8:00 am
The blaring sound of an alarm rang throughout the small brick bedroom. Isabelle was sprawled out in her bed with her mouth wide open with drool constantly leaking out and snoring very loudly; louder than her alarm. With one final snore, she accidentally woke herself up. She opened one eye and glanced at her old brown alarm clock. The bright red numbers displaying the time made Isabelle squint. She slowly moved her hand and hit the snooze alarm. She then proceeded to go back to sleep. The large built-in glass arc window was letting in a lot of the bright sun, for the two long white silk curtains that reached the floor were pushed to the side. Isabelle rolled over in her twin sized bed and landed right in the sun rays. She squinted harder at the light being in her face. She grabbed her pillow and placed it over her face to block out the sun. Suddenly, her alarm went off again. Isabelle let out a large groan. She took the pillow off of her face and threw it at the wall underneath the window. It landed next to her large potted plant.
"Okay!" Isabelle groaned. She slowly rose up, yawning and stretching her arms in the process. She reached over and turned off her alarm. She smacked her lips a bit. Her long hair was matted and tangled within itself. She blew some out of her face and proceeded to yawn again. Finally, she moved her legs to the left side of the bed. Her small feet pressed onto the cold wooden floor as she stood up straight. Isabelle headed straight for her bathroom which was right next to her bed. She entered through her darker colored wooden door and she was in the small little bathroom. To her left was her oval shaped white pearl colored vessel sink that sat on top of oak colored top. It was raised by black colored metal stand. At the near bottom of the stand was a small shelf that had all of Isabelle's toothpaste, toothbrush, lotions, hair products, make up and facial cleaners. To the right was her clear door shower. And right in the middle was her plain average toilet. Isabelle approached the sink and got a good look at herself. She mushed around her face, smelled her breath; typical morning breath.
She reached down and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and proceeded to brush her teeth. As she was brushing her teeth, she went back into her bedroom and grabbed her phone to play some music. She searched through her spotify and landed on Beach Bunny to start her day; Prom Queen to be exact. She went back to her bathroom sink and continued her morning routine. After she brushed her teeth, she hopped into shower to clean herself off and to wash her hair. After her show, she reached for her towel on the towel rack on the wall next to the shower and then wrapped herself in it. Her hair was dripping wet. She returned to her sink, crouched down and grabbed her facial cleaners. One by one she applied each cream to her face as random Beach Bunny songs played through her phone speakers. Once she applied the final cream, she got a good look at herself in the mirror. She analyzed her body wrapped in the towel. She wasn't a big girl by any means, but she had a bit of a belly and her cheeks were a little big. She sighed. She grabbed her phone to change the vibe. She landed on Julia Micheals newest single Just One Look. She took a deep breath and continued her routine.
After a bit, she exited the bathroom with her hair done in a cute ponytail and blush on her face. She felt confident. She headed for her dresser located next to her bathroom door. It had some family and friend photos on top of it. She opened up the first drawer which was full of neatly folded button up shirts. She grabbed the pink one near the top, dropped her towel and put it on. Next second drawer she opened contained her underwear. She grabbed a random pair and moved on to the last bottom drawer which contained skirts and grabbed her favorite white one. She put it on and tucked her button up shirt into it. She nodded with confidence and finally left her bedroom. The bedroom doors were slide open doors. She threw them to the side to open them up and gaze down at her living room. It was pretty big as it was a loft apartment. Directly in front of her was a long black railing; put there so apartment tenants wouldn't fall off of the balcony. The big acrylic block glass window let in all of the sunlight. It was around 9:30 now. She went down the stairs to her right and headed right into her kitchen which was directly underneath her bedroom. All of her kitchen sink, countertops and her refrigerator were lined up next to each. She reached in her fridge and grabbed a couple of avocados. She then located the bag loaf of bread located right next to her fridge and placed the two avocados she grabbed next to the bag. She then proceeded to make avocado toast while random Julia Micheals songs shuffled through. Once her toast was done she headed over to her couch in her living room which was right next to the kitchen. Her living room consisted of two vintage leather couches on both sides of her vintage seventie's rug. Finally, next to the wall was a medium sized cabinet and on top was her seventy inch wide screen.
