Prologue 2 - Justine Special 2
"Hello, guys. Coming to you live and hot from Star City, the home of innovations, is your favourite reporter, Justine Lupe. From the sky-reaching skyscrapers to the promises of a brighter future to any and everyone, today, we have been tasked to find all there is about this city, and its appeal." Justine appeared in front of the camera again, a welcoming smile plastered across her face.
Justine kept her face warm for the camera, but it wasn't her angles that troubled her, but the little things that make a live take of this nature feel like a gamble. No prepared script for the guest and no guidance, so you can only hope you get a workable guest.
Justine could still remember the last guest, Jack. He was a prime example of what could go wrong in interviews like this.
"Now, first, let's meet one of our interviewers for today, a citizen of this great city. Hello, and could you tell us your name?" She had already read the script enough to remember how it starts.
"Hello…I..I'm Mike. It's a pleasure to be invited to this show." The boy Justine had chosen this time was very much opposite to who she had been before. He was weak-willed, meek, and most important of all, easy to control.
'Yes! This is it. My perfect guest!' Justine applauded herself, a grin forming on her face as she looked at her masterpiece.
The teenage boy shuffled as the tension weight fell on him. He was carrying her chance to secure a promotion after all, so she couldn't get careless or stress him.
With practised patience and a softened voice, she talked with the teenager. "Hello, Mike. You can call me Justine. If it's okay with you, what makes Star City special to you?" A smile formed on Justine's face as she talked with him.
You have to first make the guest comfortable to be able to have the best conversation, and Justine was as adept as a master on this.
The boy, Mike, clasped his hands together and took a breather before answering. "I believe what makes Star City so unique and holds importance to me is Axion Corp. I have a dream to be employed there one day."
"Haha. That's such a nice dream to have, Mike." Justine complimented as Mike stared up at her, and he became a bit more relaxed. "Really?" Mike's voice lowered and tensed as he awaited her response.
'Fuck yeah! He's such a godsend. He's so easy to work with! The promotion doesn't seem so far away now, haha. You thought I couldn't do it, but back at you, stupid boss. I'm Justine Water!'
"Yeah. The future and having a dream to make it come into fruition. It's such a nice dream to have, Mike."
"Thanks…" The teenage boy, embarrassed, muffled his thanks, but it was still loud enough to pass his message.
"No, thank you. For the last question of this interview, what would you say to someone who asked you if Star City was somewhere one could visit?" Justine asked the closing question.
"I…I believe that this city truly has something for everybody. It's a city that looks forward to the future and innovations. So I think it's something so nice and beautiful. And…my favourite artists right now, Song is just 19 years of age and she's the perfect example of leaving the future in the hands of the future."
"I love this city, and I hope that you give it a shot and see for yourself what makes this city so lovable and great." Mike finished his answer, and he let out a deep breath as Justine signaled to cut the cameras.
Justine stood u from her chair and gave Mike a huge hug. Her scent of a soft mixture of jasmine and roses wafted into his nose. "Thank you so much, Mike. You've made me so happy!"
"A..I..The boy was unable to form sentences, and he just kept on blabbering incomplete words. Justine broke the hug, and a smile formed on her face. "You're so shy, Mike. Ladies don't like that." Justine advised, and after some formal greetings from the rest of the crew, Mike left the set after giving Justine his number.
"Are you in love, leader?" one of Justine's team members and part of the crew stood beside her as she unpacked. "You're so full of it, Jane. I just needed his number if I ever need to do any type of program like this ever again."
"True. He's not your type. Anyway, you wanna grab food with me?" Jane asked with a smile. "What would I have done without you, Jane?" Justine asked rhetorically. "Nothing," Jane joked back as they both chuckled while they walked out of the stage that was being dismantled.
"You don't wanna show boss the recording yet?" Jnae curiously questioned as they waited for the taxi they had booked. "Nah, that old man can wait for this. He made me suffer so much for this promotion. It's only fair to make him wait a bit."