030 Express Delivery (1)

Eden woke up to find herself in an unfamiliar room. She blinked, fluttering her eyelashes as the morning light streamed in from the windows.

Only after a moment of looking around the walls and rubbing her eyes, did Eden realize she was at the apartment she rented.

The white walls of the Kairos building gleamed newly under the sunlight and standard white curtains were given to her by the building's manager.

She would need to replace them soon but right now they would serve her well until she could find something that reflected her tastes.

"I was worried for a second," Eden said yawning and laying back in her bed lazily. She stared up at the ceiling, unwilling to move for a moment.

There was no pressure to do anything right now, neither her father nor her sister were around to ruin her mood with insults. But that also meant Gertrude and the other members of staff were not there to assist her in her morning routine.

There would be no more staff documents to go through, no more wages to be paid, and no ledger to sign.

Eden realized suddenly that all her time had been freed up. There was only the need to take care of herself and her needs for a while and that perplexed her. Then a sliver of fear traveled into her mind, and anxiety blossomed.

She felt directionless, with the only objective in her mind being to make toys, but what about everything else?

"So what do I do now?" Eden asked in confusion, she didn't have a television set yet. Her living room was still completely bare and she would have to be the one to decorate it. That wasn't the only appliance she was missing.

She needed most of the standard appliances found in homes, a toaster, a microwave, a television, and more, the apartment had a laundry room downstairs and there was also a laundromat on the way to the convenience store she had been there before.

If she wanted a personal washer and dryer she had to buy one herself.

"So I've basically started out with 20,000 KRV and I'll need to keep track of that throughout this whole endeavor, but first I need a newspaper,"

----------

After showering and brushing her teeth, Eden hurried down the stairs to meet the doorman and inquire about the source of the newspapers delivered to the building.

"Oh we have people bring them up for a small fee, 10 KRV a month," George said, he pointed over to the receptionist from the previous day.

"You can speak to Amanda about that, don't worry she don't bite," George said.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that George," Eden grumbled, remembering the impact the other woman's words had on her self esteem.

"Don't worry Miss Eden, she's sweet once you get to know her," he said.

Eden didn't believe him but she needed the newspapers to review the market and the Meadowlark business section and other important information she might need to see where she would need to put her money.

"Ahem," Eden coughed.

Amanda had her hair in the same style as yesterday with a nice white blouse and a skirt to match. Her clipboard was replaced with a tablet she tapped on furiously.

"Oh, good morning Miss Marshall," Amanda said sitting up straight at the sigh of Eden, the blonde bore a stony expression, likely still irritated from their interaction yesterday.

Amanda shrugged, she had only answered the question Eden was asking if the girl was upset that she looked shabby that was simply not Amanda's business.

If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

"Just Eden is fine, look I'm in need of some newspapers and George said the subscription is 10 KRV every month,"

"That's correct, I'm a little surprised to see someone your age asking for a physical copy. Usually, they get a digital subscription," Amanda said trying to be amicable towards the woman she upset yesterday.

"Oh I...used to read them at home a lot so I just got used to that, what newspapers do you guys carry?" Eden asked cooling down a bit.

"So we have, Business Daily, the Meadowlark Journal, Downtown Times, The Meadowlark Gazette, and Skyline Post," Amanda informed her. "Most tenants get two to three papers for about 15 KRV,"

"Oh I read Skyline Post and The Meadowlark Gazette so I'd like to add Business Daily and pay 15 KRV monthly please," Eden said.

"Would that be all?" Amanda asked tapping her tablet to note down Eden's request.

"Uh…" Eden looked down at her feet shyly, then blurted. "Do you have any fashion magazine subscriptions?"

Amanda's eyes widened. It seemed the girl had really taken her words to heart yesterday. Amanda's eyes saddened, she didn't mean to make Eden feel so inadequate with her blunt words.

"Uh hey…" Amanda started unsurely. "Look if this is about yesterday I'm sorry about what I said, I was too blunt and trying to defend a mistake I made but being stubborn,"

Eden looked into the woman's brown eyes and shook her head.

"No it put things into perspective for me, I'm not going to lay all my problems out to you but I just need to make a change," Eden said, "So do you have some, popular ones? Like stuff people my age would be reading? I'm looking for fashion and lifestyle,"

Amanda shot her a soft smile.

"Sure, I have Lark & Luxe, Larkstyle, and Perch Chic. They're all very cute styles but if you want something a little more out there, like street fashion you'd have to go to the corner store,"

"Let me get those too, all physical copies too. I like making vision boards and stuff,"

"That's actually so cute, I have a journal for that sort of thing. Lucky this building is near an arts and crafts store as well," Amanda said.

[-30 KRV

19,940 KRV]

"Thank you, Amanda, when can I expect them?"

"Well it's pretty early so maybe around 8:00 AM, that's when most tenants leave for work," The receptionist replied.

"Oh what time is it now, I thought I slept in,"

"It's 7:30 AM,"