photograph by Brandon Scott Gorrell

photograph by Brandon Scott Gorrell

photograph by Brandon Scott Gorrell

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DICEY BROWN MEDIA

DICEY BROWN MAGAZINE

January 18, 2008


NIGHT OWL by BRANDON SCOTT GORRELL

I was sitting on my bed and looking at the computer screen. I saw a new email. I clicked on the email. I clicked on a link in the email. YouTube appeared. I watched a show on YouTube. I watched another show on YouTube. People were moving around outside of my room. I watched another show on YouTube. I got out of my bed and put pants on. I went out of my room and out of my house and into a store. I bought wine.

"Thank you," the cashier said.

"Bye," I said.

I went back to my room and opened the wine. I watched another show on YouTube. My roommate came into my room.

"What show are you watching," he said.

"A British comedy," I said.

"It's called," I said.

I couldn't remember what it was called.

"It's funny," I said.

My roommate stood by my bed and looked at the show on the computer screen and he left. I drank glasses of wine. I watched another show on YouTube. I finished the bottle of wine. I got out of my bed and put pants on. I looked for a jacket. I couldn't find the jacket. I went downstairs and asked my roommate where the jacket was. He said he didn't know. I went upstairs and looked for the jacket. I moved some things around on my couch. I touched things inside the closet. I looked underneath the bed. I put on a hoodie. I went downstairs.

"Where are you going," my roommate said.

"I'm going to a party," I said.

I walked away from my house. I walked over a bridge. I was confused about where the party was. It was like 11 P.M. I turned left at a stop light. I saw the party. I went into the party.

"It's $7 tonight," a man at the door said.

I gave him $7.

"Put the insecure stamp on him," the man at the door said.

I put my arm in front of a woman and pulled my sleeve back. She put the stamp on the inside of my wrist. The stamp said INSECURE. I walked to the bar. There were two women standing behind the bar. I stood in front of them and looked at them. They were facing me and talking to each other and looking at the ground.

"What can I get for you," one asked.

"Can I have a white wine," I said.

She poured white wine into a strange glass.

"How much does it cost," I said.

She was doing something with her hands and was kind of below the counter.

"How much does it cost," I said.

"Six dollars," she said.

I gave her my credit card.

"You can just leave it open," I said.

I walked to a table with the white wine. There was a problem with the music. A DJ ran to the stage and touched a laptop for awhile. New, louder music began playing. I looked towards the door. No one seemed to be coming in to the bar. I drank the white wine. One person began dancing in front of the DJ. I sat at the table for awhile. Maybe ten people came in to the bar over the course of an hour. I walked towards the front door.

"Do you allow re-entry," I said.

"For you, anything," the man at the door said.

The woman laughed.

I walked out of the bar.

I walked towards downtown. I saw a Subway. I passed it. I walked further into downtown. Bartell's Drugs was closed. I turned around. I went into the Subway.

"Can I have a vegetarian sandwich?" I said.

"Do you want this," the worker said. He pointed at lettuce.

"Yes," I said.

"Do you want this," the worker said. He pointed at tomatoes.

"Yes," I said.

"Do you want this," the worker said. He pointed at olives.

"Yes," I said.

I gave the worker money and he gave me money. I ate the sandwich as I walked towards the bar. I walked into the bar. There were more people than there were when I left. I went to the bar.

"Can I have a white wine," I said.

The bartender gave me a white wine in a strange glass. I went to the dance area and sat down at the back of it on a big wooden thing. I took off my jacket and put it behind me on the wooden thing. "There are like no girls here," I thought. I watched the DJ and liked the music. This happened for a long time. Then a girl moved close to me and smiled at me.

"Hi," she said.

I smiled.

"Hello," I said.

She said some other things and I tried to say things back to her. Sometimes I thought, "This is unsuccessful." One time she talked to another guy and then talked to me again. Then she gave me a flyer for a party. Then I didn't see her anymore. I thought, "I want to leave." I went to the bar.

"Can I have," I said. Then I didn't know what to say.

"You look like you don't need any more," the bartender said.

She gave me my credit card and I signed a receipt. I went to get my jacket. I couldn't find it. I kept looking underneath a jacket that looked like mine. After awhile I just stood there. Then I looked for it more. I found it. It had fallen behind something. I put my jacket on and left. I walked towards my house. Then I was in a grocery store. It was like 2 A.M. I got a basket and put some food items in the basket. I went to the bulk foods section and put a handful of cashews in my pocket and ate them as I walked around some more. I filled a bag with pine nuts and put the bag of pine nuts in my pocket. "It will be okay to steal these pine nuts," I thought. I paid for the food items in the basket and left. I woke up and there were two bags of groceries on my floor. My jeans were by my couch. I had my shirt and hoodie and socks on. My computer was open on my bed. I felt confused because I wasn't sure if I had vomited the night before or if I had dreamt that I vomited. I knew I dreamt that I gave a presentation to my former coworkers about why my former employers decided to lay me off. They felt bad. I had to 'let them down easy'.


Brandon Scott Gorrell lives and works in Seattle. He is the author of the i am a stoic beaver very much preoccupied with dam building blog. You can go there and read everything and make comments. Brandon Scott Gorrell is 23.