and everywhere else.
         “What’s going on?” he asked.
         “Nothing. What are you doing?”
         “Just getting ready to open a six pack,” he said. Max was always just getting ready to open a six-pack, or a fifth of Vodka, or throw away empties. As he disappeared inside his apartment, Jim Leland stepped from the opposite door where Brad had just disappeared.
         “See you guys.”
         “See you.”
         Jim Leland was on his way to campus, the only serious student in the building.
         A half hour later, Brad reappeared, now very subdued. He was cleaned up again.
         “Man, I’m really sorry,” Jon’l whined pitifully. “I didn’t mean to get your shirt dirty like that.”
         But Brad was reserved. “It’s okay. I took a shower and feel better. I can wash the shirt and it’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
         “Alright, man,” Jon’l said uneasily, troubled that Brad was taking this so well.
         The event was forgotten. The afternoon glided by. Maybe Jon’l went for a run, maybe Ann visited her sister on El Nido. Either way, roommates and neighbors came and went, activity never ceased, Max consumed his beers and started a barbeque on the front yard, and the day moved into night.
         Jon’l and Ann probably watched TV, maybe sat on the couch talking to Mike Spensko or Chaz. At eleven o’clock when they retired to the bedroom they shared with Brad, they were surprised to find him already in bed. Usually, he was up all hours talking to anyone who would stay up and listen, and if there was no one, he’d watch TV or listen to the radio, or as a last resort, open a book and study. And too, he was usually the first one up in the morning. He required little sleep and was always too impatient to lie in bed when there was so much to do in the world.
         Jon’l and Ann made their simple preparations. Ann changed into her nightgown in the bathroom while Jon’l loosened his jeans and let them drop to the floor. Then he pulled back the covers from the bed but was startled to smell something decidedly sour. He stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air. The odor was gone. He pondered this for a minute. Why should anything smell so foul in the bedroom? He looked at Ann.
         “Do you smell anything?”
         She shrugged.