Run Away Darling

Anywhere but here Lou Baker | Travel Writer and Blogger | 29 | Stamford @louloubaker

[lou-baker-blog]

text: Open

Cris: yeah

Cris: he doesn't need much. He sleeps a lot and eats very little. You could handle him for just one night.

Lou: I can drop by for a few hours sure

Lou: Does he have a litter box or whatever is the kangaroo equivalent

[lou-baker-blog]

text: Open

Cris: Well, see that's why I texted you. Maia's out of town again and I might be here for a while.

Cris: I need you to look after him.

Lou: For what? Tonight?

[lou-baker-blog]

text: Open

Cris: basically one thing lead to another and I somehow ended up at the bottom of the stairs laying in glass with about twenty mosquitoes circling around my head as Joey watched the whole situation.

Cris: So I'm just casually waiting in the ER with a broken arm, a sprained ankle and covered in hundreds of mosquito bites waiting for 5 more stitches.

Cris: I think this is the first time I've ever been to the hospital because I needed medical help.

Lou: How is Joey?

Lou: Sorry, I mean, yes, I hope you're okay

Lou: But how is the kangaroo?

[dailydormer]

[lou-baker-blog]

moonxhana:

Her hands cradled a camera as she was walking around town. It was an effort to distract herself from what had occured the previous night. Hana had been shook, finally able to sleep after hours of crying. The stain was still in the carpet, despite the salt she had thrown upon it. But she had to move on, Jin made that perfectly clear and as much as she hated it, Hana knew he was right. She had seen it happen to her patients; heartbreak. She knew what it could do to a person and although Hana knew she had every right to be upset, she made an effort to become active and keep her mind off it. So, now she was lifting her camera within eye sight to take a picture of the surroundings. Though when she lowered the camera to take in the shot, Hana frowned. “I just can’t seem to get it right.” Shaky hands were to blame, as well as the amount of time it took the somewhat old camera to focus.

When she’d travelled, Lou had kept journals. Nothing big, just little bullet journals, noting down her journeys and her plans for each month and week, but the other thing that had followed her through every country had been her camera. A quality SLR, it had documented every meal she’d eaten, every temple she’d visited, every street she’d walked down, and was her prize possession. There was beauty in the frozen photos of plants and people, and she appreciated the way the light fell and how it made new shadows to capture in time. Her father was asleep, probably not for long, but it had been a long evening, filled with small battles over everything, from what was on TV through to what they were eating, and it had exhausted her. She hadn’t been thinking when she’d grabbed her camera and walked out of the house, bitterly slamming the door behind her as she cut through the streets over to the Hill. 

She didn’t recognise Hana until she neared, and saw that the young woman was a figure in one of her photos, shoulders slightly hunched, looking down as the last drops of sunlight poured off her back. She dropped the camera down in front of her neck, allowing it to swing as she moved over to the flowerbed Hana was standing near. “Hey” she greeted casually, raising the camera to her eyes and focussing in on her own shot, zooming the lense in on the delicate petals of the flower

[lou-baker-blog]

diego-carpenter :

Diego had a long day at the office and he didn’t plan on going home just yet so he found himself walking towards the gym. He wasn’t really a person who liked being interrupted on his way to the gym so he would start jogging towards there to get his hidden anger out and it helped a lot. The was doing that like normal today and as he was doing so he noticed someones keys on the floor and he sighed looking at the person who was just in front of him, “Hey, excuse me but are these your keys?” He asked as he picked them up looking at the person in front.

Her arms were weighed down by grocery bags, boxes of mac and cheese and cans of soup poking out of her top of the brown bag. In fact her arms were so filled that she hadn’t even been able to put her headphones in her ears -- something which did turn out to be a blessing, though at the time she was just cursing the fact that her headphones were a tangled mess in her bag and she was stuck behind a gaggle of mooching teenagers who showed no interest in speeding up, despite the heavy weight in her arms. She hadn’t heard her keys clatter to the floor, but when someone reached out to get her attention, she turned, slightly confused as to why the man was holding her own keys. For they were her keys, she could see by the “L” attached to the set of keys that they were hers. “Uh, yeah they are. Thanks” she nodded awkwardly, jostling the bags in her arms to try and grab the keys from him 

[lou-baker-blog]

haiderxkhan :

Haider’s smile remained on his face as he followed the blonde. Whoever said money didn’t buy happiness clearly didn’t know how it felt to be a billionaire. Haider had been born into the money, he had been surrounded by it since he was a young boy and he was one of the reasons why their worth was increasing. Haider’s business plans, his persuasive abilities were exactly the reason why the business was doing so well. His cousins had never seemed bothered about the business, one was an artist, the other preferred to body building while the last cared about her appearance and hated for her nail to break. He had been pushed into the business and Haider couldn’t imagine his life any other way. The businessman took the bag of his own pills and placed his cell phone in his pocket.

