The morning sun bathed the entire town in rosy illumination, shining off the early dewdrops so that every yard seemed to sparkle in the light. Daybreak was soft and melodic in their small community, but powerful enough to beam across the sky with the bright dictation that a new day had begun once again.

Light had flooded the room through the tinted curtains as Lars rolled onto the floor with a groan. What was a new day for everyone else was just another reason for him to leave the bed. After a few minutes had passed, he gathered the energy to lift himself so he was sitting towards the window, and scratched through his curls with a tired sigh. He reached up, letting his fingertips lazily graze the edge of the wood shelf for a second before grabbing his phone and checking the time.

8:34 a.m. He was used to it. It'd gotten to the point where he barely needed an alarm at all.

The redhead stood from his sheets with a grumble and cracked his back until the small 'pops' came to a stop. He wobbled to the hallway, sock-sliding across the floor and into the living room, where his dad sat watching TV and tinkering with his phone.

Lars rubbed his eyes, lazily plopping down on the arm of the couch. "Morning, kiddo," his father grinned at him before turning his attention back to the new device. The teen just nodded in return before heading to the kitchen.

"So, there's this weird lady on my phone called a 'Siri'. What's she for? I can't type anything in."

He pursed his lips together, popping a few pieces of bread into the toaster. "She, like…helps you find stuff and junk. You talk to her." His dad nodded slowly, the gears in his head visibly beginning to turn. "Alright, alright…how do I get rid of her?"

"Why'dya wanna get rid of her?"

"She's a little annoying. How do I uninstall her?"

Lars reached up into the cabinet, balancing on his toes with a strained laugh. "Is this the first time you've had issues scaring off a chick? Let your roots go grey again, she'll leave," he mumbled as he rolled back onto his heels. He heard a chuckle and a tongue-click from across the room. "Sure, or I could just tell her I have a teenager and I'm not afraid to use them."

"Nah, man, you can't use me for your sick lady games," the redhead joked half-heartedly, momentarily swiping through his apps. "I gotta get to work." His dad turned in his spot on the couch. "Are you gonna come back with burnt tonsils this time? I don't want to buy another five pints of ice cream, kid."

He shook his head with a breathy laugh. "No, but we can get ice cream anyway."

"Why don't you go buy it, then you can come back and tell me how amazingly cheap it is, right?"

Lars shrugged, plucking at the wooden counter with his nails. "Sure, when I get my paycheck. It's mine, though." The older man smiled with a laugh before turning back to the TV. "How's Sadie doing, by the way? She hasn't been over in a few weeks," he called back to him, now mostly focused on finding a decent channel. The teen shrugged, tapping on the wood. "She's fine. We've just been busy all week-I'unno."

"A little unsatisfying, but I get it. Tell 'er I said 'hey'."

The redhead nodded before the toast finally sprung into the air, causing him to jump with a gasp.

After completing the normal morning routine-stuffing his face, showering, somehow putting up with the god-awful puns at his father's discretion-Lars skateboarded into town, not exactly holding positive anticipation for a full day's work. He successfully blocked out any passerby's by blasting his music as high as he himself could tolerate. 'Blocking it all out' was a helpful method to calm down before facing irritating tourists and their bratty kids that would whine and scream until they left; it worked out fairly well until Ronaldo stopped the ginger in his tracks, placing one foot on his board and using the other to yank out his headphones. Lars stood in shock for a moment before glaring daggers at the giddy figure in his way.

"The hell do you want, dude?"

Ronaldo stopped bouncing in place for a moment to straighten his posture and look down on the latter condescendingly. "Have you seen my most recent post on my blog? You know, 'Keep Beach City-'" he was cut off as Lars let out a loud, irritated sigh. The daily routine was really starting to get old. "No, I don't follow your stupid blog. Get your foot off my board, I gotta get to work and you're getting sand all over it."

"Well, you're missin' out-it's all about me and my awesome new girlfriend."

"Why would I wanna read about your 'girlfriend' anyway? Who is it, Gertrude from the pawn shop?"

