C4 antho - Chamber Four

The Abjection ~279~
Murderous. As if we don’t give a fuck. We hide from the
neighbors. We are not in the mood. We don’t belong in the
garden. Something rustles the hydrangea. The grass is too
high. The birdbath is dry. Something is biting us. Something
smells. We retreat inside. As if we have failed. The bed has
not moved. The bed in the moonlight. Our work suffers. We
are thinking about the bed. We talk of nothing else. The one is
in the breakroom. The other is in the toilet stall. We are in the
elevator. No one says anything. Silently the numbers rise. We
are thinking about the bed. They don’t want to hear it. Not
anymore. They are hearing flute music. Flute music is all they
want to hear. They want to hear no one talking. They are not
watching us thinking. Thinking about the bed. We are in
someone’s cubicle. We say we are not sleeping well. We say
the bed is not quite hard. But it is not quite soft. We want to
say that the bed is in-between. But that does not mean
enough. In-between what? someone may ask. We say nothing.
We do not say In-between nothing. We say nothing. No
one has asked. We cannot answer. What did we expect? We
stare at someone. Someone is pretending to check email. We
examine someone’s desk. There are spreadsheets. There are
proposals. There are estimates. There are receipts. There are
vouchers. There are invoices. There are reimbursements.
Something has happened. There is evidence. Something is
changing. Something has changed. We were not involved. We
were not informed. Were we? The conversation is over. It is
time to work. We have been warned. We slump in our ergonomic
chairs. We try to seem productive. What have we
missed? We were thinking about the bed. We grumble. Someone
is watching. Someone is a snitch. Someone must be
watched. Carefully. We try napping in the car. We have been
skipping lunch. Our space is reserved. RESERVED FOR EM-
PLOYEE. Our name is missing. The parking structure shudders.
Tires squeal. There will be a collapse. A terrifying