Chapter 1
Rebecca Forester leaned over the young man's shoulder and pointed at the monitor.
"That's fine, but shouldn't you mention the accident in the first line? You need to grab the readers' attention from the start. There are dozens of stories in the paper as well as TV, radio and the internet vying for their attention," Rebecca gently chided the freshman reporter. "Thirty words or less in the first sentence. Be concise." "OK, Mrs. Forester," James replied, deleting the opening paragraph to start fresh.
Rebecca straightened and arched her back, stretching her muscles. At 43 years old, her back couldn't maintain awkward postures as well as it did 25 years ago when she herself was a budding journalist at this very university. She had graduated with honors and did local newspaper reporting for several years. Her big break came hosting a news show on a St. Louis TV station but she left the show to have her three children. She never regretted the decision as Leslie, Jennifer and Jeffrey were her pride and joy. Leslie, her oldest, was 16 and a sophomore cheerleader at Hartline High School. Tall and blonde, she was extremely popular with the boys and quite a few girls as well. Jennifer was 15 and slightly more withdrawn but no less pretty. Her strong chin was a gift from her father, Dennis. Her long black hair was a gift from Clairol as she struggled to identify herself as a separate person from Leslie. Jeffrey, the baby of the family, was 14 and all hormones. Rebecca couldn't keep track of the hours he spent locked in the bathroom. Ah well, she thought, all part of growing up.
Her husband, a policeman with the Hartline P.D. for the last 20 years, came from a working class family. They had met while she was investigating a crime scene and they hit it off right away. Her own parents, who were both respected lawyers in town, had disapproved of the marriage. They had seen their share of shady policemen in their line of work as well as the domestic abuse and sleepless nights that statistically went with being a policeman's wife. But Dennis had proved them wrong, Rebecca thought. He had always been a gentle, providing parent who never brought his work home with him. Tall, muscular and sporting a graying mustache, he still very much presented an authoritative image which Rebecca knew was important in his job. Only a slight potbelly spoiled his overall appearance and Rebecca had him on a health-conscious diet.
Rebecca caught a young copy editor eyeing her chest as she stretched. She had maintained her figure remarkably well for having three children. Her tummy was flat and her breasts held their own weight for the most part but she did have to admit to wearing a more reinforced bra than she had before giving birth to Leslie. Her thighs and butt had always been a little heavier than the rest of her but they had maintained their proportion throughout her life. She knew she was still a beautiful woman and it embarrassed her somewhat. Her days attracting the opposite sex were over as far as she was concerned. She had acted the flirt just enough to land Dennis and she had no reason to display her body now. Her biologic imperative had been dealt with and she was happy to settle into the role of educator.
After Leslie was old enough to look after Jeffrey, Rebecca took a position at Hartline University as a journalism professor. She was well known enough in the journalism world that the school gave her an honorary teaching degree so she could start right away. Five years later, she had established herself as the publisher of the school paper. One of her first acts was to change the paper from school-funded to advertising-based. Her reasons for this were varied but mainly she hated the puff pieces the school required the paper to run in exchange for funding. She had directed the paper to a more investigative bent that actually dared to criticize the school at times. A far cry from Woodward and Bernstein but an advancement nonetheless. Her secondary reason was to involve other mass communications majors in the newspaper business especially in advertising. Her hiring and subsequent firing of Leah and Kallie in the ad department was a major turning point in Rebecca's life. She had never been the heavy before but she felt like she had no choice. The sophomore girls got an A for effort but rumors circulating that they exchanged sex for advertising business with local businessmen was bad for the paper's image. The rumors became fact when Rebecca intercepted an e-mail intended for Leah from a local printing company. She waited on the bad news until after fall finals so as to not disrupt the girls' studies. Also, each semester all student employees were either rehired or were not based on a number of factors. So technically Leah and Kallie would never have to admit they were fired on a future job application. Still the sophomores were bitter and felt betrayed that they should be punished for doing a good job. Rebecca told them they should be grateful they weren't expelled for their behavior. They left the newspaper with a big public scene that embarrassed Rebecca and themselves once they calmed down enough to admit it.
Rebecca had to admit for the sake of the paper and the school it was a solid move on her part. Leah and Kallie had colored outside the lines and had to be dealt with to avoid setting a bad example for other students. Besides, before they were caught they enjoyed much praise from the advertising director which they then used to humiliate students with lesser sales. Janie, in particular, was harassed daily by the two girls. Janie was pretty by any standard but next to Kallie and Leah she was only plain. Perhaps the sophomores were threatened by the freshman or maybe they just had a mean streak but they never missed a chance to tell Janie what a cow she was or how slow she was. Rebecca felt sorry for the girl and spoke to the sophomores on several occasions. They would let up for a few days but always return to their taunting. They were technically under the direction of Ron Elward, the 25-year-old ad director, but he was in love with Kallie's breasts so he never said much in Janie's defense. By getting rid of the two troublemakers, Rebecca got Ron's job back on his mind and created a more friendly work environment at the student paper.
Not that friendly, Rebecca thought to herself as she self-consciously folded her arms in front of herself. The copy editor returned to his work on the monitor and she relaxed a little. "That's good work, James. Let copy take a look at it real quick and then print it and send it to layout and design. We'll make a writer out of you yet," she grinned at the young man.
End chapter 1