Who Does?... A Short Story

They always told her she worries too much. That she should relax. Everything will “be ok.” Well, what makes everything ok? She does. She wakes up and makes her bed. Starts the coffee machine and then brushes her teeth… only to have the cup of coffee reversing the effect of the whitening toothpaste she purchased at CVS. It was on sale. Water before or after the toothpaste touches the brush? That seems to be the predicament in the media these days. How does it happen for all of these people? One question appears in their mind and in the next second, it has consumed my feed. Is social media good or bad? Maybe it depends on which side of it you’re on. Now she is stressed again. What should she wear? She looks into the mahogany wood mirror leaning against the sturdy wall of her relatively large room. She still lives in her hometown with her family, which could be said is also relatively large. The mirror. Is that what she looks like? What did she look like yesterday? Last week? Last month. When did she change? Her baby blue bra dents her olive-tone skin ever so slightly, creating a crease in any shirt that hugs her body. What does it look like again? She doesn't know. Who does? It was decided she would wear a green teeshirt. Maybe it doesn't work with her skin tone. She wouldn't know. Work starts in an hour and seventeen minutes. If she feeds the dog, waters her plants, applies some makeup, and figures out what to do with her hair -that's a stretch- she should probably be in the car at 7:00. It was 7:02. Water needs to be packed. She did not have time for that. Who does? Shoot. Breakfast. She also forgot about breakfast. The coffee will have to do. She clocks in at  8:00. Work begins at 8:00. All is well. There is no professor giving her an assignment. No so-called friends to catch up on how the rest of their day was yesterday. She remembers having friends. At least there was someone under the same routine she was. Someone who shared experiences and said they loved her. She's not certain what that meant. Did it fade away? She’s sure she loved them too. Apparently, this was the real world. She wonders if the other world was fake. It was only months ago she was handed her high school diploma; even less since she graduated with her bachelor's. She always had a plan. Her plan was not always the same, and it seemed as though life did not agree with it under any circumstance. She thought she would move away. Maybe get a Ph.D. or meet a doctor and settle. Have children. That did not happen. `And then another day passes by. She makes the bed. She starts the coffee. She clocks in at 8. Again. Makes the bed. Starts the coffee. Clocks in at 8. Is coffee bad for you? She doesn't seem to know or care for that matter. 

Who does?