As the day was getting going in the East Wing, Lou was heading for the press room. This would be her first encounter with the press since the campaign, and she was, naturally, a little nervous. Everyone kept telling Lou that she would do fine. Eventually, she got this through her head just as she was heading up to the podium in the press room.
As the briefing got started, she said, "Hello, I'm Louise Thornton, the new White house Communications Director. But you can call me Lou. Let's get started. The President and his staff are working on a new plan to help with the crisis in Kazakhstan…"
As Lou went on with the briefing, the reporters weren't as bad as she thought they would be. They seemed to like her, and she thought, "Maybe I could get used to this. The reporters aren't that bad, and as long as I have a grasp on the agenda, I'll be alright."
Lou then went on to conclude the briefing and said, "Next briefing, 5:00. Have a good afternoon."
The reporters replied to her, "Thank you, Lou."
After she left the press room, she ran into Josh. Josh asked her, "How did your first briefing go?"
Lou replied, "Not too bad. I think that as long as I have a grasp on the agenda, I'll be alright."
Josh then told her, "Just don't get on the bad side of the reporters, then it will be bad."
Lou asked him, "How would you know?"
Josh then went on to tell her about the briefing he did about seven years ago when C.J. had root canal. Lou just thought to herself, "Now I know why he never worked in communications."
With the first briefing out of the way, Lou then went back to her office to finish paperwork before the second briefing later that day.