Isabelle plopped down on the right couch and turned on the tv. She changed it to Channel 3 News to start the morning. Dotty and Quillson were discussing the morning news. Interestingly, they cut to a segment with their reporter Bea in which Bea was talking to people on the street about the appearance of Samus and Orima. For the most part, the citizens gave some positive reviews on the two heroes. However, there were a few citizens (mainly older males) who said that Samus and Orima were menaces to society. "Damn those vigilantes. Anything those so-called heroes can do, our police troops can do better." Isabelle finished her toast as Bea's segment wrapped up. She heard her phone buzz. She put down her plate and picked up her phone and paused the music. It was from Digby, Isabelle's fraternal twin.
Hey sis. What are you up to today?
Not sure yet :O
You don't have work?
Nah. Pauline gave me a day off!
Nice Nice. Enjoy your day today.
Ttyl bro
Isabelle grabbed her phone and her dirty plate and went and placed the plate in the sink. She then went to her door, grabbed her keys, slipped on her flip flops and headed out of the apartment and into the hallway. As she proceeded to lock her door, Isabelle saw her neighbor Bob who was smoking a cigarette outside of his loft. The yellow light illuminated their light violet hair and the glare shined through their glasses.
"Hey bob." Isabelle said with a smile. Bob looked up to Isabelle and nodded up.
"How's it going Isabelle?" they asked.
"It's going okay. I have the day off today so I am just taking it easy." Isabelle explained. She finally locked her door and placed her keys back in her pocket.
"Always nice to hear." Bob replied.
"How's Benjamin?" Isabelle went on to ask.
"Just as lazy as ever." Bob said, rolling his eyes. Just then, Benjamin came out of the apartment at the sound of his name.
"You're just as lazy as me." Benjamin teased. He went and kissed Bob on the cheek.
"Alright, I'll see you two later." Isabelle said. Bob and Benjamin waved bye. Benjamin then took Bob's cigarette and took a puff. Isabelle headed for her floor's elevator. The elevator doors opened and Isabelle got in and hit the lobby button. The doors closed and headed down to the lobby. With haste, Isabelle exited the lobby and was on the busy streets of the business district of New Donk city.
10:45 AM
The district was vibrant and alive with all kinds of business people walking up and down the street and yellow taxis driving up and up down the wide four lane street. Isabelle took a breath of fresh air and breathed out. It was a bit cloudy as the cold weather was starting to come in. She then headed for her favorite coffee cafe which was only a couple of blocks away. The sounds of taxis and other cars driving down the street clamored into Isabelle's ears. But she was used to the noise. Isabelle passed by a local Indian restaurant that was playing Tunak Tunak Tun by Daler Mehndi over it's very old speakers. She kept walking making sure not to bump into anyone who wasn't paying attention to where they were walking. She then turned a corner and saw the cafe. It was called Seasoned Coffee. Isabelle smiled and proceeded to go and sit down at one of the four outside tables directly outside of the cafe. The tables were small, square, black and metal with a small circular hole in the middle for umbrellas and were positioned next to the see-through glass door; two on the right and two on the left. The small little brick building was packed this time around as businessmen in their grey suits and matching hats were ordering their coffee. Seasoned Coffee was stuck in the middle between two tall business towers as it is one of the oldest buildings in the Business District. It opened up in the early seventies and has managed to stay in business ever since.
Isabelle waited for one of the workers to come outside and take her order. There weren't many people outside as everyone was inside the building. She noticed a guy in an all white outfit with a guitar sitting at one of the tables on the right side. He was strumming so beautifully it was almost unreal. Isabelle couldn't help but be entranced by the way the guy's fingers flowed on the guitar strings. And then, he started singing.
For real, for real this time
For real, for real, for real this time
For real, for real, for real this time
For real, for real, for real this time
'Cause you make my earth quake
Oh, you make my earth quake
Riding around, your love is shaking' me up and it's making my heart break
'Cause you make my earth quake
Oh, you make my earth quake
Riding around, your love is shaking' me up and it's making my heart break
Isabelle didn't recognize the song. Nevertheless, it sounded beautiful. Suddenly, Charlise (a barista) came up to Isabelle. The plump built woman, who looked to be in her late thirties, noticed that Isabelle was staring at the guy. She waved her hand in Isabelle's face to get her attention. Isabelle snapped out of the trance.
"You okay?" Charlise jokingly asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah I'm okay." Isabelle quickly said.
"Staring at KK Slider I see." Charlise pointed out. Isabelle became confused.
"Who?" Isabelle asked. Charlise was shocked by Isabelle's response.
"You don't know who KK is?" Charlise whispered.
