Nobody eats the cake at McDonald's

Wind falls upwards (Meghan)

Today was one of the rare days when Meghan had to wake up to an alarm clock. She hated that sound more than anything. But it gave her a sense of structure that was lacking from her life lately. 

Since she graduated, she'd been doing some odd art jobs for her favourite streamer, Chisaihato, and a friend Violet, but no mainstream work to bring her a steady income. There was a lot of work from the footy club, but that was a friendly relationship at best and they weren't paying anything. So, what does a 22 year old animation graduate do but find a job at the Australia Zoo in Beerwah. Her commute was atrocious, even after finally getting her driving license. But there was no way she could turn her nose up at a steady wage with her mum breathing down her neck.

Before Meghan got out of bed and into the shower, she checked her phone to check if anything happened in the time she'd been asleep. Being Australian and having so many American friends meant that she often missed out on things, but she still liked to check. Aside from a few memes in Discord, there was nothing. She sent "LOL"s and laughing emojis and when she was finally up to it, hoisted herself out of bed and into her day. 

She grabbed a piece of Vegemite toast before making the trek down to her new workplace. The entire drive she was consumed by loathing for just how bloody far the zoo was. She'd move out and somewhere closer, but at $19 an hour, she'd never find a decent place without a roommate. Nobody she knew was looking and she was too uncomfortable living with a stranger, so she endured the long journey for now. 

At the zoo, she took pictures of visitors. The work itself was kind of dull and she had to talk with more people than she liked. But there was sublime pleasure for her in being outdoors in nature. Surrounded by the animals that made Australia famous. The faux wilderness around her made her dream of being an actual explorer. Being one of the first adventurers to explore the forests of Australia.

On this particular day, Meg chose to draw during her break. Something she never really had time for since taking this job. She drew herself in the Forest, surrounded by the same animals she saw everyday at the zoo. People who saw her in the break room complimented her work. They all knew that she had done some art in Uni, but that she hadn't found a good use for her degree yet. After a long quiet, the hair on Meg's arms stood up and she became very aware she was being watched. She spun around and who should she see but Terri Irwin watching her draw!

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't help but watch. You're very talented....Meghan." Terri said after reading her name tag. 

"Oh, it's no problem. Thank you very much, ma'am! I was an art student in Uni." Meghan was a little stunned, this being her first meeting with the famous Terri Irwin.

"Is that so? Well, you know we do have a mural that needs doing. I was going to hire someone from outside the family, but do you think you might be up to the task?" 

Meghan tried to get out that she mainly did digital art and wouldn't know the first thing about making a mural, but before she could, Terri interrupted.

"It pays $5,000. Why don't you think about it?" She said as she got up and walked away.

Meghan was nervous. But $5,000 was money she could use. So she decided to talk it over with her mum.