Empties

Even after the second round of layoffs, he still managed to drag himself to the office every morning. Better to be bummed at work, he figured, than to mope around the apartment all day polishing his résumé. At least at work the phone might ring, or someone might drop by to clear out their desk. Except that work was even worse, and he found himself alone again, chipping away at the leftover beers they’d been told not to drink from the last good party in the common room, smuggling the empties home so that no one would notice them gone.

Photo by Ryan Burch