Obsolete
book aside. He gazed around his studio apartment. Nothing but these four walls again , he thought to himself. Ben skipped rope to distract himself. With every swing, he spun the rope faster. The word ‘obsolete’ flashed violently within his mind causing him to stop abruptly; he got on all fours to catch his breath. Sweat poured down his cheeks. It was noon, Ben made spaghetti for lunch. But instead of eating it, he just kept rolling the fork in his bowl. He couldn’t take his eyes off his desktop. “Is that… us?” he asked himself. To alleviate stress, Ben tried to watch a film. He liked romantic comedies because of their idealistic view of love and life. The genre used to give his mind a break. But now, it was just a painful reminder of what it felt like to go out and meet people. Truth be told, the television didn’t help much because Ben’s mind was spiralling, only thinking of the word ‘obsolete’ over and over again. Ever since he wrote that latest entry, he became fixated on what he discovered. Finally, Ben stood up and got dressed. He donned a black- hooded jacket and paused at the mirror, taking a moment for himself. Slowly and reluctantly, he placed the hoodie over his head and wore a facemask. He left the apartment with the notebook. Ben briskly walked through the deserted city to an upscale apartment and rang its doorbell. From behind the door came his boss, “What are you doing here? We’re under quarantine!” the boss said angrily.
38
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs