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[b][color=5584AC]5:00 AM[/color][center][color=5584AC]Steel Acres, Sandhurst Park Tower, Apartment 614[/color][/center][right][color=5584AC]Current song: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpXn4r_NbGU]Wake Up - 7evin7ins[/url][/color][/right][/b]
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[indent][indent][color=darkgray]Sometimes it can be difficult to find the sunrise when it seems like everything is blocking out the light. Whether its in the shadow of natural wonders like the Rocky Mountains that obscure the dawning rays, or the towering presence of the skyscrapers of Calder City that can dizzy anyone looking up without the ability to fly up and alleviate that problem, sometimes it was tough to find that glimmer of hope that inspired one to take on the new day with all the energy and optimism that were needed to make it shine. The truly skilled could find that in them and impart it at ease to the masses, making whoever they talked to feel like they experienced it themselves.

Michelle Tierney did usually manage to see the light, but only when she was working opening shifts. And even then, it was tough to enjoy the sunrise en route to her job. A job that usually numbed her brain following events of the previous evening.

Today wasn't going to be any different. Another weekday, another trip to the day job to make sure everything was ready for the rush of commuters, office workers, laborers and those who wanted to say they had a bite on their script but were trying to put the finishing touches on it and were doing so for the better part of the last six months. Michelle sympathized with them the most, knowing how hard it was to be content with the work being put out and making sure it would not only be appreciated by those who glanced upon it, but also by yourself. It was tough to find that feeling outside of her alter ego's shows these days. Yet she soldiered on.

While the clock read 5:00 AM, Michelle had been up for at least 30 minutes before that going through her routine. Showering, hair drying, deciding which snappy t-shirt she was going to wear to entice tips from the customers on this day, there was an order that she had perfected. Her father was very insistent that a well-oiled process to start the day made sure that things would never seem unmanageable. She never saw the point, but it did make things much easier when she had these early wake up times. When she was just starting at AlleyCat, it resulted in very swift turnarounds if she was working on stage the night before. Now that she had some seniority, she never worked early if she performed within the last 12 hours.

She moved through her small one-bedroom apartment like a breeze, now content she was ready enough for another day in the salted caramel coffee mines. The window was occupied by the white-haired Ragdoll cat lounging on her suction-cupped catbed, waiting for the rays to come through to offer comfort that her owner would not provide during the day. For the moment, Michelle was able to offer a few scritches behind the kitty's ear, a soft purr coming from the princess. [color=5584AC]"All right, Snowflake. Watch the place while I'm gone."[/color] The order was met with a nonplussed yawn, and another stretch on the bed. [color=5584AC]"Yeah, you'll watch the place get robbed all right."[/color] She laughs and shakes her head as she heads to the door, scooping up her purse, her phone and her keys before heading off to her day job.

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[hr][b][color=5584AC]8:17 AM[/color][center][color=5584AC]Midtown, AlleyCat Coffee House[/color][/center][right][color=5584AC]Current song: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf9MXeorVlk]Be Sweet - Japanese Breakfast f. So!YoON![/url][/color][/right]
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[indent][indent][color=darkgray] [color=5584AC]"Here's your macchiato, Tyler!"[/color] Michelle calls out, looking for one of her regulars.

The man with the slightly balding head of ginger hair got up from his laptop and moves over to the counter, scooping up the concentrated cup of caffeine. He looks down, then back up at Michelle. [color=fdc68a]"Your foam art is getting really good,"[/color] Tyler comments. [color=fdc68a]"How are you able to get a snowflake pattern like that going with just a splash of milk and a toothpick?"[/color]

The question is answered with a shake Michelle's well-manicured index finger. [color=5584AC]"An artist never reveals her tricks, Ty. Although I guess I can say I don't have the powers of milk manipulation. Trust me, I wouldn't be working here if that was the case. I'd be making a killing on an internet website."[/color]

Tyler shakes his head as he pivots. [color=fdc68a]"Wouldn't be worth losing you here. Trust me on that."[/color] He moves back to his computer, staring at a script for a one-man play that Michelle's offered comments on over the past year, but the author still hasn't felt fit to put out into the world.

