April May whistled to Jeff, her black Labrador, as she walked down the road - sticking to the white lines in the middle of the road; there were no cars around this early in a morning. The black canine circled around her, trotting with his tongue lolling out to the side, as he nudged the hand she was holding a tennis ball in. Throw it, he seemed to be saying in doggy speak.

The air was still brisk from the previous night and the sun was only just beginning to seep across the horizon, staggered by the dense forest that surrounded the whole town. April May liked this time of day - it was quiet and she could almost pretend she was somewhere else, someone else. Far away from the expectations of her parents, who wanted her to...well, she wasn't exactly sure what they wanted. She didn't want to find out. 

She glanced at the IT store, where she worked. The windows were currently dark, as no one would be in this early. She would be there in a couple of hours, though, starting another long shift that paid peanuts. Deliberately to keep her in this town, she thought bitterly - the owner was probably bribed by her parents to keep her on minimum wage.

She found herself strolling past Nate's groceries, which she was surprised to find swarming with cops. She adjusted her glasses and kept a fair distance, clipping Jeff back on his lead and tugging him away from the people that had gathered outside. She strained to hear what they were talking about and caught snatches of conversation, murmurs about a mountain lion attack. April May raised a sceptical eyebrow. The second one this month? She could virtually picture her parent's reaction. The exchange of a knowing glance before they sent her off on some pointless errand, whilst grabbing the phone and ushering her out the door. They were not the best at keeping secrets, so it was good job that April May wasn't too bothered about learning this particular secret. Glancing away, she forced herself to walk past.

She took Jeff back home and headed back out for breakfast. When she finally walked up to the entrance of the town's diner, they were just opening throwing their doors open. She nodded at the owner - they shot her a quick greeting - and then she ambled over to her regular table. She didn't even need to order her food; they knew her order, the same each day, off by heart. She picked up a newspaper that was lain on the table behind her and commenced scanning the front page.