Every morning Sabrina woke up at approximately 7:15 and got ready for the day ahead of her. Working as a temp for New York City's finest hadn't been her first choice as a profession; it wasn't like she wanted to be a temp, she wanted to be in the field, like every other officer in the building. She wanted to be protecting the people from harm and keeping peace. Unfortunately, if you decide to punch the final test administrator just because you didn't get the best score, it has some effects on your final position. They told her to consider it as some sort of probation; but in reality, nothing was keeping her from being an official officer of the law, because no one could deny her talent.
Of course, while working as a temp did have its disadvantages, one thing she did love was that she always got a discount at the diner across the street from the police station. It was a cute little thing, with a teal awning over its brick walls. The inside was filled with the smells of cinnamon and sugar and coffee, and it was always the right temperature. Sabrina could deal with being a temp for a year if she could eat in that diner every morning.
As she made her way down to the diner for breakfast, she thought about what she was going to have to do today in the office. Probably file a bunch of paperwork and sign too many forms to count. But, as of today, she only had 6 months left before her position as a temp could be reevaluated and she could re-take her final exam. The thought was exciting, her "probation" was already halfway over, and she couldn't wait to finally be doing what she wanted to in the first place.
Shouldering her way through a particularly massive crowd of businessmen and women, she saw a blond head bobbing up and down in the mess. It's not like that's unusual though, there are plenty of blond people in New York City, she just thought it didn't fit in. Every single person out this early was on their way to work, dressed in their formal business-ware and sporting their neat, slick hair. But this person wasn't; it looked like he wasn't even trying. His hairdo could only be defined as "not caring" and his work attire looked like he woke up on a pile of trash, looked into a mirror, shrugged, and walked away.
Whatever. No random, early-bird hobo was going to ruin her morning routine.
As she entered the diner, she was immediately ensorcelled by its atmosphere. The little silver bell at the top of the door chimed and the waitress behind the bar waved and said hello. Sabrina smiled back and sat down in the second booth from the left, and opened a small book she had been reading for the past few days. It was actually a pretty interesting read, her friend had picked it out for her for her birthday last year and she had just gotten around to reading it now.
The bell chimed again as another customer entered. But as she looked up curiously to see who it was, a waitress appeared in front of her.
"What'll you have today?" she asked nicely. She was about to order her usual when she looked up and didn't recognize her waitress, it must've been someone new. She didn't know they were hiring.
Sabrina's reply, after hesitating, was almost instant, "I'll have the blueberry pancakes with extra strawberries on the side," it was what she had been getting for the last month and she had yet to grow tired of it.
"Alright, I'll be out in a few minutes with your order," the waitress said, popping her gum and clicking her pen shut.
"Thank you," Sabrina mumbled, not unkindly, as the waitress, whose nametag said Trixie in black, curly letters, followed by a little heart she must have drawn herself with a pen, turned away to take more orders.
Ever since discovering the diner by accident recently after getting her job, she had almost tried every item on the menu, but the blueberry pancakes with extra strawberries stuck like nothing else had. When it arrived, she put her book far enough away so that it wouldn't be a syrupy mess when she picked it back up again, and started eating. This was her most recent morning routine; and it was almost perfection for her taste buds every time.
After savoring the amazing pancakes for as long as she could, she took a sip of water and stood up to leave. She always hated leaving the nice, warm diner to step outside back into the chill. But it was her job, so she did it anyway. She took one last deep breath, inhaling the scent of cinnamon and pancakes and everything she loved, and stepped out the chiming door.
She was about to make her way across the street to the station when she heard the little bell chime again.
"Wait!" someone called, "I think you forgot this."
She turned around, confused, and was met by that early-bird hobo, holding her book in his left hand, and half a pancake in his right.