you get off the bike and your legs feel like you took a hammer to them, because maybe that’s what you did. and there’s no food in the house, which is very poor planning. so you get on your townie and you ride four blocks to the nearest sandwich joint and it feels like the longest four blocks you’ve ever ridden. you zombie down the sidewalk and you see people you know and you try to be nice but all you really want is to food. just food. 

then you’re at the sandwich place and you realize that it’s the same place you got lunch yesterday, but you’re too dumb to care. and you even order the exact same sandwich because really, it doesn’t matter now as long as it’s food. you manage to mumble sandwich and because you’re a regular the guy behind the counter knows what you mean and writes it down.

but it’s also bad being a regular because everyone wants to talk and zombies aren’t much for conversation. the guy behind the counter asks about the olympic road race and for a moment you stare at him blankly, because you’d forgotten all about the olympics. you can’t remember who won or how. but you force your one remaining sentient brain cell into action and it pulls up something about how buying and selling has always been a part of road racing. that seems to satisfy him, and you breathe a sigh of relief. 

he also says he has no idea who marianne vos is, and in the normal way of things, you might be exasperated, but it’s hard to be exasperated or much of anything else with only one brain cells. zombies, do they have feelings? so you babble something about vos, and how she’s fast, and it probably makes no sense. so you just say, she’s won a lot of stuff.

finally your sandwich is ready and you zombie back down the sidewalk. you zombie wave at your friends and maybe wish that the town was a little less small just for this one moment. you get on your townie to ride home. there’s a hill in the way which really doesn’t seem fair.

but there’s a sandwich and a coke waiting, if you can just get to the top of the hill and up the stairs and on to the couch. and so you do. and that can of coke is the like the best thing you’ve ever had.