October 23, 2022

I was in the buffet area on the first floor of a hotel. There was a large crowd of people milling about. Sometimes a person would fall to the ground before getting back up a few moments later as a seemingly different person. There was a slow moving wave of people forgetting who they were as they reawakened with more irritable personalities. I asked my friend about her note-taking system and if that was the key to staying sane. She said that she felt like it helped. We sat on the steps by the wall and scanned through her notebook together. I wrapped my arm over her shoulder.

Someone in a hotel staff uniform walked up to us and told us to leave if we weren’t here to eat. We stood up and walked up the spiral staircase in the lobby. It felt like the world was ending in slow motion. I asked my friend if she wanted to share a room for the night. I mentioned that it would help save some money to book one room instead of two but in actuality I just really wanted the company.

I headed towards the showers at the end of the hall. The ceiling was much higher than expected and the walls and floors were covered with square dark blue tiles. Stalls were divided with white shower curtains while the shower heads were garden hoses on a rail that went across the top. I took a quick rinse without taking off my swimming trunks before stepping out. I looked in the mirror to see that a large half of my face was covered by round gray mushrooms. “Ah shit, I’ve been in the sun for too long”, I thought to myself. My face started to feel itchy.