The sun had not yet peeked over the horizon, though its faint rays could be seen starting to dispel the darkness in Eastern skies. The Thora suburb was still and quiet, aside from one brick house at the end of Pictou Avenue. Emerging from the house was Mina Oerstead, her brown hair still slightly disheveled, wearing a black skirt and flats and a white blouse. She stifled a yawn as she clicked her car to unlock, causing it to beep once and flash its lights.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSboxyogkJ
Her car was a small blue sedan which she had brought earlier that year when she moved out from her homestead. She opened the door and plopped down in the driver's seat before engaging the ignition. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock when the engine turned over to see just after 5am. "I've got time for a coffee," she grunted as she sat up in her seat and buckled in. As she drove off, she was regretting staying up late the previous night. Her friends didn't need to wake up for a few more hours and as she pulled out of the driveway, the only thing lighting the street was her car's headlights and the street lamps, though they were turning off as the bands of reds and yellows pushed the purple and black out of the night sky.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0m53c9cGeQ
"I could probably do this commute in my sleep," she mused, "though my parents and driving instructor would be mortified if they knew I took a nap at the wheel. Not to mention Red Rock doesn't cover my damage for falling asleep at the wheel. Their 'not an accident clause'... though it was a great deal cheaper to take it than to get full coverage from XF and M, and they still do cover damages to other people. Not that anyone else is on the road right now..." She put on her indicator to turn right into the Knight's Koffee Drive Thru.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYU1jGvNZdP
"Good Morning Knight's Koffee," the greeting was interrupted by a yawn. "What would you like to order?"303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7odTZjumHK
"You sound almost as bad as me, but I need an Expresso ***Triple, Triple."303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSy2NHM47o5
"Will that be all?"303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuF88S7CS9
"That's all."303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKE8V7HGeTp
"Alright, that will be two Lumis. You can pay at the window when you get your expresso."303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIu4S5ovnKA
Mina followed the bend around to the drive thru window. A young woman opened the window, her uniform was freshly pressed, but her eyes and face seemed to droop a bit. "That'll be two Lumis."303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ue02SEHvD
Mina handed over a Two Lumi bill, which the woman took a minute to process before handing over the cup of expresso. As she did, a breeze came through, and pages fluttering could be heard, resulting in an audible sigh from the cashier before she caught herself, "Thank you for your patronage."303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zPhVslSQ8
"Stay here long enough and you'll see me regularly," Mina chuckled before pulling away. Though there was almost traffic on the road yet, she stopped at the intersection and took a sip of her expresso. "Not bad, the poor college student has probably been practicing all night drinking the stuff to stay awake while studying. Though she was probably at the tail end of the energy boost and probably getting ready for a shift change to go home." She continued down the road, slowly sipping on her hot beverage as she finished driving to work. Slowly, ever so slowly, she felt the warm, liquid elixir slowly bringing life to her mind and soul.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjbIyDtqzu
At about 545, she reached her destination, XBS Thora. After putting the car in park and disengaging the engine she pulled down her sunshade which had a mirror tucked underneath that she used to reapply some lipstick and brush back her hair. After puckering up and having a giggle, she packed it all away, grabbed her purse and got out of her car far more gingerly than she got in. She stretched and quickly crossed the five marked parking bays and entered the building, drinking the last dregs of her expresso. Her editor passed her some bullets as she made her way to the desk which until about a week ago she shared with Kara Salo. Kara had retired and they had not yet promoted anyone else to the Early Morning News so she had it all to herself, at least for another week or so. She rested her now almost empty cup next to the bulletins given to her and her make-up artist came to touch up her cosmetics so that her face didn't glare with the studio lighting.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBmbosnsLn
"Who ever invented Expresso should get a medal, because I don't think I'd be able to do my job without one," she told her make-up artists as she got a touch up before the cameras started rolling.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ562PHqIGzL
The make-up artist laughed. "Is that your trade secret? I'll have to try it for winter when we're here and it's still dark outside."303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIyBWmwdmQ
"Ok, you're on in thirty seconds!" one of the camera crew yelled out and interrupted the conversation before counting her down into being on air. Mina quickly shuffled her papers and made sure her shirt was straight.303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBKTG3AKEe
"Good Morning Thora, this is your host Mina Oerstead coming from Studio 1A in Thora with your morning news, weather and traffic!" she beamed as the cameras came on and the "on Air" sign lit up.
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