off the record - ch.1
HELLOOOOO everyone! i am BACK from a long break with a fic! yay!
i realized very quickly that this fic was going to be a long one, so i thought i'd break it up into parts. CURRENTLY, there's another 4k in my google doc rn, but i thought "hey, why not get some interest going?"
anyway!!! comment to be tagged in the next chapter, and let me know how you like it! i love feedback!
special thanks to @moesthoughts for proofreading!
summary: you're offered a summer job at ESPN as a sports reporter and get paired up with paige.
warnings: nothing scandalous, i'd say there's a lot of world-building in this chapter? i added a few ocs in this fic just because it felt wrong just getting into it. I'll add a divider for where the paige stuff begins for those who are eager. I PROMISE THOUGH, THE REST OF THE FIC DOESN'T HAVE THIS MUCH EXTRA DETAILS.
enjoy babes 😘
You quickly gulped down some coffee before brushing your teeth for school. It was mid-April, and you had quite the daunting task for you: finding a summer internship.
“Hey, don’t sweat this,” your college roommate Anya reassured you, “you look the most professional I’ve ever seen you in the three years I’ve known you, and I just know you have a hell of an elevator pitch ready to go, yeah?”
You nodded. “Yeah, I guess! I just really need to be ready, you know? AI’s really taking off, and if I’m not on my game, they’ll probably give my job to a robot or something!”
“Alright,” Anya answered, chuckling, “haven’t you made the dean’s list every semester? And haven’t you been editor of our paper since last year, being the youngest editor of the paper in our college? You’ve got this! I mean it.”
“Thanks, Anya,” you said, smiling and taking a deep breath.
“Wish me luck!” you exclaimed as you exited your shared apartment. To avoid being late, you scurry off to your car, quickly putting your bag in the passenger seat and turning on the radio. You put on a news station, hoping to find some things to make small talk about at the career fair, which, lucky for you, was about half an hour away.
Why did this apartment have to be the best one Anya and I could afford? You thought to yourself while exiting the parking lot of your apartment complex. As the car ride went on,, your thoughts about theapartment location drifted away, you began to think about the road, and whatever your news station was rambling about.
“-And to all of you women’s sports fans out there, last night was a BIG night for UCONN’s Paige Bueckers! The 23-year-old NCAA champion was the first overall draft pick and will be joining the Dallas Wings for the next WNBA season!”
You weren’t super into sports yourself, but you knew about Paige Bueckers. A Connecticut native yourself, you grew up with your parents usually tuning into the UCONN basketball games, both men’s and women’s. Hell, you were brought to the last championship parade for the women’s basketball team back in 2016. Your dad had sent you an Instagram post a few days ago with some highlights featuring Paige Bueckers, to which you had just liked and moved on with your day. You heard through the grapevine that some representatives from ESPN would be at your career fair, but you weren’t necessarily crazed at the thought of it. In fact, you were hoping to land an internship at the New York Times, where you would be helping others deliver the most topical headlines of the day.
Although you knew you wouldn’t need it, you still kept the small fact you had learned about Paige Bueckers in the back of your head, just in case you blanked out on your very-prepared speech you had.
Just then, you pulled into your college’s local arena, where your summer endeavors were soon to be discovered. You popped one, two, three mints in your mouth and touched up your makeup in your car mirror. If anyone was going to get an internship today, it was going to be you, the biggest academic weapon at your college.
After a few pep talks, you finally exited your car and walked into the overly air-conditioned arena, then being met by a daunting array of tables, all with one collective thing to offer: your future.
You understood that the position at the New York Times was going to be a popular choice among your peers, so you made a beeline to the small table that they were occupying. After, you began the long wait, which wasn’t that bad. In fact, you were thankful for the time you had to recite your pitch and pull yourself together.
About forty-five minutes passed, and you finally made it to the front of the line.
This is it. You’ve got this, you thought to yourself.
“Hi! My name is-”
“Let me guess, you want the internship?” you heard, immediately cut off by the man working the table.
“I’m definitely interested! I believe that I’d be a GREAT pick, and here’s why: I’m currently-”
“As much as I’d love to hear about your long list of qualifications, we already found someone to fill the position. I’m sorry. But if you’d like, you can always apply to be an assistant this summer. You know. Getting coffee and whatnot,” the man said, giving you a smug smile.
Your stomach dropped.
An assistant? Getting coffee? You took the application, as it was still an opportunity, but so many other thoughts swirled around your head.
Three years and for what? To be brushed off like that? What’s even worse, by a man? You thought to yourself as you left to get some fresh air. You knew you would have to go back in there, as there were probably numerous other internships you could acquire. There was the Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and so many more that were just running through your head, as fast as a racecar going cross-country on an empty highway.
After a mini-crashout in your car, a small drink of water, and a quick phone call with Anya, you felt ready enough to enter the arena again. You weren’t going to leave that parking lot without an internship that was equal to your abilities. No man was going to tell you that the internship you were going to get would involve fetching coffee.
