Summary: Lana's continuing investigation into the Smallville High cafeteria food.
A/N: I'm still thinking she should get a little dirty… (muhahaha) but it probably won't be in this chapter. As an insight into me, I had originally intended this part to be all one chapter (i.e. Lana's assignment, Pete's assignment, etc.) but the story got out of hand! Then with the multiple chapters assigned to each character, I thought that grouping it all together by assignment would be way too choppy.
Disclaimer: As much as I love reading fan fiction, do you really think I would be writing here if I owned any part of Smallville? The characters & location are all borrowed from the WB…
At the school district office, Lana allowed herself a moment to look around. If Mr. Peterson was as hard-nosed as Julia said, this was going to be rough. He didn't have a secretary and couldn't keep one, so maybe she could bluff her way in? Or was she borrowing trouble? Maybe she should just ask to set an appointment. An image of a displeased Chloe floated through her mind. If she tried to set an appointment, it would probably be at least a couple of days and then she'd still have other research to accomplish. She reached in her bag and pushed record on her mini recorder. With what Julia had said, maybe she could get some information from the secretaries. Lana pursed her lips as she rang the bell.
One of the secretaries came to the front desk. She smiled. "Can I help you, Miss Lang?"
Lana smiled brightly. "Mrs. Smythe! How nice to see you! I didn't know you started working here after you left the front office at school?"
"Well, I decided to take the promotion. Why not? It'll help for my retirement." She laughed softly. "It's nice to see you again as well. What can I do for you today?"
Lana thought about the subtle approach. "I'm here to see Mr. Peterson."
Mrs. Smythe's face twisted. "You're here to see Harold? Have you lost your mind?"
Lana's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
The older woman regarded Lana with chagrin. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say anything… He's just a pain in the butt, I'm telling you. Lana, if you have any sense, you will walk right out that door."
"Is he a really busy man? Is that why he's such a pain?"
Mrs. Smythe rolled her eyes. "Oh, he's busy enough, I suppose. He's in a meeting right now. But he's just so unpleasant. I tell you, I wouldn't wish that man on anyone. Just the other day, he screamed at one of our student employees."
Lana widened her eyes. "You're kidding?"
"Oh no. As is our practice here, we put all the mail on poor little Julia's desk to sort for responses. It wasn't her fault that one of the files was his." A shrug and a sigh were signs of resignation in the other woman. "We all know that his files aren't to be touched, but it slipped through the cracks and landed on her desk. When he saw it, I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel in his brain."
"Oh my goodness! Why didn't his secretary catch it?" Good Lang, good! Keep fishing…
"Oh, that man can't keep a secretary to save his life. Since his start about a year ago, I think the longest lasting one was 3 weeks. I think he's out of luck now. The rumor mill will have it that he's impossible to work for. He probably likes it best that way. He's a real loner."
Lana pulled herresigned face. It's time to throw all her irons in the fire with this one. "Well, I guess it's too late now. I have an appointment." She was so glad that she and Chloe had come up with the pastime to practice different "looks". It was just so helpful during these investigations.
"You're right. If you miss an appointment with that man, he'll make you pay for it one way or another." The woman quickly ran her finger down the appointment list. "You're not on here, but he never puts his meetings out where the rest of us lowly mortals can see it. His office is down the hall and to the left. You can't miss it."
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Smythe. I'll be back soon." Lana smiled at the lady as she made her way down the hallway. Fluorescent lights lit her way, but the lighting steadily got worse as she made it to his door. A brass nameplate announced that she'd found her destination. She looked around. It was really grimy here. Lana grimaced. The fluorescent light blinked in distress and the floors looked as if they hadn't been mopped in months. Looks like it isn't just the secretaries Mr. Peterson is alienating.
She knocked on the door. Hearing no answer, she knocked again. If she went back now, it would announce to everyone in the office that she'd been lying about her appointment. She tried the doorknob. The door creaked open on sullen hinges. Her heart beat faster as she looked around the darkened room. She flipped the switch. She wanted Mr. Peterson to know she was here, after all. She gently eased the door shut and looked at the piles of paper around her. If anyone was in need of a secretary, this man was. She sat on an available chair, hoping that he would appear soon so she could make her escape.
Lana pulled out a novel to read while she waited when a familiar emblem caught her eye. It was the Smallville High insignia. This might have all the information she needed. Lana looked around and debated within herself. If she waited for Mr. Peterson, all she would get would be canned language to make him and the district look good. Here was ample information that might help refute that. Lana tucked her journal back in her bag. I'm not really a snoop by nature… she thought, trying to justify her proposed action. She stood. I'm just looking for the truth. She moved to the side of the desk, nimbly avoiding knocking over any of the stacks of files. It's not like there's anything criminal going on.
