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Sammy had never been a morning person. Grade school was hell to get through, as she spent every class before lunch trying not to doze off while the teachers droned on. When she entered university, she exclusively took courses held in the afternoon, which caused her grades to skyrocket to just about average. On the weekends and days off, she'd sleep at the very least until noon, and should she be forced out of bed before then she was nigh inoperative without a heavy dose of black coffee. She'd been like this for as long as she could remember, much to the frustration of the people she lived with.
She was lucky that Ella was such a patient sweetheart. And that they had stocked up on coffee the day her girlfriend requested they go watch the sunrise together.
Sammy hadn't lived in Newfoundland very long, only arriving about a year ago due to how cheap it was to go to the capital's university. Her roommate ended up sharing a few classes with her later in the day of their first semester, and after getting to know her for a few months they found that they were actually rather compatible. It was Ella who took the first step and suggested they try out a relationship, and truth be told, Sammy couldn't agree fast enough. So far, it had made living away from home literally 100 times better.
That said, Ella came with her own quirks - nothing deal-breaking, of course, and they had made sure to have a chat about it all before going too far with the relationship. One of those quirks, in complete opposition to Sammy, was that Ella quite literally rose with the sun. She was very respectful and quiet when she was awake before noon, which Sammy greatly appreciated. But there was the odd time when Ella needed to speak to her or have her do something that forced her to wake her girlfriend up.
Today was different, though. Today, Ella woke Sammy up because she wanted to do something with her.
Somewhat impulsive by nature, Ella was up earlier than normal and decided she wanted to watch the sun rise over the horizon, and that she didn't want to do it alone. With the promise of a free breakfast, Ella had almost literally pulled Sammy out of her bed in an attempt to get her up. Being close to incapable of saying 'no' to anyone, Sammy got dressed in a daze, and the two of them took the first bus of the morning to Signal Hill, a location that was close to being the most easterly spot in the country of Canada as a whole.
Sammy wasn't all that familiar with the history of the place, but from the bits she picked up from Ella explaining on the way there, it was essentially home to an old defensive outpost from all the way back in the 17th century, and had been used as such all the way up to WWII. Nowadays, it was used as a landmark and tourist trap, but its location at the top of a mountain overlooking the ocean made it a great place for people to come out and watch the sunrise. Had Ella not brought her out here, Sammy would not have been one of those people.
The parking lot was pretty much the perfect spot to watch it from, since it was high enough over everything to get a good view of it all. But of course, Ella wanted to get as close as possible, and that meant traversing over the uneven walking trails meant for the tours. And as Sammy hadn't suddenly developed the ability to say 'no' since waking up, the two of them carefully trekked down all of the wooden steps and onto the promontories jutting out into the ocean, just so Ella could get the view she craved.
(In truth, Sammy didn't mind, as she firmly believed Ella deserved the world.)
Being the middle of September, it was cold, so Sammy was glad Ella forced her to wear a few layers. That said, it was also windy, so her hair was blowing everywhere and also into her eyes. Should've brought a hair tie… or two. At least her thermos of coffee helped to keep her warm and awake. "What time is sunrise again?" she asked Ella after taking a sip.
Ella thought for a moment, but then she let out the cutest little groan. "I'm sorry, I forget. Let's see…" She hauled out her phone and tapped away at it. The sky was starting to change from somewhat dark to a dull shade of yellow, and steadily getting brighter. At the very least, the sun would be upon them soon, but it was hard to tell without the inside knowledge of meteorologists, or whoever could tell when it'd happen.
In the ocean before them, coming in from Europe or somewhere else super far out probably, was a cargo ship, and Sammy was surprised to see how small it was in comparison to the sheer hills on either side of it as it expertly passed by them and into the harbour. The Narrows, as this little entryway into the St. John's harbour was apparently called, couldn't have been that deep, so the captain of that ship was probably something along the lines of an expert.
Sammy had to admit, St. John's wasn't a bad city to live in. Half the people here she couldn't understand, but downtown was so charming with its twists and turns that she kind of wanted to explore every nook and cranny, and eat at all the restaurants. She remembered seeing that tiny breakfast café a few weeks ago; maybe she could bring Ella there one day…
"Ah, 6:45," Ella answered soon after. "So about 20 minutes to go!"
Sammy loved the girl, but how she could be so peppy at such an ungodly hour was beyond her mere English student mind. "Cool," she answered, and took another sip of her bitter drink. It'd be a nice thing to witness, the sun rising, but she also couldn't wait to return to the dorm and go right back to bed. Saturdays were not for waking up early.
