1 Sunshine

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP-

Without even making a sound, the man slammed the off button on that ticking red wake-up machine of death and threw off the heavy lead duvet from his bed. The LED display.. well, displayed 05:30.

'It's super early,' he thought to himself, 'why am I up at this time every day?' He walked over to his closet. Then, the answer came to him immediately.

Work. Film directing, working at NJY Studios six days a week, from 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM. The energy he gained through sleeping drained daily like the green screens were a vacuum cleaner, and he was their target. The studio spread across three warehouses, each with a locked large door - the only way in is having a keycard. Warehouse 2 is coloured red, Warehouse 10 is coloured blue, and Warehouse 4 is coloured green: they're all connected through the second floor. Useless information, but the warehouses themselves aren't. And they don't stick out like a sore thumb either, which is handy. Nobody's ever tried to break into them.

"Hm.. the red hat or the black hat?" The hats in question were the same, differentiated only by colour. It took nearly three minutes before he'd eventually opted for the black one, matching with his shirt and shoes. The jacket he wore over the shirt was a creamy beige, like the beach on a sunny summer's day. Oh, how he wished to go to the beach. Maybe he'd spend a Sunday there. Summer had just begun, after all.

Out his bedroom door and into the apartment kitchen he went, the pan already on the hob waiting, watching his movements as he prepared today's breakfast: French toast. He gathered the egg, vanilla and cinnamon, beating them gently in a shallow dish. The components mixed by the law of the spoon before being bathed in milk, followed by more stirring. Next comes the bread slices,

Five minutes passed before he was ready to eat, sitting at the table alone and quietly nibbling on the toast. "Wonder what it's like to eat breakfast with someone." Carlos let out a low mumble carrying loneliness, the want for a relationship. Sure, he'd had high school crushes, didn't we all? It's not like it bothered him too much, cause he always had himself to love. Adult life wasn't all about love like it was back then, it seemed.

His phone displayed the time 05:45 in bold white text over a background of falling flowers, odd for someone like him. Forty-five minutes remained until he had to start working for the day, which was forty minutes to get to work. Granted, he only needed 20 as he was a fast walker; Carlos was a daydreamer and always stopped to think about what he was seeing.

In the blink of an eye (which, in reality, was five minutes), his trouser pocket was housing his phone and on went his jacket, the door swinging wide open behind him. It seemed that it was time to set off already. Like a bird, he flew down flights of stairs until he reached the lobby.

BZZT BZZT! He pulled out his ringing smartphone, greeted by his close friend's icon - the friend being a woman named Luna.

"Hello?" he pressed the phone to his ear and greeted the woman, her presence alone enough to cheer up his morning.

"Hey, Carlos... uh, do you wanna get coffee before work starts? W-We have forty minutes, and I thought it'd be nice. If you haven't already had coffee, but you don't h-"

"The café on the corner outside the shopping centre, opposite the train station?" Carlos cut her off, not trying to be rude but instead trying to calm her down.

"Y-Yeah... I'll see you there, then? Bye, Carlos!" Anyone could feel the smile radiating from her face as she hung up - it was brighter than the sun, even though they were talking through the phone. Carlos and Luna had been great friends for over six years now and co-workers for just under four. Carlos was 24 and Luna was 23, Carlos was 6'2 while Luna was 5'7". They were almost total opposites but had one key thing in common: They had the largest creative outlet of anyone they knew.

＊＊＊＊

Under the oddly blinding morning sun, Carlos strolled down streets and around corners, needing to travel only two before he reached his destination: Café Amara, the best coffee shop in town. Everyone there knew him very well and in such a big city - to be known by the owners made it feel so small and homely.

"Carlos!" Luna called out with her trademark beaming smile on her face. Her voice reached the end of the road where Carlos was, walking closer as he heard her voice.

"Good morning, Luna." He smiled in return, gesturing to the door, "Ready?"

"Yep!" Her face lit up as he opened the door for her, leading the two into an unnaturally empty shop. Greeting the two, a bell rung above their heads, followed by a further greeting from the owner of the café, Lizzy.

