Drive-time Radio

 

To some it is the sound of chirping birds.  Others appreciate the sound of the coffee pot starting for the first time.  To the factory owner it is the loud and varied sounds of the machines coming to life.  To a rare few it is the alarm clock screeching that sleep time has ended and that great adventure was simply a dream. 

But to Carrie Wilson, today anyway, it was going to be her voice.  For this morning she would begin her first day at KLMP Radio.  Her’s will be the voice coming over everyone’s car radio as they sit in traffic.  She will announce the weather, introduce the sponsor’s products, and unbeknownst to her, give the breaking news of the explosion at the Pine Crest Mall that will end up changing her life forever. 

Carrie parked in the dim lot behind KLMP, the sky still deciding whether it wanted to be blue or gray. The building itself hummed faintly, as if warming up its throat before speaking. She sat for a moment with her hands on the steering wheel, listening to the muffled world outside: a delivery truck downshifting, a lone bird insisting on being heard, the soft tick of her cooling engine.

She whispered her first line into the empty car, testing it. “Good morning, Pine Crest. This is Carrie Wilson with your early rise and shine.” It sounded almost real.

Inside, the station smelled like burnt coffee and old carpet — the scent of a thousand mornings that weren’t hers. The overnight DJ, a man with headphones permanently denting his hair, waved without looking up from his screen. He mouthed good luck as if she were heading into surgery.

At 5:59, she slipped on the headset. The studio lights glowed a soft amber, like a sunrise made of electricity. Her heartbeat synced with the blinking red ON AIR sign.

And then, at 6:00 exactly, her voice — steady, warm, unaware — became part of the town’s morning music.

She read the weather. She introduced a sponsor’s new breakfast sandwich. She smiled when she didn’t need to, because smiling changed the sound of her voice. She felt, for the first time, like she was inside the day instead of watching it happen.

Then the station Manager slid a note under the glass. Two words, scribbled quickly across the page. Breaking News.

Carrie read it, at first to herself to make sure there wouldn’t be any words she might stumble over.  As she read about the explosion, her first thought was of her sister, who worked at Forever 21.  Her heart sank as panic suddenly took hold of her.

The station Manager began tapping on the window of her booth.  “Read it!” he shouted.  “Out Loud!”