45

You finish your drinks, and a little while later you're eating lunch and talking about where your next date could be.

"I was thinking we could go for a bike ride," Marlowe is saying, smiling as they take a bite of their sandwich. "I finally got my bike fixed, and I've really been wanting to take it out somewhere. There are some really pretty trails outside of town, and I'd love it if I could show you some of them. Obviously if you don't have a bike then I could lend you mine, and I'd borrow one from somewhere. Definitely not my roommate's, obviously. I have a spare helmet, too. It's just an idea, but…I thought it might be nice."

Marlowe laughs.

"Oh, we can definitely race. There are a couple of trails that are pretty open, so we wouldn't risk crashing into any trees. Or, you know, each other. I'm already looking forward to it anyway."

You've finished eating by now, and for a while you just sit in comfortable silence, imagining all the ways you could spend time together.

Soon, however, Marlowe straightens up in their seat as if something has suddenly occurred to them.

"I have an idea," they say. "I don't have to be at work today, but why don't I show you around the news office? It's small, but it's still pretty cool. There's even still a printing press from when it used to be an actual newspaper. What do you think?"

Since you don't want the date to end just yet, the two of you walk down towards the offices of Silvertree Today!. When you arrive outside, however, you realize Marlowe wasn't lying about them being small. In fact, if you hadn't known what to look for, you might have thought the narrow office at the end of this quiet street was just another apartment building. Only the faded brass letters over the entrance tell you otherwise.

"The building's actually pretty old—I think the newspaper was around since the forties or fifties," Marlowe tells you. "But it's never exactly been huge. I don't think small town newspapers ever are."

You head through the entrance and step into a simple, plainly decorated foyer. Most of the space is taken up by a reception desk (which at the moment is unstaffed) and a bench for visitors. As for the walls, most of the space is taken up by the various doors that lead to other parts of the building.

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