living in halls it's not easy to find a bathroom. i ended up in my towel, outside the hospital. what's happening, they said. some obscure family thing, i said. his family's here and i want to stay obscure.

when you came outside and saw i hadn't been able to wash yet you looked disgusted. not my fault.

and there was an electrical surge. you could see the lightning around the lightbulb sockets. and the lightswitch softened in my fingers. melting plastic. before the lights burst into flames. we ran out through the front door and every house in the street was the same. orange fire behind every window. burning.