[h3][u]Kara[/u][/h3]

She was stopped dead in her tracks by what could have passed off as an accusatory finger pointed at her. Thus far, Kara had kept her head down, shuffling through the large masses of crowds quickly and efficiently as to avoid conflict. But now she had been singled out, and so she aimed for the most neutral response she could offer, as was previously briefed during the new hire orientation.

"There could be something, or there could not," she cocked her head to the side just the slightest, her eyes trained on the stranger for a moment. Kara's voice was loud enough for the woman and those in the vicinity to hear; but beyond that, it was drowned out by their surroundings. "We don't—"

"It's—it's a risk." She turned to the younger man in response. "It's a possible risk." With a shrug of her shoulders, she offered a sympathetic smile and backed up a few steps before turning around to walk away in any other direction. Traveling between home and work, Kara was always mindful of how she presented herself in public. With tensions rising as of late, at least as far back as when she was starting out with this new job, it was of utmost importance to portray herself in a positive light. And now, well, it was nothing but chaos. 

Kara decided not to go to work, at least not yet. She was but five minutes away but to go now would be problematic. Who knows how unpredictable and wild the behavior of the crowd was right outside of those streets...and it was best to avoid finding out. Her mother was right to an extent, unfortunately, and God did she hate that. Well, hate was a strong word, but Kara wasn't a fan of these "I told you so" moments that occurred on occasion. Needless to say, dinner would be cancelled that evening. 

Going to work wasn't an option, but neither was going home. Kara ushered herself through the crowd and into a diner far away enough. Plenty more quiet with only some customers and also some other people whose purpose for being there wasn't quiet clear. After asking for permission to use their line, she dialed her supervisor.

"Good morning, it's Kara. I will be running late today."

[i]"The protests? Yes, we've seen them. You can come in, we've got the best security detail right outside the doors."[/i]

There was a brief pause. She had the option of speaking up, but Kara wasn't anywhere near as comfortable having that type of conversation with her supervisor. "Oh. Okay, I shouldn't be long then."

[i]Great,[/i] she thought to herself. There'd been reports of people left within inches of death, all over mere disagreements as to what was on the surface. "I'm right, you're wrong." Rinse, repeat. Personally, Kara was not the type that was curious enough to advocate for someone attempting to breach the surface. Sure, she had her own doubts, but the risk was too great to even entertain the idea. She began making her way back, once more trying to remain invisible. It seemed that there was a never-ending wave of unrest and angry voices, at least as far as she could make out. 

Not 10 minutes passed and she was within steps of finally being behind secured doors when she accidentally bumped into someone from the crowd, a bit too hard at that, making them stumble forward. "I'm sorry!" she shouted to no avail. She had walked with such urgency that she hadn't noticed how much thicker and louder the crowd had grown.