Disclaimer: I do not own DC, the idea of this story is for the readers to understand my view of the comics.
Alice sat in the coffee shop staring into the depths of her murky colored tea. Some satisfaction came from mixing it with her small silver spoon, but her eyes remained glazed over.
It was about six thirty in the morning, and most of Gotham was awake and heading to their jobs without any breakfast except black coffee to wake them up. Unlike the others, Alice preferred tea. Less caffeine, and to her it simply tasted better.
She paused drinking her tea to pull out a small mirror from her purse. She checked her skin, and rearranged her long blond locks around her face. After sliding her black headband into it's normal place, she but on her woolen cap.
Placing her silver spoon and mirror back into her purse, she left her payment next to the empty teacup. She adjusted her fingerless gloves and pushed the door open, feeling a rush of wind blow in her face and hair. She could practically smell the rain. She kept the door open, allowing more thirsty customers to filter in.
Alice stared through the sepia tinted windows and caught the eye of one of the workers, who glared back.
Embarassed, she blushed and moved onwards.
Another day, Alice thought, more jobs to look for and more bills to pay.
Not bothering to call a cab, Alice planned to walkthrough the biting wind all the way to her apartment. Gotham was fully awake by this point, streets jammed with cars honking and flashing lights.
Though the weather channel predicted rain for the whole week, Alice still hoped to see the sun poking from behind the dreary clouds. She stopped walking again, and gave a ghost of a smile to the sky swollen with rain clouds.
Her cornflower blue eyes wandered to the shop's windows, and saw happy couple smiling at each other, as they purchased sweet gifts for themselves. Looking even closer, she saw a paper in the window that looked suspiciously like a job advertisement.
To get a better view, she crossed the street. Grabbing the advertisement, she pushed the door open and heard the light jingle of windchimes. Walking up to the counter, she asked the cashier "Can you tell me who put this advertisement out, and where I can find them?"
The cashier popped a bubble of her chewing gum and silently wrote down the information Alice was looking for. She startled Alice when she spoke." Here ya go, dearie. Tell 'im that Veronica from the pawn shop sent you."
Alice gave her thanks and exited the store. Coming by a job, especially in such a depression, was hard for women in Gotham.
Turning a few corners and walking to the end of an alley, she opened a metal door cracked with old yellow paint. She passed her mail cubby to see if anyone had sent her anything.
Not noticing any envelopes she continued walking, but then a white flash of paper caught her eye. Strolling over to the cubby, she grapped the slip of paper, and walked over to the front desk.
The man at the counter had a set of headphones ovef his ears, so he didn't notice when Alice approached his desk. Alice noted that his music was playing so loudly, that even she could hear it. She had fo physically wave her hand in front of his face to catch his attention.
He sheepishly pulled the headphones to his neck and asked,"Uhh, do you need something?" He tried to sound polite, but both him and Alice knew he would rather be doing anything else.
"Can I use the phone? I have a missed call." She showed him the slip of paper that she had almost missed in her cubby. In her pocket, she fingered the card Veronica had given her at the pawn shop.
He replied monotonously, waiting to put his headphones back on "Sure, but you know the rules. No more than ten minutes per call."
" Thanks, Jack." She said softly, tossing her hair over her shoulder after taking off her warm beanie. He just saluted back, and put his headphones in their previous position, and turned his music up.
Walking to the tattered lounge, she picked the phone off the wall and dialed the numbers.
*Beep beep*
" Uhh, hello?" Alice questioned.
A careworn older voice sighed,"Oh, honey, I'm so glad you replied. I'm- I'm afraid that your father has just died." Her voice shaky with anticipation of Alice's response.
Alice froze. She knew that she only had ten minutes, and with such a serious topic, she doubted she could get all the information in less than that amount of time. Shs needed to make a decision, and quickly. Either upset her landlord, or ask her mother to call her later.
"Alice, please, I need consolation..." her mother begged.
Typical, Alice thought. She had made her choice." Do you think that you could call me later? I'm only allowed ten minutes per phone call." She hoped her voice sounded apologetic enough.
Her mother coughed,"You still in that prison?" Alice giggled, "Yes, mother. I'll make sure to contact you soon."
Not allowing her mother to reply, Alice hang up and left the main hall. Checking her cubby again, she took off her rainboots at the rug by the creaky, wooden stairs. Stumbling up the stairs with her numb toes, she eventually made her way to room 16A.
Placing a key in the lock, she twisted the knob, and glided in. Pressing the door shut, and her back against it, she slid down, and began crying. Her father had just died, and to keep herclandlord from strangling her, she hung up on her mom. What kind of a kid was she?!
After crying all her feelings away, Alice remained seated and thought about what she could do to remedy the situation. Once she felt ready enough to stand up on her own, she did and took off her heavy raincoat, revealing her blue and white striped sweater. She turned adound to lock her door, and noticed a card on the floor.
She remebered where she had gotten it, and pinned it to the wall, so she wouldn't forget to contact the company.
Falling on the white comforter of her bed, she decided that a nap was in order before she was going to make calls to anyone.
Did you enjoy it? Please tell me if you want me to continue, or if this chapter wasn't clear enough.
I hope that eventually, I'll be able to storytell better.
Thank you for reading it!