losing time

1. it is morning. a girl is in a rush. eats breakfast, one minute to catch the shuttle to class, food (waffle, quesedilla) on paper napkins. the shuttle pulls away, she runs for it. she boards and plops into a seat. she spills salsa on her shirt, the shirt of an outfit she carefully assembled. she was proud to look neat and put together, but now, she is not. you’re a mess, says the girl next to her. the shuttle arrives at her class. she runs up the stairs to her classroom … and no one is there.

2. she looks in. she looks at the calendar on the door. she opens the door and walks in, bewildered. she moves to call her classmate Laura, but then she sees the time - 9:10. 9:10. her class begins at 10.

3. what the? she thinks. why did I do that? why did I wake up at 8 o clock? what would compel me to wake up any earlier than I planned? she’s so bothered. she feels she is in an alternate world, a world where she goes to everything an hour early and does not comprehend why the world’s time is not aligned with hers.

4. she goes downstairs. gets an odwalla at the cafe. she gets in line. “holy shit!” says the man in front of her, patting his grey thermal fleece vest and gazing with great gravity into the distance. “I don’t know where my wallet is.” he asks surreptitiously if he can pay the lady at the cashier a dollar later. she nods, in on the secret. the girl is next in line. she gives the cashier her odwalla. she says, “I’m happening an hour early today…” she drops her voice to confidentiality level, “I don’t know where my time is.” the cashier rings up her beverage.

—-

5. me: I just arrived at class, and no one was there. it took me five minutes to realize that it’s 9:10, not 10:10. my class starts at 10.

me: why the heck did I do that???

my sister: you’re a silly forest that’s why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!