“How did I do that?” He echoed, a laugh escaping his lips as he led the other out of hospital. Many people were often impressed with how Haider could get anything with the wave of his fingers. He was mostly able to do it with his appearance, name and wealth. “I asked her and she let us cut through the line. There’s nothing hard to understand about that now, is there?” Haider asked, looking over at her, the amusement never leaving his face. “I think the correct choice of words you’re looking for are “thank you". In that case, you’re very welcome.” Haider extended his hand, remembering he hadn’t introduced himself. “Haider Khan. CEO and heir to Khan Industries.”

“Yeah that’s rubbish” she dismissed him with a shake of her head. “Because, see if I asked her that, she’d laugh in my face and put me to the end of the line. You ask her, and suddenly it’s like she’s in the presence of the Messiah” she pointed out, laughing slightly at how ridiculous this all was. This was, she realised, the way the world worked. The people who lived in Hillcrest waited at the back of the line, whilst the people who lived in the Highlands waltzed ahead of everyone else. And god she wished she lived that life. She would have been a fantastic rich person -- she had the ability to be rude, narcissistic, and totally stuck up her own ass. She would have fitted in to that community like a glove. But unfortunately her stars hadn’t quite aligned. She hadn’t married wealthily, or been born into a rich dynasty like this man -- for she knew of Khan, and his pharmaceutical conglomerate that spread across the globe. In fact, she was fairly certain that the company produced at least half of the pills she now had lying in the bottom of her bag. 

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, like yeah, thank you” she shrugged, back tracking on her previous comment in the name of politeness. “But seriously, I mean, that’s mad that you can do that”. And honestly, she was jealous of it. So jealous. Taking his hand she shook it, nodding at him. “Lou Baker. I uh...average Joe” she joked awkwardly, suddenly aware how dressed down she was in comparison to Haider in his suits. He was all tailored businessman, she was...jeans and a t-shirt sloppy student. “I mean, I don’t have a title. Or an industry. Thank you though, I mean really. Can I pay you back? Buy you a coffee or something?”

[lou-baker-blog]

fckellap :

Ella wasn’t sure if she wanted to care about the girls problems but she could tell something was up and what was making her care, she didn’t know and she wished she could understand. She looked over at the girl, “Oh, I’m sorry I guess. Want to talk about it?” She asked raising her eyebrows realizing the girl probably didn’t want to  or most likely didn’t.

She wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted the other girl to care, or even ask about her life. She was inherently private, and protective of the fact that their budget was getting harder to meet by the week. But she didn’t know this woman. And perhaps the fact that she was a stranger would help. “I need a job” she said bluntly. “And that was my...fourth rejection email”

[lou-baker-blog]

haiderxkhan :

Haider looked over at her, deciding that now was an appropriate time to focus on the woman next to him. At least he wasn’t stuck with someone that was coughing their lungs out or making invalid arguments about the situation they were all in right now. Haider didn’t care much for others around him and he was surprised at himself for not picking up his cell phone and calling his clients. Maybe it was the fact that his clients would hear coughing and sneezing in the background which would irritate him and them. The company of the other was proving to be better than his cell phone and business clients.

 “Maybe I should invest in the creation of another hospital or at least a system with better care,” he muttered, slightly to himself and to the other next to him. It would also be seen as a good deed if the Khan Industries funded a hospital. “I’m tempted to just leave, this is ridiculous.” Sure they both weren’t getting anywhere by moaning about the healthcare system but what else were they supposed to do? They couldn’t do anything other than just sit here. Haider caught the eye of the nurse and beckoned her over. Using his persuasive skills, he engaged in a cold conversation which resulted in some sort of answer. “After you,” he said to the blonde woman beside him, ushering her forward to collect her medicine that the nuse was now allowing them to get. 

