Episode 01 – Application Pending

Olivia Harrison had never seen a job listing like it.

“Receptionist wanted for independent broadcast station. Must be organized, personable, and unflappable. Costumed staff and unusual hours are normal. Not responsible for psychic interference or mild existential dread. Apply in person.”

It had been buried deep in the classifieds, wedged between a listing for a taxidermy apprentice and someone looking to hire a live-in baritone. She stared at it for a full minute, blinked twice, and then screen-captured it just in case it vanished.

Two bus rides, a half-mile walk, and one suspiciously helpful crow later, she was standing in front of the building.

It didn’t look like a television station. Not really.

More like an old community center someone had tried—unsuccessfully—to turn into an art museum. A tall antenna loomed on the roof, surrounded by rusted scaffolding and what might have been a very determined raccoon. The sign out front read OtherWorlds TV in clean, slightly faded lettering, though someone had scrawled “formerly BizarreTV” underneath in Sharpie.

She knocked.

No one answered.

She knocked again, hesitated, and then opened the door. A small bell jingled overhead—not an electronic one, but an actual brass bell hanging from a nail. Inside, the front lobby was dim and cool, with the faint smell of old books, popcorn, and static electricity. A stack of VHS tapes leaned against a potted plant that may or may not have been plastic.

Behind the front desk sat a man in a purple pinstripe suit and round glasses. His nametag read Charles. He looked up from a clipboard and smiled.

“Ah. You must be Olivia. We’ve been expecting you.”

She blinked. “...I just saw the listing this morning.”

“Yes,” he said simply, “we know.”

Before she could ask what that meant, he handed her a visitor badge, a clipboard, and a pen that refused to write unless held upside-down. She signed anyway.