• The apartment: small; one bedroom, one bathroom. Features a kitchen corner with a working stove and sink, a fold-in table sits on the demarcation line between brown carpet and white linoleum. An outdated computer monitor pins the table to the floor. A thick cable runs from the computer to the bedroom, where it joins up with a dozen other cords haphazardly plugged into a flat-screen TV, and various gaming consoles.

    On the edge of a bed sits a man who is avidly belittling someone through a headset. A cat is slowly trying to climb up his back. The man whines, “Ow, ow, ow, owww!” And shakes the cat off.

    The cat hits the edge of the bed on its back with a THWUMP! and rolls off the bed, onto it’s feet. The cat looks up at the man and mews forlornly at him.

    The man sighs and cradles the cat in his arms. He says to it in a babyish tone, “I’m sorry, Kitty. I didn’t mean to throw you so far. It’s just in your nature, isn’t it? I’ll grab you a scratching post tomorrow when I pick up the catnip. Does that sound good, Kitty?” The cat purrs and nuzzles its face into his chest. The man lowers the cat onto his lap and picks up a console controller from the bed.

    Suddenly, an array of wise cracks, giggles, and aww’s spill from the man’s headset, and fall into his ears.
    The man smirks.

    “Screw you guys, he was trying to climb up my back again.” He pauses. “…I threw him off the bed.”