Creation of another hospital? She turned her gaze towards him intrigued; the man was clearly dripping money, that much there was no question about, but to have so much money that you could single handedly build your own hospital for yourself was crazy. She couldn’t help but think of the small, shabby house she shared with her father, and internally cringed when she imagined the world this man inhabited by contrast. She could already see it. How he lived in a world where you gifted Tiffany’s and visited exotic expensive hotels like they were your average motel. To have that much money...it was enough to make her head spin. If she had the money that he had, she’d be able to place her father somewhere top of the range, where he could receive proper care, and she could be back in New York, blissfully ignoring her responsibilities. But she wasn’t there. She was in the hospital, day dreaming of a life where money was no question. “Yeah, maybe you should” she agreed, looking back over to the door which had just swung open to allow another person into the room

What happened next was out of this world. Madder than the idea of building your own hospital, or being able to afford top of the range health care without breaking a sweat. The way the nurse walked over, almost in a trance...and within a minute she was being guided towards to the front of the queue. Over the years, Lou had rinsed her good DNA for free drinks, and discounts at restaurants, but she’d never seen anything like that. It was half impressive, half disgusting. The way money and power could influence you to the front of a queue in front of people who had been waiting. And, had she been watching as a bystander, she’d probably have had more of an issue with it all. But as it was, he’d just managed to get her to the front of the queue, without breaking so much as a sweat. Her hands closed around the bag of medicine that was filled with small pill pots, and shoved them in her bag, before she stepped aside to let him do the same. But she could only restrain her question for ten seconds before it burst out. “How did you do that?”

[lou-baker-blog]

mrwarrenturner :

“That one I wouldn’t have mistaken,” he admitted with a chuckle as he nodded in the direction of the pepper in question. “Otherwise we would’ve been in for quite the surprise at dinner.” Warren was glad he had some basic food knowledge, or that evening could’ve been a bit more eventful than planned. He supposed he could work to widen his mastery of the culinary world, but graduate school and two part-time jobs on the side didn’t exactly afford him much time.

Warren nodded as he listened to her, finding her reasons for shopping at the market perfectly reasonable. The more affordable price and higher quality products were exactly why he frequented the market, as well. “Where are some of your favorite places you traveled in the past?” He had the exact opposite experience, with barely any traveling under his belt. Moving to Montana for university and then to Colorado afterward were about as adventurous as his life had gotten. Warren knew one day he would have to change that, but first he had school to finish. “I was just going to grill them along with a few other vegetables, though any extras are going to be part of a kielbasa dish I was thinking of making this weekend.”

Oh the list was endless. She could talk for hours about the cobbled streets of Edinburgh, and the scorching heat of Morocco. The boutiques in Paris and the bazars in Istanbul. Each country she had visited, each city she had made her own, had had its own features that had made it special. So when he asked her where her favourite places had been, she was somewhat put on the spot. It was difficult to boil it down to just a few words when she had spent months living the experience. Placing down the pepper back on top of the small pile, she chewed her bottom lip, working her teeth between her lip in thought. “Difficult to say” she decided after a pause. “I mean, I loved Paris, but that’s totally different to the experiences I had in Bali, but I loved Bali equally as much, just for different reasons”. Perhaps it was a bit of a cop out but it didn’t stop it being true. “Have you travelled anywhere?” 

The thing was Louise now couldn’t imagine a life without travel. She couldn’t imagine not living those experiences, and walking on the beach at 2am, feeling the wind in her hair and the sand between her toes. But, part of her decision to travel had no doubt, been fuelled by her desire to rebel, to not fit into that neat little box and be like all of the other Sanford residents. “Sounds good” she nodded appreciatively as he explained what he would be cooking. “Have you had charcoal grilled vegetables, because those are incredible. Nice and smoky. When I was in Morocco they had this amazing dish, grilled peppers, a fish...I forget which fish now, and this tomato base, and it was all grilled over fresh goals. Incredible, I’m telling ya”

[lou-baker-blog]

fckellap :

Ella sat there on the bench as if no one was there, she was getting used to being at the park, she was also getting very good at learning how to ignore someone. She sat there putting a hand through her hair, she had about ten minutes left before she had to go back to work. As sh looked around she heard the girls voice and she looked at the girl a little confused “Sorry but are you okay?” She asked a little concerned but now a little scared of how the girl was going to react.

