The receptionist tells Zapato’s secretary, CARRIE FITCH that Brent is here, and tells Brent to go back to Zaptos’ office. The door is closed and she is on the phone so he stands awkwardly by Fitch’s desk.

CARRIE FITCH

So, you’re the fresh meat, huh?

BRENT DAVID (nervously)

Yeah…hah…I guess. I mean, I’m the intern, if that’s what you meant by meat.

CARRIE FITCH

Where’d you go to school?

BRENT DAVID

Northern.

CARRIE FITCH

Northern Illinois?

BRENT DAVID

Yeah.

CARRIE FITCH

Couldn’t get into a real school?

I’m kidding. Really. I went to a juco.

BRENT DAVID (even more awkwardly)

Couldn’t afford a real college? Hah.

CARRIE FITCH

Actually, no. My parents were killed in a car accident when I was 14. They didn’t have life insurance or anything, so I lived with a drunken aunt. We didn’t have any money. Thanks for asking though.

BRENT DAVID (looks nervously around the office, hoping to find someplace to hide)

Sorry.

The door flies open to Zapato’s office. She’s on the phone and waves in Brent’s general direction as if to tell him to come in. He takes a tentative step towards the door and she points to a chair in her office. Brent takes it to mean to sit down, but there are boxes of blue rubber bands on the chair.

LINDA ZAPATOS (yelling into the phone)

That’s the problem with these (bleeping) sports talk radio stations. You tell that little weasel that we’re not lying! Honest to God, you’ve got to be kidding me. There is no way Mark Prior has a bad elbow! Where does he get this stuff?

(holds a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and addresses Brent)

You the new guy?

BRENT DAVID

Yeah, I’m Brent David…

Brent holds out his hand for her to shake, instead she sticks a very much used styrofoam cup in it and waves her hand in the general direction of an array of coffee pots in the office.

LINDA ZAPATOS (still yelling into the phone)

Why should we help them interview our players? All they do is accuse us of lying. It used to be that we didn’t try and (bleeping) win, now we just beat our players with a stick every day and lie about it? Screw them, no wonder nobody listens to them anymore. If you go by their advertisers all of their listeners are either filing for bankruptcy, pissing away their money on offshore gambling or going to strip clubs! (Bleep) them!

Wait, no. That’s wrong. Tell them they can interview somebody bad…like…Walker. That media whore will talk to anybody.

(Hangs up phone)

Intern! Yeah, you. Come here.