The Mask: Fern's Adventures: Six

The mask sat in the puddle of water, taunting Fern. He had already had a not-so-good morning, and now he was staring at his new mask on the concrete.

The rain soaked his hair, flattening it to his forehead as he had been too lazy to open up his umbrella.

Fern had walked all the way to campus before realizing his mask had fallen out of his tote bag. It was a new mask he had splurged on from an Etsy seller so the design was vinyl.

He had spent $13 plus shipping on the black mask, which had cute, vinyl plant designs on one side.

Now he stared at the mask, possibly ruined before he even got a chance to wear it to his florist job. He finally decided to assess the damage and slowly removed his mask from the puddle. He cursed as his fingers touched it.

Soaked. Just as I thought. He thought, using his pointer and thumb to hold the mask away from him. He sighed and carried it from the parking lot inside. Before he went to class now he had to get another mask. As he walked up the many flights of stairs he had time to reflect on his decisions.

Dumbass. Was all his brain could think as he reached for his tote bag to retrieve his apartment keys.

His tote wasn’t there though. There he distinctly remembered setting it down to his friend in class and telling them he would be right back.

Bigger dumbass. Fern started the walk back to campus, giving up and ringing out the mask and stuffing it in his pocket.

Before the pandemic, he never thought a small piece of cloth could cause so much pain in his heart.