You confidently strided back into the arena, where you were met by the overwhelming array of tables. Unwilling to allow it to ruin your conviction in your abilities, you chose to examine each table. Luckily, you were met with a few companies that were willing to hire you, and even went as far as to give you their card. Just as you were about to leave, you heard a voice yelling out.
“Hey! You! Don’t leave!”
“Me?” you turnedaround, pointing at yourself.
“Yes!” The tall woman who was chasing you down finally stopped running. After dusting herself off and adjusting her hair, she addressed you.
“I heard you at the career fair today. And I mean it, you are exactly what we are looking for.”
“Who?”
“Oh, pardon me. I’m from ESPN. After a short phone call with my boss, we’d like to offer you a summer job.”
Just the word “job” made your eyes bulge out of your head. You were flabbergasted to say the least. You were confident you’d exit with an internship, but a job? And at ESPN, to make things better.
“Really?” you spoke, trying to conceal your excitement.
“Yes! Don’t worry, the interview process would be waived for you, as this is super last minute, but you would have to attend media training for the next few weeks,” the woman explained, stepping aside with you to continue the conversation.
“Media training? Like, I would be on TV?”
“Yes! You’re going to be assigned to cover the entirety of the 2025 WNBA season. Hopefully, you’ll be good to go at the beginning of May. That’s when preseason starts.”
“I’m sorry, the WNBA?” you pinched your arm, trying to wake yourself up from whatever bizarre dream this was.
“Yes! Although it isn’t an extremely followed league, our team is expecting another rise in viewership this season.”
“Really?” you asked, intrigued, “I swear viewership for women’s sports has been the same for my whole lifespan.”
“You follow women’s sports?”
“My parents do, at least. They’re big UCONN fans,” you answered. A nanosecond after, you remembered what you heard in the car. Oh, you were in for a long conversation after your last statement.
“UCONN, huh?” your new employer asked, “So I’m sure you’ve been hearing about Paige Bueckers a lot recently.”
“Oh yeah, she got the first draft pick last night! Dallas Wings, right?” Thank god for that local news station.
“Oh, don’t tell me you’re a superfan, right?”
“Oh, don’t worry, I heard it on the radio this morning.” Your new employer smiled at your comment, and handed you her card.
Angelica Hastings. That would be a name you’d remember for decades. After all, she was now the first person to support you in your official professional journalism journey.
“Well, you have the job! Be prepared to be immersed in the world of women’s basketball this summer!” Angelica said, shaking your hand. You quickly gave her your business card and left for your car. Only God knew what surprises this summer held for you.
About an hour later, you finally made it back to your shared apartment with Anya. You nearly twisted your ankle running up the stairs to tell her the news.
“ESPN???” she exclaimed, almost as astounded as you were.
“YES! And I get paid! The only bad news is I need to cram for finals, as I need to start media training in two weeks.”
“Well, looks like you’ve got to get cramming.”
The next two weeks flew by. Between packing, contract signing, and finals, you had almost no room to breathe. What’s more, you took it upon yourself to begin researching all of the top new rookies in the WNBA, as Angelica had told you that you’d probably be interviewing or covering them most of the time—or at least when it got to more niche stories. There was Hailey Van Lith at Chicago Sky, who seemed to be doing pretty well for herself. There was Kiki Iriafen, who was one of the best forwards in the country, at the Washington Mystics. And obviously, there was Paige Bueckers. You assumed as a new woman to the job, that she would be off-limits to you, given that she quite literally was the face of women’s basketball rookies at the moment, so you chose to focus on other players. After all, you were sure that you would be learning all about the star guard in your first hours of work.
The second you finished your finals, you said a very quick goodbye to Anya, promising her to call her every night that you’d be gone, and then you tookyour bags—which had been packed for weeks—and drove off to your first location: Bristol, Connecticut, the very headquarters of ESPN. After checking in to the hotel that they provided you, you quickly changed into your professional wear and entered the building. You checked in at the front desk, asking for Angelica, who guided you to her office and motioned for you to sit down.
“How was the drive?” Angelica asked, taking a swig of her coffee.
“Not bad,” you admitted, playing with your newly done nails, “I do have to say, though, I forgot how nasty Massachusetts drivers are.”
Angelica chuckled.
“Well, lucky for you, you won’t have to worry about Massachusetts drivers at all this summer. I’m assigning you to cover the Dallas Wings’ rookies, and then as the season goes on, probably one of the California teams. The Dallas Wings didn’t have the best season last year, so we’re not expecting too much from this year either.”
“Didn’t Paige get drafted there?”
“Yes, but one player cannot single-handedly save a whole team,” Angelica said, typing on her laptop, “We’ll have to see how the other rookies do too.”
“So I’m going to Dallas?” You asked, trying to formulate an image of your summer in your head.
“Not exactly. You’ll go to Vegas this week, since that’s the stadium they’re playing at. You’ll just be following them around and traveling to their respective stadiums.” She explained.
“Alright! I can definitely do that!” You said, and let out a sigh of relief.