"No. Who is it?" Isabelle whispered back.
"He's one of the best underground artists in New Donk." Charlise began to explain, "He's got the voice of a literal angel."
"That he does." Isabelle said. She found herself entranced by his voice and guitar skills. Charlise waved her hand in front of Isabelle's face again to snap her out of it.
"You want the usual?" Charlise asked.
"Yeah. Coffee with cream." Isabelle answered. Charlie pulled out her notepad from her apron and wrote down Isabelle's order.
"Go talk to him." Charlise said with a smile. She went back inside. Isabelle got nervous. She didn't want to take KK out of the zone, but he was pretty cute. She took a deep breath, got up and went over to KK Slider's table. She approached him as he was still playing the song, eyes closed. He opened them to see Isabelle standing next to him. He gave her the nod and kept playing. Sweat formed on Isabelle's forehead. She took the empty seat and sat down. KK finished the song with one final strum.
"Salutations," He said in his deep majestic voice.
"H..Hi." Isabelle said nervously.
"You okay? You seem nervous." KK commented. This just made Isabelle more nervous. KK reached in his hoodie pocket and pulled out a rag and handed it to Isabelle. She grabbed it and dabbed her forehead of all the sweat.
"What's your name?" KK asked.
"Isabelle." Isabelle answered.
"That's a nice name. My friends call me KK." KK said.
"Is that your legal name?" Isabelle jokingly asked. KK smiled.
"Sorry to say this but it's not. It's just an artist name."
"Well, KK, it's very unique." Isabelle was starting to be more comfortable.
"So then Ms. Isabelle, what do you do for a living?"
"Well Mr. KK, I am the personal assistant to the mayor of New Donk City." Isabelle answered with some confidence. KK was impressed.
"A government job. That's pretty cool." said KK as he started to strum again, "Do you like working for the mayor?"
"It has its perks. The coolest thing we've done so far is get in contact with those new superheroes."
"Oh really? So what? You know Samus and Orima personally now?" KK asked.
"Unfortunately no, but I help the mayor keep a close eye on them." Isabelle explained. KK nodded his head as a way to say "cool". He looked down as he started doing some complicated finger strumming. "What uhh, what do you think about the new heroes?"
"They seem cool so far. I think I'm just glad to have some people to help stand up against all the gang violence that's been happening as of late." KK said, still concentrating on his strumming. Just then, Charlise came out and brought Isabelle her coffee. Isabelle pulled out some random cash she had in her skirt pocket and handed it to Charlise. Charlise pulled out some change from her apron, handed it to Isabelle and then went back inside. Isabelle grabbed her cup and began to take a sip, when all of a sudden KK Slider played one of the sickest transitions possibly in human history into Bound 2 by Kanye West.
I know you're tired of loving, of loving
With nobody to love, nobody, nobody
So just grab somebody, no leaving this party
With nobody to love, nobody, nobody
The transition was so great that it made Isabelle drop her coffee onto her skirt and the rest spilled onto the ground. Isabelle sat there in shock and KK quickly stopped playing.
"Are you okay?" he quickly asked.
"Yeah. I wasn't ready for that transition." Isabelle said.
"My apologies." KK said. Isabelle got up to assess the damage. The stain on her skirt was pretty huge. She gave a sad sigh as she threw her hands in the air.
"Well, it was very nice to meet you, but I must depart and get out of this skirt." Isabelle said. KK Slider got up.
"Can I walk you back to your place?" KK asked. Isabelle blushed.
"I mean...I'm not gonna say no." Isabelle answered. KK smiled. The two then headed back for Isabelle's apartment. The two entered the apartment and KK Slider got a good look of Isabelle's place.
"Wow. Nice place." KK said.
"Thank you." Isabelle said. She quickly ran upstairs to her room to change. KK Slider made his way to the couch on the right side of the tv. He began strumming again to pass the time. He then noticed an album on Isabelle's entertainment system; but no record player in sight. He got up, placed his guitar down and got a better look at the album. It was a Beach Bunny record. He flipped it around and began looking at the track listing. He knew of the band only faintly from their song Prom Queen. Isabelle then came down the stairs in a gray sweater with some black dry fit shorts on.
"You have a record player?" KK asked.
"Not yet. But I saw that album and I couldn't pass it up." Isabelle explained, running her fingers through her hair. KK put it down the album and went back to his guitar on the couch. Isabelle joined him.
