A New Start

Liz Redmont needed a new start.

She decided this, while staring down the donut-shaped puddle at the bottom of her coffee mug.

It had been less than two weeks, since Emily had broken her heart. A week since she'd moved out, leaving Liz behind in an apartment that was now merely too small, rather than cozy.

Her friends had been as supportive as they could. They'd done the rotation through ice cream and movies, beer and hologames, NiiTRO and VR.

It had filled the time outside work, and whenever she'd arrived home, or seen the last of her friends out the door, Liz was too tired to think much.

But today, her first weekend morning without a brunch ambush or a scramble to the medbooth for hangover remedies, the thought was finally shaken loose by nearly a liter of coffee, or the near-vibrating jitters that followed.

Six years here, five with Emily, and four with this job, but Liz just couldn't imagine the future now.

Liz needed to leave, and reboot her life somewhere new.

She just wasn't sure where, yet.