Page 1 of Jump Start

One

Harper

“Harper, where are we with the Donaldson story?” my editor in chief asked as he pointed his disinterested gaze at me.

I straightened up in my chair and cleared my throat to answer. “Yes, coming along. Just putting the finishing touches on it. Will be ready for checking before the deadline, sir.”

Harry Wentworth was my editor in chief, my boss, for all intents and purposes, an accomplished investigative journalist who was only a few years away from retiring. At this point, he wasn’t even trying to hide his apathy.

“Great, thanks, Harper. Meredith, where are we with lifestyle?” His question was directed at my colleague and work friend beside me.

I worked as a journalist at the prominent online Australian newspaper,The Sydney Daily. TheDailywas not without its issues, but overall, it was my dream job.

As far back as I could remember, I had always wanted to write and be a journalist. I used to read news headlines to all my stuffed teddy bears, who would sit neatly in front of me in a straight line.

I focused back on Harry. “This quarter, I would like us all to try to cover something a little different than our usualhumdrum. I’ve got a one-on-one interview—a week in the life piece I’d like someone to do with Thomas Henry-Jackson. Any takers?”

The room buzzed. I noticed chatter between the men in particular.

“Who’s that?” I asked Meredith, who raised her shoulders and eyebrows at me. At least I wasn’t the only one with no idea.

“Harper, seriously. He’s one of the newest rising stars of the Australian GT Racing Championships,” one of my male colleagues directed at me. He also sported a shocked expression at my inept knowledge.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, great. I don’t follow any car racing,” I aimed back at them.

“Perfect, which is why you should do this story. Thanks for volunteering, Harper!” Harry clapped in my direction.

My eyes went wide, and I shook my head. “What? No, sir, I would rather cover the Australian netball team or something other than racing.”

Harry laughed. “Thomas is yours. Come see me later for more details.” And then he moved on to the next order of business.

I sat back in my chair, bewildered. I was always looking for a challenging piece to write, however, this was something else entirely.

Meredith placed her hand on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me.

“It’s fine. I love a challenge!” My voice came out an octave higher than usual, not quite believable, even to myself.

The rest of the meeting went by without any more surprise assignments. Just as I stood up to leave, Harry approached me atthe door. “Harper, would you mind staying back a moment?”

I smiled politely. “Of course!”

Harry motioned for me to have a seat.

I blindly walked backwards until I found a chair at the table. Harry took a moment to gather his belongings and sat opposite me, an expectant smile on his face.

“Harper, thank you for staying.” I opened my notepad and scribbled the date in the top left-hand corner.

“No worries, sir,” I replied casually, even though I felt anything but casual on the inside.

“I do apologise if assigning you this piece seemed a little forward, but I think this will be a good opportunity for you to get out of your comfort zone of political and finance pieces. Do something new.”

I nodded. I knew he was right. “It was forward, sir, but I do agree that it will be a great opportunity for me, so thank you.”

He nodded and typed something into his laptop. “I’ve only got a few minutes, so I will email you the assignment in more detail, but basically, we want you to follow Thomas around for a week. This includes documenting the ins and outs of a race car driver’s life, as well as conducting an interview that will be featured on our homepage, just in time for the next racing meet in under a month. You will have access to the racing team, the garage, engineers, and whatever else you need.”

I nodded along. This was a lot of information to process, but a small part of me felt excited to be experiencing something so new and unique to me. “Okay. Yes, please send me that email when you can, and I will get to work on my research.”

Harry nodded. “You are the right person for this. I’ve got a video call with the CEO now, so I’ll touchbase with you later. Thanks, Harper,” he said as he placed his headphones on, effectively ending the meeting.

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