I'm woken by a nagging, dull pain in my back, and the daylight streaming in. I slept in a weird position, twisted on the couch. It often goes that way... I get home, exhausted from work, not to mention my second job. And then I'll often think back to my past, but before I get to the end, I'm gone. Sometimes, I dream about those times… thankfully, last night I dreamt about nothing, save for a pair of sharp, green eyes, staring right into me.

Yeah, that woman's haunting me, for sure.

I glance towards my phone, which is face down on the coffee table, then reach out to grab it, and swipe the screen. There's no missed call, no text. I knew she'd be stubborn… though I'm disappointed more than annoyed, because I'd really like to help her.

Then I glance at the time in the upper-right of the screen.

"Shit!" I curse loudly.

I forgot to set the damn alarm… I'm going to be late. Shit! I send a quick text to Tenzin…

'Running late, rough night, forgot alarm, be there asap. SORRY!'

Then I'm dashing into the bathroom, throwing my clothes off as I stumble across the living room.

"Fuck!" There's a loud bang, and sharp pain throbs up my foot… I can almost see stars.

Who the hell put that chair there? I hop around in pain, a nicely stubbed toe adding to my shitty start to the day. I manage to limp the rest of the way into the bathroom, throw off my underwear and clamber into the shower cubicle, closing the glass door behind.

The tap turns with a quiet squeak, and I grit my teeth as the cold water splashes down. Most people would step away, let the water warm up. Not me. I like the rush, the bitter cold is a much better way to wake up than coffee, or so I've always believed… not to mention the warm water just feels that much nicer when it eventually comes.

I guess it's like most things in life. If I allow myself to take something for granted, in this case something as simple as warm water, I won't enjoy it anywhere nearly as much. I don't think I'd ever take my new life for granted either, certainly each day feels like it's a blessing. I'll never forget those who helped me to get here.

I scrub myself as fast as I can, massage shampoo into my hair, and wiggle my toe just to check it isn't broken. Lucky escape, it'll bruise, but I'll be fine. I finish my shower, towel off and throw on fresh underwear, a pair of slacks, and a thick jumper. It's getting cold lately, after all.

As I pull out of the driveway, I think about the day ahead.

Despite my love for acting, I'm not looking forwards to work. Tenzin's going to be furious, not that I blame him… it's expensive to make everyone wait. I'll make it up to him, to everyone, by putting on my very best performance. I'll finish in as few takes as possible. And maybe afterwards, I'll treat everyone to drinks.

Yeah, that'll iron things out… I hope.