Low Battery High Volume

Two stories. One public space. Both completely avoidable. Neither avoided. Story one — our subject checks his phone 73% at noon, he's comfortable, he's home Heads out to run errands, confidence intact Forgot his charger — that's a critical fact Story two — across the room, a different scene A gentleman has content he is desperate to stream No headphones in his bag, no headphones in his ear Just a speaker-facing phone for the whole world to hear Back to story one — he's been out for a while Glanced down at his phone — 31% — still fine Two more stops to make, a coffee, then the bank Plenty of juice left, or so he thinks — blank Story two is escalating, volume climbing high A video, a podcast, a call — oh my People shifting seats, people side-eye glancing Nobody says a thing — that's the social dancing Can't hold us down, can't hold us down One's dying slowly, one's the loudest in town Can't hold us down, can't hold us down Low battery, high volume — the world's still spinning around Can't hold us down, can't hold us down Two disasters converging on the same battleground Can't hold us down, can't hold us down Low battery, high volume — somebody make a sound Story one — he's at the coffee shop in line Pulls out his phone — 12% — that's the warning sign The red creeps in, the anxiety ignites Suddenly every app he opens is a fight Closes Instagram — saves 2% Closes Maps — but now he doesn't know where he went Lowers brightness all the way to barely there Screen looks like a whisper but he doesn't care Story two has moved locations, same behavior New public space, new victims, no one his savior A waiting room now — twenty people trapped Every single one of them internally snapped The volume rises, somebody's watching a show A dramatic scene — explosions — letting it go Full blast, no shame, phone horizontal, wide The waiting room has collectively died inside Can't hold us down, can't hold us down One's dying slowly, one's the loudest in town Can't hold us down, can't hold us down Low battery, high volume — the world's still spinning around Can't hold us down, can't hold us down Two disasters converging on the same battleground Can't hold us down, can't hold us down Low battery, high volume — somebody make a sound …And then. The universe decided. That these two stories… belonged together. Same coffee shop. Same afternoon. Story one — 4%. No charger. No outlet in sight. Story two — walks in. Sits down. Right next to him. Phone out. Volume up. A telenovela. Full blast. …Our subject looks at his phone. 3%. Looks at the man next to him. Looks back at his phone. 2%. … He considers asking him to turn it down. … His phone dies. Mid-thought. Black screen. Gone. Now they're in the same room, same space, same moment One completely silent, one completely owning it Dead phone in his hand, loud phone to his right The irony so thick you could cut it with the light He can't call anyone — battery's deceased He can't distract himself — the volume won't cease He sits in the silence of his personal black hole While a telenovela plays three inches from his soul He spots an outlet — finally — across the room Stands up, walks over, plugging in — the bloom Of that first charging screen — the lightning bolt of life — The most beautiful sight he's seen today — despite The fact that the outlet — is right next to a speaker Bluetooth, portable, the volume couldn't be weaker— Just kidding. It's full blast. Of course it is. Of course it is. Can't hold us down, can't hold us down One's charging slowly, one's the loudest in town Can't hold us down, can't hold us down Low battery, high volume — the world's still spinning around Can't hold us down, can't hold us down This is Brain Farts, this is our battleground Can't hold us down, can't hold us down Low battery, high volume — …6%. …The telenovela just got to the good part. …He knows every word now. …He didn't want to.