Zooey rummaged through the piles of clothing strewn over her floor, periodically doing ‘sniff-checks’ to determine the cleanliness of each item. She settled on a worn in black tshirt that hadn’t been washed in the past century, but had developed a nice smell that she found oddly comforting. She threw that on over a brightly colored flower skirt and quickly pulled on a pair of combat boots. Staring in the mirror, she admired her bedhead and tousled her bangs the best she could to heighten the effect.

Grabbing her messenger bag she shouted a loud, “Bye Fritz dear!” and skipped out the door to greet the day. Outside, the humid summer air hit her with full force and she stepped back suddenly, wondering if going out on a day like today was such a good idea after all. But the sunshine beckoned her to take a step forward and she smiled as she pulled on a pair of large dark rounded sunglasses.

She made her way slower than usual, the thick penetrating air seemed to put everything into slow motion.