The Storage Space considered the occupants of its lobby. Most assuredly a lesser-evil choice of where to squander its attention but at least a shred better than watching some cop interrogate a drunk. Or worrying about those now-only-occasional slithers. Or…
Hadn’t anyone the least grounding in the theatre these days? Did it take an inanimate object, a building no less, to spot the jealousy all over he of the rainbow shoes and remarkable collection of suitcases? Or that the object of that ridiculously overacted jealousy was the pregnant teenager’s father, who had his arm wrapped around that equally ridiculous Fifi of the Pink Hair?
Who the fuck cares?
The Storage Space was no longer aghast at such language. But it was determined not to squander its attention on such. Or…
None of them dumb shits ever played their cards right!
The Storage Space ignored the slithering. Or the temptation to deign to squander its attention on a sharp response. Or…
It reattached its attention firmly to the occupants…the still-alive occupants…of the lobby.
That Fifi creature was chattering away madly to the teenager’s father about, as far as the Storage Space could tell, absolutely nothing. The smile plastered to the father’s face looked like pancake make-up dissolving under bright lights. Finally he snapped out something about letting him go, that he had something important to do. Then he jerked back from Fifi, telegraphing to such an obvious degree that he was about to hit her…or him, or whatever Fifi was…that any director would have told him to find a new job in vaudeville.
Didn’t any one see it? Other than…just maybe…Rainbow Shoes?
But then the teenager’s father caught himself, plastered his smile back on with an apology to Fifi, and left her in the lobby as he clattered up the stairs to Unit 38.
I repeat, who the fuck cares?
The Storage Space was caught off-guard this time, its attention broken. It’s better, it found itself answering, than thinking of you. Or… Or…
And then it all came crashing down, like that beloved tea room long since gone, and the Storage Space knew what that “or” it had been avoiding was. It was better than thinking of Karen.
