Chapter 12: Morning Coffee

A beautiful girl with a shiny wavy black hair was sleeping soundly. People would say that this is the exact depiction of the ancient tale Sleeping Beauty. Only if the girl not wearing a bright red bunny girl suit and maybe only if the girl would sleep more elegantly without drool dripping out of her mouth. The girl slowly open her eyes when the first sunrays of the day hit her face.

"Ugh so bright"

Maria wiggled her way out of the warm blanket, fluffy pillow and soft bed. She wobbly walked to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She looked at herself in the mirror and started chanting.

"I am beautiful and strong. I am beautiful and strong I am beautiful and strong IambeautifulandstrongIambeautifulandstrongIambeautifulandstrong"

Pang! She slapped her cheeks.

"This is going to be a fun and great day."

This was a usual morning routine for Maria. Everyday she would wake up in the morning and self-hypnotizing herself before going through her day. She was not putting up a front but this was the only way she learned when she was still a kid to survive through the day. Life at The Outer was harsh when she was little. Corpses would be laying around, people beating each other over unripen fruit still up on the tree, human trafficking in broad daylight, robbing run down house openly, raping in open space, and kill-and-run.

Maria and her group of friends were the one who brought about changes to The Outer. There are still no law and order here but there are unwritten rules for people living here and one of that is to respect each other's way of life.

Maria wiped her face off with a clean towel. When she stepped out of the bathroom she saw clean clothes on the bed with a note

'Sir Faust asked us to give you this clothes. He said to us to tell you that he said "Please wear proper clothes while you are here. There are small children here. I don't want you to set a bad example to them. If you want to wear the clothes you are wearing now you can wear it when you are alone but don't stay here too long. Go do your job." We also prepared breakfast downstairs you can come eat when you're ready.'

Warm smile plastered on her face. Seeing the rough and clumsy writing reminded her the thing that Faust told her when she was a kid.

'What are you going to do Faust? We all have stated our ambitions to each other so what are yours?'

'Me? What am I going to do? Hmmm. Maybe I will just open an orphanage. There are a lot of orphans here. I don't want other kids living like us right now. They should at least have a comfortable place to live.'

'You talk like an old man, Faust.'

Maria change into the clean clothes. It is a blue T-shirt with a black jeans and sandals.

She walked into the dining hall. The dining hall is not that big but it is enough for 100 people. It is Already 11 a.m. a bit late for breakfast and a bit early for lunch. Faust once told her that people at Central called this time brunch. Only wealthy people can have this sort of luxury.

"Can I have a cup of coffee please."

"Yes, please wait for a minute Madam. Here toast and scrambled egg for all you can eat. You can ask for second at the counter there."

"Thank you Alex. I thought you are just Faust secretary."

"Ah yes. Actually I am just Sir Faust secretary but right now he is asleep and he asked me to tend Madam's need when you wake up."

"Did you cook this?"

"No, our cooks are the one who made it. The recipes for all our food is from Sir Faust. He said he found all these recipes from history record. He told us that people from the past eat all sorts kind of food. Although not all recipes can be recreate like baked turkeys and wagyu meat because they have been extinct."

Then a girl wearing an apron come and serve a hot cup of coffee to Maria.

"Here is your cup of coffee Madam, please enjoy."

"Thank you."

Maria look at the porcelain cup before taking a slow sip of coffee.