6:00 AM
"Ugh. Another day, another $61,000," Nora groaned to herself during her morning commute. Despite the consistent daily routine of waking up at 4:30 AM to a job that is simultaneously fulfilling and exhausting, she always made sure to find time to put on her face and demonstrate to everyone what a successful CEO looked like.
Because that's what she's supposed to do.
Victor Manuelle's "Que Suenen los Tambores" was blasting on the radio as she pulled into the Warner Brothers Studio entrance. She was usually one of the first people coming to work every day. As per usual, the security guard Ralph was conked out in his chair, snoring loudly and drooling all over himself.
"What a pig," Nora sneered before lowering the music volume and rolling down her window. "RALPH! WAKE UP YOU DAMN FOOL!"
Sputtering confused noises, Ralph woke up and launched himself from his seat onto the ground.
"Ouchie," he frowned, rubbing his sore behind, before turning his gaze towards the fuming woman before him, steam rising from her ears.
"Oh! Good morning, ma'am. I'm really sorry." Ralph apologized in a genuine yet dopey manner.
Nora gave a little huff before simmering down, "yeah, yeah, good morning to you too."
Noticing her calming temper, Ralph finally smiled, "got a lot on the agenda today?"
"Honestly Ralph, I'm the CEO of a major entertainment studio in charge of some of the world's most beloved properties which we shamelessly exploit year after year in a desperate attempt to stay relevant and keep making income in an otherwise creatively-drained world… what do you think?" Nora replied, rolling her eyes.
"Duhh," Ralph began, before being greeted by an outstretched palm in his face.
"Look, can you just let me in? I don't have time for nonsense!" Nora asked, lips pooched in contempt.
"Yes yes yes! Right away!" Ralph wasted no more time hitting the switch and raising the barrier.
"Have a nice-" Ralph was interrupted as Nora sped off into the studio.
"... day."
…
7:30 AM
Open email.
Reply email.
Open email.
Reply email.
Delete junk mail.
Open email.
And on and on it went for a couple hours as Nora responded to an expansive backlog of messages, all of which seem to have been sent within the past 3 hours. There was no way she could do this and still make time for calls, and yet…
"Walter, get me the latest production reports from the Jurassic World: Dawn of Justice set! We need to make sure the writing staff isn't converging on the same plot lines as the Justice League: Fallen Kingdom team."
"Blair, for the last time, we're moving all funding from advertising to merchandising! You know how it is: if people aren't skipping ads, they're installing adblock! So we need to oversaturate the market with so much merch that people's curiosities will be piqued."
"Tell Steven in accounting that if he wants to make an impression he needs to lose the haircut! Unless he wants to start foxtrotting at the club, he needs to leave the 1920s for the 2020s!"
"Yeesh!" Nora huffed, bending her high-heeled foot over her head. Since answering emails and calls took so much time, she also had to schedule her daily yoga sessions at the same time. She was probably the only person in the world who can do the Bhairavasana and still use her phone and keep her uniform intact.
Sensing some movement outside her enormous office window, Nora unwound and trotted over to see what the commotion was.
Her eyes peered with disgust as she saw Ralph chasing down the Warner siblings with his oversized net. They evaded his every move and yet he somehow thought he'd have a chance at catching them.
As long as those idiots don't bother me, I don't care, Nora thought before returning to her stretches.
…
10:00 AM
"So ya see, eet vould be most beneficial if ve got some funding for new psychiatric equipment," Dr. Scratchansniff concluded, twiddling his thumbs nervously. That he was able to schedule an interview with the CEO at all was almost miraculous, as she was constantly busy and usually blew off his requests.
Nora tapped her fingers loudly on the desk, her face sinking with sheer unconcern. Whenever Dr. Scratchansniff wanted to talk to her, it always seemed like he wanted something. Granted, her job was nothing but "folks wanting things and having to say yes or no to them" so she shouldn't be surprised. But this guy wasn't even part of any movie or television teams: he was the mental-health guy.