She’d never been very good at masking her emotions, that much was obvious, and the way she’d taken her mood out on her phone would have raised questions from anyone. But the fact that the girl who she’d spent the past five minutes tearing a strip off was actually asking if she was okay and not walking off from the ticking bomb sitting down the bench from her was...well it was startling. Mainly because Lou couldn’t imagine herself doing that for anyone, even her closest friends. “Uh”. She could have lied. Could have plastered the fakest of smiles on her face and snapped at the girl to mind her own business. But she didn’t. After a while it became exhausting being mad at the world. “Had better days” she muttered darkly, leaning back against the bench with an audible sigh

[lou-baker-blog]

haiderxkhan :

Haider briefly glanced over at the woman who decided to sit next to him. He could have gone to a private healthcare surgery and if they didn’t have appointments then they’d have to rearrange them to make one just for him. Haider loved having money, it helped him whenever he needed something. Just his surname made people part ways whenever he walked past. But for once he had decided not to go into private healthcare and simply take a trip to the hospital - he just hadn’t thought it would be so damn busy. What was it with people being sick these days? Just hearing them coughing and sneezing was making his skin crawl. 

“An hour, almost two hours,” he replied, not even hiding the fact that he was annoyed. He decided that if he wasn’t seen in the next twenty minutes then he would leave the hospital. He’d send one of the servants to pick up his meds later on in the day. “This is the longest I’ve had to to wait to collect some meds,” Haider shook his head before scoffing. “How long have you been waiting here for?” He didn’t really care but he would rather speak to her than any of the other patients spreading their germs.

“Same” she replied bitterly, their tones matching and betraying their annoyance and frustration with the whole damn affair. Personally speaking, Lou didn’t see why there wasn’t more people out running people back and forth. Surely most of the people who were sitting in the room had nothing more major than a tickley cough, and yet she hadn’t seen anyone else disappearing into another room to talk to a doctor or nurse for a good twenty minutes -- and she’d been keeping count, flicking her phone on and off every few minutes and sighing loudly as the minutes ticked past. If she hadn’t been served by the most bureaucratic woman to ever have worked in a pharmacy, she wouldn’t have even been in this situation. If the woman had just taken her damn prescription, she’d be back at home with her father.

Huh. Maybe in second thoughts this delay was actually a blessing in disguise. The longer she was here, the longer she was away from her father and that claustrophobic house. She focussed on that thought, trying to find the positive of the situation, but as the elderly man across the room from them erupted into a hacking cough, she returned to her frustrated state. “I don’t understand it you know? We pay enough for insurance, surely they could invest in a damn better system of organisation” she muttered darkly, wiping some dust from her eyes as she spoke. “Oooh we are approaching hour” she paused, working it out in her head “...three. Yeah, hour three. It’s just a joke really”

[lou-baker-blog]

hermajestycaroline :

A lot of things made Caroline Heath happy. A good day at work, a day in which her brother had called her, her three puppies, good red wine - all these things and more brought a smile to her face. One of those things, however, was when she decided to treat herself and go on a shopping spree. And not just any shopping spree - a HEELS shopping spree. And sure, it might have made her a little bit of a stereotypical privileged white girl but dammit if it didn’t put the spring in her step and the sparkle in her eye.

Trying on a new pair of frankly gorgeous red pumps, Caroline couldn’t help the small squeal that erupted from her mouth. “I’m sorry, I just love heels so much,” she excitedly admitted to a surprised onlooker, eyes focused on her feet.

Shoes. God did Louise love shoes. Even though she’d learnt to slim down her collection of shoes to a measley four pairs, she still dreamed of the future where she would own an apartment that had it’s own shoe closet. Some dreams just died hard. But moving from place to place meant that wardrobes had to be economised, and it simply wasn’t practical to lug fifteen pairs of shoes around. Despite that, despite learning bitterly that airports really didn’t appreciate you going over the baggage claim, that didn’t stop her lusting after heels. Kitten heels, stiletto heels, bootie heels...all the heels, no matter how high, Lou would fall a little bit in love with them. So whenever she gave herself an hour off to trawl the shops, she always spent most of her time hopping between shoe shops.