“By the way, you need to be on the third floor in 3 minutes for your style workshop. You’ll be given your wardrobe, introduced to your hairstylist, and you’ll be getting your nails done.”
“I'd better go then. Thank you, Angelica!”
“Of course. See you on TV!”
The outfits they had picked for you were rather bland, as they were simpler, not to mention professional. However, with Anya’s help, you secured some cuter outfits for free nights. What’s more, your new hairstylist, Shay, was an amazing person to talk to. While experimenting with your hair, she was sure to make conversation.
“So, you excited to meet Paige?” She asked, running a straightener in your hair.
“Who said I was even going to meet her? I figured I’d be assigned with the other rookies,” you replied.
“Well, as the person who has YOUR schedule, you’re set to be interviewing Paige at the preseason game on Friday.”
“Are you serious?”
“What? Are you one of those girls who has an entire edit folder dedicated to her or something?” she asked, a knowing smirk beginning to make its mark on her face.
“No! I just… I know my parents are going to ask me to get an autograph from her or something.”
“Sure, sure. So you’ve NEVER seen an edit of her?” Shay asked, now trying to put your hair in some sort of half-up, half-down style.
“Not really. I don’t usually get edits on my TikTok.”
“Just look her up, alright?”
“Maybe,” you said halfheartedly, brushing off her request.
After about thirty hairstyles, an exchange of phone numbers, and a full set of nails, Shay then sent you to your media trainer, who taught you everything you would need to know for the summer. As boring as it was, you were somewhat ready for your first game, which would be against the Las Vegas Aces. The next day, you took a plane ride to Indiana, where you were met with your hotel for the next week.
The next night was a busy one. After another hair and makeup session with Shay, you were expected to arrive at the stadium at about three-thirty in the afternoon. Needless to say, you felt as if you were out of breath when you arrived at Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion. Throughout the night, as your professors had trained you, you kept your eyes on Paige the whole game. Every movement of hers was mesmerizing, to put it bluntly. Every bounce of the ball, every basket, god, even any time she ran made it impossible for you to keep your eyes off of her. You made a mental note to watch some highlights of her later. At halftime, you were instructed to interview her.
This is it.
“Hello!” You introduced yourself to Paige before the cameras began to record.
“Oh, okay, first interviewer! It’s nice to meet you! I’m Paige!” She said excitedly, holding out her hand for you to shake.
No fucking way she’s the number one draft pick and she thinks she has to introduce herself.
You found it endearing, though, the way she smiled and fidgeted with her hands.
Forget endearing. As the cameras were setting up and you got to know her, you were blown away by her. You were awestruck by her tall, slender figure, and her new slick back, which made it impossible not to look at her icy blue eyes that never broke eye contact with you. She was hot as fuck. To your dismay, you failed to notice before. Although radiating confidence, she still was able to stay humble and grounded.
You had to admit, you both really just clicked. You had only been talking with her for about three minutes, and she was making you laugh in a way not even Anya could, not to mention how easy it was to talk with her. It felt like you had known her since you had been born. Although you knew things wouldn’t go any farther than whatever was happening on the court, you still enjoyed it—and had developed a FAT crush on her in the span of one game.
You really hoped you’d be able to interview her again.
“Go!” the cameraman called, clapping his hands, breaking up the colloquial conversation between you and her.
“So, Paige, how do you feel, now that you’re starting fresh with the Dallas Wings, only about three weeks after your NCAA championship win?”
“Pretty good. I’m excited for this season, forever thankful for this opportunity to be here, thankful to God, and just really soaking up everything around me.”
“And Paige, how are you feeling about the new hair? Although you wore this hairstyle a few months back, you did admit that you’d be debuting a new signature hairstyle in the W.”
“Uh, I like my hair. Giving my scalp a break and such. I think I’ll be experimenting with this and a bun in the next few games, we’ll see.”
“Alright, thank you! Good luck for the rest of this game!”
“Thanks! See you later?”
You nod as she high-fives you, giggling like a high school girl.
Although the Wings lost to the Aces, 78 to 112, to be exact, it was still a fun game to watch. You weren’t too sad, as you found in your research that there was a new coach in charge, and it was, in fact, a preseason game if anything. You quickly found Paige on the court again, whose face lit up when she saw you.
“Hey! Enjoy the game?” she asked, seemingly unbothered by the loss.
“Oh yeah. It was fun to watch! Congrats on your first game!”
“Thank you,” she answered, her eyes finally leaving yours for once, “so are you going to be coming to more games?”
“Apparently, I’ll be interviewing the Wings throughout their whole season, although I may have to leave near the end for college.”
“You’re still in college? Damn girl, I thought you were here with some experience with how professional you were.”
“Really? I think this is the least professional I’ve felt in a while!” you quipped, letting out a small laugh.
“Trust me, you’re better at this than you think. You know, I think you’ve asked the best questions since I’ve gotten here,” she admitted matter-of-factly.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Once again, the cameraman asked the two of you to get into position, so you did.
This was going to be a good season.
taglist: @asapeveryday