"Look, Dr. Scratchyourass,"
"Eh, Dr. Scratchansniff."
"Whatever. Look, you've made a compelling case, and I'm sure your heart is in the right place, but we have to be deliberate where we send our money. I just don't see any priorities right now in brand-new psychiatric… things. I'm sure you understand."
"But Ms. Norita, ze mental vell-being of ze employees should be a top priority! Zey are often overvorked and overstressed!" Dr. Scratchansniff pleaded, clasping his hands together.
Nora clicked her tongue, "and I should care, why?"
"Vell…" Dr. Scratchansniff replied, thinking to himself Maybe it would help to stoop to her level? "Ven you are overvorked, don't you find your vork inadequate?"
Giving a loud cackle, Nora crossed her arms and leaned over her desk, getting closer to the suddenly brave psychiatrist. "I'm never overworked. I'm always getting results that are 110% perfect," she explained flatly.
"Ehh," Dr. Scratchansniff questioned, before quickly shutting his mouth.
No one ever doubted Nora Rita Norita and got off unscathed.
"What was that? Huh? Que?! Did I hear you right?!" Nora went off, unhinged, her hair spiking up.
"No no no, I vas just… I mean… every time I see you, I can tell you are under a lot of pressure and you lash out. And it affects your employees personally." Dr. Scratchansniff explained, sweating. Nora's bright-green eyes just pierced into his soul.
"Well, I deal with hundreds of people a day, so excuse me if I'm a little tough!" Nora yelled, stretching further over her desk. The briefly emboldened psychiatrist just shrunk further down. "If my employees have a problem with it, then maybe they should have thought of that before applying to work here! This isn't kindergarten playtime!"
"I understand that Ms. Norita, but-" Dr. Scratchansniff tried to get a word in, but by now he was brought down to a whisper.
"I believe you entered through the door? Is that correct?" Nora slinked back into her chair, pointing her arm to her right.
Dr. Scratchansniff didn't even bother speaking again. He simply shook his head and slumped out of the office, closing the door gently behind him.
The moment she was alone, Nora gave an aggravated yell before crossing her arms and pouting.
He was absolutely right but there was no way in hell she was gonna admit that.
…
12:30 PM
Lunchtime! One of the few times during the day when Nora could have some semblance of peace. As such, to actually leave and pick up something would take too long (especially in Burbank traffic), so to save time she always had a delivery scheduled at this exact moment.
Knock knock!
"Yes, yes, come in already!" Nora exclaimed on her office sofa, waving her hand to no one. Her jacket and shoes were off but otherwise she was the same - some comfort was in order.
A sheepish, brunette-haired girl entered the room, carrying a reusable-plastic container and canister. Moving with a petite grace, she approached the lounging CEO and piped up: "gluten-free Mediterranean grain bowl with sugar-free zucchini-raspberry smoothie?"
"Correct!" Nora said, snapping her fingers and ushering the girl to give her food.
"Can I get you anything else, Ms. Nora?" the delivery girl asked happily.
"Yes! You can get the hell out of my office," Nora simply popped open the container and immediately began eating.
"Of course, Ms. Nora. Till next time!" the girl replied, chipper as ever, and excited the room.
Only the healthiest and most nutritious foods ever passed Nora's lips. She was fully committed to keeping her body in peak condition. So much so that the mere thought of eating a plain old chocolate chip cookie was practically barbaric.
Leaning back, Nora sighed and took a swig of the smoothie. It was refreshing and sweet in its own way, and it helped ease the burdens of the morning. She kicked her legs up on the little table and continued to indulge in the flavors.
Three pairs of beady eyes peered into the window. Sensing something, she whipped her head and peered in that direction. There was nothing there, so she continued eating.
As she turned to reach for her smoothie, she was shocked to find that the entire canister was empty!
