Safety Net • CTH

Chapter 1 • Something New

- Evalina's POV -

I never thought in a million years that I'd get out of New York, let alone land my dream internship at one of the best public relation firms in the country.

Summer's over; no more relaxing, time to get to work. This job wont be easy, in the slightest, but I'm determined to get what I want; and what I want most, is to be the best publicist in the music industry of my time.

My parents came to the U.S. from Columbia with almost nothing. They worked incredibly hard to make a home in a country they knew nothing about, other than the fact that it would save them from the dangerous little town they were from. They settled in Queens, then had me a few years after moving. They couldn't afford to have more than one kid, so it's just been us all these years, which I don't mind cause I'm probably a handful.

I'm 21 and I just graduated college from NYU with a degree in Public Relations. I worked my ass off in high school to even be considered. I got accepted and even got an academic scholarship to attend.

Unfortunately, the scholarship was only for tuition, so I had to stay at home and take an hour subway to school every day. Needless to say, college was not a walk in the park, but I persevered! Although my parents don't really understand my dreams of becoming a publicist, and the fact that they really wanted me to become a doctor or something, which like..ew..blood, no thanks, they support me..for the most part.

***

September 2018

Today's my first day at Regency PR, one of, if not, the most prestigious PR firms in the country. I'm just an intern, which means I'll probably just be getting coffee and running errands for the most part, but it is a paid position so I'm super excited to get my foot in the door.

I had just woken up, it's 6am. I quickly get up, and hop in the shower. When I got out, It was almost 7am. "Shit!", I thought.

I took too long in the shower so now I only have half an hour to get ready before I have to leave. See, the subway in NYC is almost always late, so even though I didn't need to be in the office till 9am, it means you actually have to leave an hour to an hour and a half early to get to your destination in time.

"I CANNOT be late on my first day!", I said to myself.

Luckily, I've had my first day outfit picked out for weeks so all I really had to worry about was my makeup and hair. I quickly got myself together.

"Wait Eva, breakfast!", I heard my mom shout as I bolted to the door.

"No time, running late already, love you!" I shouted back as I ran out of the apartment.

I got to the subway and put my airpods in. My favorite band, 5 Seconds of Summer had released their new album "Youngblood" a few months back and it's all i've been able to listen to since then. I've been a fan for as long as I could remember, I even used to run a stan twitter account for them in high school. I'd like to think I've grown up a little since then, but lets be real, just cause you don't run a stan account anymore, doesn't mean you stopped being a stan.

I finally got to Manhattan, the business hub of NYC, and with 10 minutes to spare at that! I looked at the very tall building in front of me and took a a deep breath.

This is the first day of the rest of my life.

I got inside, and headed for the elevator.

Regency PR, 42nd floor.

I felt my nerves starting to skyrocket, then, just like that, the elevator door opens. First thing I see when they open is people in suits breeze by; they looked like they were all on a mission. I headed for the front counter.

"Hi, how can I help you?", the receptionist said in a welcoming tone.

"Hi! My name's Evalina Santos, I'm interning for Margaret Spade, it's my first day." I said.

"Ah yes, let me take you to her office, don't worry, she's not as scary as she sounds.", she said in a reassuring tone.

Thank god.

We walk to the last and biggest office on the whole floor.

She knocks on the door, waiting for the queue to be invited in the office and is met with an annoyed sounding "Come in.".

"Good morning Ms. Spade, I have Evalina Santos here for you", she said.

"Oh good, another intern. Come in, sit.", she said, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk.

I sat down, "Good morning, I'm Eva, it's so great to meet you Ms. Spade, I've dreamt of working for you for yea-".

She cuts me off; "Listen, I wont sugar coat this, this job is hard, fast paced, and most interns don't even last a month. If you're going to work for me, the number one thing you need to learn is listen, and adapt..quickly.", she said in a demanding tone.

"I can certainly do that." I said eagerly.

She grins and gets up from her chair. She wants to the door, gesturing for me to follow her. She began giving me a tour of the office.

"Here at Regency PR, we're pretty much a safety net for many artists in the entertainment industry. We work with many big names, such as Beyonce and Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, Fifth Harmony, and many more. We make it so artists look like their best selves, even when they're no where near it, we take pride in being able to get anyone out of a scandal.", she explains.

"First order of business, I need an iced, Ristretto, 10 shot, venti, with breve, 5 pump vanilla, 7 pump caramel, 4 Splenda, poured, not shaken." she adds.

You've got to be kidding me.

"Oh, um, would you mind repeating that so I could write it down?" I said nervously.

She starts laughing, "Oh you should've seen your face.. priceless! Just kidding..about the order not the coffee..I do actually want that, just get me a venti iced black with 5 splenda; and get yourself a little something. My treat for scaring you.", she said, still laughing.

I laugh back nervously, "Yes, coming right up. Thank you." I said.

"Here, company card, for all coffee orders or anything else I ask you to get me. DO NOT lose it.", she says sternly while handing me the credit card.

I took the card and made my way out the office and to the Starbucks across the street.

If every day is like this..this internship should be...interesting. I guess we all start somewhere."

- Author's Note -

Well, that's the start to the story! I didn't want too much to happen in the first chapter so you can all get a feel for Eva and her backstory. Feel free to leave me comments/concerns/feedback, it's always welcomed!