I can't believe its already half-way through July

[lee]

For Lee it seemed like the weeks had gone by in a second. It was almost as if she'd been talking to Lars in her bedroom in April one minute, and the next it was the middle of July. Funny how life worked like that.

She'd found a new job, thank god. It wasn't nearly as cushy as the job with Lars had been, but it helped pay some bills and buy some clothes. It was at the coffee shop/internet cafe in town, and she got all the free coffee she could ever want, not that the hyper girl needed anymore caffiene. She also got to hop online and catch up with the gang at the Mansion, which was great. From what she heard Bobby spent a few days in jail before being found not-guilty, and Lee had made the mistake of joking about Bobby being girl-pretty for jail in front of Marie, who had given her the cold shoulder for the rest of the day. That was just like Lee's big mouth, though.

She also realized as she was skimming around online during one of her breaks that it was closing on the year-anniversary of Alcatraz, and therefore the year anniversary of her cure. Human for an entire year. She still was debating with herself whether it had been easier or harder to live without the power of her wishes.

Schedualed to open the shop today, Lee was up before almost everyone else so she could get there before the morning rush. She was rummaging through the pantry for cereal that she couldn't find and slammed the door a little harder than she had meant to, flinching and hoping that she hadn't woken anyone up. She was not a morning person.

"Why does everyone have to eat MY cereal?" she mumbled to herself. Lee had bought that specific kind of cereal (Special K with yogurt and berries) specifically for her own consumption. She'd put her name on it. It was expensive stuff. Then again, maybe someone had just put it in the cereal cabinet where it belonged - Lee had been trying to hide it in one of the other cabinets so that kids looking for cereal wouldn't find it right away. "Man, I wish people would stop moving my stuff."

She opened the cereal cabinet, but it wasn't in there either. With one last desperate search attempt, she re-opened the cabinet she'd been hiding it in and found it right in front. "Oh, god Lee, pay attention," she said and smacked her forehead with one hand before drawing it out. "I really need some coffee."

She poured herself a bowl of cereal and made a mental note to start hiding it in her room instead.

[airlock]

If Lars Anderssen being late for work constituted the 'early morning rush', it arrived about ten minutes after she did.

Following his spectacular achievement in losing his well-paid, comfortable employment in the architectural design firm, Lars had returned to his apartment in Boston. He'd stayed in bed for the best part of three days, miserable to the core before finally making a decision. The apartment had been rented out, he'd packed up what he considered to be most important and, after a conversation with Marie had moved down Mississippi way and into the smallest of small box rooms at Rogue's Place.

He'd spent the early part of the three months he had been there as a sort of odd-job man, fixing up the various internal structural problems, replastering a couple of walls, painting the kitchen, unblocking the sink and being the resident remover of spiders in a humane fashion. He loved it, but eventually the guilt got too much for him (this was Lars, after all) and he found work on a nearby building site.

Once a brickie, always a brickie.

If Lars felt any pain from the plummet down the career ladder, he didn't let it show. He swore blind that he was enjoying being 'hands on' again, despite the fact that he worked sometimes as many as thirteen or fourteen hours a day for terrible money and less appreciation. He'd been getting on fine, though and was feeling particularly healthy and fit from all the outdoors work. His dark blond hair was bleached a lot lighter than it had been, and he was blessed with an even tan. Gone were the smart suits and shirts of the old Lars and in had come t-shirts and jeans with workboots.

He even managed to make those look classy.

Of course, it hadn't all been roses and chocolates. Six weeks into working on the site he'd managed to slice his arm on a piece of metal and the resulting bleed had landed him in hospital for two days.

This particular morning saw him haring into the kitchen, his hair still damp from his shower, his laces undone on his boots and a look of panic on his face. "I'm late," he said, pulling off a rather uncanny impression of the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. He slammed two slices of bread into the toaster and hopped around on one foot whilst tying the lace on the other boot.

[lee]

Lee giggled silently as Lars came into the kitchen, pronounced his lateness, and began hopping around like a rabbit. They were usually the first two up, unless she was schedualed to work a late shift, which wasn't often. She mostly worked with high schoolers and college dropouts (although the closest college was some ways off and she never managed to figure out how they made their way to Caldecott County) and she was certainly the brightest of them all. Which was why they put her up front in the mornings - she was cheerful and upbeat, perfect to wake up to.

"You aren't going to have just toast for breakfast are you?" Toast was not the breakfast of champions, especially when said champions would be doing manual labor all day. "You should just be late and stop by the shop for some coffee and a danish." Now that was the breakfast of champions.

[airlock]

"Haven't got time for anything else," the young Swede confirmed, continuing his rather bizarre hopping ritual. Eventually, he managed to get the laces on his boots sorted and by the time that his toast popped, he'd already shrugged into his jacket. He slathered on a layer of butter and raced out of the kitchen.

