A/N: Welcome to the first edition of my newest Cuphead fic, "Starting a New Chapter"! This beautiful fic was inspired by nataliepthatsme's fics "Within the Fine Lines" and "A New Stroke of the Pen". I wanna give a MAJOR shout out to Natty as well as Katie (AKA: Gemwing2012) for their assistance with this story!

NOTE: This fic follows the storyline of Natty's previous fics, so please make sure you read her stories first before reading mine if y'all haven't already. The reviews and continued views mean a lot to us.

With that outta the way, get ready for a swell story! And BEGIN!

(Lexie's P.O.V)

Okay, so lemme start from the beginning.

My name is Alexis Kate Luthor. I'm 24 years old and I'm a journalist for the NY Times. And lemme tell ya, it was a bumpy road.

I came to New York from Texas when I was only 19 years old. I was still in college but I wanted to find a better career to support myself with. I came across the internship position online, got the job and moved. That was when I met someone who is now my boss: Audrey Susan Keller.

Our relationship…kinda started off rocky. Mainly cause, believe it or not, we both got stuck in some kinda 1930's cartoon world together and met a couple kids with cups for heads, I got hit on by a creepy dice-headed dude, and she almost got hitched to the literal Devil himself.

Yeahhhhh, don't ask me why about that last part, I have no freakin' clue.

Despite that…unique challenge, our friendship grew stronger because of the experience and I stay in regular contact with her even outside of work.

Fast forward to the present day, something very strange happened. I had just wrapped up an interview with a big client and I was at my office getting everything ready for the article, when I heard a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, Lex? It's Ryan. Uh, Audrey needs to see you in her office." A voice replied from the other side. "Oh, and she needs that sports article when it's finished."

I nodded while replying, "Alrighty, I'll be there in a jiff."

After adding some finishing touches on my sports article, I got it printed, put it in a folder, and started on my way to Audrey's office.

"Hello, Audrey?" I called, gently opening the door. "It's Lex. I got the sports article ya asked for."

"Ah, Lexie. Glad you're here. You can leave it on my desk." Audrey instructed me, pointing to a spot on her desk.

Nodding, I put the papers on her desk and took a seat.

"Ryan said you were wanting to speak with me about something. Everything okay?"

I get nervous when employers ask me to see them. Don't ask me why, but it always makes me think I did something wrong or I'm in trouble.

She must've read my mind, cause she replied, "Oh, yes everything's fine. I just wanted to know. You seem a bit tense. Everything okay?"

I sighed while replying, "To be honest, since that incident with…the casino…I've been feeling way more nervous than normal. I look around and wonder if people are gonna try to take advantage of me…like…ya know who…"

Audrey nodded. We try not to talk about that situation with the Devil or…that blockhead, since it causes bad vibes for us. But she knew.

"Well, I want you to have a safe and friendly environment. If anyone in the building does anything to you that makes you feel uncomfortable, please let me know asap." Audrey responded. "I do not tolerate harassment."

I nodded while smiling, "Thanks Auds. I appreciate it."

"No problem and look, it isn't easy to think about, but one, that happened a long time ago and two, neither of them could have a way to get to our world." Audrey mentioned. "Besides, even if he did come, you and I would just race into a church and stay there, since that's the one place he wouldn't dare to step foot into."

I laughed while joking, "Yeah, it could be a slumber party!"

We both had a good laugh before she stated, " But in all seriousness, I do understand how you're feeling. I felt the same way about a few things and honestly, it's ok. Even in some environments there are creeps roaming about."

Audrey paused before stating "Here. I want to give you something."

She made her way to her bookshelf and pulled out a book and handed it to me.

"Oh…okay? It's a nice book, but um…looks like it might be for kids." I mentioned "Also, never heard of Studio MDHR' before. They new?"

"They're one of those companies that aren't easily recognizable. One of my professors gave this to me as a gift, so I think I'll pass it down to you." Audrey explained. "I have a task for you; I want you to read this book, and write a report about it; the story, characters, setting, etc. I want you to really understand the characters and dive deep into their story. You might learn a thing or two."

Uhhhhh…okay? Since when does my job description involve book reports? But, out of respect for Audie's friendship, I nodded.

"Okay. I'm actually gonna be picking up my pals Katie and Natty from the airport, they're coming for a visit, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have, but I'll see what I can do."

"Good to hear. Now, I kept you long enough. Have a good weekend." Audrey replied. "And tell Natty I said hi and hope to get coffee with her soon."

I nodded and headed back to my office. Still felt a bit weird that I was doing a book report of all things, especially a children's book.

But if it'll help me in some way, shape or form, I might wanna take a look at it.

Who knows, maybe I'll enjoy it.

A/N: As we know, Audrey has "passed the torch" (or pen depending on how you look at it), from one Scribbler to a new one. What craziness lies ahead of me? Find out in next week's edition of "Starting a New Chapter"!