The reader and the talker.
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the rights to the characters from Carmilla.
Chapter 8:
Laura took one last look at herself in the mirror and fixed her blazer one last time. She smiled confidently at herself before making a grimace. She felt so confident about the interview but at the same time she was extremely nervous. This could be her big break as a journalist! This day was extremely important to her and she had to look flawless, confident and determined. She made a determined face at the mirror and let out a moan of frustration. She was extremely nervous and she could feel that her hands were already getting clammy. She couldn't shake the directors hand with sweaty hands, that was just not an option. She breathed in deeply, closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten and let out a long breath.
"Okay Laura, you can do this! And IF it goes bad you're still meeting Carmilla tonight!" Uh uh, another thing to be nervous about. Jeez, couldn't she just catch a break? She shook her head quickly and nodded at herself in the mirror in determination.
She heard a vibration on the bed and she turned around and took up her phone. There were a couple of text messages from Perry, LaFontaine, Danny and Carmilla all wishing her good luck. She read Carmillas text several times, which read "Good luck cupcake." and she already felt calmer. She decided it was time to get going and she headed out the door. Quickly remembering that she forgot her wallet and ran inside one last time before leaving her apartment, more nervous than she had ever been in her entire life.
—
She entered the Oracle office and walked up to Natalie, the receptionist, who was on the phone. She awkwardly stood waiting for her to be done, shifting from foot to foot. If someone else saw her they would probably think that she really needed to pee.
Natalie looked up and saw Laura waiting for her and flashed her a kind smile and put up her finger, gesturing for her to wait a second.
"Excuse me, one second." She said to the person on the other line and covered her hand over the phone. "Hi sweetie, interview at three o'clock. Laura Hollis right?" She asked in a hushed voice so the person on the other line wouldn't hear her.
Laura nodded rapidly at the receptionist who smiled at her. "The Director is ready to see you. Her office is on the fifth floor to the left." She said kindly as she pointed towards the elevator and returned back to her phone call. Laura nodded once again and started walking towards the elevator.
Laura pressed the button and stood waiting for the lift. "Her?" She thought. For some reason she had always thought it was a he. However Laura smiled a satisfied smile, impressed that the person leading the whole organisation was in fact a woman. The ding of the elevator brought her out of her thoughts and she walked into the elevator, pressing the butting with the number five on it. Suddenly, she realised she had studied everything about the company except from the director. Her heart dropped. It felt like she was in high school again and she realised she had studied the wrong chapters for a test. Which only happened once, thank god, but still. She was starting to get nervous again and she had no idea who was going to be there on the other side of the door. She didn't even know her name. To say she was freaking out was an understatement. She saw how she quickly moved from floor to floor and took a deep breath and mumbled "You got this Laura, you're a Hollis. We always make it through…well almost". The elevator doors opened and she took one last breath before exiting and turning left. She saw a big door in front of her with the text "Director's office" neatly written on it. However something else caught her eye. Under that it stood in smaller letters "Karnstein". Her belly made a unpleasant turn. That explained everything! That was why Carmilla reacted like she did! She knew all along! That's why Carmilla had laughed. That was why she didn't want to tell her where she worked! SHE was the freaking director of The Oracle! "That sneaky bastard!" She mumbled as she clenched her fists together. She knocked loudly on the door, biting her lip in irritation.
She heard a faint "Come in" on the other side of the door. She aggressively opened the door, ready to take Carmilla head on and she was planning on telling her how unfair she had been acting towards her.
But to her surprise an older woman looked up from her desk, quite surprised at Laura's aggressive entry and Laura looked equally surprised in return. The woman sitting down in her leather armchair looked like she was in her early fifty. Her hair tied back firmly into a bun, showing all of her stern features. The woman was frowning, the wrinkles on her forehead strengthening and she didn't look happy at Laura's aggressive entry.
"Take a seat, Miss Hollis." The woman ordered firmly.
Laura was so confused and she felt that all her planning had gone right out the window. "Eum…" She started unsurely. Still standing in the middle of the room and looking like a lost puppy. "I couldn't get open the door so I had to push extra hard. Sorry for the rude entry…" She said with a nervous laugh.
