Kafkaesque story

[This is the very first copy of a thing for class. It needs work...]

It’s a beautiful morning, late April, finally getting warm. I left my window open last night, and when I woke up warm air was drifting in, and I could smell tree blossoms. The sky is pale blue, and clear. A few stories below on the sidewalk, a middle-aged man in shorts is walking a black dog. It’s still very early.

When I leave my room today, I could stop at the coffee shop down the street. It’s not too warm out yet for coffee, and I just got my paycheck, I can afford a nice breakfast. When I get to work, I could smile at my colleagues, say Hey, how was your weekend! and listen to Sarah talk about the party she had for her boyfriend’s birthday, and tell her Sounds like you had fun! and I’m glad it worked out! I’m wide awake today; when the customers start lining up I should be able to help them without getting confused, it’s easy, just one step at a time. When CJ comes in at 2:00 I could ask how his weekend was, and he might tell me about it, and he might ask me to have dinner with him later. When I get home I could do all of that laundry that’s sitting around, and then go to bed early, to be ready for tomorrow.

When I leave my room today, I’ll walk past the coffee shop because, no matter how loud I force myself to talk, the cashier won’t understand what I’m saying. When I get to work and say “hi” to everyone, they‘ll stare at me, and I’ll stand apart from them as Sarah tells stories about her weekend, about how drunk she got. The customers will come in, and I‘ll get overwhelmed and have to make them wait while I untangle my thoughts. When CJ gets there at 2:00 he’ll greet me politely, after a glance at my nametag, and then ask where Sarah is. When I get home I’ll eat whatever’s left in the refrigerator, if there’s anything left. No one will call me. I’ll stay up late doing nothing.

It’s a beautiful morning, and I’m not leaving my room.