hedwig often felt quite different from other people , so it came as no surprise that he felt quite different to devin . for starters , hedwig was hardly ever late to work ; his anxiety wouldn’t allow himself to stumble in after his call time , subject to judgement from his co-workers ( though with that being said , he didn’t judge devin or any others for general lateness , to be honest ) . another difference was that he worked at the radio station because of his extensive musical knowledge , amongst other things . music was the one thing that hedwig cared for the most , the reason why he got up each morning , the reason he felt joy , and the reason why he was able to get through even his toughest trials and tribulations . if he wasn’t at the station , he was likely either working at his second job over at tracks , or rehearsing , recording or performing with one of shrike heights’ favourite bands , chokehold on love , which he was lucky enough to be in . music was hedwig’s life .
hedwig’s duties at the radio station reflected his passions . he wasn’t often on a speaking role on any show , though he was occasionally called upon by whomever was the main host for the time of day ; mostly , hedwig was the one who ran the tech in the station , and the one who put the best music forward for those hosts who weren’t as opinionated or knowledgeable as hedwig . having experience in the field long before he found himself in shrike , and being good at the job , too , meant that he was fortunate enough to not have to be in a position life devin ; he didn’t have to fetch the coffee from double shot , and he certainly didn’t have people asking him to hunt down def leppard as if they were just one person who resided in their minuscule town of shrike heights . despite the privilege , however , hedwig also wasn’t one of those people who gave those such as devin those degrading jobs .
as devin came in and began their interaction by gassing him up , hedwig instinctively didn’t trust her . he felt a pang of anxiety in his chest , worrying what her true intent was , but he quickly began to calm down as he reminded himself that she was no threat , and as she began to prove that by getting into the details of her predicament . hedwig immediately felt so terrible for her , and guilty , despite having played no part in the practical joke of giving her the impossible task . part of him wanted to save her the embarrassment of not knowing def leppard , wanting to tell her that ‘ mr. leppard called ahead and had to cancel , don’t you worry , ’ but the thought of devin going off to tell that to one of their co-workers caused hedwig to cringe . heaven knows someone like pj would have a field day with something like that .
he folded the note in half before he stood up from his seat , throwing it down on the desk gently . “ i have good news and i have bad news for you . the good news is that you don’t have to worry about this task , you don’t have to bike anywhere or worry about finding anyone , but the bad news is that that’s because def leppard are uhh , well , let’s just say that they’re a bit above shrike heights’ status . ” as he spoke he was rustling through drawers , eventually stepping closer to her to hand her a cassette tape and a magazine that def leppard had featured in . “ they’re not even american , from yorkshire , or thereabout . i don’t think the station could ever afford to get an interview with them . ” he explained , an apologetic look on his face . “ sorry . ” he added . “ i’m not sure who put you up to that , but i’m glad you came to me for help rather than someone who’d just keep it going . ”
There was an eternal optimism around Devin that made it almost impossible for someone to actually have bad news for her. Even as Hedwig suggested that there would be some type of bad news about the job she’d been given, Devin was bouncing eagerly on her toes ready to see how she could tackle it and turn it into a positive. “I like good news. Bad news...bad news is totally subjective, but hit me with it,” she nodded happily, leaning over against his desk to settle in for whatever the news would be.
Not having to bike anywhere was definitely a good start and her head began bobbing eagerly as the good news continued to roll in. Her brows lifted when Hedwig explained a bit more, the realization starting to sink in that this was most likely a task that was far outside of what she could reasonably be expected to do. Reaching over to accept the magazine, Devin snorted with amusement, her head shaking softly. “They’re like...a big deal then?” she ventured a guess, a sheepish smile starting to curl across her lips. An easy mistake. One that anyone could make, really, she told herself.
Waving off the apology from Hedwig, Devin let her face scrunch together in thought. “So what I’m hearing is that it’s basically an impossible task, but that if I was able to make it happen I’d be the coolest person in this building,” Devin hummed, a thought starting to form in her brain. Technically she’d been assigned the task already, so anything she did working on it was time she could put on her time sheet. That more than anything felt like a good enough reason to spend the next few days caught up pursuing this. No one could ask her to do something else if she was already busy at work.
“I’m going to find them. D’ya think the station would pay for me to go to Yorkshire and find them? Maybe not. I’ll find them another way. How hard could it be, really?” Devin shot the questions off one after another, talking rapidly as the plan of action started to lay itself out in front of her. “I can write a letter, which should take a day or two and then I’ll have to go get a stamp, that could take awhile. The post office is always busy. But, a letter is a good start. And then I’ll find a phone number, I can ring them and eventually talk to...it’s a band then? I’ll have to learn their names. This could take weeks. Big job, big task. Very important.”