"Any request?" he asked.
"I've heard you cover, but what about an original?" asked Isabelle. KK tuned is guitar.
"Okay. This is a fan favorite. It's called Love Song." he then said. He began fingerpicking the guitar. The melody was soft and felt personal. Then KK started to sing. Love Song was about a boy and girl being innocently in love. The boy in the story was telling the girl to keep this song close to her heart, so that whenever she would get sad, she would think of the boy and their love that they share. KK finished the song and then looked at Isabelle who had some tears in her eyes.
"Sorry." She said wiping the tears from her eyes, "It was just really good." KK smiled. He then checked his phone to check the time.
"That has to be all from me. I have to meet some other people." said KK. He got up from the couch and headed for the door. Isabelle quickly ran up to him.
"Hey um, would you wanna hang out later tonight? Sorry if that sounds a bit too forward, but I just enjoy hanging out with you. Oh gosh, now I sound really weird. I'm sorry, just forget I said anything." KK placed his palm on Isabelle's cheek. Isabelle calmed down.
"Yeah I can hang out tonight. What time?" he asked.
"Seven. I'll order Chinese." Isabelle said. KK smiled. He then exited the apartment. Isabelle was star struck. She was giddy with excitement and couldn't wait till eight.
7:00 pm
Isabelle had organized all of the food in a circle on her circular white dining table. The food smelled delicious. She got it from a local place in the business district. The tv was on the news channel providing enough light since Isabelle had the lights dimmed for mood lighting. All that was needed was for KK Slider to show. Isabelle quickly ran up to her room and quickly brushed her hair to clean it up a bit. She brushed her hair down to make it look cute. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. He was here. Isabelle took a deep breath. "You got this." she said to herself. She went back downstairs and opened the door. KK walked in with his guitar on his back.
"Food smells good." KK commented.
"It's from a place in the business district." said Isabelle, "They're really good."
"Well then, let's eat," said KK. The two sat down at the table, opened up the small boxes and served up their plates. Before he ate, KK went and place his guitar next to the right couch. Isabelle had ordered orange chicken, lo mein, fried rice and some dumplings. The two then started to eat.
"You're right," said KK. "This is good."
"I wouldn't lie about where to get good food." Isabelle said.
"You're a foodie I take it?" asked KK.
"A bit. I definitely think I have a pretty good pallet." Isabelle explained, "I'm always open to trying something new."
"I'll have to take you to the southside of New Donk. They have some crazy great restaurants over there." said KK, stuffing his mouth with lo mein. Isabelle laughed.
"Is that where you live?" asked Isabelle.
"Yes ma'am. Mostly there for the art scene." KK answered. Isabelle wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"How is it down in the southside?"
"It's pretty cool. I would say it's the best place to live in New Donk but of course I am very biased." KK jokingly said. Isabelle smiled.
"You'll have to take me there sometime." Isabelle said.
"Some of my friends own some museums we could check out." KK commented.
"I'd like that," said Isabelle. The two went back to eating. After a couple of minutes, they finished up eating and went to wash the dishes. After the dishes were done, they went and sat on the couch. KK grabbed his guitar and started finger picking.
"Oh, I check out that band Beach Bunny." he started to say.
"Really? What did you think?" Isabelle asked.
"Not bad. I like me some good indie rock." KK replied.
"They're so good. They're most recent release is probably my favorite as of now." Isabelle explained.
"I think I can play one of their songs half decently," said KK. Isabelle was shocked.
"Did you learn it just for me?" Isabelle asked.
"Maybe." KK started strumming the string pattern to Beach Bunny's song Rearview. He played the intro and then began to sing.
I wither within when I'm without
Baptized in sin and blessed with doubt
Most nights I hardly know myself
Sometimes I feel like someone else
Was I ever good enough for you?
There's always someone I'm tryna live up to
I can never get to you
You always seem closer in the rearview
The moment was perfect. Isabelle had a cute guy in her apartment, they ate some good food, and he was playing a song by one of her favorite bands. She got closer to KK and placed her head on his shoulder. Isabelle thought nothing could ruin the moment. But then something ruined the moment. Dotty came on tv with some breaking news.
"Breaking news, this is Dotty reporting live for Channel 3 news! I am downtown central New Donk City where the Shy Guys gang is attacking. They have hostages, I repeat they have hostages!"
KK Slider stopped playing. Isabelle sat up. This was bad; very bad.