The headquarters is technically open all day and night, though most don’t stay all day and night after all it is locked up past dark for the good of keeping the stories safe. But, every so long some people get locked inside with the shutting of the building, and most nights a certain someone is. Which, resulted in—

“Hi Megan!” Nicole exclaimed peeking out of her office, hanging onto the door frame so her tilting didn’t send her into the ground.

“Hi Nickie,” Megan waved as she walked past.

“Want to see what I wrote last night?”

“Sure! Let me get set up for the day first!” Megan called back as she continued down the hall, balancing her coffee cup dangerously on the top of her work laptop. “I have some sprints to do soon too—”

“I can’t sprint.”

Megan turned around— and Nicole was already back inside her office, the door shutting now. “Seriously? I know you aren’t going to sleep, so sprint! I need more Ty and Author content!”

“I’m sleeping!” Nicole’s muffled voice sang from behind the shut door.

Megan huffed and rolled her eyes before continuing down the hall and fidgeting open her managing office’s door. She set her laptop onto the desk, picked up her coffee cup, took a swig, and sat down in her cushioned spinning seat. There were plenty of plans pinned onto her cork board, which consisted of photos of the others in the office with notes scattering around each. She had people to scream at and sprinting to lead—

“Here’s the snippet!” Nicole cheered, popping up in front of the desk.

“How did you—”

“Your door is open.”

“I didn’t even—”

“I tripped on the way in,” Nicole replied before setting down the paper of late night writing onto the desk and hurrying out. “Morning Gil!” her voice was heard calling down the hall. “Megan already got my night writing, if you want to look at it!”

“Alright! And morning— Wait— Nickie, did you sleep—” Gil’s voice replied.

A door slammed shut once more, cutting him off.

“Nickie! You have to sleep eventually!” Gil called as his voice grew closer.

Unfortunately, Megan murmured in her mind. “She needs to sprint!” Megan argued as her brother walked past her door.

He paused and peeked into the office.“Sleep is more important, you can’t sprint good without sleep.”

“Nickie’s done it before.”

“Yes, but that’s not healthy.”

“HEY!” Nicole called from the hall where she stood with a file in hand. “It’s healthy for me.”

“You got locked in the office last night you stayed so late,” Gil pointed out before humming. “Though, maybe I need to install cameras so that doesn’t keep happening.”

“Bad idea, we’ll be on camera stating our author-y-ness stuff,” Megan pointed back as she picked up a dart and tossed it to the target on her wall.

Gil took another dart from his sister’s desk and did the same, giving a smug smile when his hit closer to the bullseye. Megan frowned and tossed yet another, almost hitting the bullseye this time. Now they were even.

“That’s fine! I survived! And it was worth this snippet. I get my best ideas at night. You’re forgetting I am nocturnal,” Nicole explained as she held out the file. “I did a short story of Emeric!”

“Give it!” Megan and Gil cried, both snatching the file out of the sleep-deprived author’s hand— and then tugging and stealing it from each other until Megan resorted to reading it over Gil’s shoulder.

“And now I am off to sleep! I’ll be passed out under my desk if anyone needs me,” Nicole waved a hand as she spun around on her heel and sauntered off.

“Good night!” Gil called, glancing away from the file for long enough for Megan to take it.

“Fine, go sleep! And then you better sprint!” she screamed.

Nicole Soto "Do it for the Fame!" A Contemporary/Semi-Dystopian novel touching on revenge and Corruption. Following Emeric through his fight with the Game Show Empire of Fame! Written Californian Author, Nicole Soto, we all are sad because it is... NOT YET RELEASED! Click ​HERE​ to read more about Nicole!

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