The man frowns. “Sorry. Once you get up there, you can ask them to give him clearance, but if he’s not on the list, I can’t send you both through.”
“It’s fine,” Kit says before I can argue again. “Can I wait down here in the lobby?”
“Are you sure?” I ask him.
“Yeah.”
I pull him in for a quick peck. “Thank you for being here,” I whisper, knowing there is so much more I want to say to him, but unable to find the words to do so. I pull out my wallet. “Do you want to go get something to eat? I can give you my card.”
“No. It’s okay. Good luck, baby. I’ll be here when you get out.”
I resist saying,“You better be,”or,“Please don’t leave me.”I give him a small smile, squeeze his hand, then head for the elevators. This is too much. Kit is back. He’s here. He’s real.
I can’t even think about that, because I have to do this meeting. This extremely important meeting that I need to be fully present for.
I exit the elevators and find the reception desk. I greet the woman behind the desk and give her my name. She eyes the clock on the wall behind me. “Right on time.” Gesturing to a closed, glass office door, she says, “Stephanie is ready for you.”
I smile in thanks, take a deep breath, and knock on the office door.
“Come in.”
I enter.
“Please sit.”
I slide into a plastic chair.
A Black woman with short, tight natural curls looks up from her computer. “Lacy. Thanks for coming in today. All right, I’ll get straight to the point. We liked your video. A lot. You have skill in front of the camera and an easy-going persona with your investigations. Now, we of course examined the video ourselves, but I’m going to ask you point blank, and I want you to give me an honest answer: Was any of your video edited? With CGI or effects, I mean. It’s fine if it was, because it was well done, but I need to know whether you found real paranormal activity or not.”
“It’s real,” I confirm.
“Perfect. And since you say that, I’d say it is safe to assume that you believe in spirits?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect. That makes this easier. We’ve also gone through many of the videos on your channel. All great.”
“Thank you.”
“It also helps that you already have a decent following. So, here’s the plan. There were multiple submissions we received that we believe could make good shows. You will make a pilot and so will two other entries. Whoever has the most success with test audiences will then be the pilot we go with. This doesnot guarantee it will be picked up. We will need about a month to gather resources, scout out a location, and pull together a team for you, so we will be in touch within the month to talk about next steps.”
“Wow,” I say, not sure I’m understanding her correctly. “I…wait. So this means we’re shooting the pilot? With me?”
“Yes, was that not clear?”
I blink, forcing my brain to catch up. “No, it was. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I have a few more questions for you. Does anyone help you with these investigations that you would want on your team?”
“Um, no. Not really. My friend. Kit. Kit who is…who just got back in town today after a long time…sorry.” I shake my head in an attempt to unscramble my thoughts. I try again. “For the submission, my friend Kit helped me research and went to the location with me, but this was the first time I had investigated with someone since high school. He, uh, he probably does not want to be on camera, though.”
“That’s fine. Though, we’re open to hiring him as a part-time researcher, if you think he could be helpful. Obviously, we’d have to meet him and go through all the normal hiring steps, but we’re open to it.” She flips through a stack of papers in front of herself. “Ah. Right. Second question, your username. ParanormalAugust. Where does that come from?”
I smile slightly. “My best friend. August and I started the channel in high school. We left it behind after we graduated, but when she passed away about four years ago, I picked it back up and grew it to where it is now. If the show goes forward, I’d love to honor her in some way.”
“Yes, of course. Dead relatives and friends are great for generating sympathy with the audience. Sorry for your loss, by the way. We watched some of your older videos with her. She seemed great. Talented ghost hunter, as well.”
This woman speaks so quickly, every time she opens her mouth, I feel like she’s simultaneously slapping me in the face and handing me candy.