"What?!" she questioned.
She looked at the grain bowl in her hand to find that it was just an empty bowl now.
Super pissed, she turned to find a content Wakko Warner licking his lips. "Well, that was good, but the grain bowl could've been more grainy."
Nora flipped out of her seat, "what the hell?! Did you eat my lunch?!"
"Oh dear, was that your lunch? I couldn't tell by the way you had the food in your hands." Wakko hopped off the table and bounced around the room. Nora went to put on her shoes to kick that little Warner's behind, but they were gone too. Turns out little Dot was there in the corner, trying on Nora's shoes and jacket in a mirror.
"My my… classy, bold, sophisticated… and yet with a sensitive side," Dot playfully acted out, twirling around.
Nora stomped over and grabbed Dot by her collar. "Take those off and give them back to me at once!"
"Do you really want it?" Dot cooed.
"Yes! Let me have it!" Nora yelled, before Dot bundled the clothes together and smacked her atop her head. Nora fell on her bottom in a daze, stars and birds spinning around her head.
Dot snickered before commenting, "you walked right into that one, sister."
Coming to, Nora shook her head and put her jacket and shoes back on. She was seething, wanting nothing more than to strangle the two Warners… oh wait a minute. There's supposed to be three of them.
Nora worriedly turned to find Yakko clutching one of her Oscars.
"I'd like to thank the Academy for this gracious award, even though this is clearly a pat-on-the-back for their blatant brownie-points-scheme of recognizing minorities like toons in cinema," Yakko acted out comically, "you act woke because you're morally broke!"
"PUT THAT DOWN!" Nora screamed, clenching her fists.
"Put that… down? Hmm, this is a pickle," Yakko responded while juggling the award.
"What do you mean, brother?" Wakko asked, approaching.
"Things fall down to Earth because of gravity, but if the Earth is in space, and in space there's no up or down, then technically I couldn't put anything down can I?" Yakko explained, continuously tossing around the Oscar and making Nora panic.
"I don't see any flaws in that logic!" Dot added, joining in.
Yakko shrugged his shoulders, "well call me Neil deGrasse Tyson then!" He then took the Oscar and chucked it into the air.
"NO!" Nora ran after the award, arms outstretched and ready to catch it. The Oscar twirled down in her direction, but before she could catch it her heel snapped and she face-planted into the ground. The award conked her on the head.
After whispering to themselves, the Warners each help up wooden paddles with numbers on them.
"Seven!" Yakko shouted.
"Seven!" Wakko shouted.
"Six!" Dot shouted, earning some "awws" from her brothers.
"Ever the contrarian, eh sister?" Wakko chuckled.
"Well her dance form was a bit sloppy," Dot replied.
Nora sat up and checked her broken shoe, her blood was boiling. "That was a $700 pair of shoes! And my jacket's all wrinkled! And you dented my Oscar!"
"Well to be fair you didn't catch it in time so if you're gonna play the blame game at least get your facts right," Yakko replied.
"Yeah, where do you think you are, Fox News?" Wakko added.
"If you don't get out of my office immediately, I'm going to murder the three if you!" Nora bellowed, eyes full of rage and teeth bare as she pointed to each of the Warners.
"Oh come on Nora, I thought we had a special relationship here? Two girls, taking on the world?" Dot questioned, grinning and blinking her eyes cutely.
"Yeah, and we're just here for the snacks and moral support," Wakko said, already digging through her filing cabinet for more food.
Nora slowly stomped up to the Warners, her shadow slowly overtaking them, "I work too hard, and for too long, to have my only break out of the entire day wasted due to the reckless mayhem of a trio of rotten, annoying kids. I am literally on the verge of a meltdown and I warn you, you won't like me when I pass that threshold." Her voice was cool but tinted by intense anger. "Do you understand?"
Yakko scratched his head, "uhhhhhhhhh yeah we understand!"
