100 Words a Day 1072

Actually, the hardest part of studying abroad was coming home; I wasn’t prepared for how weird the first few days would feel. I was so used to rolling my eyes at English-speakers who refused to even genuflect towards local culture or learn a few words of Spanish that I spent the first day home looking at the inside of my skull. Speaking another language for a year also ruined my ability to spell in English. And I still haven’t fully recovered. As I recall, it happened to everyone. And no one was expecting it. They didn’t mention it at orientation.

100 Words a Day 1071

The door finally opened. Jake entered his small room, followed by Sara, and tossed his bag onto his small bed. The cheap springs rattled furiously for almost a minute.

“Wow,” Sara exclaimed. “Do you throw your bag there every day?”

“Yeah. So what?”

“Do your neighbors think you come home and immediately start power masturbating?”

Jake laughed. “Never thought about it.”

“What the fuck is he doing?” Sara asked, pantomiming listening at the wall. “He can’t be jerking it immediately when he gets home every single day.”

“Or maybe they think I am power hooking up with a hot girl.”

100 Words a Day 1070

The duergar waited at the low table, irritated at the delay, stomachs rumbling. A rhythmic clomping made them turn expectantly towards the wide kitchen door. The two youngest members of the family trundled out, an enormous iron skillet held between them. They staggered over to the table and slipped the skillet into the depression in the center of the table. Almost before it was in place, the other duergar had begun spearing the steaming mixture of fungus and meat. No one spoke until the vessel was over half empty. As each family member became full, they sat back and sighed.