Today though, she had a legitimate reason to be in a shoe shop. Her pumps had been worn so many times that the sole was beyond redemption. But even then, she was reduced to the sale rack, which was...difficult, considering she had the shopping habits of the fabulously wealthy and the budget of a cash strapped person. Slipping her foot into a pair of cheap pairs, she looked at them with a dismissive sneer, and toed them off, hearing a squeak just across the store from a blonde wearing -- and it really hurt to say it, the most stunning, ruby red, Dorothy style stilettos that she had seen in a while. And they weren’t on her feet. That hurt the most. “They look stunning” she said shortly to the other women, before looking back at the small, sad pile of shoes she’d collected with even more disgust

[lou-baker-blog]

zaraxmalhotra :

YOUR STEREOTYPICAL MASCULINE SIDE

you love hoodies.  you love shorts.   dogs are better than cats.  it’s hilarious when people get hurt.   shopping is torture.   sad movies suck.   you own a car racing game.   you played with hot wheels cars as a kid.   at some point in time you wanted to be a fire fighter.   you owned a ds, ps2, n64, or sega.  you used to be obsessed with power rangers.   you have watched sports on tv.   gory movies are cool.   you go to your dad for advice.   you own like a trillion baseball caps.   you used to collect hockey or baseball cards.   baggy sweats are cool to wear.   it’s kinda weird to have sleepovers with a bunch of people.   green, black, red, blue, or silver are one of your favourite colours.   you love to go crazy and not care what people think.   sports are fun.   you talk with food in your mouth.   you sleep with your socks on at night.   you have fished at least once.

YOUR STEREOTYPICAL FEMININE SIDE

you love to shop.   you wear eyeliner.   you wear the color pink.   you go to your mom to talk.   you consider cheerleading a sport.   you hate wearing the color black.   you like going to the mall.   you like getting manicures and/or pedicures.   you like wearing jewelry.   you cried watching the notebook.   dresses are a big part of your wardrobe.   shopping is one of your favorite hobbies.  you don’t like the movie star wars.   you are/were in gymnastics.   it takes you around one hour to shower, get dressed, and make-up.   you smile a lot more than you should.   you have more than 10 pairs of shoes.   you care about what you look like.  you like wearing dresses when you can. you like wearing high heel shoes.  you used to play with dolls as little kid.   you like putting make-up on others.   you like being the star of everything.

APPEARANCE

i am shorter than 5’5”. i have scars. i tan easily. i wish my hair was a different color.   i have friends who have never seen my natural hair color.  i have a tattoo. i am self-conscious about my appearance. i’ve had/have braces. i’ve been told i’m attractive by a complete stranger. i have more than two piercings. i have/had piercings in places besides my ears.

EXPERIENCES

i’ve gotten lost in my city. i’ve seen a shooting star. i’ve wished on a shooting star.  i’ve seen a meteor shower. i’ve gone out in public in my pajamas. i’ve pushed all the buttons on an elevator.  i’ve kicked a guy where it hurts. i’ve been to a casino. i’ve been skydiving. i’ve gone skinny-dipping. i’ve drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour. i’ve crashed a car. i’ve been skiing. i’ve been in a musical. i’ve caught a snowflake or snow on my tongue. i’ve seen the northern lights. i’ve sat on a rooftop at night.  i’ve played a prank on someone.  i’ve ridden in a taxi. i’ve seen the rocky horror picture show. i’ve eaten sushi. i’ve been snowboarding.

HONESTY/CRIME

i’ve done something i promised someone else i wouldn’t. i’ve done something i promised myself i wouldn’t. i’ve snuck out. i’ve lied to my parents about where i am.  i’ve cheated while playing a game. i’ve ran a red light. i’ve witnessed a crime. i’ve been in a fist fight. i’ve been arrested.

DEATH AND SUICIDE

i’m afraid of dying. i hate funerals. i’ve seen someone/something dying. someone close to me has attempted/committed suicide. i’ve written a eulogy for myself.

RANDOM

i can sing well. stolen a tray from a fast food restaurant. i open up to others easily. i watch the news. i don’t kill bugs. i sing in the shower. i am a morning person. i paid for a cell phone ring tone. i am a sports fanatic. i twirl my hair. i care about grammar. i have “?”’s in my screen name. i’ve copied more than 30 cds in a day. i bake well. my favorite color is either white, yellow, pink, red, blue, black, purple, or orange. i would wear pajamas to school. i like martha stewart. i know how to shoot a gun. i laugh at my own jokes. i eat fast food weekly. i’ve not turned anything in and still got an a in a certain class. i can’t sleep if there is a spider/cockroach in the room. i am ticklish. i love white chocolate. i bite my nails. i’m good at remembering faces. i’m good at remembering names. i’m good at remembering dates. i honestly have no idea what i want to do for the rest of my life.

