NaNoWriMo 2006
Busted Seventh: A novel experiment
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"So how's the new job, Mitch?"

Mitch looked up from the paper he was reading to answer Henry's question. Henry was the head bartender at McCrary's, and had been in the business for a decade or two. Mitch didn't know for sure just how long, it seemed like Henry had always been there, all the way back to Mitch's college days.

"It's not a new job, Henry; I've always worked freelance. Now I just have a different regular client." Mitch closed his newspaper and turned it around for Henry to read. "The E&C has a cumbersome title, but once you get past that it's just another alternative newsweekly."

Henry flipped through a bit with the hand that wasn't holding a pint glass, then turned back to the cover. "Empyrean and Chthonic?" Henry asked. "Hell, I don't even know to pronounce that second one." Henry went back to reading the newspaper, a bit more slowly this time, actually taking in some of the articles.

"What you just said is close enough," Mitch said. "It's probably some college grad student's idea of a joke or something. That or someone got real creative with a thesaurus. Even the editor over there usually just calls this rag the E&C. Say, Henry, is that beer for me?"

"What? Oh, yeah." Henry look a bit embarrassed, but just set the glass down and settled in to read one of the articles. "Hey Mitch, here's one you did." Henry pointed to the headline, Local Strip Club Sues City for More Skin.

"Hmm? Oh, that one. Yeah, legal cases go so slowly. I actually wrote that a month ago, and the thing is just now heating up to the point where it's worth printing." Mitch took a sip of his beer. "That's a pretty good example of what I've been doing for Jacob. His city desk editor had just quit, or he never had one to begin with, so I've been covering the local politicos, city hall, that kind of crap. The first piece I sold to him was on the election five weeks ago, so maybe he thinks I have an interest in it." Mitch shrugged, and then chuckled. "If there's a steady pay check in it, I guess I do have an interest.

"Henry, you've got racks for a half dozen papers like this one. The college kids and bar patrons pick them up for concert schedules and restaurant reviews. Most people don't bother the read past the headlines, or they just skip the news articles entirely." Mitch caught Henry coming back to the picture of a pole dancer that was printed above his story. "Well, unless we can sell it to them, I guess.

"The E&C is a little different than those others. After the local news and the event listings and all that crap, Jacob likes to run the weirdest stuff." Mitch leaned over to flip to the back half of the paper for Henry. "Not just a single column of odd and funny news, like you see syndicated everywhere, but some really out-there stuff. Like raining frogs and bleeding statues. Cryptozoology, conspiracy theories, lost civilizations, aliens, unexplained phenomena; and all reported just like the real news."

"Still, the first half of this thing is great," Henry said. "Solid layout, good info. And your stuff is good, too."

Mitch raised his glass in mock salute. "Thanks, Henry"

"And some of these are just hilarious. Wait, is the Sasquatch Watch a regular feature or something?"

"Yep. Every week."

"Heck, we should sell this here,"

"No need to sell it. It's free, advertiser supported just like those others. But mention it to Jack and I'll mention it to Jacob, and I'm sure we could have something set up before the end of the week."

"Looks like a heck of a lot more fun than the real paper."

"It is a real paper," Mitch said. "It's right there in front of you."

"You know what I mean," Henry said.

"Well. Yeah, I guess I do. The pay is less, but I'm selling more articles, so in the end it's a wash. And the work keeps me in beer and skittles, at any rate."

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