//------------------------------// // A First Step // Story: Picking Yourself Up // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// Delta Vee slowly returned to the waking world, and smelled something that she swore took her back to her college days. She opened her eyes with a groan, and rolled out of bed. When Apogee was nowhere in sight, she glanced over at her alarm clock, and saw that it was 10 AM; Jet must have picked her up without waking her. She walked out to the kitchen and saw that the pot of coffee had just finished brewing, so it must have been only 15 minutes ago. In front of the coffee maker, was a note scribbled on a single sheet of notebook paper. Hey mom, Didn't want to wake you, figured you had a late night. Thought you could use some coffee to start your day. It would probably be better than beer. I can't wait to see what you can do to the place. I tried to get some things started for you. I just know if you work at it, you can totally knock dad's socks off! See you next week! Love, Apogee "I'd rather knock his balls off..." Delta muttered as she finished reading the note she had been left, before turning her attention to the full coffee pot. Admittedly, it did smell inviting. She opened the cabinet above the sink and found one coffee cup. Looking inside it to make sure it was clean, she grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself a cup, before going over to the fridge, coming back to the counter with the milk carton, and added a bit of milk. She gave it a stir with the last clean spoon from the silverware drawer, and took a sip. Yeah... That took her back. Sitting at the dining table sipping at her coffee, she glanced at Apogee's note on the counter, then around to the clutter all around it. Where to start? It only took a few moments to come up with 'whatever didn't cost bits'. Then that turned into, perhaps, something that could make bits. It only took her one look around the kitchenette to see the glass bottles everywhere. There was a recycling center down the block that took glass. That could get her started. After finishing her cup, she set it in the sink along with all the silverware that Apogee had piled next to the sink, then ran hot water along with a squirt of soap. As the bubbles began to rise, she slid in any plates and bowls that would fit. It would take about four sinks worth to get through everything. As that filled up, she went out to the workshop and grabbed an empty wheelbarrow and set it just off the front steps, next to her lawn chair, and went back inside, just in time to shut off the faucet to keep it from overflowing. She grabbed the full trash can from her room, dumped it into the empty can in the kitchen, then began sliding the two dozen bottles Apogee had sorted into the can, then began making her way around the kitchen. Under the table, under the chairs, under the counters, one had even managed to get under the fridge. By the time she was nearly done in the kitchen area, the can was already full, so she took it out and dumped what she had in the wheel barrow, and went back in for more. She got another quarter of the can filled up by finishing up the kitchen, then went down towards her bedroom. There were easily a dozen on and around her nightstand, most tipped over from hitting the alarm clock while she was half asleep. After pulling a few more out from under her bed, the can was full again, and it was back out to the porch to dump it again. Deciding to save the rest of the bedroom until later, she made one last stop in the bathroom, seeing several more bottles by the shower and all around the toilet; some of which had to be poured out before being tossed into the can. After a third and final dump, Delta was honestly not expecting to have a full wheel barrow's worth of beer bottles in her trailer... Not to mention what was probably scattered around the lot and workshop. But for now, it was time to see what she could get for this first trip. This was hardly her first trip to the recycling center down the block; it was actually quite routine; things would be slower than usual at the junkyard and she'd give them smaller pieces of scrap and junk that they could melt down faster. But she had always considered glass too much of a hassle for the return. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. It was time to see what a 10 minute trip down the road could do. The recycling center owned by Carbon Hoofprint wasn't all that dissimilar to her own; except there were no living arrangements on the property; he lived elsewhere. It gave him more space to sort and weigh materials for processing. The dark grey earth pony was sitting outside, enjoying the morning sun, much like she would usually be doing if she wasn't sleeping until past noon. He saw her approach with the barrow full of bottles. "Mornin', Deevee. What ya got for me today?" Carbon asked the pegasus as she approached his large scale. "Oh, about a dozen good times and six hangovers." She replied. "None of'em broken or chipped?" He asked, eyeing the contents of her wheel barrow, and she shook her head, motioning to them, inviting him to inspect them himself. "Eh, I'll take yer word for it. Never done me wrong before." He gave her a nod, and she carefully dumped the contents of the barrow onto the large scale. The digital readout was next to his chair, and it gave him a beep and printed out a small slip of paper. He stepped inside the small aluminum panel building, and came back out a couple minutes later with a jingling bag of bits, tied at the top with twine. "Alright, 32 pounds of bottles all in good condition... That's 46 bits." Carbon told her, tossing her the small bag. "For glass?" Delta asked, raising an eyebrow. She honestly wasn't even expecting a quarter of that. Pound for pound, that was within spitting distance of what she could get for aluminum. "Yeah, I've had a contract with a bottling plant in North Las Pegasus for a few months. Their rates are decent, so I can pay out a bit more for intact bottles and jars. Have a good one now." "Oh, I'll be back, don't worry." Delta said, turning her wheel barrow around and heading back down the street. "Hot fucking damn, I guess the kid might actually be onto something." Delta said to herself as she walked under the junkyard sign, returning to her lot, the bag of nearly 50 bits tucked securely under her wing. Normally, that would be a great night at a bar, and maybe it was the coffee, but a small part of her wanted to keep going. She had already made a dent, and it wasn't even noon. What could she do next? 'Might as well keep the ball rolling that she started yesterday...' She thought to herself, tossing the bag of bits onto the dining table and looking back to the room with the piles of laundry. But first, those dishes looked definitively soaked and ready for a quick rinsing and drying...