Morning Routines

The alarm interrupted my sleep with the urgency of lust or sudden inheritance - only to end up being neither. “Alexa, good morning,” I say, as I stretch. My room lights illuminate - in red mode - like a submarine lit for night routine and my Keurig springs to life. How could someone living my dull, slow, academic life be so walking-dead tired in the morning? After all I got - trying to focus on my tiny Apple watch - 4 hours sleep. I rubbed my dry eyes and auroras traveled across my lids. When I pull open my drapes, all I see is a waning moon suggesting light to a dark world. I step around abandoned clothes, lying where they fell like soldiers. Aggk! I recoil when I see a three-day-old corpse in the mirror. Ugh, gross, I fell asleep wearing my facial detox mask. My clock reads 5:40am. I whisper to my AI, “Alexa, what’s today’s forecast?” “Currently, It’s 21°, today will be sunny with a high of 27°” she whispers back. In a moment of non assignment related forethought, while tooth brushing, I strip my pillowcase, tossing it on a pile of dirty clothes next to the full hamper of equally dirty clothes. MattyBRaps begins throbbing “Little Bit” in the room next door. That means Leong’s awake - she’s obsessed with a 15 year old boy-singer on YouTube. I wiggle into my spandex, grab my iPad and water bottle, then head down to the basement gym. I can replay my chemistry class while walking on the treadmill. Good morning.