With a troubled heart, Liz went to sleep after eating very little as she had had no mood to have a hearty meal, what with the problems that plagued her family.
Although food was a passion of hers, it almost always depended on her mood: when in a good mood, she was known to clear plates and plates of food, while a bad mood could result in her going on a fast.
After a night where she could only nurse her grumbling stomach while dreaming of eating great food on the CEO's desk, she woke up the smell of freshly baked cupcakes.
Without even opening her eyes, her head rose automatically from her bed while her nose sniffed along the direction in which the smell was coming from.
Yet, a moment later, she was stopped as she found her nose buried in a soft, warm substance.
Still groggy, Liz moved up and immediately starting munching on the substance after finding out that it was actually the vanilla-flavored cupcake she had been seeking.
"Hey, drool face! Why don't you wake up first and then continue eating? I promise that I won't disturb your nose's impression in the cupcake!"
Hearing these words and the chuckle that accompanied them, Liz finally opened her eyes to see a man standing in front of her who was holding the cupcake she was messily eating to her face.
He was wearing a chef's apron which had stains of flour on it, and his black hair was an organized mess. His fair, clean-shaven face had a wide smile on it, emphasizing his dimpled cheeks and sharp chin.
Along with his thin figure, this was also someone who would be able to make heads turn if he were properly groomed.
"Luke! Get more of them! I had a nightmare that I was starving…you have to feed me!"
As she pushed out these words, Liz snatched the cupcake and started to greedily gobble it down like a squirrel which had just obtained an acorn.
Seeing this sight and laughing, Luke said, "Your wish is my command, but Mary said you had to get up early? Something about not being late to work on your first day?"
This made Liz freeze and look up at Luke before turning around to see the clock on the bedside of her small room.
7: 30 am.
As her jaw which still had crumbs of the cupcake comically dropped, Liz took a deep breath before screaming. "MOM! I TOLD YOU TO WAKE ME UP! NOW I ONLY HAVE 30 MINUTES!"
Shouting these words, Liz immediately got off the bed and ran to the bathroom.
"Nice fashion, by the way."
These words from Luke made her cover her backside where there was a small hole in her pajamas, letting him see her blemish-less skin.
Turning around and shooting a glare, she banged the door of the bathroom and quickly started to freshen up.
Meanwhile, outside, Luke chuckled to himself again before taking a look around his best friend's room.
As kids who had been through a lot and grown up together, there were many things even in this room which were signs of the strong friendship they had.
For example, when Liz was 9, she had had a series of recurring nightmares about being chased by a hamburger which was holding a toothpick as its sword. Unable to see her cry as she talked about it, he had made her a dream catcher using tin cans and feathers of dead birds he had found on the street.
Although this didn't help with her dreams, it still let her go to sleep easier because the tinkling of the cans as it revolved with the wind gave her a soothing feeling.
This dream catcher was still present near the only window.
Even though the room was so small that there was barely space for anything except for the single bed and the computer desk, Liz had still chosen to prop another gift of his, a 4-foot tall doll made out of wood in one corner.
Just as he was about to think of the story behind this doll, the bathroom door banged open as Liz walked out still wearing the pajamas, but furiously brushing her teeth and combing her hair which she had washed just yesterday.
Freezing in her path as she met Luke's eyes, she stopped for a moment before yelling "GFFT OUT! CANFT BE LATE FOR FIRFT DAY!"
Even as he was trying to understand what she was saying in that cryptic tongue, he found himself pushed out of the room before she shut the door in his face.
Finally, at precisely 8:01 AM, Liz stood on the pavement below her apartment, shivering in the cold air as she waited for Rao to arrive.