Chapter Text
It had been seven months since Andy had started working at The Mirror. Seven months during which she had tried, without success, to forget about her incredibly hot very demanding, but inspiring Boss. Nigel, Emily and Serena had told her it woud take time, that she would be so busy at her new job, she would eventually move on.
The thing is, she had not been given any important, time-consuming tasks until very recently. When she was a rookie, she would just be told to write obituaries and other boring tasks. This was not what she came here for, it was outrageous. The woman at human resources had told her if she worked enough time for Miranda Priestly at Runway, she would be able to work at any publications she chose (as long as she was qualified). Andy knew she was overqualified for writing obituaries; she was so pissed off and frustrated that last month she was in the middle of writing her resignation letter, when she received a call from her current Boss. He told her to write an article about people's thoughts on the COVID pandemic in 2022. She was ecstatic, and immediately called her friends to let them know the news. She would not have to look for a job elsewhere and would take this opportunity to write a goodamn article, getting out of her apartment and asking people in the streets their opinion about the measures they were taking against the virus nowadays (if any), whether they thought it was over, and also, if they had got vaccines or on the contrary, were against them.
She was very disappointed in the general response: many people thought masks were unnecessary, had refused to get vaccinated "because the government would inject them with a microchip to control them" or just thought "there is no such thing as a virus, it's just government's lies". It was incredibly upsetting to know millions of people around the world had died because of this damn virus, and yet, so many citizens thought it was bullshit two years later. The important thing, though, is her article was a success, and her Boss asked her if there was anything in particular she would want to write about next.
"Well, you know it's June, right?" the journalist had asked her Boss.
"I may work hard, but yes, I still haven't lost all track of time." Martin smiled.
"No, I was asking because, you know, it's Pride Month, so I was thinking, uhm... would it be alright if I wrote an article about gay people's experiences when using dating apps? I had thought of focusing on gay women, even though I would also gather data from gay men. Unless that feels like it belongs on a gossip magazine, then forget about it." she said nonchalantly.
"Hmm... it may actually be a good idea to attract new readers. We embrace diversity here. Oh, and you could make a comparison between gay and straight people's experiences using the same apps. Since you want to focus on gay women, you could use texts from conversations or whatever you deem necessary, that they willingly share for this article."
"Sure thing, thanks, Martin!" she exclaimed, very excited to do a piece on something that was so personal to her.
"Make it 2,500 words tops. I want it on my office by Thursday."
"Yes, Boss!" she gave him a military salute and left.
Not a bad week, after all these boring months it's the least I deserve. I hope people like my article. At least I have enough material to write about my personal experience with these damn apps. I'll just have to ask a bunch of people to compare my results with theirs. Will my friends be interested in helping me?
She was having dinner when she decided to text Nigel, Emily and Serena on their group chat:
Andy: Guys, guess what? I'm writing a gay article for the newspaper!
Nigel: thank God you didn't quit last month, now you get rewarded with a little bit of gayness. Not the kind I would expect, but good for you, Six
Andy: mood
Serena: Oh, I see what you're doing ;)
Andy: wdym?
Serena: this a way to get bitches. They'll come to you after knowing you've written a gay article, thinking you may play for their team. Miranda was right, you're a smart girl :D
Emily: Serena!
Nigel: Serena!
Serena: WHAT? D:
Emily: we talked about this, we won't use the M word
Serena: motherfucker?
Nigel *face palm emoji* Not exactly, but yes, the name of a certain mother Six would like to fuck
Andy: HEY! Don't make me sound like a thirsty bitch!
Nigel: but you ARE
Emily: what he said
Andy: anyway, no, that's not why I'll be writing a gay-related article
Serena: no bitches? :(
Emily: oh, for the love of... stop thinking with your gut, Serena!
Serena: but you like it when I talk dirty ;)
Emily: shut it! immediately! This is our friends' chat, for crying out loud!
Nigel: oh, don't mind me, I'm totally fine with it *Kermit eating popcorn meme*
Andy: Nigel, please xD
Emily: let's go back to your article, shall we? What's it about?
