03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
Jack was up early, unable to sleep, and feeling the pressure to photograph something good for the Tribune. He figured an early start was the best way to go. Not to mention that he generally tried to avoid being home for any longer than necessary. Staying at the trailer park wasn't exactly the most comfortable, but he was saving up to move somewhere nicer. Until then, he was usually found around town at basically any hour of the day and tried to do little more than sleep at home.
He made his way to Rosie's Diner, the best place for coffee in Sweetwater. As he entered he happened to see @katerina sitting at the counter. He had seen her several times at the Urgent Care for various things, though most of the time it was some sort of trouble he got into while trying to get a good shot for a photo. Usually abrasions and a few cuts that needed stitches, and once a broken arm.
"Hey Katerina." He said as he approached, Jack wasn't particularly outgoing but he could make polite conversation at least. "Good morning." He greeted her with a small smile. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked, motioning to the bar stool at the counter beside her.
There was nothing more tedious than cooking. It wasn’t so much the act itself that annoyed her, but the buying groceries, the prep, and the portioning. Cooking for one person was a challenge in and of itself, and Katerina had decided shortly into her degree that she had better things to do with her time. In all honesty, it was depressing cooking three meals a day for one. So, to save herself the constant reminder of her permanent single status, she opted to eat out as much as possible. It was certainly easier than meal-prepping for her shifts.
She had arose early, as was her custom, even on days such as today where she didn’t need to make an appearance at the hospital. Days off usually found her curled up in her armchair in her one-bedroom apartment with a book in hand and either a flaky cherry pastry, or a coffee in the other. But, as always, she started her day at Rosie’s Diner. She was friendly enough to greet the wait staff, and only gave a sour glare here and there when they decided to comment on that fact that she was eating alone again. That was perhaps the one thing she would never get used to about a small town - everyone knew everything.
Glancing up at the sound of the door opening, she made eye contact with him, and quickly looked down at her half-finished breakfast. Please, don’t come over here. She sent out the silent prayer that was promptly ignored by whatever God was in a spiteful mood today.
“Good morning, Jack.” She responded in her Greek infused American accent, “Please, be my guest.” Gesturing towards the empty stool, she reached for her coffee with her other hand, misjudging the distance and sending the contents of it spilling over the counter. “Skatá!” Cursing in Greek, she grabbed a handful of napkins, shooing off the waitress that came to assist. “I got it. Sorry, I am wildly uncoordinated in the morning.” She said flippantly to her companion, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Jack smiled gratefully, totally oblivious of course to any of her thoughts on not wanting his company and he sat down beside her just before she spilled the coffee. He snatched up a handful of napkins as well and managed to catch some of the coffee before it spilled off the edge of the counter and onto her lap. "I'm sure you're not the only one who has rough mornings." He said with a kind smile. "You more of a night owl?" He asked.
He ordered a coffee and a blueberry muffin when the waitress returned.
A sheepish smile thanked him for assisting, before she ordered another coffee to replace the one now making the counter sticky. Why was it that she was always clumsiest around attractive white men? In Greece she never had this problem, nor around people of colour, but there was something about Caucasian men that made her nervous. Maybe it was all the news reports about them going off the rails, or the easy confidence that they carried with them. Either way, she had once again made a great show of her clumsiness and she knew that it would burn a hole in sub-conscious for weeks. "It is hard to say. With my job and shift work, I don't think I'm a morning person or a night owl." Shrugging her slim shoulders, she thanked the waitress as she brought the coffees and his blueberry muffin before taking a small bite of her meal. Apparently, her appetite was gone. Pushing the plate to the side, she carefully picked up her coffee and sniffed it, wrinkling her nose at the bitter smell. She needed more cream. "What about you? Are you usually up this early?" She had a vague recollection of seeing him once or twice around at this hour, but she wasn't sure if he was just waking or just heading home to bed.
Jack thanked the waitress as she brought his muffin and he took a bite of it. The diner always had amazing muffins, the blueberries cooked just right that left him feeling as if he was eating something more akin to dessert than to breakfast.
"No, not usually. I was just feeling...motivated I guess. Or restless. A little of both I suppose." He said with a guilty smile and a one-shouldered shrug. "At least I was lucky enough to bump into a friendly face. Are you just getting off work? Or heading in?" He at least was assuming it was work related, given the early hour. Do people get up so early just because they can?
Nodding her head in response, she put the rim of the mug to her lips and took a small sip. Bitter. Kat liked her beverages sweet, but she was too embarrassed to ask for more creamer. It would be several days before she came back; maybe by then the waitress would forget about the little show she had put on.
“A restless body hints at a restless mind.” She finally said, glancing towards Jack Hollifield. He was a handsome man, though his eyes were a little too close together for her taste, but they were blue, and she was a sucker for blue eyes. “Neither. I have the day off. But I am incapable of sleeping in. The life of a nurse.” She said with a small laugh.