happy_dsign

Bay was late. It wasn't a big deal yet, she was still cooking, but she could use help with garnishing and boxing the food that was ready, and if she didn't have everything boxed and loaded in about the next 30 minutes, she was going to be late with this catering order. They were still not as frequent as she'd like, beyond her morning orders for baked goods around the city, and every good performance equaled good word-of-mouth. That was important, it was critical at this point.

She got some oil heating in a skillet to start working on the fried foods, since they needed to be relatively fresh, and then she pulled out her phone and sent a video chat request to Bay.

When they'd first got their packets and had been assigned to adjoining apartments it had seemed like the perfect set-up. That way they would both be nearby but would have their privacy. It had only taken a single night on her own in the apartment to change her mind on that front, though. All alone in an empty apartment, unable to hear if someone was moving around, without the security of knowing Bay was right there--she'd slept horribly, fitfully, getting up several times to walk through the apartment and make sure she was alone, checking the locks on the door and windows.

Finally around 4 AM she'd given up altogether and sat down at the kitchen table with her laptop. There were other arguments she could make, more logical ones than 'I don't like being all alone in my apartment', and she made the spreadsheet to prove it. Financially, sharing an apartment with Bay was a good idea. They could split the cost of rent and supplies that way, and with the monthly income this place granted to each resident, they wouldn't even need to work if they didn't want to. Plus they could share the chores. She could cook for them both, she was even willing to take care of the finances. God knew she'd helped her mom sort out bills often enough, and this time she wouldn't even have to juggle due dates and late notices and disconnect warnings.

This done she showered and got dressed, then made a batch of fresh banana muffins. By 7:30 she was at Bay's door, too impatient to wait any longer. She hoped that wasn't a mistake. By now, Bay should be used to earlier mornings than she had been at home, right?

She took a deep breath and knocked, plastering a smile on her face, with the plate of muffins held out in offering.

Daphne didn't know how long the graffiti had been on the compound wall, she didn't get around to the back of the building that often. She hadn't seen it when the compound had been all wild wild west, but today she'd just been wandering around, checking out the garden, then going to visit the chickens, and she'd seen it: the same street art that had been all over Kansas City, the little girl with axes and hammers.

There was only one possible explanation. She knew she hadn't done it, and was pretty sure Wilke hadn't done it, so that narrows it down to one plausible suspect.

She headed directly into their shared room, finding Bay already there, which saved her the trouble of tracking her roommate down. "Hi. We need to talk."