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Blaise stepped outside the apartment building, her breath coming out in puffs of air every time she breathed. Now that she had settled down in her apartment and had two days before she began her new job as a bodyguard/bouncer, she wanted to explore her surroundings a bit.

She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and glanced to the right, seeing a cardboard box sitting on the sidewalk in front of the alleyway. No one was walking on that side of the street. Curious, she approached it. The word ‘free‘ was written in bold, messy letters across the side of the box.

There were a lot of different things inside the box – books, clothes, bottles of some strange liquid and, what’s this? Her fingers brushed against something smooth and ice cold to the touch. Wrapping her fingers around the object, she pulled out a snowglobe and her eyes lit up. She had always loved snowglobes as a child, but the orphanage didn’t have the funds to waste on such unnecessary items.

Taped to the bottom of the snowglobe was a yellow sticky note.

‘No one has completed this challenge, hmm?’, she grinned, putting the snowglobe and the note in her bag. ‘This should be fun~’

Giving her more reason to explore, she crossed the street. In the center of the circle of buildings was a community area with a basketball court, a couple food stands, a seating area, and a public restroom. She noticed a woman on the court, carefully throwing the ball at the hoop.

‘I haven’t played basketball in years!’, she approached the court, changing into her workout gear. The cold wind nipped at her exposed skin but she wasn’t bothered. Once she got moving, it would be enough to keep herself warm for a bit.

For a good hour, the two women took turns shooting hoops without exchanging a word between them. As the sun hid itself behind gray clouds and snow started to cover the earth, her skin freezing, she decided it was time to call it quits of the day. As she was leaving the court, she spotted something from the corner of her eye.

Brytani Cho, a four-star celebrity comedian, was walking past, holding an umbrella over her head to keep the snow off of her body. Blaise hummed thoughtfully as she eyed the woman.

‘A celebrity autograph would sell for a pretty penny on the black market,’ She approached the woman, putting on a fake kind smile. “Brytani Cho, right? I love your stand-up routines, they always make my day.”

Her brown eyes scanned Blaise before tilting her chin up a bit. “Is that so,”

“It would be an honor if I could get your autograph!” Blaise tilted her head, giving the woman a close-eyed smile as she pulled a notebook and marker from her bag.

The woman humphed. “I am in no mood to be hounded right now. You should show some respect, I am a celebrity.”

Blaise’s eye twitched in annoyance, ‘Not shit, that’s why I’m asking for your autograph, you bitch.’ But her kind expression didn’t waver. “Of course, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I’m just such a big fan, you know? I want to be just like you!”

She barked out a laugh, waving her hand. “Now that is hilarious. You could never be like me!” And with that, the woman walked away.

Blaise’s hand clenched the marker tightly, nearly cracking the plastic in her anger. ‘What an arrogant bitch. Why do people actually like her? Her jokes aren’t even funny.’ With an angry huff, she stuffed the notebook back into her back and headed back to her apartment, needing some warmth and a good book to distract her from her anger.

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