The strings wrapped around her fingers surrounded the shiny red yo-yo that swung steadily back and forth. Cats cradle was a game her father had taught her when she was little and the tedious movement, almost hypnotizing, was Chloe's secret way of calming herself during stressful times. It was times like these that made her ignore the curious stares of her colleagues as they passed by, obviously not used to seeing her slacking off, and absorb herself in the simplicity of a children's toy that quelled the raging butterflies in her stomach. "Aah, how wonderful it must be to not have a care in the world." Chloe sighed as her eyes lifted and spied Jimmy Olsen giving her a thumbs up from across the busy newsroom. He smiled and pointed over her head towards a large TV mounted on the wall. Chloe turned her head to see the Metropolis local news broadcast with the words Lois Lane press conference set for 5:30 pmin the crawl at the bottom of the screen. Although Kahn had specifically stated that everything was to be kept between the two of them she couldn't help but tell someone, anyone for support, and since Clark was out of town she entrusted the information with Jimmy.
"Wait. So Kahn wants you to go by the name Lois Lane?"
"Yes. Long story short, she wants to avoid a scandal or The Daily Planet looking bad in any way."
"So how does your cousin figure into all of this? Have you talked to her since Kahn dropped the bomb?"
"Frankly, I have no idea what Lois' part is in all of this. And no, I haven't been able to get a hold of her. As much as I want answers, I'm not too keen on speaking with her right now."
"So what about everyone who knows you here as Chloe Sullivan? Can I still call you Chloe?"
"Well, as Kahn astutely pointed out, no one who works here besides you and Clark—and actually he doesn't even work here—really knows who I am or cares for that matter. And yes Jimmy, you can still call me Chloe if you want."
Chloe felt a hand on her shoulder and felt herself jump a little; turning away from the TV, where a woman was now discussing If Lex Luthor has already being tried in a court of public opinion, she saw Jimmy smiling above her.
"So, while I was waiting for my pictures I took yesterday—and they're really cool, you should really see them—to scan into the system, I discovered that you can spell the name Lois Lane out of the letters in your name. Isn't that wild?"
Chloe managed a smile. "Yeah, that's wild. But ya might want to keep your voice down." She said, nodding her head towards the group standing next to her desk who were engrossed in the news coverage.
'Oh, sorry." Jimmy's cheeks began to burn pink making his freckles pop and he leaned in closer to her. "So, an hour till the press conference. Are you nervous? Excited?"
Chloe stared back into his gleaming eyes, her mouth open and struggling to find the words to express what she was feeling.
"Ya know, you're whole life is going to change in an hour! You're about to be announced as that famous reporter whom the whole country is talking about! You're about to achieve your dream Chloe—er, Lois." He whispered, giving her a wink.
Chloe gulped hard and felt her throat run dry; for all her life she had wanted to be where she was right now, about to reach out and snatch the brass ring, but she was terrified.. Countless times she had imagined the moment when the work of her life, her LuthorCorp expose, would see the light of day and she never once imagined it would happen in this way. Nor that it would be this stressful. She knew that if she went through with the press conference that, as Jimmy pointed out, everything from that point on would be different—even her name in a way would be different. "Ya know Jimmy, "She said suddenly, watching all the commotion in the room around her. "When I first interned here at The Planet I almost used the name Lois Lane for a story I was writing—"Jimmy shot her a look and Chloe waved it off. "Stuff with the Luthors—long story short, the story never ran. I don't know why I even chose her name to begin with. Out of all the names in the world..."
"I guess anagrams don't lie. Fate wants you to be Lois Lane."
She let out a slightly bitter laugh and Jimmy patted her sympathetically on the shoulder. "It must feel strange and all, but it's only a name, ya know? Besides, don't people use those pseudo things all the time anyways?"
Chloe glanced all around the room again; her co-workers were all immersed in their work while catching sneaky peaks at the TV or copies of The Inquisitor. She knew Jimmy had a point; professionals did use pseudonyms all the time, even famous actors had stage names, so she shouldn't feel above it all. "Yeah, but it's usually their choice." She thought to herself with a newfound amusement of the situation. Maybe fate did have some sort of twisted plan for her, after all she did herself choose to use the name Lois Lane a few years ago, so why should it matter so much now? Besides, whatever fate's plan for her was, as long as it was to be a top reporter at The Daily Planet she could handle it. Even if she had to do it as Lois Lane. "You're right Jimmy. Besides, as long as the truth is out there, what does it matter if I write under the name Big Bertha as long as I get to be a journalist?"
"Now that's the spirit!" Jimmy smiled and reached for the strings dangling from her fingers. "Is that an AirFlyer 2000? Can I borrow that?"
Chloe let out a laugh, detangled it from her hands and placed it in his. "Knock yourself out." Jimmy shoved it in his pocket and turned to leave; as he departed she spied her cousin headed straight towards her.
"Chloe, I think we need to talk."