I think now might be a good time to mention my fear of all things spontaneous. I need to think things through, weigh every option, even the illogical ones, before finally settling on a solution. Everything must make sense before I act in any way. You should have seen my pro/con list before I decided to take this position. There are some days where I wish I could change this about me, yet on others, I don’t. But honestly, it is the way I am and is the way I’ll be so I just need to learn how to cope with it. Maybe just maybe a career in broadcast wasn’t the best idea.

“Fifteen seconds.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, knowing it probably wouldn’t help. As I exhaled, the person next to me leaned over and gently squeezed my hand causing some of the fear to escape. It’s kind of funny how one simple gesture can change your state of mind. I opened my eyes and looked over to my left and could only smile into the eyes of the brown-haired boy sitting next to me. After fifteen years of friendship, it wasn’t surprising that he knew how to handle me.

“Alright folks,” director Jake Thompkin cheerfully exclaimed in my earpiece. “We are live in five, four, three, take camera two, open mics, and cue talent.”

“Good evening everyone and welcome to WHNQ Night cast. I am Allyson Cullen.”

“And I’m Andy Johnson. Breaking news out of the capital today.”

And so it began…

For everyone that read last time, please feel free to let me know what you think about the news changes, and before you say anything, I m sorry for the name changes. I just felt the need.

ALEX

ps...check out my other story, Off the Ice. I think it's a pretty good read :)