Lana was now directly in front of the folder. It sat their innocently proclaiming that it might have all the information that she could possibly need for her story. She argued with herself a few more moments until she finally gave into her curiosity. Oh, just think like Chloe, Lang. It's the only way sometimes to get a great story. She quickly flipped open the folder. Immediately on top of the file was a manifest of their latest order. Her eyes widened at the amount of food listed. Our high school isn't that big. How could we possibly eat this much food?
She reached to turn the next page when voices in the hallway froze her hand. "Listen, James. I know what you're trying to do, but we have an agreement." Lana quickly shut the folder, stuffed it in her bag,and tried to stealthily edge around the desk. Her haste was making her feel clumsier, but she reached it just before the voice reached the outside of the office. "Don't you threaten me, Knightley. I have more on you than you could possibly have on me. Oh, you think so? Well, we'll just continue this after you've had some time to think about it."
A cell phone slapped together as the office door was thrown open. A portly, middle-aged gentleman with porcine eyes and a definite comb-over entered the room in a huff. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Lana. "Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in my office?"
Lana hopped out of her seat and thrust out her hand. Let's see if the Lang charm can get me out of this one? she thought. "Mr. Peterson, I'm Lana Lang. I'm a reporter for the Smallville High Torch and I came to do an interview with you."
His unibrow came together even further. "Miss Lang, I do not give interviews."
"That's fine, Mr. Peterson. I totally understand. It's just that I wanted to give you the opportunity to discuss the quality of the food served at Smallville High and respond to the students' complaints." She smiled and batted her lashes. "I understand that a man as important as you usually shouldn't be bothered by something like this, but the slackers at my school are really causing a stink. I would really appreciate it if I could have a moment of your time and your comments on their concerns. I know that anything you say will totally overturn any complaints."
Lana watched Mr. Peterson slowly melt. The schoolgirl charm and heavy flattery was doing its job. "Well, I suppose I could give you five minutes, Miss Lang. Please have a seat." He closed the door and got to his desk. Notebooks and files toppled and fell in his wake.
Lana smiled and popped out her recorder. With the mess he was making, he would never miss that file."Mr. Peterson, I so appreciate your help. Let me start by saying that I really appreciate your efforts on my school's behalf. Since I don't want to take up too much of your time, I'll just ask you one question."
Mr. Peterson leered at her. "That's very thoughtful of you, Miss Lang. Go ahead."
"The main complaint at the school is that the food is poorly made and contains no nutritional value. What is your response to that?"
Mr. Peterson chuckled. "Every school district that I have served in has had those very same questions, Miss Lang. But I will tell you this. The menu is thoughtfully gone over by none other than myself. I have a degree in proper nutrition, so I always ensure that the menu contains food from all the food groups in sufficient quantities. We have skilled workers in the cooking area so the food is prepared with care. I understand that students may not realize this, but the fast food that is preferred is not good for them and so we try to make sure that, at least for one meal, they have proper nutrition." He nodded his head to emphasize his point.
Lana made a show of snapping off the recorder. "Mr. Peterson," she gushed, "that was totally awesome. I really appreciate your time here. I do want to warn you that my article may not make it into the paper because our editor is a real pain…"
He grunted. "Miss Sullivan? You can say that again. There isn't an office in this building that she hasn't haunted. But I have made strict instructions that she is never to enter my office. The superintendent respects my decisions and I've no intention of allowing that muckraker the chance of impinging on my reputation." He slammed his hand on his desk, toppling the closest stack to the floor.
He's a total slob! Now I know why Chloe gave me this assignment! "I totally understand. If I didn't need the elective, I totally wouldn't be working for her. But as it is..." she sighed dramatically.
"No need to explain, Miss Lang." He smiled in what he obviously thought was a fatherly manner. Lana struggled to suppress a shudder. There just wasn't something right about that man. "It's those college pre-reqs."
"Exactly." Lana got up and started edging towards the door. A smell was starting to emanate from Mr. Peterson and she really needed to get out into the fresh air. "I really thank you for your time."
"Any time, Miss Lang. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks. I will." Quickly she opened the door and made her escape. She paused for a moment outside the door. So, he'd worked in other districts… There should be some record of that somewhere. I wonder what I'd find if I researched that? Lana shook her head as she headed for the outside world. She'd consider that if she ran out of leads. Now she needed to talk to one of their cafeteria ladies. See if his story checked out…
A/N: I think there'll be at least 2 more parts to Lana's investigation. Do you think that'll be too much?