Andy: I have to write an article comparing gay and straight people's experiences using dating apps. Y'all know how lucky I am using those... *sarcasm mode on*
Nigel: well, those apps are like a lottery, only very few people will meet the love of their lives there, don't worry. I am sure most people have had weird or disappointing experiences.
Andy: the problem is the love of my life isn't in those apps, she would never use them, and... I miss hearing HER using the word "disappointing" and all its variants.
Emily: *Phoebe Buffay meme saying Oh, here come the waterworks*
Serena: don't be rude, she's in love, you should know what that's like, you adore me
Emily: I adore Runway, my one true love
Serena: D: I am literally so offended rn... now YOU will be the one getting no bitches!
Nigel: FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!
Andy: at least you two have a partner to fight and joke about couple stuff... anyway, I wanted to ask if you'd like to answer my questions anonymously uwu
Emily: don't uwu me, you always use that thing when you want to get something
Nigel: hey, maybe you should draw uwu on a big signal and stand outside of the Dragon Lady's lair under the heavy rain
Andy: if that's all it took to make her want to date me, I would've done that months ago. The expression on her face would be priceless xD
Serena: maybe we should help you woo her instead of keep telling you to forget about her
Emily: what are you doing?
Serena: I am a rom-com type of girl, I want love to succeed! Sue me!
Nigel: you are out of your minds.
...
I'm in. I want to see Six trying to seduce Miranda, now I will die if she doesn't try to *eyes emoji*
Andy: well, first things first. Will you help me with the article? Work comes first.
Nigel: ugh, you're no fun, you just sound like her. And yeah, of course we'll help.
Serena: I have dated both men and women, I have plenty of experiences to share
Emily: OH, REALLY? PLENTY?
Serena: you're the best partner I've had and I didn't meet you through any app, I love you :)
Emily: alright
Andy: xD
Emily: I have only used one app once and it sucked.
Andy: perfect, I need both positive and bad results. I think I'll make polls with different questions on my Twitter account, so more people can participate.
Nigel: that's a great idea, I will vote there too.
Andy: :)
Two days later, Andy had left her article on her Boss' desk. He read it silently while Andy played with her fingers. He doesn't like it, he probably thinks it belongs in a teenage magazine. I didn't write anything that people didn't know already.
"Andy?"
"Yes?"
"I like it. Give this to Tim and tell him to print it for the upcoming issue."
"Really?" her eyes were shining.
"Yes, really. Good job, Sachs. Now, come on, go, go!" he made a gesture with his hands telling her to leave.
I did it! Two articles in a row that don't suck. Maybe a year from now I'll write longer pieces! And in a few years, I may get a Journalist Award, and I would be Miranda's equal. Maybe she'll take me seriously then. Ugh, no, I can't think of that. She must have forgotten about me for sure. Although at least she helped me get this job with a letter of recommendation... why would she do that instead of blacklisting me? Her thoughts were interrupted by her stomach grumbling. Ugh, I'm so hungry, I need to grab a bagel.
Miranda Priestly rarely had any free time, so she really appreciated any quiet moments she could get. She would especially enjoy reading the morning paper on the weekends while having a cup of coffee. She was subscribed, among other papers, to The Mirror ever since her ex-assistant had started working there. She did not write a letter of recommendation for nothing: Andrea was meant to accomplish extraordinary things, and she would succeed as a journalist or as anything she set her mind to. The CEO had really liked her first published article even though it was a short column. Everyone had to start somewhere.
She had cut out that piece and had saved it on an album in which she was sure she would save future articles written by Andy. Miranda checked if the brunette had had a chance to write for the newspaper again, and she was pleased to see her name in this issue as well. She raised an eyebrow when she read the title of the article:
Welcome to the jungle: Dating apps struggles. Sappho Does Not Want to Play Cupid
by Andy Sachs
Sappho? Andrea, you really are full of surprises. Miranda pushed her glasses on the bridge of her nose, and then proceeded to read the article with a small smile.