The blond boy glared at him with a low huff. "It's Kiki! You know, Jenny's sister? I've told you!" he claimed with theatrical exasperation. "And we both know that Gertrude is still a handsome woman." Lars just rolled his eyes, nudging him out of the way before rolling down the sidewalk. Ronaldo chased him for a few seconds, yelling about his latest updates before reluctantly giving up and heading back to work.

The redhead had made his way into the streets, slowing down significantly to accommodate passing pedestrians and vehicles. He twisted his expression into a sort of side-grimace, looking towards the ocean as his eyes strained against the sun. It was getting warmer out, and though the climate was easily swayed, many Beach City citizens believed it would stay that way. People were already making their way to the beach before the best spots were taken, as if what part of it they were on really mattered; it was a bit of a mystery to him.

Before he could continue on, Lars heard the call of his name, from a few different voices, over his music. He yanked out his headphones and felt butterflies in his stomach as the cool-kid trio motioned him to come to their steps. He made his way over as casually as he could, stopping in front of them and rolling the skateboard back and forth with his heel. "What's up?"

Buck looked up at him, sitting with his elbows on his knees. "You on your way to work?"

He nodded, plucking at a loose string on his sleeve.

Jenny smiled, leaning on the wall. "That's a shame, we were gonna go scout out some places down the beach-see if there's a place where people won't bother us as much."

"The tourist crowds here give off some harsh vibes," Sour Cream piped in. "Want to see if you can come?"

The teen smiled at the thought, and considered the possibilities-but quickly dismissed it after the recent fiasco of him ditching his shift. He shuffled in place with an awkward laugh. "Um…right now isn't really good for me. Maybe another time?"

"Sure thing." Jenny took a seat next to Buck. "We'll let you know later if we found a good one, so we can get a little group and head over, m'kay?" Lars nodded, feeling his anxiety settle down. "Sounds good. Later…" he coughed and smiled shyly as he skated towards his destination, his friends returning the sentiment.

Lars kicked his board into his hands as he entered the Big Donut, thankful that he didn't break a window. A half-asleep Sadie stood at the counter, pursing her lips into a thin line when she saw him. "You're 15 minutes late," she chirped, quickly going back to the task of cleaning the counters. Lars just shrugged and dropped his bag beside the door of the employee room. "Ronaldo stopped me on my way here and wouldn't let me leave."

She looked up at him. "Oh yeah, isn't he dating Kiki now?"

"Pft, I doubt it. Even if he is, he's a weirdo. I give it five days."

The short girl glared up at her friend before passing him a box of Lion Lickers to stock. "C'mon, give him a chance. I think they're cute together!" she smiled. The redhead just shook his head with a scoff and a 'whatever you say' before going to put the merchandise in its place. "How do you know about that anyway?" he muttered, tossing in the ice cream treats carelessly-and fixing them when Sadie's gaze bore into his back. "I check his blog sometimes…" She shrugged, tossing aside the rag.

"What? It's not even that good, seriously. It's just a bunch of made-up alien junk."

"It's fun! How else would we keep up with the stuff Steven does?"

"By looking out the window, probably." He tapped his fingers on the box. Sadie hummed and began tinkering with the cash register. "I don't know, Ronaldo has a sort of, like…'childlike sense of wonder'," she emphasized dramatically.

It was completely silent for a moment before Sadie spoke up timidly. "Hey, um…is it okay if I go watch Canine Court? I missed it yesterday, and it was supposed to be super heated…" She trailed off, but not before looking at her friend pleadingly. Lars laughed and nodded, along with a fourth or fifth eye-roll. "Sure, P2. We're totally swamped, but I'll make it," he lazily motioned his hand to the empty store; Sadie grinned and smacked his palm as she made her way into the back. "Thanks, Player 1!"

Lars bit the inside of his cheek as he heard the back room door close, setting down the empty box and trudging over to the cash register. He slunk into the stool behind the counter and rested his head in his arms tiredly.

Sure, it was a slow morning, but it was routine.