The timer keeps sounding. Tick tick tick. If that is how an alarm sounds. How did we first come to describe a clock’s sound that way? Not that it matters. Sound is sound. And repetitive sound just goes round and round. Annoyingly so. The dog, meanwhile, is underfoot looking for scraps although his bowl is full to the brim. Why crave scraps? I suppose it’s how I crave cheetos, at times. While the timer keeps trying to keep time and keep me on task, that oddly depressing show Sharp Objects is playing in the background. Maudlin wallpaper. So much of what is around can be described thusly. The television screams and yet another insect bite appears out of nowhere. With her speed how is that they still can drain her blood? The phone rings, the email notification chimes, and the sun is setting. She wants to rest. She wants to sit. She wants to stare into space. The email notification dings. The timer doesn’t stop. Maybe she should stop it.