Thirst

We begin at The Daily Planet, if the heavily CGIed spinning globe atop the building bearing its name is to be trusted. Whoa! It's Carrie Fisher all of a sudden. She sits behind a desk with Tina Fey glasses and very poofy lips, but all is forgiven as soon as she opens them because she delivers some very crisp, fantastic line readings which is more than I can say for a few of the regulars around here. She tells the person across from her that normally she wouldn't waste time on a college freshman groveling for an internship. Chloe, dressed up very nicely in a business suit and across from "Ms. Kahn" (soon to be "Kaaaahhhhnn!"), thanks her. Kahn immediately calls for "Bitterman," one of her lackeys and, I'm assuming after seeing the rest of this scene, a bitter man. The young man enters and is asked where his piece on Senator Jennings is. He stutters that he's typing it up. "I don't see your fingers moving," Kahn tells him curtly. Yeah, because you just called him in, lady. She tells him he's got twenty minutes or they'll be twiddling over the want ads. Bitterman goes off to the extras snack table. Kahn asks where she was. "The internship," Chloe reminds her. "Oh, right right right -- you didn't get it," Kahn tells her. Chloe is surprised, and asks why she's there. Kahn says it was out of curiosity. She reminds Chloe of her deep, dark secret: she had a high-school column in the Planet that Papa Luthor helped her score. Kahn says it's quite an accomplishment to have a byline when you're "practically still in diapers." Dammit. I didn't get mine until after I was toilet-trained. Always a step behind. Kahn says that most "real reporters" struggle for years before getting that chance. Chloe, sensing something's amiss, says, "Thanks." Kahn tricked Chloe. She tells Chloe not to thank her -- she should thank Papa Luthor for arm-twisting the old chief editor into dropping Chloe's "juvenile pabulum" into the paper. Ouch. Chloe defends herself (or tries to) by saying she didn't ask Papa Luthor to do that. Kahn says she didn't turn it down, either. Kahn says that Chloe must have pissed off Papa Luthor because he got her fired. "I remember that day," Kahn says, drinking what looks like Coke poured from a pitcher. "I believe we had cake." Cold-blooooooded! Chloe speechifies that she's not expecting to score a column and just wants a chance to work from the bottom without any help. Chloe says that being a part of this world (of the newspaper) has always been a dream for her. "Well, we all have to wake up sometime, don't we, Sullivan?" Kahn says smoothly. She reminds Chloe that they don't validate parking. She puts on her glasses to read something and ignore Chloe while our teen reporter looks heartbroken.

Chloe gets up to leave, and then spins to say that Kahn may be editor-in-chief now, but that she had to start somewhere. Chloe says she's not giving up until she gets the same chance. You've got spunk, kid. Carrie Fisher hates spunk. No, seriously, I think I read it in one of her books. Kahn slowly takes off her glasses and considers Chloe anew. Kahn says she started by being "a damn good reporter." She tells Chloe that if she wants a break, she should bring her a story. Sounds fair enough. For someone who just got out of high school, Chloe has some pretty amazing clips, and I'll tell you that newspaper editors look at that (and internship/job experience) before they consider anything else. Oh, and whether you're a minority. That's a factor, too. However, most big newspapers won't hire someone right out of college, much less high school, and certainly not without previous internship experience. Chloe's previous Planet internship, though, should help things along. Here's what I don't get. Chloe already had a summer internship with the paper, which, again, rarely happens with high-school students. Is she trying to get a fall internship, too? Those are pretty rare at metro papers and are usually just part-time or clerical given that those interns would be juggling classes as well. All I'm saying is that Kahn had a lot of reasons not to hire Chloe besides just being snide. And Chloe's best angle would have been her clips, not purporting to have moxie and dreams.