"Take a seat, Miss Hollis." The woman repeated more sternly than before and pointed at the seat in front of her desk.
"Yes of course!" She said hurriedly as she quickly took a seat in front of the slightly greyed haired woman.
"Well, at least you aren't tardy." She said with no emotion in her voice. This interview was going to be harder than she had anticipated.
"I always try to be on time, I hate being late." Laura told the woman in front of her.
"Try?" The older woman questioned her with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I can't remember the last time I was late actually and I always leave my apartment extra early so I'm always on time and-" The woman in front of her put her hand up signalling her to be quite. Laura pressed her lips tightly together. The woman was intimidating.
"Do you know who I am?" The woman in front of her questioned coldly. Well, it felt more like an interrogation Laura though.
"Yes of course. You're the director of the oracle. Mrs Karnstein." Laura said with a nervous smile on her face.
"Well obviously." The woman said dryly. "That was not the question. Anyone could have guessed that seeing that you are in fact at the Oracles office and both those facts are clearly written on my door. My question is, do you know who I am?" She squinted her eyes at Laura, studying her every move. Honestly, the woman reminded Laura of a lizard. She was still extremely beautiful for her age, however she was extremely uncomfortable.
Laura opened her mouth to say something and closed it again. Tried again and closed it again. "No." She admitted in shame. She felt like Anne Hathaway in the movie "The Devil wears Prada". "I forgot to look up that part."
"So, you're telling me you came into my office, without knowing who I am? And thought you would get a job?" The woman said coldly and a hint of disbelief in her voice.
"I-"
"I am Elizabeth Karnstein. The Director of one of the biggest newspapers in America." She stated as she stood up as she held her hands behind her back and walked towards the window and turned her back to Laura. "In the world you might even say. You come in here, first of all with no experience except from your University studies and expect to get hired? We are one of the leading newspapers in the world. We are correct, we are strong" The woman took a pause before continuing. "We are a newspaper who has been going strong for over a hundred years now and you expect me to hire YOU?!" The woman huffed in disbelief as she shook her head. "Miss Hollis, do you know why I love my job?" She questioned. But Laura was afraid to answer, feeling that Mrs. Karnstein would interrupt her again. But the silence filling the room was growing.
"Well?" The older woman asked impatiently.
"Because you are passionate about what you do and you believe in your work." Laura said timidly as she looked down at her hands that where hardly joined together in her lap.
"True." It sounded like she was smiling. "But also, because I am helping people all over the world to get to the truth." She said as she took up her first and gripped it tightly. "The truth Miss Hollis, is what the people are thriving for. Throughout centuries people have searched for the truth, truth of who murdered who, what politician slept with who and especially where we all came from. Humans nurture on the truth. It makes them feel calm and that's how you keep the people controlled. This is not only a newspaper. This is a source." She turned around and her blue grey eyes bored into hers. Laura was for the first time in her life afraid of someone. This woman was so extremely powerful. She though Carmilla could be cold at times, but this woman however- wait… was this Carmillas mother? She scrunched her face in confusion at the realisation.
"You seem confused." Elizabeth Karnstein noted. "Did I not make myself clear enough?"
"No, you made yourself clear ma'am- I mean Mrs Karnstein." Laura corrected herself quickly.
"Well, the Oracle do not have time for children like you." She held eye contact with her for a couple of seconds before Laura looked away. It felt like a predator was watching its pray. Laura being the pray of course. The one who won would be the defeated, eaten alive, killed and that was exactly how Laura was feeling right now.
"Now, get out of my office. I don't have time for naive little girls like you." The woman turned around and sat down at her desk again. Not even looking up at Laura as she put on her reading glasses and started going through the files in front of her. Laura wanted to cry, she wanted to scream. She felt so humiliated. On weak legs she stood up and started walking towards the door but as she laid her hand on the handle she took a deep breath before turning around.
"No." She said.
"Excuse me?" The woman said as she took of her reading glasses and looked up at Laura.