Ella glanced at her, and Sammy looked right back. The smile she gave off was clearly strained - almost like she was starting to think that waking Sammy up at this hour was kind of selfish. And, Sammy would admit, it kind of was. But she believed everyone was entitled to a bit of selfishness every now and then, and Ella was such a treasure every other day of the week that Sammy would allow it just this once.
(If Ella wanted to see the sunrise with her again sometime soon… Sammy would likely not put up a fuss.)
Though her mood wasn't the most positive, Sammy forced a smile on. "How're the acting classes going?" she asked her. Ella had moved to the province for the same money-related reasons as Sammy had, though aside from the few mandatory English classes they shared together in their first semester, that was where the similarities ended. Ella had come for both the theatre and music programs the university offered, and apparently was doing a highly exceptional job, if her grades were anything to go by.
The strained smile on Ella's face turned completely natural. "Oh, wonderful, actually! There's a lot more classroom work involved than I was expecting, but it's all been going excellent! I'm taking a course based entirely around improv, and I'm learning so much from it!"
"Oh, wow," Sammy replied. She wasn't familiar with the finer details of Ella's schedule, but Ella likewise wasn't very up to date about Sammy's either. "That sounds like it could be fun."
"It is!" Ella agreed happily.
They continued to chat with each other, and Sammy did everything she could to not fall asleep standing up. The cold and the wind had all been forgotten, as her full focus was placed solely on the girl before her. It had been an astronomically large coincidence that Sammy would find herself bunking with someone who she got along with so easily, but the world worked in mysterious ways, and she wasn't about to question it. She was simply thankful that, as far as she could tell, this was likely going to work out.
Before they knew it, a ray of light hit them both square in the eye, and they looked back over the watery horizon to see the first speck of sun peeking out over it. Ella squealed in delight, cried out, "There it is!", and held up her phone to record it. Sammy had to admit, it was a sight to behold. Sunsets were nice and all, but there was something more… majestic, or grandiose, or something about being up to watch the sunrise. It was likely because by the time the average person awoke, the sun was already up, and that seeing it rise was a privilege only a few people were allowed…
Kinda poetic, when it's put that way.
But while the sun coming up was amazing to watch, the real spectacle Sammy was witnessing was right before her. Ella's eyes simply radiated joy, and from this angle they looked positively sparkling. That was something Sammy adored about her - Ella could find the beauty in anything and everything around her, and something as simple and mundane as the sun coming up once again was treated as if it were happening for the very first time. Her pure positivity was infectious, and Sammy found herself soaking up as much of it as she could.
After about three minutes of it slowly coming up, the sun fully appeared over the horizon. Ella stopped the recording so she could witness it for herself, and Sammy took the opportunity to walk over to her, take her hand in her own, and lean her head on her shoulder. Ella wasted no time leaning into her as well.
"Thanks for dragging me out of bed for this," Sammy said to her. "This was totally worth it."
"Wasn't it?" Ella asked in reply. "I might have to do this more often… Though I won't force you to come with me if you don't want to."
"Nah, it's not all that bad," Sammy said. "As long as I have my coffee, I'm fine to go. Just… let's not make this an everyday thing, okay?"
"Deal," Ella giggled. "But, anyway, shall we get going? I'm starting to get hungry."
"Same." The two started back up the path to the parking lot, and were able to catch the bus before it left the area. "Hey, you said you were covering breakfast, didn't you?" Sammy asked once they settled into their seats.
"I did indeed," Ella answered, a knowing smile playing at her lips. "Why? Is there somewhere specific you want to go?"
"Yeah. There's this cute little breakfast café downtown that I saw a few weeks ago. I think it'd be the perfect place to go after seeing something as awesome as the sun rising."
Ella smiled slyly at Sammy. "You sure this isn't just an excuse to get a free plate of chocolate chip pancakes?"
And Sammy smiled right back. "It's more like an excuse to go on a date with a pretty girl."
Giggling and blushing all at once, Ella lightly jabbed Sammy with an elbow. "Well, aren't you just a charmer?"
"Sooo is that a yes, or…?"
Ella hooked her arm under Sammy's. "Yes, it's a yes, you dork."
Sammy dramatically pumped a fist. "Yesss. You just made my day and the sun's barely up yet."
"Oh my god."
"Shush. You love it."
Ella snuggled into Sammy's arm, and Sammy felt her heart race at that. "Yeah, I do."