[lou-baker-blog]

cristophxbellincioni :

“Maria’s been through a lot and was promised to be sent to a sanctuary many years before, the zoo never getting round to it,” Cris explained, folding his arms. Sending an animal off to a sanctuary took as little as a document and shipment, all things the zoos have done many times before, but were too selfish to spend money on an animal’s mental health, even if the amount would hardly hurt their bank account. “Joey is an extra passenger.”

“So both of them going on a nice little holiday” she suggested with a half smile, bending down so she could get a closer look at the small animal in his cage. “You’re going on a little holiday pal” she told the kangaroo, smiling earnestly at him as she rested her finger against the bars of the cage. “So what does he eat then?” she asked, looking back up at the young man. “I mean, I imagine they’re not going to be a fan of standard pet food?”

[lou-baker-blog]

fckellap :

Ella decided to shut up, she wasn’t going to sit there having a conversation with some arrogant girl who was acting like a drama queen. She wasn’t going to start acting like a drama queen and teenager herself. Rolling her eyes she sat there and looked at her phone and decided to check her social media to take her mind of it. Hearing the girls response she smirked and nodded, “Cool. Whatever you say.” She honestly couldn’t care anymore, who was she trying to please? No one so why should she care?

“I do say” she nodded sweetly, before savouring that sound of...silence. Well, apart from the occasional tapping of nails on a screen as the girl next to her. But that didn’t phase her, mainly because she was doing exactly the same thing, going through her emails. Empty. She’d binned all of her emails, and her junk box had been cleared out. She fired up her twitter app -- when the email came in. An official “thanks but no thanks” email. And again her blood was boiling, and she wanted to pick a fight. And she wanted some ice cream. And to cry. And to be far away from stupid Sanford, and she wasn’t sure what she wanted more.

”Oh fuck this” she snarled at the message, totally forgetting the woman next to her on the bench as she angrily hurled her phone into her bag and heard it crash into her glasses case and the tin of mints she had sitting in the bottom of her bag. Exasperated, she ran a hand through her hair, mind racing with her rapidly thinning list of options

[lou-baker-blog]

haiderxkhan :

If people ever described Haider as a patient person then they were incredibly wrong. He’d been sat in this seat for the past few hours, the time slowly passing as he kept on making eye contact with his watch. He’d come to the hospital to get some more of his medicines for the cold that didn’t seem to be going away no matter how much he tried. But at least it didn’t seem to be as terrible as the colds of those around him. Coughing and sneezes were filling the small waiting room and irritating him. It was taking in everything Haider’s power to not walk off and come back another day. It was another errand that he had to run and Haider needed to try his best and be a little patient today.

At least he wasn’t the only one who seemed to not be enjoying the company of the sick. Hospitals were truly a place where Haider didn’t belong - he liked to get in quick and liked to leave as quickly as he arrived. Everything needed to follow his schedule and he was severely behind. Looking over when he heard a voice say something behind him, he scoffed in agreement. “Tell me about it. I’m so close to getting up and leaving, it’s extremely unhygienic here.”

The man she was sitting next to had that air. The air of someone rich and powerful, and with precisely zero tolerance for poor time keeping. She’d noticed him, her eyes had been drawn to him, so different in the sea of those coughing and sneezing, and how his eyes had flickered down to his watch every minute or so. A busy man, or at least, a man who didn’t like to be kept waiting. Perhaps that was why she’d moved over to him. Not consciously, or anything like that, but he was one of her like, and he seemed like the sort of person that would keep the germs at bay simply by looking at them. She could see the watch on his wrist now, the clarity of the face and the way it gleamed suggested money -- and lots of it. 

“How long have you been waiting?” she asked, looking away from the watch and back at him, leaving the magazine to the side on the table. He was right though, she hadn’t considered how unhygienic everything was. No doubt the magazine she’d been thumbing her way through had been a breeding ground of bacteria. And she really couldn’t afford to be knocked out for four days with a flu bug. Her hands itched. Weird, because they hadn’t been uncomfortable a minute ago, but it was almost like the minute she’d acknowledged how she was surrounded by germs and bacteria, she felt the need to get in a shower and disinfect herself. But her number was still far away, and there was no way she could walk out of the room.