Less than five minutes later, he returned.

"The bastard car won't start," he said, simply, and sat down at the table, burying his head in his arms. A chain of expletives, each more colourful than the previous left his mouth until he was All Sworn Out.

Sitting up straight, he rubbed at his eyes blearily.

Then he looked at the newspaper on the table.

Then he looked up at the clock.

Then he buried his head in his arms again.

She couldn't quite make out what he said, but it sounded rather suspiciously like a mumbled _{"It's my bloody day off."}

[lee]

Lee was trying really hard not to laugh. Honestly, she was really really trying. Somehow, though, Lars seemed to get himself into these awkward situations that were just so damn funny to her. So when he mumbled something about having the day off, after all that, she couldn't help but smother a laugh with a mouthful of cereal.

She checked the date on the newspaper herself, just to make sure it was a day she worked. Didn't want to make the same stupid mistake afterall. Yep, it was a day that she worked. Too bad, it would have been nice to figure out she had the day off as well.

As she swallowed she smiled. "I guess you have time for that coffee and danish afterall?" She wouldn't mind having company on her way to work, she hated walking there by herself when it wasn't even light out. Granted, Lee could take care of herself, but it was still nice to have company. It would be even nicer if the car would work so she could get a ride there, but there was only so much one could wish for in a day.

"I wish I had the day off too," she said before taking another bite.

[airlock]

"Yup," he said, surfacing from the protective shelter of his arms. "Coffee and Danish it is, although as a Swede, it makes me cringe just saying the word." He gave her one of his wickedly infectious smiles. That was the thing with Lars. He could find himself in a terrible moment of despondency, but within moments be back on the happy path again.

Increasing one's oxygen levels at a whim had its benefits, after all.

He took off his jacket again. "May as well have a coffee before we leave. I'll probably get indigestion from eating that toast so fast, but hey. At least I get a day off, right?" It was the first day off he'd had in over a week and a half. The building staff on the site had a terrible record for sickness and the foreman was forced into making his trustworthy crew work ridiculously long hours to meet the ridiculously short deadlines and keep all of them in a job.

Lars never complained, despite the fact he was frequently worn out. More than once he'd had to quite literally be prised off the kitchen table when he'd been found snoring his head off, face down on its surface.

[lee]

Watching Lars was like watching someone play with a light switch. He could turn his happiness on and off with a thought, and Lee wondered why he even needed coffee ever. And especially why he seemed to live on coffee. Maybe that was his second mutation - coffee for blood.

Lee was smart enough not to say anything like that outloud though. She'd seen him in the hospital after his cut - she was not going to joke about his blood.

"Well, you go ahead and get the coffee started then; I'm gonna go shower." She dropped her dish in the sink (she had less dish days now that she had a job, and she loved just throwing stuff in the sink for the poor bastard who had the duty to clean it all up) and made her way upstairs in her yellow pajamas. She really aught to get dressed before going down for breakfast, living in a house with young boys in it, but they were never up this early anyways. Simon was sometimes, but Lee got a kick out of watching his face turn red when she bounced into the kitchen in a tank top and small pj shorts. It was nearly as good as watching his face do the same thing when Dani came into the room - wearing anything. Lee was going to have to hook them up, because they were doing a rather slow job of it themselves.

She showered quickly and came back down with her hair in a ponytail and her customary work clothes on: khakis and a dark blue t-shirt that said Java Joes on it in yellow embroidery.

"Ready to go?"

[airlock]

No, as it transpired, Lars was not ready to go.

He was back down on his arms again, sprawled across the table, his head turned slightly to one side - and he was fast asleep.

Since he'd had his medication changed, he'd reacted somewhat poorly to it. He figured that his tiredness and general sense of apathy was as a result of working too hard, but he hadn't once factored the change of medication into it at all.

Right now, he was snoring very gently, a faintly dappy expression on his face: a sort of half-smile. Whatever he was dreaming about, clearly it wasn't entirely unpleasant.

[lee]

Lee bit her lips right after her question, realizing that he was fast asleep. Poor Lars, the man had been so tired lately, he'd rarely been himself at all. The coffee maker was just finishing with the coffee he had made, and she poured herself a small mug-full, mixed it with alot of milk and sugar, and then found the pad of paper and pencil they kept by the phone to write a note.

Lars,
You were asleep so I went to work without you. Hope you can get the car working. Come see me and I'll get you that coffee and danish.
Lee.

She stuck it under his hand, trying not to wake him, and then took her coffee out the front door and down the long driveway to the road that led to town.

(Lee cont. in Caldecott County at Java Joes)