"Is that so?" Nora questioned, her fury slightly appeased.
"Sure we do!" Dot added sweetly, "you just need a hug!"
"I SWEAR-" before Nora could go off, all three Warners jumped into her arms and squeezed her in a big hug, followed by a sloppy kiss.
Nora batted them off of her and turned to find that they had already bounded out of the office.
Her lip trembling, Nora patted down her matted hair and wrinkly jacket and collected herself. Chucking her damaged shoe in the garbage, she put a call to her assistant for a replacement pair. Looking at the clock to find that her lunch break was up, Nora gave a depressed sigh and returned to her desk to make more calls.
…
2:00 PM
Nora rubbed her temple as the representative of the Global Brands and Franchises division gave their status report. Traffic meetings were always the most nerve-racking, because every division of Warner Brothers studios needed to work like a well-oiled machine, and if one was falling behind then the others couldn't be far along.
"Theme park attendance has gone down 5% in recent months since we phased out the Superman ride for the Aquaman ride," the representative explained, going down the bullet points on his presentation.
Scoffing, Nora smacked the table with her palm. "I don't get it! The crowds fall out of favor with Superman, so we give them an updated, cool-guy Aquaman, but they didn't even like that?!"
"Well, Ms. Nora," chimed in a representative from the WB Pictures Group, hesitating to turn her gaze towards the CEO, "I think it's safe to say that our audiences kind of figured out we were just playing off of the world of Black Panther and the huskiness of Thor."
"HEY! DC did superheroes first!" Nora rebutted.
"That doesn't really mean anything anymore," she responded meekly.
Nora wasn't having it. "It does when it brings us billions of dollars every year!"
"In all honesty, Ms. Nora," popped in the GBaF representative, just wanting to finish his report, "we make enough money with the other rides that it isn't a big deal."
"A loss of 550,000 paying visitors a year is QUITE a BIG DEAL!" Nora was slamming her fists on the table now, "what are you, stupid?!"
No one wanted to speak up. The last thing anyone wanted was to make her angrier than she already was. Everyone discreetly scrambled to hide all bad news and bump up the good results for their upcoming reports.
…
5:00 PM
"Can this day be over already?" Nora muttered to herself at her desk, typing away on her laptop. Typical for this hour, there were many more emails to respond to. To break up the monotony, Nora turned on the radio, but the station she was on was constantly bombarded by commercial breaks. Between Dr. Scratchansniff's comments, the Warners ruining her lunch break, and the lousy traffic meeting, this day was turning out rather sucky and this wasn't helping.
Nora changed to another station: a song was just ending and it immediately went to commercials.
"Ugh!" Nora groaned, before changing the channel again. It looked like another song was starting, but was immediately interrupted by a voice: all the best hits, here on 93.7 "the Squirrel!" Followed by yet more commercials.
Nora puffed her cheeks, grabbed the radio, and chucked it to the wall. It shattered into pieces. She should've expected that, but was still surprised and upset.
"Katie, buy me another portable radio!" Nora phoned in with exasperation.
"Right away, Ms. Nora. It'll be here for you and set up tomorrow morning," replied the assistant.
"Thanks," Nora replied, shutting off the call.
She turned to look at her laptop screen and the wall of unopened emails. Sighing, she pushed herself from her desk and spun around her swivel-chair. Nora did not want to do anymore work, but she had to. Looking at the clock, she still had two hours till she clocked out.
"Katie!" she called again.
"Yes, Ms. Nora?" she responded cheerfully.
"Find me a masseuse, I'm sore all over," Nora sighed, rubbing her arms.
"Will do, Ms. Nora. I'll send one up as soon as possible."
"Excellent…" Nora couldn't help but smile a bit. She excited her chair and walked over to the sofa, wasting no time falling into the cushions.
She crossed her arms under her chin and closed her eyes, anticipating the pair of soft hands working out the kinks on her back. Maybe, despite everything, this could bring the day to a satisfying close.
