Allison walked down the crowded sidewalks, coffee in hand. The only reason such a large crowd existed at this early hour was the proprietors of the night clubs and bars closing shop. Allison enjoyed this transitional part of the day, watching drunkards stumble down the road and the various shop owners arriving early to begin business for the day.

Cassandra started her day with the normal routine. Buy a large cup of green tea from her favorite shop, then go to work while trying to avoid the drunk night clubbers stumbling home. There was only one thing out of the ordinary with this day, it was one of her very few days off. Not knowing what to do with the time on her hands, she wandered around, looking at multiple people as they passed by, when she bumped into another girl, almost spilling both of their drinks.

"Ah crap, I'm sorry. I should be looking where I'm going."

Allison had been lost in thought when she bumped into the other girl. That kind of ruined her gracefulness of trying to keep their coffee from flying out of it's container. The girl said something but Allison was too busy making sure coffee hadn't gotten on her clothes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch what you said." she before taking a simple of the sweet creamy brown liquid.

Cassandra tried to hide her reddened face by leaning forward slightly, but could tell it wasn't working very well. Putting her hand on the back of her neck, she took a sip of her tea as the other girl had. She was pretty damn embarrassed, but somehow having to repeat what she said made the situation slightly more agonizing for her.

"I said sorry, and something about how I should pay attention more... Sorry again."

Allison laughed a little bit.

"Don't worry about it. We ran into each other. I should have been paying attention to where I was walking, but watching the drunkards stumble is just too distracting." she said with a smile. "Besides, I neither of use spilled our drinks so no harm done." she continued with the same smile.

Cassandra smiled back, relieved that she wasn't hostile. Other people might not have been so kind.

"Yeah, I don't know how they have enough energy to stay up all night clubbing. I'm sure they would try to live there if they could..." Cassandra remembered one time she had gone clubbing. It was full of sweat, lust, and drunk people, the three musketeers. Everyone dancing was either grinding, half naked, or scouting for potential hook-ups. She was glad she wasn't a part of that group.

"It's the excessive amounts of alcohol, energy drinks, and drugs that allow them to party all night," Allison said. "It's actually a quite fun thing to do. You feel like crap in the morning but the amount of entertainment gained from partying is worth it." Suddenly realized that she forgot to introduce herself.

"I'm Allison Monroe." she said sticking her hand out.

Cassandra nodded slowly in agreement. Sure parties were fun, but a bunch of guys trying to bring everyone home was obnoxious. "Yeah, I went to a party once. It was fun and all, but fending off the drunk guys was pretty time consuming." Cassandra shook her hand. "Cassandra Mertes, pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," Allison replied. "So, Cassandra, what brings you out to Gala Plaza at this hour?"

Cassandra chuckled. "Well I was actually on my way to work, but I forgot that it was my day off.. So I guess I have a little me time today. What about you?"

"I usually walk around for a hour or two before going to work. The streets usually clear out for a short period of time and I like walking through a sort of quiet city." she replied.

"Yeah, it's nice to have some peace and quiet once in a while. Where do you work?"

"I work in the research and development department at Monroe Mega," she said proudly. Monroe Mega was one of the largest corporations in the Republic of Humanity and had some sort of business in every single market, no matter how small.

"Nice.." Cassandra replied, slightly envious. But she loved her work, so she was doing well. "I work down at Mertes Dojo.. My dad owns it, but I'm the lead instructor for most of the martial arts that go on there..."

"I'll have to stop by some time. It's been a little over six years since I've done any sort of martial arts; back when I was in the military." said Allison. "Would I need to setup an appointment or just show up?"

Cassandra thought for a few minutes. Most of the time people needed appointments, but they just showed up anyways. It didn't really matter, though. "We have specific days and times for people to come to classes, but if people want to try it out before making a decision to pay for a full course then they can just show up. As long as it follows schedule, of course."

Allison made a mental note to make an appointment at Mertes Dojo. Stealing a glance at her watch, Allison noticed it was almost time for her shift to start.
"Hey, I'm really sorry, but I've got to head into work now," she said as she started to walk away. "See you around, Cassandra!" she shouted before breaking into a light jog.