"You heard me. I don't care who you are. No one, and I mean no one talks to me like that. You might be a big shot. You might be the director of one of the biggest newspaper company in the world. But show some respect. Sure, people want to know the truth but I'll tell you the truth! People need respect and they need to feel safe. And YOU are not a person who makes people feel safe!" She pointed angrily at the director before continuing. "You push them down. You didn't even shake my hand when I came in and I felt so humiliated! I might not have experience except from the high-school newspaper and the University newspaper. But I'll tell you something Mrs. Karnstein. I have respect, I am driven, I am passionate and I will always find with the truth. That's why I'm here today. Because I believe I can be a big asset to your company!" Laura took a deep breath before realising what she had just done. She had just yelled at one of the biggest newspaper directors in the world. Goodbye journalism dream she though. She stood there panting frantically, waiting for some kind of response from the woman sitting in front of her. The director held her glasses in her hand and pointed at her.
"Get. Out of my office. Now." Laura gulped and basically ran out of her office. She ran to the elevator and pressed the button rapidly over and over again. She was loosing it, she was hyperventilating and she felt the world around her spinning. The elevator door opened and she basically jumped in and hit the button which would take her to the reception. The elevator was going down and so was her career before it had even started. Laura put her head in her hands and let out a scream. She was crying, she had messed up big time. She quickly dried her eyes as she realised she was soon on the bottom floor and tried to calm down her breathing. The elevator door opened and she walked out tensely. Trying to act normal. She passed some people in suits laughing as they drunk their coffee. She was just about to get out of the office before she heard someone yell after her.
"Miss Hollis?" She turned around and saw Natalie looking at her worriedly. It was probably not the first time she had seen something like this happen and Laura now understood why she was so kind to her. She knew this was coming. She took a deep breath before answering.
"Yes, Natalie." She didn't even recognise her own voice anymore. It was so close to breaking.
"I have Mrs. Karnstein on the phone. She wants you to head back to her office immediately." To say that Natalie looked worried was an understatement. Laura felt her heart beat quicken. She couldn't walk back up there. She just couldn't. She was about to collapse. But she realised that she didn't have any other choice and nodded and turned around. Hoping the nightmare could end soon.
The elevator stopped at the fifth floor and Laura took her thousand deep breath for that day, walked out and turned towards the directors office again. She took another deep breath and slapped herself in the face a couple of times, preparing herself for the scolding of her life and she knocked on the door once again, this time however not as aggressively.
"Come in Miss Hollis." Mrs. Karnstein said through the door.
Laura opened the door and stood lost in the middle of her office again. Elizabeth was standing looking out of the window again, her hands firmly gripped behind her back and she was so silent that you couldn't even hear her breathing. Maybe because Laura's heart was beating so loudly and she wondered if the other woman could hear it too. Laura started walking towards the seat.
"No need to sit down, Miss Hollis. This will be quick." The woman said coldly, still not turning around to face her. Laura stood absolutely still, worried that one wrong move and the director would start yelling at her.
The director took a deep breath before saying. "You got the job."
Laura dropped her jaw. Wait, what just happened?! She stopped breathing for a couple of seconds. Was this a hallucination? Was she actually at the hospital because her heart gave out for beating too rapidly?
"W-what?" Laura finally let out.
"You heard me, you got the job." She repeated.
"I don't understand…" Laura said after a couple of seconds of silence.
"Are you stupid too?" The woman questioned, finally turning around to face her.
"But why?" Laura questioned, ignoring the comment about her being stupid. "I yelled at you, I screamed at you…" Laura continued, more confused than ever.
"Yes, yes you did, Miss Hollis. But I'll tell you what you also did. You told me the truth." She said, but her face was still cold. Laura still stood quite in the middle of the room. The director went over to her desk and sat on it with crossed legs and held up her hand at her which was also holding her glasses.
"You see, for fifteen years I've been working for this company as the director. I've seen so many of your kind. Young, hopeful, full of life. But as soon as I tell them what I just told you they either run out with their tails between their legs or crying. You however" the woman let out a chuckle. "You told me the truth. You didn't run, even though I saw that you wanted to flee from the situation. You turned around and stood your ground. You're a fighter Hollis and that's exactly the people I am looking for. You're something else." Mrs Karnstein stoop up and walked over to Laura and held out her hand waiting for Laura to shake it.
"Welcome to The Oracle, Miss Hollis."