Nocturnal

Definition: active mainly during the night.

It's not that she had to, she just enjoyed the night better. She felt more energetic and confident when the sun went down. Plus it was convenient to her job, because in the city that never sleeps, someone was always hungry.

As the sky faded into pink, a loud, blaring alarm sounded through the small apartment. She groaned and shifted under her pile of blankets, not yet ready to leave her nest of warmth for the cold chill that awaited outside. She laid still for a few more minutes, ignoring the obnoxious beeping until the small creature at her feet started to bark. Sitting up, she reached over to her nightstand and slapped the off button on her alarm, patting the small whining ball of fur that had made its way into her lap.

Polly was a mixed breed of something she wasn't sure of, the neighbor's dog that she got paid to watch during the day while her owners were at work. She wasn't yappy or aggressive, and all she really did most of the time was sleep. The small dog jumped off of the bed and waddled over to the door, waiting to be sent home.

It took her human friend a little longer to finally crawl out of the tangle of blankets and drag herself to the bathroom. After doing her business and washing her face, she yanked her hair into a ponytail and proceeded to put on her work clothes, which conceited of a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans. After throwing on a large hoodie and lacing up her sneakers, she grabbed her backpack and opened the door for Polly. The fur-ball shot out into the hall and bounced around while her pet-sitter locked up her apartment.

Just as she slid the key out of the knob, a woman came up the stairs, carrying a few bags of what she assumed was groceries. Polly barked excitedly and ran to greet her owner, running circles around her feet while the woman stopped in front of her door.

"Good evening, Edith." She greeted, laughing at her pet's antics.

"Evenin' Ms. Cooper." The younger girl smiled, pulling her glasses out of her pocket and pushing them onto her face.

"Heading off to work?" Ms. Cooper asked as she unlocked her door, opening it so Polly could go inside.

"Yes ma'am." She answered politely, rocking back and forth on her feet. Her neighbor nodded solemnly.

"Well be careful, dear. You know how dangerous this city gets at night."

Edith hummed in understanding and thanked the older women as she slowly backed down the hall and towards the stairs.

"Have a good night Ms. Cooper, and tell Ann I said 'hello'." The back of her foot was over the edge of the top step, and she grabbed the railing to keep from falling.

"I will, dear. Now go on before you're late." The woman laughed, making Edith blush. She said her goodbye before running down the stairs.

After nearly tripping on the last flight down, she slowed her pace to the lobby. As she walked through, she waved to the guy behind the front desk, bidding him goodnight as she retrieved her bike from the recroom. She rolled it out of the door, pulling her red hat out of her bag before peddling off.

Edith worked the nightshift at an all night pizza parlor, usually running deliveries around the city on her bike. Her boss was sometimes reluctant to let her with all the footclan and purple dragon nonsense, but she had yet to have a problem with them, so she continued to bring the strange people of New York their pizza fix.

She locked her bike on the rack outside of Antonio's, making sure her work labeled hat sat right on her head before going inside. It wasn't particularly busy yet, only a few people scattered around the front. A young couple giggling quietly over some cheeses-sticks, a mom with her child and his friends, celebrating a birthday it seemed like.

Edith made her way from the front and through the doors that lead to the kitchen, punching her card and throwing her backpack in her locker. It seemed that not everyone who worked the nightshift was there yet, so she quickly got to work before she got yelled at by the manager.

It was almost nine when she was finally sent out on her first two deliverys of the night, the first to a brownstone a few blocks away, and the other to an apartment building nearly across the city. She groaned as she strapped the two warming bags to the back of her bike.

Normally deliveries that far out were up to the people who had cars, but Samantha was already out and Kevin hadn't showed up for work. So Edith was on the job, not necessarily happy about it, but she took it anyway. The delivery to the brownstone only took a few minutes, and she was given a pretty generous tip, so she was less agitated when she had to haul ass across the city to make it in time.

Once she made it to the building she locked her bike and grabbed the pizzas, checking the receipt to make sure she had the right floor and room number. She was thankful there was an elevator so she didn't have to risk dropping multiple boxes of pizza down the stairs(it had happened before).

Once she made it to her destination, she knocked loudly on the door. The multiple voices that she could here got quite, and one called out.

"Who is it?" Well that person is definitely male, Edith noted, her ears picking up how gruff his voice was.

"Pizza." She replied, wondering who was going to answer the door. She clearly herd one person exclaim 'food!' excitedly, then what sounded like a wrestling match. Finally a woman opened the door, one she actually recognized.

"Uh hi," she started, reading out the order. "I got four large, pepperoni pizzas and an order of breadsticks for April O'neil?"

"That's me." April said cheerfully. Edith let her sign her receipt and pay before handing her the large stack of pizzas.

She noticed that the news reporter looked a little frazzled, and couldn't help but wonder what she had been up to before she knocked. She was about to turn and leave when she was halted by the woman.

"Hey wait," she said. "Let me set these down and I'll give you a tip."

Edith was about to tell her it was fine, but April was already back through her door, so she just stood there, trying not to seem awkward. She could still here the multiple people in the apartment, and from what she could tell they were psyched about being fead. She knew it was rude to listen in, but she couldn't really help it. There wasn't much for her to do while she stood out there.

Just when she thought they had forgotten about her, April appeared in the doorway, a small wad of cash in her hand. She handed it to the smaller girl with a smile, bidding her a goodnight. Edith gave her thanks and went on her way, counting the tip as she went down the elevator. It was fifteen dollars, which was a hell of a lot more than what she usually got in tips. She smiled and put it in her pocket along with the other, pulling her hat further onto her head as she stepped out onto the cold.