Lana Tyler Dhavernas
Cold water was capable of much more than people seemed to give it credit for, Lana thought. It had a way of wiping the slate clean; regardless of whatever her state had been the night before, she could step beneath the cool flow of the shower, close her eyes, and rely on the slicing droplets to wash it all away. It had become a calming sort of morning ritual, and this day was no different. Hair falling in front of her eyes, she allowed it to sting her nerves to numb, stripping her consciousness apart and piecing it back together in a new, more optimistic pattern. Washed, satisfied, and freshened in more than one way, she stepped out of the small cubical and into a smile.
The smile that she inhabited did not leave her as she got dressed, nor was she deserted as she prepared herself tea and a bagel. It wavered when she took a second to check her watch, cursing under her breath at the numbers on the tiny screen (which indicated that it was later than she'd previously thought it to be), but only briefly, before she transferred the tea to an old black travel mug, tossed the bagel into her kitchen's trash bin, and jogged the few blocks that made up her route to work, pushing through the wide entry doors with no lack of enthusiasm. In fact, it did not dare to slip until the moment that she saw Victor's face, standing outside of Ollie's office with several of her other co-workers. When she did, it stuttered, as did she, allowing herself to hesitate and tighten her grip on the mug before moving towards the group. Her smile had retreated, and her voice was quieted in its absence, wary of whatever dim news was headed her way.
"So, what'd I miss, then?"