"Mornin, you two. What can I get you?" sounded a calm, motherly voice from the other side of the shop. The two strolled over to the counter and responded.

"Can I get a black coffee, please?"

"A-And I'll have a decaf, please!"

"Black for Carlos, and decaf for you, Luna. Want any pastries?" The lady presented the two with a new array of freshly-baked pastries, each one of them practically screaming the words 'eat me'.

"Two croissants, then. Do you have almond?"

"Take a seat and I'll get them for ya."

The two did as they were told and sat in the corner. It was close to the ac in summer and close to the radiator in winter; they loved it a lot. But what they loved more was the taste of coffee in the morning. Especially Lizzy's.

"So, ready for work today?" The man in the hat was first to break the silence, checking his watch, "We still have thirty-five minutes until we start."

"Y-Yeah, I'm ready. Excited to work on Act Four of the film, and I hope you are too!" she beamed once again, her never-fading smile spreading joy in Carlos' heart.

"Act Four, Act Four... ah, yes."

"Did you forget?"

"No, it's just... Are we already on Act Four?" They'd been working on this movie for ages. Was it only now that they were getting to the exciting bit? He furrowed his brow, mentally revising the script. The 'Acts' of the movie were how they organised the plot - Act One, Act Two, Act Three and so forth.

"Yeah! I can't wait."

"Me neither."

Suddenly, the apron-wearing woman popped up again, bringing a tray in her hands. On the tray, there lay the two's orders.

"Here you go. Enjoy!" She laid down the plates and cups on the table, grinning before hurrying back to the counter-top. Ooh, more customers, she thought.

Carlos took a sip of his coffee, glancing anxiously at his watch. The hands turned slowly, menacingly. Almost as if they were about to pop out and kill him, but had no idea when. He had twenty minutes left until he began, meaning he had to get going in around five to ten minutes.

Luna, on the other hand, wasn't worried about the time. A concept silly as that didn't bother her, although Carlos not eating up his croissant did.

"You okay, Carlos? You're not eating."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking. Look, I'll take one now." He took a moment to breathe after finishing the sentence, taking a large bite once he remembered how to.

"O-Okay.." She quietened down after that, leaving the two to blissfully enjoy their last five minutes before they needed to set off.

＊＊＊＊

"Thank you for the coffee, Lizzy. We'd better get going now." He stood up from his seat, gesturing for Luna to do the same.

"Y-Yes, thank you very much!" She smiled.

"No problem, you two. Have fun at the studio." Lizzy walked over to their table to clean up as the pair paid for their meal and left swiftly. Next stop, NJY Studios.

One place that Carlos passed by every day was the recording studio of a famous pop group, the name of which he couldn't remember because he didn't care for them. He occasionally took a glimpse inside, staring into the glass at the seven members.

Today, the group were wearing red suits and yukatas, dancing to an upbeat song. One of them looked particularly eye-catching; it didn't matter to him, but he took a little longer this morning to stare.

"Carlos, c'mon! We s-should go.." Luna was the one to snap him out of it, her soft voice taking the place of a car horn or other interruption. It wasn't for long. She grabbed his hand and dragged him for a few seconds until eventually, he realised what had happened.

"Okay, okay, you can let go now." He chuckled a little.

"Sorry... but you were staring at them. We've no time for that..."

"I apologise, Luna. Let's continue."

"Thank you."

Round more corners and down two more streets they walked until eventually, they reached the alleyway where the entrance to Warehouse 10 was.

"Remind me why they're called 2, 10 and 4 again?" Carlos turned to the shorter girl, pausing before he authenticated.

"Wasn't it because NJY can stand for 'ni juu yon' which means 24 in Japanese? 'Ni' is two, 'juu' is ten, 'yon' is four."

"Ah, yes. Now I remember."

"Why did we call it NJY though..?"

"I don't remember, Luna."

"Neither do I."

The red 'LOCK' on the panel changed to a blue 'OPEN' as the warehouse door allowed them in, rising slowly and shutting behind them even quicker.

"Good morning, everyone!"