Thus it had been a fairly normal day at work for "Auntie Chelle", as her co-worker Laila called referred to her when the 20-year-old reported to work at 8am. Despite being a bit miffed that she wasn't hired at Brewed Awakening when she first applied at AlleyCat, the CSU junior had come into her own under Michelle's management and was handling the baked goods section of the coffee house with ease, allowing Michelle to focus on the beverages that were the coffee house's calling card. The 31-year-old wasn't thrilled at being given "Auntie" status, but she had four years under her belt at AlleyCat, and Catherine Michaud, the owner of the business, trusted her to keep it running smoothly while she continued to try and climb the social ladder among Calder City's elite. Michelle silently laughed at Cat's attempts to schmooze the upper class, given she was told when she was hired the AlleyCat name came from the fact that Miss Michaud has scraped her way up from the alleys of Lower East Calder to earn this spot in on the edge of the Entertainment District. 

As Tyler got out of the way, the next customer stepped up to the counter, a suit looking like he was trying to get in and out before an early meeting at one of the Midtown skyscrapers. [color=f7976a]"Hey, can I get an iced cappuchino to go?"[/color]

[color=5584AC]"Sure thing, top cat! Coming right up!"[/color]

Michelle moved over to the blending station, and started loading up the cup with ice and coffee to create one of the AlleyCat's signature drinks. She spearheaded the move into focusing on cooler caffeine options and it had paid off with a boon in business during the summer months. Even in the winter, people still ordered the frozen drinks because the blends were near perfect mixes that soothed the java jolts that remained. Michelle had done this drink a million times, and was set to go through the motions on one million and one when she overheard the conversation a couple of patrons were having at the corner table near the counter.

[color=a187be]"Heard Miguel say they finally got that drunk guy unstuck from the side of the Odom Building an hour ago.[/color]

[color=f49ac2]"How long had he been there? Must have sobered up by the time they got him down?"[/color]

[color=a187be]"The whole night from the sounds of things. Miguel said he was cursing up a storm when his lips weren't chattering.[/color]

[color=f49ac2]"Lips weren't chattering? Was he frozen or something?"[/color]

[color=a187be]"He was! They had to call in a Gray Pyro to unthaw him so they could get him into the ambulance."[/color]

[color=f49ac2]"Well how the hell did he end up in that spot in the first place?"[/color]

[color=a187be]"He wasn't saying anything, but when they were looking for leads, a woman came forward and said the guy tried to sexually assault her last night when she was walking home, but someone came up, chucked a bucket of something on him, I guess water, rushed him to the wall and stuck him there!"[/color]

[color=f49ac2]"Really? We got another vigilante or something running around? Who is this one now?"[/color]

[color=a187be]"Miguel said the authorities don't know. The woman didn't give any description, she just said that the person saved her and that the man deserved what he got."[/color]

[color=f49ac2]"That's a given, but still. Seems like new Grays are popping up every day in this place. There needs to be some kind of control or something on all of them coming to Calder.[/color]

Michelle snapped out of her frozen state at the sounds of the suit asking for his drink. She looked down, she hadn't put nearly enough ice in the beverage and it was still a little liquidy. [sub][color=5584AC]"Shit...."[/color][/sub] The brunette focused for a moment and felt the energy flow out of her for a second, crystals forming in the coffee as it quickly firmed up into a more slushie-like state. She quickly capped the drink and stuck a thick straw in the middle of the lid. [color=5584AC]"Here you go! Sorry about that! Was just making sure it... and he's gone."[/color] The man had tapped his card in the middle of her apology and run off to his concrete casket for the day.

The barista just signed and mopped up the condensation that the drink had left on the countertop. This job was supposed to numb her mind against all the exploits of the previous night. Now, Crystalline's extracurricular activities were first and foremost on her mind. It probably meant she couldn't start ramping up the ice tricks in her act any time soon. A link didn't need to be drawn to anything just yet. Instead, she slapped a smile back on her face and looked ahead to the lineup that was still going out the door. [color=5584ac]"Next up![/color]

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