Nora heard the door swing open but didn't bother opening her eyes and looking up. Happy with the quick speed in which they arrived, she lazily waved her arm and ushered the masseuse over. "Over here!" she called.
Wasting no time, the masseuse began rubbing her shoulders.
"Oh? Quiet aren't we? Perfect, I'm not one for conversation. You- ooh, you know what a woman likes," Nora commented, breathing softly.
Moving down her back, the masseuse began lightly tapping their hands, spawning a series of happy groans from the CEO.
"That's it… lower," Nora ordered.
And lower their hands went.
"A little lower, I got a sort of crick at the base of my spine," Nora added.
Immediately, she felt a sharp pinch on her rear. Eyes bulging open, Nora leaped from the sofa and screamed in pain. She turned around to find that there was a crab holding on tight.
"What in the actual hell?!" Nora exclaimed, before turning to find a dressed up Wakko Warner waving at her.
"Ah crabs: nature's chiropractors!" He said triumphantly.
Nora wretched the crab from her skirt, ripping a big hole, and tossed it away. "I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!" She yelled, bounding towards the Warner brother.
"Well, I feel the need for speed!" Wakko wasted no time leaping out of the office, the violently distressed woman hot on his tail.
Nora paid no mind to the confused employees as she raced after the quick-footed Warner. Wakko hopped from wall to wall (and from head to head), dodging every swipe of Nora's hand. In the chase, Nora found herself repeatedly bumping into her staff, sending papers, cups of coffee, and boxes of supplies into the air and often onto her body. She was an absolute mess.
Wakko managed to round into an empty meeting room. There was no chance of hiding under the table and not getting caught, so he was forced to back into a corner.
A disheveled, coffee-stained Nora entered the room and locked the door behind her. With wild eyes, she approached Wakko. "All I wanted was a normal work day… but I couldn't even have that! What is it with you Warners and always messing with people?!"
"Well, we don't think of it as "messing with people", it's more about the surprises in life! You can never be prepared for everything, because we don't know everything! Does that make sense, dearie?" Wakko explained, keeping as cool as ever.
"I am the CEO of the Warner Brothers Studio," Nora began, twitching her face as she continued her approach, "If I don't know everything, then I'm not doing my job right… and that's just silly. I KNOW ALL!"
"Is that so? Do you know the Calvin Q. Calculus law?" Wakko asked.
"What are you talking about?" Nora questioned, before stepping foot into a black circle on the floor which sent her careening and screaming below with a thud.
Wakko peered into the hole and grinned, "an object falling into a portable hole will remain in freefall unless stopped by an object of equal or greater mass!"
With that, he boingy-boingied away, leaving Nora alone in the mysterious hole.
…
7:00 PM
Ralph was munching on a burger when he noticed a particular car approaching the gate. He quickly pushed the button and allowed the vehicle forward, seeing a bruised and peeved Nora in the driver's seat.
"Good evening Ms. Nora," Ralph greeted in a slightly reserved manner, noticing the CEO's deadpan expression.
Nora sighed and leaned her head in Ralph's direction, one eyebrow cocked up.
"Ralph," she simply responded.
"Did you… uh… did you have a good day?" Ralph asked, unsure.
"Just peachy," Nora said.
"That's good. Duh… have a good night," Ralph waved, to which Nora nodded her head and drove away into the city.
By now the sun had set and most everyone had returned home for dinner. Nora, on the other hand, ended her days fairly late. Now was better than never.
She flipped on the radio, this time greeted by Rey Ruiz's "Mi Media Mitad".
Leaning in her seat, Nora took in the music and began easing her anxiety for tomorrow. At this point, she should expect days like this, with wacky Warners and other characters in her world, but still she wished things were easier. But that wasn't going to happen, so she had to move on and continue to keep the machine running.
Because that's what she was supposed to do.
...
Good Night Everybody!