The Oddity 

The Oddity gets audited  

The email arrived at 9:13 on a Tuesday morning. Subject: Student Publication Financial Review Julia read it twice. Then the third time. “Guys.” 

 Nobody looked up. Jamie was crouched underneath the desk trying to fix the printer. Lena was highlighting something in a textbook. Ollie was eating cereal directly from the box. Theo was scrolling through his phone. Daniel finally looked over. “What?”  

“We’re being audited.” Jamie stopped moving. 

 “Like… audited audited?”  

“I don’t know what other kind there is.” Daniel sat up.  

“Why?” Julia held up her laptop. “It says the university conducts routine financial reviews of student organizations.”  

“That sounds fake.”  

“It came from the university.”  

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Julia stared at him.  

Daniel leaned back in his chair. “Okay. Fine. What do they want?” 

 “Financial records. Receipts. Expense reports. Equipment purchases.” Lena slowly lowered her highlighter. “Do we have those?”  

Julia looked around the room. “I thought you guys had them.”  

“Why would I have them?” Jamie asked.  

“You bought the camera.”  

“Right. But I assumed the camera came with the paperwork.”  

“The camera came with a box, Jamie.”  

“Same thing.”  

Julia closed her eyes. “Okay. Nobody panic.” 

 Daniel looked up from his phone. “What the fuck do you mean, ‘nobody panic’? You’re the editor-in-chief.”  

“I know.” 

“What have you been doing?” 

“Running the newspaper?” 

“Apparently not the finances.” Julia shot him a look. “I am not personally responsible for every receipt six people have touched in the last year.” 

“You’re literally in charge.” 

“I am aware of my position, Daniel.” 

“Could’ve fooled me.” Julia opened her mouth, then stopped herself.  

“Do you have a better suggestion?”  

“I know what we spent money on…. Mostly.”  

“Jamie, camera receipts. Theo, go through the email account for anything related to purchases. Lena, check the filing cabinet. Ollie, look through the old issues and see if there’s anything we paid for that isn’t listed.”  

Ollie frowned. “How would I know what’s paid for?” “I don’t know, Ollie. Use your intuition.”  

Everyone scattered. For approximately forty seconds, the office was quiet. Then Lena called from the filing cabinet. “Guys?” Julia looked over. “What?”  

“I found something. It says ‘Oddity Financial Records 2025.’” Julia smiled.  

“Perfect. Open it.” Lena opened the folder. It contained three napkins, an old parking ticket, and a takeout menu.  

She looked at Julia. “This feels bad.” Across the room, Jamie suddenly raised his hand. “I found the camera receipt.” Jamie held it up triumphantly.  

“In my wallet.” Julia stared at her. “You’ve had it this whole time?” “Yes.” Julia’s expression went blank.  

Theo, meanwhile, was still going through the newspaper’s email account. “Wait. I found a receipt for $212.” 

Jamie immediately raised her hand, “oh that’s the microphone!” Julia opened the email. “Okay. Good. We have that.”  

Theo kept scrolling. “There are also three charges for Canva.” Julia frowned. “We only have one Canva account.”  

“Apparently we have three.” Daniel looked at Ollie.  

“Did you make another account?”  

“Why would I make three Canva accounts?”  

“Because you made a spreadsheet with seven categories called ‘miscellaneous journalism.’” 

 Lena was still digging through the filing cabinet. “I found another folder.” Julia looked hopeful.  

“What does it say?”  

“Receipts.” Lena opened it. “It’s empty.”  

Julia closed her laptop. “I’m going home.”  

“No, you’re not,” Daniel said.  

“You’re the editor-in-chief.”  

“I know.” “Then act like it.” J 

Julia stared at him. “Do you want to be editor-in-chief? Then shut up.”  

For the next two hours, they reconstructed the Oddity’s finances from emails, bank statements, half-legible receipts, and Jamie’s increasingly concerning wallet. By three, they had discovered an expense nobody could explain. $63.84. The description simply read: OTHER. Everyone stared at the screen.  

“What is that?” Lena asked. “Who spent it?” Daniel asked. Theo clicked into the transaction. “It’s from August.” 

Jamie shrugged. “Could have been me. I make a lot of purchases.”  

“For the magazine?”  

“Sometimes.”  

“Why are you saying ‘sometimes’?” Jamie thought about it. “I don’t think I should answer that.”  

Daniel slowly turned toward Julia. “I’m beginning to understand why we’re being audited.”  

Lena quietly said, “I think we’re going to jail.”