Deadbeat, Dodge Mason.

002. This Is How It Starts

Chapter Two           ╱ This Is How It Starts
[ Pre-Panic ╱ Challenge One ! ]
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          Life away from Carp, Texas was only achieved with possession of one thing. Money. Whether it be to pay for college, or just an apartment in a slightly less shitty town, money was needed to do it.

This is why Panic was built on a cash prize, cumulated through dollar donations given from every student at Samuel Maverick High School once a day. This is also why every job in town━━━that could be━━━seemed to be filled by teenagers, and why they were always tripping over themselves and clawing at each other like cats to grab one if suddenly vacated.

Cassandra was one of the lucky ones. A few years ago, she had managed to snag a position at the mostly rundown and barely functioning post office in town. Her secret? The woman who ran it felt bad for her because all those years ago she was one of the few who helped her parents leave town━━━sans their newborn daughter and not-even-yet-legal son.

Despite it fully being a pity offer, Cassandra had grasped it in her fingers like a starving woman and it was the only salvation she had found in miles. In a way, it was.

The job had allowed her years of savings to build up. All of which she should still have, and be ready to spend on a college far, far away, but that wasn't something she felt like rehashing for the umpteenth time━━━even if in her head.

Instead, she focuses on pushing through her day like nothing was amiss. This morning, she had woken up to her first alarm, snoozed it till her third, and rushed out the door just before it meant being late.

This calculation of time included the allotted three minutes she'd spend in Dot's Diner━━━where she'd not only be getting her morning caffeine fix but talking briefly with Edith, the sweet old woman who worked the early morning shift and always greeted her with a smile.

Pushing open the door to the diner with her free hand, a bell chimes above her head. "Good morning, Ed-" Cassandra stops, the once huge smile slipping off her face in replace of a confused frown. "You're not Edith."